Female veterinarians have a suicide rate 3.5 times the national average.

Having a dog can extend a single person's life

From Health Day 11/17/17

FRIDAY, Nov. 17, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Here's to keeping your health on a tight leash: New research suggests that having a dog might boost a single person's life span.

The study tracked more than 3.4 million Swedes, middle-aged and older, for 12 years. All were free of heart disease at the beginning of the study.

The researchers reported that dog owners who lived alone were 11 percent less likely to die of heart disease and a third less likely to die from any cause, compared with those who lived alone and didn't have a dog.

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Veterinary social work opens outlet for grief, emotional stress

From the Pittsburg Post-Gazette on July 3, 2017

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The veterinarian side

Every day, five to 12 euthanasias are performed at PVSEC, the region’s largest specialty and emergency veterinary center, seeing several hundred cases a day. The number of euthanasias is high because many pet owners cannot afford the complex medical intervention needed to save a pet’s life.

“It’s hard when they know the animal can be fixed but the process can’t be paid for by the family,” Ms. Harbert said.

The American Veterinary Medical Association, based in Illinois, reports that 1 in 6 vets struggle with thoughts of suicide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that veterinarians have a four times higher suicide rate than the general public and are two times more likely to commit suicide than dentists and medical doctors.

“We see the sickest cases, so its hard for us as doctors and nurses everyday to see deaths. We are sad every time,” said Christine Guenther, a PVSEC veterinarian.

As a result, some PVSEC veterinarians suffer from compassion fatigue, burnout and ethical exhaustion when trying to come up with an alternative way to save a pet, given an owner’s financial constraints.

“You empathize so much with patients that you take on the burden and it takes a toll on you,” said Michael San Filippo, spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Ms. Harbert works with the veterinarian staff to emotionally process the cause of a pet’s death and help staff members cope with their own grief. She assesses how individuals are acting and then helps them reach a stable emotional state.

Training for this counseling is not typically taught in vet school.

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Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Are You a Cat Person or Dog Person? University of California Television (UCTV) (Visit: http://www.uctv.tv/) A web-based survey of more than 1,000 pet owners nationwide analyzed the key personality traits and nurturing styles of people who identified as a “cat person,” a “dog person,” “both” or “neither.” Surprisingly perhaps, those who expressed the greatest affection for their pets also rated among the most conscientious and neurotic, suggesting that the qualities that make for overbearing parents might work better for our domesticated canine and feline companions, who tend to require lifelong parenting. The research was conducted by UC Berkeley and California State University, East Bay. Mikel Delgado, a doctoral student in psychology at UC Berkeley co-authored the study. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Show ID: 29308]