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A suicide crisis among veterinarians

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Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#431

Post by belorn »

yuhaj wrote: post #383
InSteady wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an extremely easy thing to say from a place of privilege, and of course there is some truth to it. On the other hand, how many chronically broke and miserable people out there are only hanging on for love of a pet (perhaps the only consistent source of love and meaning in their adult or entire lives)? I'll bet its a lot. But fuck them, they're poor so I guess they should either tough it out alone or die. Sorry…

Who are you proposing should carry the cost then? Society?

I could see an argument for that. If society is already paying high costs in order to prevent poor mental health and loneliness, pet ownership may be a cheaper solution in some situations than letting people fall into worse conditions that require time off work, pills and therapists.

A cost-benefit analysis could try make a reasonable argument for subsidized animal welfare.

Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#432

Post by raducu »

heyoni wrote: post #159
oooyay wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was lucky enough to own a house next to the vet clinic that ended up being my first dogs final veterinarian. Her sickness was very gradual; a boil grew on her neck and started aspirating blood, she became anemic, and somewhat lethargic. I supplemented her diet as the vet walked me through everything I could possibly do and was willing to afford. She gave me her number to text when weird things happened with the cav…

I think one of the worst things about society right now is we don’t share the burden amongst ourselves. The dirty work so to speak is delegated to specialists and our hands stay completely clean. I’m not saying pet owners should euthanize their animals but staying there in the room while the vet did their work probably helped, and the article mentions that owners leaving is part of the problem.

> I think one of the worst things about society right now is we don’t share the burden amongst ourselves

Watched a reddit post about a romanian mother making a fuss about her and her small autistic son being kicked out of an uber because the son threw a tantrum and somewhat dirtied a chair.

I was appaled by the lack of empathy of some of the redditors.

Nobody is entitled to anything, nobody owes anything to anybody, but the sharing/safety net thing is what makes us an advanced species.

Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#433

Post by xwdv »

sebastianz wrote: post #356
xwdv wrote: post #339

I honestly think veterinarians should just be a luxury for richer people who want to spend extravagant amounts on healthcare for their pets. If you’re a common person, and your pet gets some illness, then that’s it: you need to expect your pet’s death if they aren’t able to recover naturally or cheap treatments and pills don’t work. Pet surgeries should not be some routine thing that should be expected to be affordab…

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Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#434

Post by Mezzie »

Exuma wrote: post #395
Mezzie wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would recommend making arrangements for the body beforehand/having someone else around to take care of the immediate 'aftermath', as morbid as that is to think about. You aren't going to be in any shape to handle any logistics and seeing her body without 'her' in it WRECKED me.

Hmm so the vet doesnt deal with that? what do i actually do to make preparations, as theres no pet cemetaries that Im aware of?

Vets usually have information about cremation services. Some vets offer them on site, but some don't - check with your vet. There are also memorial options (urns, paw prints, etc.) that you might want to look through now as kitty is alive, because trying to decide how you want to remember them right after they go is just asking for ugly sobbing. Also figure out your budget because the last thing you want to do is pick something in the throes of grief and be unable to afford it. "I can't even afford to remember them properly" - > More crying.

Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#435

Post by Spooky23 »

makeitdouble wrote: post #27
wing-_-nuts wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hoping someone will pay for a procedure to save their pet's life while being braced for "I guess we should put them down..." I'm sorry, but vet costs are completely out of whack with reality these days. The truth of the matter is that most people cannot justify spending thousands of dollars on a pet, no matter how much they are loved, and that DOES NOT make them bad or unfit owners. The story quoted $10k to remove…

> The truth of the matter is that most people cannot justify spending thousands of dollars on a pet, no matter how much they are loved, and that DOES NOT make them bad or unfit owners. I'd argue not having the means to deal with emergency situations would make someone unfit to own a pet. I get that circumstances can change and costs increase, but I also feel too many people assume a pet doesn't cost much or isn't muc…

That’s nuts. My dog is awesome, but I’m not dropping $10k on the guy.

Animals aren’t humans. We do the best we can.

Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#436

Post by Mezzie »

E39M5S62 wrote: post #419
Mezzie wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vet costs vary wildly across different regions. I just took my cat in for an emergency (little idiot ate plastic and we had to see if she had a block in her when she was continuing to vomit blood) and got her examined, a shot of anti-nausea medication, imaging of her gi tract, and some bland food to take home (which had to be special as she's allergic to chicken protein) for $215. I thought that was pretty damn reaso…

I just did the same with a dog maybe a week ago. It was a little over $600. I'm in the exurbs of Chicago.

I'm in mid-MI, so I'm not even that far away. Crazy how prices vary.

Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#437

Post by ikjasdlk2234 »

NalNezumi wrote: post #143
candybar wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, suicidal attempts are often impulsive, so any barrier (in this case literally) even if it's relatively easy to get around, reduces suicide rates. Here's another study, this time on firearms: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/06/handgun-owner... > The researchers found that people who owned handguns had rates of suicide that were nearly four times higher than people living in the same neighborhood who d…

This makes me wonder more about the idea of legalizing assisted (pain-free) suicide, with the caveat that the process needs a lengthy evaluation time (background check for no coercion, mental evaluation etc). I wonder if it would have the opposite effect, reducing suicide rate by picking up the people so hopeless they would've just jumped a bridge/bought a gun if the option of peaceful suicide didn't exist.

Vermont passed a law like this in 2013, designed to help those with incurable diseases choose when to pass. Vermont Public Radio recently did a good podcast on it.

https://www.vermontpublic.org/podcast/brave-little-state/202...

Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#438

Post by rendx »

heyoni wrote: post #159
oooyay wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was lucky enough to own a house next to the vet clinic that ended up being my first dogs final veterinarian. Her sickness was very gradual; a boil grew on her neck and started aspirating blood, she became anemic, and somewhat lethargic. I supplemented her diet as the vet walked me through everything I could possibly do and was willing to afford. She gave me her number to text when weird things happened with the cav…

I think one of the worst things about society right now is we don’t share the burden amongst ourselves. The dirty work so to speak is delegated to specialists and our hands stay completely clean. I’m not saying pet owners should euthanize their animals but staying there in the room while the vet did their work probably helped, and the article mentions that owners leaving is part of the problem.

Generally speaking, I think it's totally okay to try and align interests. I know people who feel a lot of gratitude to be able to accompany people through hard times, and would never want to call that "dirty work".

Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#439

Post by [deleted] »

hotnfresh wrote: post #149
TehShrike wrote: post #125

I grew up on a farm. We lost a couple sheep. We had at least 3 different dogs over the time I lived there. We had a swarm of cats that came and went. We had a baby goat that died from tetanus, that was rough to watch. At least most of the chickens that died were because we butchered them. Animals die. It sucks, but way less than a human dying. Maybe life would be easier for vets if their customers had a more temporal…

I also grew up “country”, descending from a long line of rednecks. I think growing up around livestock and farm-pets (cats belong in the barn and are basically disposable…) leads to a super-different relationship with animals from what city folk have. Being around, and dealing, a lot more death. Doesn’t hit one as hard as people who didn’t have that experience.

[deleted]

Re: A suicide crisis among veterinarians

#440

Post by idontknoworcare »

zvmaz wrote: post #322

Are the people who profess to be animal lovers eat meat? There's a certain hypocrisy in caring for pets and disregarding the animals we kill by the billions for our palates, and cruelly [1]. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/02/sufferin... P.S. I am not disparaging the suffering of veterinarians.

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