The Cost of Caring

The Cost of Caring is a documentary about the high incidence of veterinarian suicide rates in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Veterinary Medical Association published a joint study in 2019 indicating that veterinarians were more likely to die by suicide as compared to the general U.S. population. Men were 2.1 times more likely and for women, it was worse at 3.5 times. The researchers cited multiple stressors that may play a role: the daily demands at work which include euthanizing pets, burnout, compassion fatigue, poor work-life balance, and being cyber bullied and vilified by pet owners for not meeting their expectations. This film delves into those issues and explores those factors in the pet med industry today.

Distributed by American Public Television, The Cost of Caring can be seen in 95% of broadcast PBS markets across the United States as well as streams on PBS online. It is also available VOD on Vimeo and Amazon Prime in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and other territories.

To learn more, visit the film’s website: www.thecostofcaring.com

Credits:

Marie Barnas, Executive Producer/Director

Frank Barnas, Executive Producer

Cacey Frazier, Associate Producer

The Cost of Caring is made possible in part by Dr. Bob Murtaugh, R.W. and Julie Weaver, and others. A complete list is available at APTonline.org