25/06/2025
๐
Hi friends, Flo here.
Behind every pet you love, thereโs often a vet whoโs working long, exhausting hours โ physically, mentally, and emotionally drained โ just trying to keep going.
Vets are among the lowest-paid university-qualified professionals in Australia. Despite the years of study and the huge responsibility they carry, theyโre often accused of โonly doing it for the money.โ Theyโre expected to be on-call after hours. Expected to work overtime, no matter the cost to their own wellbeing.
And all too often, theyโre abused by clients who are angry, frustrated, or heartbroken โ because vets donโt just treat animals. They absorb your pain, your guilt, your grief. Every single day. Compassion fatigue is real. And itโs driving good people out of the profession altogetherโฆ or worse, toward a far more permanent decision.
Letโs be brutally honest for a moment:
In Australia, a vet dies by su***de every 12 weeks.
Vets are four times more likely to take their own life compared to the general population.
Let that sink in.
This post is simply a gentle reminder:
Vets are human.
They are mothers and fathers, partners, friends, and community members. They deserve time and space outside of work to rest, to live, to just be. Because their job isnโt just demanding โ itโs emotionally exhausting.
Let me give you an example-
Like so many vets in small communities, Shae is approached again and again by people asking questions about their pets on her day off.
โข While she was having a horse-riding lesson.
โข While she was shopping.
โข At school drop-off and pick-up.
โข And again at soccer training with her girls.
And while each person may have thought, โShae wonโt mind โ itโs just a quick question,โ they donโt realise that a dozen other people had done the exact same thing that day. By the end of it, Shae said she feels โdrained, exploited, and used up.โ Her words.
Sadly, this isnโt an isolated experience โ itโs the daily reality for many, if not most, vets, especially in small communities. Itโs not that they donโt care. They do โ deeply.
But if we donโt give our vets the grace to step away and recharge, we risk losing them.
Because the truth is โ you canโt pour from an empty cup. And too many of our vets are running on empty.
Please, consider this the next time you see your vet out and about. Respect their time off. Give them space to refill their cup. Theyโre doing their absolute best in a profession that demands everything of them, and often gives so little in return.
PleaseโฆโฆBe kind. Respect their time. Appreciate their care. And never forget that behind your healthy pet is a human who deserves compassion too.
And if this message resonates with you, please share it. It matters โ more than you know.
Love and licks
Flo - Latin for Be Kind
