Letters to the Editor: Veterinarians are in a suicide and financial crisis, and your pets are suffering
LA TimesTo the editor: As a veterinarian in Los Angeles, I hear plenty of complaints lately about 10-hour waits for pets to be seen. What people need to know is that those waits are tied to high suicide rates in the profession and big business taking over veterinary medicine. This is due to many factors, including long hours, high workload, euthanasia procedures and the expectations and complaints of our human clients, who consider their pets family members but fail to buy insurance for them. According to the Veterinary Information Network, California residents can expect to pay more than $260,000 to earn their medical degree at the prestigious UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; other schools cost upward of $400,000. Most veterinarians entered the profession to help animals, not become millionaires, but the public often treats us as the bad guys when their pets are suffering.
History of this topic
Vets' secret fury at callous pet owners revealed: Forced to put down animals because customers 'weren't bothered' - one speaks out after tragic suicide
Daily Mail
How to choose the best veterinarian for your pet
Live Mint
The acute suicide crisis among veterinarians: 'You're always going to be failing somebody'
BBC
It’s not just physicians and nurses. Veterinarians are burning out, too
Salon
Veterinarians struggle with the pandemic pet boom
Live Mint
Pet rescue groups say that more pets are being abandoned due to the pandemic
SalonAs pet ownership skyrockets during pandemic, a national vet shortage puts pressure on clinics and pets at risk
ABC
Vets reveal heartbreaking reality of putting pets down
The IndependentDiscover Related
