The best friend of a young vet who killed himself while working at his ‘dream job’ has revealed the extraordinary pressures people in the field face.
Flynn Hargreaves was working as a vet in London when he took his own life in 2018 at the age of 27.
His best friend, Jack Levitt, has since dedicated his time to raising awareness about the hardships vets face through his foundation, Flynn’s Walk.
Mr Levitt described Flynn as a “colourful and vibrant character” who “absolutely loved being a vet”.
“He was an incredibly smart man and a very confident person and surrounded himself with good people and good energy,” he said 7News.
“He had his challenges in life, like everyone else, and I don’t think anyone really understood the depth of those challenges.”
Flynn Hargreaves (above) took his own life at the age of 27 while working his ‘dream job’ as a vet in London
Mr Hargreaves’ best friend, Jack Levitt, founded the Flynn’s Walk foundation to raise awareness of vet mental health (pictured, a dog at a Flynn’s Walk event)
On average, one Australian veterinarian takes his own life every twelve weeks Australian Veterinary Association reports.
Vets are four times more likely to die by suicide than the general population, with men at a higher risk than women.
They are also at double the risk compared to other medical professions.
“Common causes of stress in veterinarians include working more than 50 hours per week, dealing with difficult clients and problems with interpersonal relationships,” the AVA said on its website.
‘The sources of stress for veterinary students and recent graduates may be very different from those of established veterinarians, but research into this is limited.’
Many veterinarians, like Flynn (above), face severe stress at work, with factors such as extreme work hours, difficult patients, pet euthanasia, and exhaustion contributing to a high suicide rate.
Flynn’s Walk has held walks (one above) in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth and Toowoomba and raised thousands of dollars for mental health charities
Other leading causes of suicide in the veterinary field include compassion fatigue, euthanizing animals and exhaustion.
In addition to these stressors, veterinarians also earn significantly less than other medical professions.
“They train just as long as a general practitioner or a dentist and make significantly less money, even though they come out of college with a similar debt burden,” Levitt said.
Mr Levitt started Flynn’s Walk shortly after his friend’s death in an effort to unite communities and raise awareness about vet mental health.
The foundation has held walks in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart, Perth and Toowoomba, where supporters are encouraged to bring their pets for a walk.
The events have raised thousands of dollars for various charities, including RU OK? and love your pet, love your vet.
Levitt said Flynn’s Walk reminds people to be kind to their vets.
Flynn’s Walk helps raise awareness of vet mental health and encourages pet owners to be kind to their vet (photo, Flynn Hargreaves)
‘For us, going to the vet is perhaps the biggest stressful event in your life that week or month. But the vet or the nurse will experience hundreds of these stressful situations in a short period of time,” he said.
“By pausing and taking a moment to say, “this is stressful and this is upsetting me,” we can remember that it is another human being on the other side of the table.”
For confidential 24-hour support in Australia, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.