Being in the veterinary care with my small pet (which I learned have very short all-good to all-dead journey) I noticed that vet clinic is a very depressing place.
Sure, animals are cute, but a lot of them are dying or seriously ill and even being in the waiting room where loving owners rush-in scared or wait restlessly worried about their pets’ lives is a dark experience.
Seeing how vets are handling animals I’d say it takes a very specific mindset and resolution to do the job. I can imagine that even the hardest of such resolutions can crack under the weight of owners breaking down over their pets misery.
I believe that everyone should have access to periodic mental health evaluation, support and professional supervision. For people working in such hard to digest professions it is a necessity.
> Being in the veterinary care with my small pet (which I learned have very short all-good to all-dead journey) I noticed that vet clinic is a very depressing place.
I wouldn't call them small (necessarily), but this is my experience with rabbits. Over the decade we've taken care of them we've gone at least five or six times from "everything's okay" to "Georgie's lethargic and won't eat" -- which can mean death -- in the span of a few hours. So I'm driving over an hour each way in the middle of the night to take my rabbit to the nearest 24h emergency vet that treats them, not knowing if this is just gas or a blockage that will need surgery, mentally preparing myself for thousands of dollars in costs and the possible death of my pet. I imagine it's no fun for the vets who have to deal with me and others like me all night long, though I try my best to seem upbeat and empathetic externally.
