Do you appreciate your veterinarian?

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Did you know that veterinarians have a higher suicide rate four time that of any other professional group? This is true in both Australia and the USA. I don’t know about other countries. Despite the fees they charge, Australian vets earn less than the average yearly income. However they can come under enormous pressure because people object to the fees being charged, particularly if the animal subsequently dies, or are unable to pay. They deal daily with loss and grief. Being animal-lovers themselves, there is an emotional stress dealing with wounded/abused/sick animals and, often, with their distraught owners. Many have a work/leisure ratio to their lives which is highly unbalanced and doesn’t make for good interpersonal relationships. They are expected to attend their clients at all hours of the day and night. Veterinarians can come under immense pressure from animal rights groups. Some owners too are very unreasonable and sometimes vicious if they think something has not been done correctly. They resort to social media to voice their complaints and far too many are willing to spread the word before sorting out the fact from the fiction. The link I’ve given describes a tragic incident which led to the suicide of one vet. The article goes on to say how several others were driven to leave their states after a hate campaign on the website. It’s a very sad state of affairs but I don’t know what the answer is. The photo is my pet sheep, Hercules, who has sadly passed on. He had an eye for the girls.