I have a bad habit of checking social media first thing in the morning, which I know can really set the day off on the wrong foot. This morning, I woke up to see a post from a veterinarian friend that she had two veterinarians in her life commit suicide this week. As I read… Read More
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I Watched Your Dog Die Today
I watched your dog pass away today. I did everything I could but it still succumbed to its disease. I watched your dog suffer for days as I tried to comfort it. I watched your dog continue to vomit even with the best anti-emetics. I watched your dog groan in pain even with high doses… Read More
How Eavesdropping Totally Restored My Faith in Humanity
We as veterinary professionals live in a very busy world. We have many things coming at us all at once and must be able to prioritize and juggle several tasks. The society we live in is very different than it was years ago. Society is very technology driven. We can connect to technology in many… Read More
The Gift of Being a Veterinarian
I still remember Curly and Moe’s first puppy visit all those years ago. I had just moved to the community and purchased the small animal veterinary clinic about a month before. I didn’t know many people and was under a lot of stress trying to figure out how to run a business. So, when these… Read More
Media’s Emotional Blackmail Is Killing Veterinarians
A previous version of this article first appeared on Medium.com. Emotional blackmail is the new term being used to characterize the pressure that clients put on veterinarians to care for their pets, to feel guilty about charging, and for making money. It has catapulted our profession into a crisis of burnout, compassion fatigue and suicide…. Read More
In Defense of Holding Space for Clients
I’ve noticed a troubling trend in vet medicine. It’s not exactly client bashing, but more of lack of compassion and taking time to actually talk to clients. Lest you think me a starry-eyed optimistic new grad out to make every client happy and save the world, that is not the case. I’ve been in practice… Read More