Sophie’s Legacy has launched a new campaign to highlight the mental health crisis within the veterinary profession called ‘LOST’.

The campaign will see posters with the title ‘LOST’ and a photo of Dr Sophie Putland, a veterinarian who took her own life in 2021, plastered on the back of buses and in busy public areas throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, in an effort to “help save the people who save our animals”.

Garry and Kate Putland, and Sophie’s brothers Tom and Oliver, established the charity in 2022 after surveying vets, vet nurses and other veterinary staff to find out what needed to be done to address the mental health crisis within the profession.

“The results were so shocking – we heard from just under 600 people working in the field and far too many reported being subjected to regular client abuse by pet owners.

“Vets like Sophie get into the profession because of their love for animals and their compassion for them and since Sophie’s death, we have been shocked by just how widespread the problem is and the horrific toll it is taking,” said Garry Putland.

Following a 2023 campaign title ‘We’re Only Human’, the ‘LOST’ campaign is on a far bigger scale, explained Putland, with hundreds of the charity’s supporters handing out LOST flyers at train stations and in busy public places.

“We are so grateful to our supporters who are helping us shine a light on this issue. Sophie’s Legacy is quite literally saving the lives of the people who save our animals.”

“It looks like a lost pet poster that you might see on a bus stop or at the shops, but tragically it’s a lost vets poster, with information about the suicide and mental health crisis within the profession.”

Putland said that although he and his family continue to endure immense grief, they are determined to lobby governments at all levels and the industry itself to enact lifesaving changes.

“Veterinary professionals need greater support to deal with what is a highly emotional workplace. Pets are like family and when a family member is sick, emotions run high. There is no Medicare for pets – like there is for us humans – and that often results in bill shock which can lead to client abuse.

“The veterinary profession needs a major overhaul to address these stresses, as well as others that are brought on by unrealistic treatment time targets at some clinics and excessive hours.”

Putland said that Sophie’s Legacy wants to make sure young people who want to work in the veterinary profession actually pursue it, with the knowledge that they will be cared for just as much as the animals are cared for.

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