After sending a sympathy card to a family friend, Amy Hess, DVM, MSc, was surprised at the friend’s positive reaction to it and her own mother’s astonishment at its power. She then realized how little those outside the veterinary profession understand what vets do and the emotional weight they carry each day.
At the same time, Dr. Hess hit an unexpected milestone. In just 20 years after graduating from veterinary school, she’d written more than 10,000 sympathy cards. She hasn’t stopped thinking about how the industry can improve since.
Source: The Recovery Room, LinkedIn, September 15, 2026. Link. And now that I am becoming more vocal about moral distress and moral injury in veterinary medicine, the most common reaction I get is some version of, “Wow, your job must be so hard because of all the euthanasia.” It is an understandable assumption. But it is not the whole story. And I want to gently, respectfully, set the record straight.
It is the endless accumulation of moments where you know exactly what the right thing is and something outside of you (finances, policy, a client’s refusal, an understaffed floor) makes it impossible.
Editor’s note
Amy Hess, DVM, MSc, is the founder of The Moral Vet, where she works to raise awareness of moral injury in veterinary medicine and helps teams mitigate burnout through open conversation, leadership development and communication training. Her perspective is grounded in more than 20 years in emergency, urgent care, general practice and medical director roles across New England, and she still practices as a relief veterinarian. Look for her upcoming contributions to the Animal Health Digest Bulletin.
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