I am a small animal veterinary surgeon currently practicing in a suburban setting in the Essex/East London area.
The sense of achievement when I qualified as a vet from the University of Cambridge in 2015 was enormous; up until that point my whole life from well before sixth form had been geared towards achieving that goal. There are things I very much enjoy about being a vet, and I feel grateful to be part of the profession. But now the dust has largely settled following the whirlwind of my first few years in practice (an overwhelming experience for most vets), I’ve felt a mounting sense of frustration.
Frustration at the alarmingly high rate of mental health issues and suicide within the veterinary profession. Frustration at some of the very much preventable animal suffering I am confronted with on a daily basis at work. And frustration at the abundant damaging misinformation that pet owners are fed by unreliable sources about both the veterinary industry itself, and how they should be caring for their pet.
I hope this blog is going to encourage a meaningful conversation about the human-pet relationship, and encourage us to do a little bit better for the animals we choose to share our homes with.
Vet Reality Check 