A DAY N THE LIFE OF A VET: A Vulnerable Vlog 

Oh Bolu, this was such a beautiful video and perfectly captures all the emotions we go through as vets ): Sending you all the support and hugs💛🌈

We lost our pup, Gus, this past December. Much like you, our vet grieved with us and sent a card with his footprint. So many times, that card gives me comfort when the memories overwhelm me. Thank you for all you do and the kindness you show. I’m sure it means so much to your patient’s families. I know it’s hard.💚

Your vet tech, assistant, HOD, whomever she is was amazing! Letting it out because you don’t want to be another statistic.

Thank you so, so much for all that you do. I have been on the receiving end of those cards when I had to make that hardest of choices, and it helped, it really did. To see the love and care that you gave to those families who were grieving the loss of a beloved family member was extraordinary. Thank you… I want you to know how much we appreciate that care and kindness xx

When I was a teenager, I gave up on becoming a vet because someone really important to me thought it was a bad idea; it appeared to this person that being a vet wasn't a career that would help me in any way, and that animals didn't need more attention than people. I felt pressured to please this person, and I wasn't getting the academic help I needed to tackle the sciences (except Biology) anyway... so I gave up. In my late teens, I revisited the idea and tried again, but I still struggled with the sciences. I was very depressed due to various life issues too, so I stopped trying in school and got atrocious grades in my exams. I tried to console myself by saying that "maybe I couldn't handle being a vet anyway; I might be too squeamish for some situations, and my empathy for animals is too high and would get in the way of my professionalism". Well. In the following years, I still had interactions with animals in my day to day life. I eventually got a puppy (and she's still with me today, having been a mother to a few litters even)... and, unsurprisingly, I still love animals a whole lot! I've found myself wishing I at least had the skills and knowledge to nurse my dog back to perfect health in the (relatively rare) occasions where she needs medical attention, and also to help the strays I see everywhere in my country. There are many cats in my current neighbourhood, some feral and some just friendly strays. Three of them usually stayed in the yard of my next-door neighbour, and they'd pass through my own backyard from time to time. The little orange one* returned with a limp after we had a one-day hurricane, then he disappeared around a month later - most likely due to bad injuries from a particularly aggressive tom cat who wants to dominate the territory 🥲 The other two cats were both black - a male and a female. I bawled my eyes out on my bedroom floor just a couple weeks ago because I saw a couple neighbours taking away the female's limp, dying body one evening. I didn't find out what had happened, but it appears that she had been badly injured and was slowly passing away in someone's yard. I only heard the two people saying "Poor thing. She's not going to make it long". I never even formed a relationship with that cat. She's passed by my back verandah several times, and she had only recently started walking closer... even sometimes "loafing" on the little mat that we wiped out shoes on before stepping inside. I caught a video of her staring at me from that spot. It was the second time she had stopped and regarded me with some sort of curiosity, not running away or even making a sound... just staring at me. I'm sorry for all this rambling. I've been noticing that I'm still mourning that cat, and the situation reawakened my feelings about being a vet. I just kept thinking on that evening... "if only I could reach to where they put her body", "if only I were the one who had discovered her". Things like this. It's not that I didn't get some sort of closure; I think I did, because I don't believe it was a person who had hurt her (for what it's worth). But I just wish I had more power, you know? More reach. I've watched too many animals suffer. When I was a kid, there were more opportunities to help but I was prevented from helping supposedly because I was a kid - and the only adults around me at the time didn't use their own power to help, and it all hurts me so much to this day. It haunts me, it breaks my heart. We don't have enough vets and shelters out here either, and so many people here disregard the value of animals' lives. I'm so sad... But you know, I feel really grateful for the work that veterinarians do. Thank you so much for taking on this duty... I'm sorry for the hardships, but it's also comforting to know that your empathy lives on throughout it all. This is a part of our job as human beings; we need to help animals, and our environment. No matter what anyone says, these are core responsibilities for us. Only we can do these things to such great extents. We need more people to take on roles like this. Thank you for your hard work and for the tears you've cried for these precious lives. Thank you. Bless your hearts, sincerely 💙 _(P.S. I'm definitely an ugly crier, so there would be no consolation for me in that respect haha)_

omgg the sweetest dog, you're doing the world such a good deed sir, mad respect, and yes it can get emotional, let it out!

Dear Bolu, thank u so much for being such an awesome vet. Thank u for ur kind heart and soul, ur empathy and for showing love to every single soul that walks through ur door 🫶🏿 🐾💚🐾

Sending you lots of love and strength, losing a family member is never easy. The reminder of it everyday isn’t easy, I pray you find peace and comfort knowing you’re making the process easier for everyone around you. You are a blessing ❤

So so so much love for you and all that you do. You and all your colleagues ❤ I don't know how you manage! ❤

What a lovely thing to do for your family’s pets, those cards and pomes will make all the diffrance ❤ to some people there pets are all the family they have like me mine are my family.

You are a very soulful person ❤. We need more of you in the practice !!! My vet has become very detached over his greater than 30 year practice along with great personal losses including his wife from cancer. I can see the untamed grief in his eyes. Grief takes a toll on all of us. The important thing is to find the time to let it out and not shut it out. It can turn one to stone and keep us from experiencing the good in life. As a 45 year health care provider, we must NEVER loose our humanity✨.

Also as someone who has lost many pets, those cards mean the world and I feel so badly for the vets when I can tell they're holding back. Cry with us. We all need each other and it shows they're loved.

Thank you for this video and the difficult work you do.

This one broke me 💔 you all do such an amazing job! ❤You all have so much empathy! Dr Bolu you are an amazing vet! It is good to cry and let it all out we are only human after all😊

Bless you. We love you.

I m a vet student. And im really stressed out about how I will Handle large dogs. My dog can take off his muzzle. I ve started to think that this field is not for me because I have an anxiety when I have to handle aggressive patients. Is this smth normal or is just me ?

9 in 4 days is alot! Take it easy - I book a massage and then go to the cinema alone, order two Ginger and peach TRIP CBD drinks and just ease into the film. It helps alot

My youngest daughter is in veterinary school...