Opinion | I complained about a vet bill that saved my dog’s life — until my daughter yanked my leash

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The other day, my younger daughter Allison slapped me upside the head — as she is wont to do, and often wants to do.

After Kate and I shelled out thousands of dollars for surgery and four days of hospitalization to save our precious poodle Nico’s life, I complained to Allison about having to spend another five Benjamins to get his stitches removed and his healing hulk X-rayed at a neighborhood veterinarian’s office.

“I don’t know how vets sleep at night — 500 bucks,” I groused in a text to Allison.

After I opened that barn door, animal addict Allison slammed it in my face, responding: “You have to remember that many vets don’t sleep at night, and that’s why the suicide rate amongst them is one of the highest. They feel terrible that they have to charge what they charge — all the while knowing most won’t ever be able to pay off their student loans.”

Chastened, I replied, “Point made.”

Vets’ nervous nights result from doctoring animals at all hours, as well as anguish over the pain they see and the animals they can’t save, she indicated.

Since Allison once aspired to be a veterinarian, I realized that love of animals is a main motivator to enter the field, but it hadn’t occurred to me that such occupational hazards would ramp up the suicide rate among veterinarians.

So I enlisted the Google function on my handheld computer that doubles as a phone to check it out. I discovered that the austere assessment is startlingly spot-on.

Indeed, a November 2023 article in Psychology Today reported that U.S. veterinarians are three to five times more likely than the general population to die by suicide.

The article, which also noted that veterinarians are even more inclined to kill themselves than other health care professionals are, focused on a study published in a 2019 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Several stressors are unique to the veterinary profession, the Psychology Today article said, listing the emotional toll, worries about education loans, long hours, perfectionism, cyberbullying and compassion fatigue, among others.

Veterinarians’ strains include “daily interactions with animals in distress and pet owners grappling with the agony of seeing their beloved companions suffer,” Psychology Today reported.

Euthanasia is particularly heart-wrenching for veterinarians, as they walk a fine line between compassion and suffering, the article noted.

“Veterinarians enter the profession to save animals, and yet they cannot always prevent illness or death,” Psychology Today reported. “This perpetual pursuit of perfection can create a sense of futility and hopelessness.”

The anguish, in turn, can trigger “a state of emotional exhaustion that results from prolonged exposure to the suffering of others, both animals and their human caregivers.”

1. Medical doctors

2. Dentists

3. Police officers

4. Veterinarians

5. Financial advisers

7. Electricians

8. Lawyers

9. Farmers

10. Pharmacists

Mind you, I always have respected veterinarians, but this was the first time I had experienced them as lifesavers instead of just health monitors.

If you or an acquaintance is suffering from mental health issues that could lead to suicide, call or text the National Suicide Hotline at 988 to be connected to assistance.