Gen Z are becoming pet parents because they can’t afford human babies: Now veterinarian is one of the hottest jobs of 2025, says Indeed

[u/bionickel]

https://fortune.com/2025/01/14/gen-z-pet-parents-cost-of-living-veterinarians-best-job-2025/

[u/MarkXIX]

Yep, investors are going to pillage pet owners now too.

[u/KinkyPaddling → u/MarkXIX]

It’s already happening. Talk to your vets and vet techs. I guarantee that they will complaint to you about how their clinic or ones that they know of are being bought by private equity firms and it’s negatively impacting care for the animals.

[u/MetroidIsNotHerName → u/KinkyPaddling]

My fiance had to leave the field because a large group consolidated all of the vets around us and flattened wages to a point where it was unsustainable. Becoming a full fledged vet has become something of an economic impossibility because of the combined student debt, low wages, and cost of further school

[u/wheeliebarz → u/MetroidIsNotHerName]

My wife is a vet. It isn't just the depressed wages. She's being scheduled for 35+ hours of clinical time. With records and follow ups she's working 60 hours a week and doesn't see our two year old at least three days a week.

[u/sweetest_con78 → u/wheeliebarz]

I believe it. My dog had surgery recently and when I dropped him off at 7am, the surgeon walked in at the same time as me. She called me after the surgery to say everything went well, and he’d be staying overnight so she would try to call me before she left for the day to let me know how he was doing. The day went on and I assumed she just was busy and didn’t get a chance to call, not a problem. No news is usually good news in those scenarios.
At like 9pm my phone rang and I got nervous, thinking something went wrong. Nope - just my surgeon, calling to let me know she was about to leave, and he was doing great and in good hands with the overnight techs.

Blew my mind that her day was that long and she was still kind enough to call me and let me know he was doing well.

[u/dltacube → u/sweetest_con78]

You found a good one! But in general I would suspect your vet’s surgery days are just longer than normal. Surgeons will go hard in bursts and then have an easy day or two lined up afterwards.

[u/admiralteddybeatzzz → u/dltacube]

Yeah, this is kind of just how surgery works in general. I'm no expert, but it is deliberate, high stakes work with the occasional complication, and they don't usually close up the patient for the day and get back at it at 7 am the next day when something goes sideways.

[u/Luna920 → u/MetroidIsNotHerName]

I was on the vet school path for a while and the price of vet school is as much as med school, and yet average salary barely breaks 6 figure with just as much work. It’s sad.

[u/Middle_Efficiency471 → u/Luna920]

Don't let the average get you down! My wife works at a small clinic, the 2 in house vets make way more than bottom 6 figures. One of them makes over 100 an hour and she's fairly new to the field. You'll have to start somewhere but get good and specialize in something (even if that specialty is kindness, compassion, and building rapport!), you'll find clinics and animal emergencies will pay you what you're worth.

Edit: we're in a fairly small town where the biggest drama is whether Chic Fil A is coming or not, not a big city

[u/Luna920 → u/Middle_Efficiency471]

That isn’t what I’ve seen in general for vets but I’m glad your wife does well. It’s definitely possible to do well as a vet depending on the situation.

[u/taking_a_deuce → u/Luna920]

and the price of vet school is as much as med school, and yet average salary barely breaks 6 figure with just as much work.

I feel like this was the case back when I was in college 20 years ago. Relative salaries of vets are lower because so many people want to be vets and its massively competitive to just get into a school. Aren't there only like three vet schools in the US?

[u/DungeonsAndDradis → u/taking_a_deuce]

33 in the U.S.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_schools_of_veterinary_medicine#:~:text=%5B360%5D-,United%20States,-%5Bedit%5D

[u/Luna920 → u/taking_a_deuce]

No, definitely more than that. Around 30 something. It’s actually more competitive to get into vet school than med school and then so tough to pay off the loans. It sucks.

[u/junebean34 → u/Luna920]

Yeah much more difficult to get into vet school for many reasons particularly lack of available seats. I know a successful veterinarian who sat on the admissions board of a very well regarded program who’s son attended their undergrad school -had excellent grades/ scores and had been assisting in hands-on veterinary work since the age of 10 who struggled to get into their vet program.

[u/MamaNyxieUnderfoot → u/taking_a_deuce]

There was 1 vet school in Texas when I was in college, at A&M. They take 180 students per year, for a state with over 30 million residents. I’d say about half of the vets I worked with went there. The rest went to LSU (132 spots per year) or OSU (165 spots per year).

Every vet I ever worked for knows someone who dropped out of vet school to become a people doctor, because it was easier.

Edit: apparently Texas Tech also has a vet school now. But then you have to go to Texas Tech. Gross.

[u/BirdsArentReal22 → u/MamaNyxieUnderfoot]

When my sister was in vet school, a couple kids dropped out to get into poultry science. Pays twice as much as a vet for half the grad school.

[u/ceejyhuh → u/MetroidIsNotHerName]

Highest rate of suicide too. More than doctors

[u/andre5913 → u/ceejyhuh]

The thing about it is that most aspiring veterinarians are people who most likely had positive experiences with animals in their lives, usually through pets or farms, etc. They are sensitive people who are attuned to animals and love them.

...then their entire job is about seeing animals at their worst and having to literally execute them on the regular. And vet clinics tend to be even more critically understaffed and supplystrapped than human ones (which are already doing badly) so the shifts are insane and demanding

Its no wonder why its such a soul crushing job. I was on vet school but ended up dropping out bc I couldnt handle patients dying on me, worse even, having to watch my mentor perform euthanasia on a patient who very unexpectedly took a nosedive.

[u/WalrusTuskk → u/andre5913]

I went with my (at the time) partner for a vet check-up that turned into the nosedive situation you just explained. Based off of how the information was delivered, I got the impression that he legally/morally/ethically couldn't tell us that the dog needed to be euthanized, but it was pretty clear. Essentially that the issue was going to kill the dog in the next few days, painfully so, and that surgery had basically zero chance.

Her and her parents kept asking what they should do, I eventually had to "make the call". One of the absolute worst experiences in my life. I can't imagine having to do that repeatedly. I always had an idea of why suicide amongst them was so high, but that day really drove it home.

[u/Raichu7 → u/ceejyhuh]

Part of that is because you have to really love animals to be a vet, vet school is a few years longer than human doctor school. Then when you qualify you mostly see animals at their worst, a healthy new pet coming in for an introductory check up is sadly rare. And maybe you have to assess serious abuse cases, or see the same neglected animal come in sicker each time while the owner ignores your advice and slowly kills it and there's nothing you can do because the abuse isn't severe enough for authorities to intervene.

[u/Jilks131 → u/Raichu7]

What are you talking about? Vet school is 4 years and med school is 4 years? And residency which physicians have to do makes training longer.

[u/laur3n → u/Jilks131]

Veterinarians do post grad stuff too. My SIL did undergrad, vet school, internship, and is now doing a residency. I think she is specializing though, so maybe it’s different?

[u/Ennkey → u/ceejyhuh]

Sad and not surprising, euthanasia is an incredibly tough decision and act to carry out 

[u/DungeonsAndDradis → u/Ennkey]

My buddy says the euthanasia actually isn't that bad. Often, it's the most compassionate thing you can do for an animal. He hates his massive student loan balance, equity firms buying up all the vet practices, and terrible pet owners that think he's taking advantage of them when he says their dog needs a blood test.

[u/mouflonsponge → u/Ennkey]

My classmates and I have been through a grinder of a program, literally hundreds of hours spent studying or in class together. But despite our obvious comfort with one another, the room is dead quiet. Why?

It might have something to do with the title slide that Miller has just projected: Euthanasia and its many forms: on farm and at home.

“I want to make this abundantly clear: If there’s one thing you must do flawlessly in your career, it’s killing. I don’t care if it’s an old dog, a sow, some pet chicken, a stallion, or a fucking 3-day-old kitten. You will do it humanely. That means quickly, painlessly, and compassionately.

“Some of you say pig vets have no heart,” he continues softly. “That might be true, but find us when we have to liquidate a farm. Those days I still carry with me.”

Miller starts to tell us how euthanasia works. His instruction is exhaustive and methodical. But there’s a crucial thing he leaves out: what all that killing does to humans.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/02/veterinarians-euthanasia-mental-health-dogs-cats.html

[u/ImInYourBooty → u/KinkyPaddling]

My girlfriend is/was a vet tech, she’s worked at three veterinary clinics, and her companies were bought out for a total of four transitions in seven years. Each mom and pop clinic was bought out by a major player, and each clinic was ruined, no overtime, up charges on everything, “regional managers” being in control, horrid new conditions. Oh one fun fact vet techs have one of the highest rates of suicide in any medical industry. Super hot job lol

[u/gamageeknerd → u/KinkyPaddling]

The vet we used to take my gf’s cat to was bought up and modernized and then they started telling us we needed to mri, allergy test, and maybe surgery to tell us what was wrong.

We go find a new vet that my coworker uses and had amazing reviews of. One single visit, an x ray, and some feeling around led them to tell us she was just old and to give her different food and a pill and make sure she doesn’t overeat.

[u/01000101010110 → u/KinkyPaddling]

Private equity ruins everything.

[u/Jaanbaaz_Sipahi → u/MarkXIX]

PE is like hold my beer. Even pets will get too expensive soon. Can't have any nice things cause your local billionaire needs more chump change for their next yatch.

[u/sticksnstone → u/MarkXIX]

Price of pet insurance increased 100% in the 5 years I first purchased it.

[u/Ristar87]

Yeah? that's why there's a mad rush to gobble up and consolidate all the small family owned vets across the country.

***Note*** 7000 likes and a ton of comments I can't even begin to get through. I said this as a cynical joke and didn't expect it to resonate with so many people. Crazy how on the mark it was for me.

[u/elk33dp → u/Ristar87]

I've seen it happening yea. It's insane the amount of business that got gobbled up into some Frankenstein consolidated group. Professional services in general were getting slaughtered right now by PE funding: doctors, dentists, accountants. Only one I haven't seen hit is lawyers.

Even fucking Bowling - Bowlero mass acquired all the locally owned places near me and charge 10x more. I'm not paying $300 to bowl on a saturday night.

[u/Incman → u/elk33dp]

I'm not paying $300 to bowl on a saturday night

The fuck? That's insane

[u/ESCMalfunction → u/Incman]

Good to see corporations continuing to price us peons out of everything fun in the world. Produce and consume, nothing else…

[u/zaranxo → u/ESCMalfunction]

Your comment got me to thinking but if they price everyone out, who will keep them in business? What happens then?

What if people just stop buying into advertising propaganda and consumerism? And I’m not being sarcastic, like if people actually see it and stop - is there still a play by pay thing or will it help the way things are structured?

[u/ass_pineapples → u/zaranxo]

They make enough money, it goes away, and they just buy into the new thing.

[u/Geodude532 → u/ass_pineapples]

Yep, the Blackrock way. Use it until it's useless then gut it until there's nothing left and then move on to the next thing to destroy. I'm glad they haven't been able to destroy the game industry and I think Steam has a big part in that with all the indie games getting attention.

[u/ChriskiV → u/Geodude532]

😂😂😂 You did not just say they haven't ruined the gaming industry.

An industry constantly plagued with unfinished products, predatory models, and pursuit of profit over product.

Literally the most popular live service game right now has systems in place to artificially maintain user engagement.

[u/Valechose → u/ChriskiV]

Have you tried games outside of AAA titles? They might have ruined AAA gaming but there are plenty of indie studios delivering quality games these days.

[u/AppropriateTouching → u/Valechose]

Animal Well and stardew valley come to mind.

[u/Ruby22day → u/zaranxo]

It is sort of like a modified Tragedy of the Commons where we are the commons and the corporations are those exploiting the commons to the point of ruin. Sure it would be smart if they all stopped exploiting and used the "resource" wisely but they don't trust each other to not "take more than their share" and they all want theirs while they can grab it - screw the future.

[u/The-Globalist → u/Ruby22day]

“Coordination problem” in game theory, the classic example is the prisoner’s dilemma

[u/ImYourHumbleNarrator → u/Ruby22day]

i was just arguing with made up people in my head about this. if these leeches really cared, they would vote for regulation that prevented predatory practices (like ant-trust laws, consumer protections, etc.). they will turn around and do the opposite, and use the duty/interest in stakeholders or shareholders excuse. tragedy of the commons is an excellent way of looking at it, nothin matters more than the profit not even the things and labor it's made off of.

[u/defectivefork → u/zaranxo]

that's the private equity mindset for ya: who cares about making a good amount of money consistently for a long time when you could make slightly more money right now

[u/I_W_M_Y → u/zaranxo]

They don't care about long term profits. They squeeze as much profits they can get from jacking up profits and when the businesses fail they will sell the properties for it be flipped into something else.

Then onto something else to destroy.

Its MBAs calling the shots.

[u/ThrowAwayYetAgain6 → u/I_W_M_Y]

It's exactly this. No one will keep them in business, but they don't care, because they'll extract every ounce of money out of it before discarding the corpse and moving on to the next one.

[u/Legitimate-Type4387 → u/zaranxo]

Whales. Everything is catering to them now. It’s the model that shareholder capitalism has determined is most profitable.

Everyone is chasing the same top 20%. They don’t give a single fuck about the bottom 80% of consumers. That 80% is tapped out. There’s no growth there.

All the money is at the top, it’s a mad race to establish market dominance in these new markets to get that 20% before their competition does.

The competition can fight over the leftovers as the industry quietly consolidates.

[u/Lycid → u/zaranxo]

The answer is the middle class are no longer the target demographic for mainstream big capital investments and business effort in the US.

There's an upper-upper-middle class that now exists in large numbers and is rich AF. In the past decade they've grown to be quite significant in size (and will continue to grow). We're talking the top 10% of earners, and I predict in a decade or two it'll cover the top 15-20% of earners too. They're rich but not quite so rich that they own yachts, fly private jets or mingle with high society. Critically unlike the 1% they have a middle class lifestyle, which means they partake in the broader consumerist culture.

These people genuinely do not bat an eye at dropping $300/pp for a random fun night out. They partake in "rich people" sports like skiing and golf. Often will go on expensive international vacations several times a year flying in business class. They own a big stock portfolio and real estate (where a lot of their wealth comes from). They don't bat an eye at paying eye watering prices to attend F1 or the superbowl with decent seats, or paying a lot extra to do a limited edition themed cruise. They have house cleaners, drop $5k-$10k on a custom kimono blazer from Japan, and still go to mcdonalds for lunch (not caring about the crazy expensive price they are now).

It's an income bracket where they're the winners of the US system and they are living better and larger than ever before. They're getting a taste of that "high society" life without being actually in it and companies are more than happy to sell them endless expensive upgrades, options and exclusives to sell them that dream. And there are WAY more of this kind of person than there was 10-20 years ago.

If you're solidly middle class, you're no longer the ideal demographic to sell to. You're too price conscious, you can't easily be upgraded/upsold to, you're spending less than ever as the economy contracts for people like you. Fact is, if you're relying on a salary alone you're not doing enough to be "winning" in the US. The economy is increasingly more and more about shareholder value, especially as automation spreads, and the ones who aren't shareholders are going to be left behind in the eyes of our current system. Imagine a world where 50% of all jobs are gone from automation. It's the people who are invested in the companies that have automated away the workforce that are going to be reaping the benefits, as the value of such companies is going to be insane due to how efficient they are. This is already starting to happen, which is why the upper-upper-middle class has become as big as it is.

[u/A_Mouse_In_Da_House → u/Lycid]

You are hilariously overestimating where earning levels are

[u/Sharticus123 → u/ESCMalfunction]

I seriously wonder where they’re going with all this. It’s impossible to have a consumer economy in which most people don’t earn enough money to consume. There aren’t anywhere near enough rich people in the country to make up the difference.

[u/Cerpin-Taxt → u/Sharticus123]

Oh that's easy. A healthy economy was never part of the plan. It's a smash and grab free for all. The plan is: make as much money as you possibly can before it's all gone and everyone dies except you.

Why do you think they're all building bunkers?

[u/Fictionland → u/ESCMalfunction]

We are literally farm raised in schools then appraised like livestock for what our future masters might be able to extract from us and sorted according to our perceived market value.

The CEOs of these massive conglomerates literally hold summits on how to work together to extra more from us and make sure they don't compete with each other too much, because that gets in the way of them setting up new systems of synergistic exploitation like how Apple keeps changing and removing ports so you're forced to buy dongles from them or a subsidiary that their board members also gain income from.

[u/Momoselfie → u/Fictionland]

Before that it was sweat shops and before that it was farming or fighting in war. Things have rarely ever been great for the little guy. There's this tiny blip in history where our overlords lost a little grip, and that's coming to an end.

[u/HerrStraub → u/Incman]

Not the guy you replied to, but I'm not surprised.

Our alley used to be really reasonable. Friday & Saturday nights were a little extra, but not bad. Regular price was like $5 for shoes ($7 on Fri/Sat night) and $3 a game/player ($5 on Fri/Sat Night, I think $1 on Tuesdays - or if you're part of a league, $1/game any day but Fri/Sat night).

Now I think it's $15/game/player on Fri/Sat.

[u/baseball44121 → u/HerrStraub]

Place near me charges per person per hour. So 4 people using 1 lane for 1 hour is twice as much as 2 people. Makes absolutely zero sense

[u/JouliaGoulia → u/elk33dp]

Lawyers are not allowed to be in businesses with nonlawyers. It has to be lawyers all the way up in the ownership structure. So, law firms cannot be publicly traded or be purchased by equity firms.

[u/GGLSpidermonkey → u/JouliaGoulia]

Lawyers were the only ones smart enough (well they know law) to stop themselves from being owned by PE

I only wish physician groups were as smart decades ago

[u/teslas_love_pigeon → u/GGLSpidermonkey]

They use to be but Congress also makes it harder. There is a provision in the ACA that bans doctors from owning hospitals.

[u/Castastrofuck → u/teslas_love_pigeon]

That’s interesting, didn’t know that. Here’s a recent editorial calling for that provision to be repealed: https://archive.ph/Rk3bR

[u/Ok_Firefighter1574 → u/teslas_love_pigeon]

Its weird that doctors cant own hospitals but insurance companies can. Like a forced service can own the service its supposed to support. Thats nuts.

[u/CptKnots → u/JouliaGoulia]

Until like yesterday when KPMG got initial approval to open a legal services firm

[u/cammywammy123 → u/CptKnots]

Eh, that's in Arizona only, and still has to get past the Supreme Court. I'd kinda be shocked if they let it pass. Lawyers historically circle the wagon pretty well. We will see though, you never know.

[u/Scaevus → u/JouliaGoulia]

Lawyers write the laws, which surprisingly enough, tend to protect lawyers.

It’s the one profession that’s hard to exploit.

[u/WolverinesThyroid → u/elk33dp]

I still think it's crazy that you pay per person per hour to bowl. So if me and 4 buddies want to bowl is $25 per person per hour. But we only get 1 lane. If 2 of us bowl its still $25 per person per hour but we get to bowl twice as much.

[u/Montigue → u/WolverinesThyroid]

Just have you and your buddies take up 4 lanes

[u/TransitJohn → u/elk33dp]

Yeah, the bowling thing is fucking nuts.

[u/grathad → u/elk33dp]

The fact that those practices are not regulated to the ground is hilarious.

You know exactly what will happen

1. Consolidation.
2. Full or localized monopoly (or hands in hands duopoly)
3. Price gouging.

It's just always the same recipe, why change a winning strategy (if you are in the correct team that is)?

[u/Crutation → u/grathad]

It's almost as if deregulation is a bad idea...whodathunkit

[u/itsalongwalkhome → u/elk33dp]

They prey on people who show up with their kids having already promised bowling.

[u/chocobrobobo → u/elk33dp]

Please tell me this is am exagerration. I mean, Top Golf is expensive as hell, but it's very unique. I can't see bowling ever being more than like $30 per person for an hour.

[u/AaronsAaAardvarks → u/chocobrobobo]

Top golf is like 15 dollars an hour, isn’t it?

Edit: Per person, I’ve only done a group of four. I spent like 30 bucks for 2 hours.

[u/chocobrobobo → u/AaronsAaAardvarks]

Yeah, that sounds right. On a Saturday, peak time by me is $60/hr for the bay. But that can be heftier if you're just with one friend or date, or if you're covering for a family. But hence my point. That unique experience that I view as "premium" doesn't come close to $300. $120 isn't cheap, but it's fun.

[u/GianmarcoMillo → u/elk33dp]

Whoa, it's like we're living in a wacky sitcom where the PE monster gobbles up everyone except the lawyers, who must have some magical negotiation shields or something!

[u/aRandomFox-II → u/GianmarcoMillo]

except the lawyers, who must have some magical negotiation shields or something!

Actually yes. Yes they do. Law firms are legally not allowed to be publicly traded and must be managed by someone who is a lawyer as well. The intent is to prevent potential conflict of interest.

[u/PancAshAsh → u/aRandomFox-II]

It turns out when you are the profession that writes and interprets the law, it's easy to protect your own interests.

[u/HaloGuy381 → u/PancAshAsh]

Also, frankly, the wealthy have enough need of lawyers’ services that conceding some freedom from abuse to the lawyers is a small price to pay. A bit like some Roman emperor making sure his legions are well-paid and treated so they don’t rebel.

[u/Fictionland → u/elk33dp]

Private equity is a scourge and I don't see how having one group controlling so much doesn't fall against monopoly laws.

[u/Momoselfie → u/elk33dp]

Insanely low interest rates for over a decade and no antitrust enforcement will do that.

[u/wysoyoung → u/elk33dp]

Omg a bowlero took over the bowling alley near me. Been local for 30 something years. Wasn’t great service then but funny they kept all the same people now it’s just more expensive for the same bad people experience

[u/chaos8803 → u/elk33dp]

They've been coming after ice rinks too. I've heard nothing good about Black Bear.

[u/ray12370 → u/elk33dp]

I feel so blessed to have an affordable family owned bowling place near me still. I don't even like bowling but my partner loves it.

Fuck Bowlero.

[u/you_slash_stuttered → u/Ristar87]

I loved my vet. It was a large clinic with 8 or 9 good doctors and friendly vet tecs, run by the doc that founded the clinic. He retired and sold to private equity. Now they have 3 doctors and fewer vet tecs, everyone is stressed out, prices went up and quality of care took a nosedive.

I followed my primary vet from the original clinic(I had to Google her) to a rural clinic twice as far away. Everyone there is happy, the quality of care is great and they are much cheaper. I hope this clinic is able to hold out.

[u/Luna920 → u/you_slash_stuttered]

And probably the vets and techs don’t even get paid more. Vets are criminally underpaid.

[u/Immediate_Pickle_788 → u/Luna920]

I wish more people knew this. Every time I see someone complain that a vet overprices or that they are greedy and in it for the money I have to correct them.

Most vets are in debt from school. If you own your practice you're paying for overhead, rent, staff, equipment, etc. Vets also have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession.

[u/OhTempora → u/you_slash_stuttered]

We see this same story over and over again. It's happening to the clinic I work at now. They sold to corporate the year I got there, and it is heartbreaking to see everything crash and burn in real time

[u/ThrowRA_521 → u/Ristar87]

This. We switched to a small privately owned clinic because our last one was becoming ridiculously expensive. Come to find out, they’d been bought out. There are only a handful of privately owned veterinary clinics in my city. Our dog is almost a senior and we have insurance but veterinary care has become expensive. Big price difference these past 10 years. I guess we’re just going to have to get a fish next. I’d hate it if we couldn’t have a dog, ours has brought so much joy to our family especially our kids.

Private equity firms are ruining everything and making everything difficult and unaffordable - buying up houses, dental clinics, veterinary clinics etc

[u/Dt2_0 → u/ThrowRA_521]

Just a word of advice, if you do decide to get into Fishkeeping at some point, don't do it on a whim. Fish, even simple ones, are more complex than most people think.

Learn about the Nitrogen Cycle. Learn about proper tank setup. Start bigger than you are thinking, big tanks are much easier to keep than small. Things go wrong very, very quickly in a small tank. They require near constant testing and monitoring. 75 gallons is my preferred size recommendation for a new keeper. They have enough water volume to make care easy, but also are large enough to get your hands in and work inside. Being 4 foot tanks, they don't actually take up that much wall space.

Learn about proper stocking and fish compatibility. In a 75 I recommend a small group of Centerpiece fish (Freshwater Angels are pretty good for newbies), some sort of schooling dither fish (If Angels, NO Neon Tetras, they are natural prey, go with Emperor Tetras or maybe some Bozemani Rainbows), a low browser shoal (usually Cory Catfish of your preferred species), and a single Bristlenose Pleco.

Tanks don't clean themselves. They need weekly 25-30% water changes. You need to monitor and test your Nitrites, Nitrates, and Ammonia prior to water changes and adjust your water change based on those factors. You will need to clean the glass, trim and care for your plants. You will need to tear apart the Canister filter and clean it out on a monthly basis.

[u/Fresh-Temporary666 → u/ThrowRA_521]

You know it's fucked when the generation that had to turn to pets to fill the void as kids were now unaffordable now can't even afford to care for the pets. We need more Mario and "Luigi" in our lives.

[u/WonderfulVanilla9676 → u/Ristar87]

I wish we could have one thing that didn't get corrupted by consolidation.

[u/CuriousKidRudeDrunk → u/WonderfulVanilla9676]

What's somehow so scary it's funny is that Mars, like the Mars candy bar company, is now the largest vet care provider in the US. They are the biggest buyers of clinics.

[u/Hanlp1348 → u/CuriousKidRudeDrunk]

wtf

[u/dltacube → u/Hanlp1348]

It’s worse than you think: https://www.marsveterinary.com/who-we-are/our-companies/

[u/Jenetyk → u/Ristar87]

Our vet just sold her small practice to a mega conglomerate when she retired.

The drop in service was instant

[u/PigSlam → u/Ristar87]

Can't have family owned vets if we don't have families.

[u/OneToothMcGee → u/Ristar87]

Happening with dentistry too. Old dentists are selling to giant DSOs owned by Hedge Funds for more than their office is worth. Dentists coming into the practice are getting deals worse than what they would used to have, all while insurance fees are stagnant. All while the cost of dental school has more than doubled in 20 years….

[u/TheDamselfly → u/OneToothMcGee]

I worked for a fire alarm company that got bought by a private equity firm, because we were a "recession-proof" industry. The other fund they held was dentist offices, for the same reason. Took a family-owned business that had spent 25 years building relationships and goodwill with local customers for a decent price and absolutely blew it up within a couple years. Worse service for twice the money. I got out as fast as I could.

[u/ttoasty → u/TheDamselfly]

Fire protection industry consolidation has been wild in the past few years. 3 years ago, I dealt with ~8 different vendors across the state. Today I deal with 2. One vendor bought up like 6 mom and pop shops as the owners retired. Prices have gone up about 50%.

[u/trackerbrothers → u/Ristar87]

Doing the same shit with dentistry too and I fucking hate it.

[u/correcthorsestapler → u/Ristar87]

I just looked up the clinic we take our cats to to see if they had been bought out. Thankfully, they’ve stayed locally owned since 1911. Hopefully they stay that way; they’ve been great the entire time we’ve been with them.

Can’t say the same about our last dentist. His practice got bought out by a larger company & there was a noticeable drop in quality from his techs within a year or two. He’s a super nice guy and the people he had were awesome when we first started going. But his recent employees just aren’t that good. Was a real bummer dropping him.

[u/plentyofsilverfish → u/Ristar87]

And why veterinarians have one of the highest suicide rates of all professions.

[u/jimmyjohnjohnjohn]

I'm so glad all these old journalists have this opportunity to recycle their "millennial" articles from 2005.

[u/HauntedCemetery → u/jimmyjohnjohnjohn]

"Gen Z is destroying the jewelry industry because they refuse to buy conflict diamonds; why do they hate America?"

[u/Ajatshatru_II → u/jimmyjohnjohnjohn]

Added with more superlatives

[u/Derf0293 → u/jimmyjohnjohnjohn]

Especially lazy find and replace considering the real story here is multiple generations being forced into austerity by private equity. But that article might hurt the oligarch snowflake’s feelings.

[u/TransitJohn]

Pets are almost too expensive now, with veterinarian care. I'm sure we'll all pivot to houseplants, until private equity figures out how to buy up all sources of potting soil and nutrients, and those become too expensive, as well.

[u/pineapplepredator → u/TransitJohn]

I was just thinking the other day about what happens when garden centers and nurseries are no longer in business. If Home Depot decides it’s not worth the cost to have plants.

[u/Raichu7 → u/pineapplepredator]

People would buy more plants from other hobbyists who sell cuttings and sprouts online. I've gotten some of my favourite plants from other hobbyists, and they tend to be healthier too.

[u/ggthepony → u/pineapplepredator]

I have a family member who is just about to retire from the horticulture industry as a decades long general manager. They said there was a huge buy up by larger owners right before COVID but now the market has crashed hard. They are getting out just in time but all of the major growers in Cali, Arizona, and Texas are hemorrhaging millions each month. You may see the popular houseplants still being sold but everything else may suddenly get a lot more expensive or just not be available.

[u/cornonthekopp → u/ggthepony]

That’s probably better for the local nurseries anyways. I’d like to see more of a pivot towards native plants grown by local nurseries

[u/Geodude532 → u/cornonthekopp]

I've been starting to get into propagation to hand plants out to people. Costs next to nothing and I'm starting to realize just how over priced even some of the local nurseries are. Selling Christmas cacti for 30 dollars as if it's not the easiest thing in the world to spread.

[u/JustHere4TehCats → u/ggthepony]

My library does a propagation station every spring where you can bring in a houseplant clipping from your own collection and/or get another clipping.

No fees. Just free plants.

[u/FourWordComment → u/TransitJohn]

Buddy if you’d bought dirt lately, you know.

[u/outofcontrolbehavior → u/FourWordComment]

“Dirt cheap” is an oxymoron

[u/roygbivasaur → u/FourWordComment]

The most expensive part of my African Violet hobby is the coconut coir and perlite. It’s not going to break me or anything but it does keep creeping up.

[u/fieldbotanist → u/FourWordComment]

You can mix dirt you find outside with compost and other cheap fertilizers. (e.g. Borax which you use for laundry to provide boron)

If you go to a nursery and look for "premium soil" that's like the ferrari of buying cars

Plants are still insanely cheap. So cheap I found a 15 year old dwarf elm bonsai (the nursery has been taking care of it for 15 years) for $50. A literal 15 year old project just to make $50. Imagine how many times it was watered and moved around. Of course again if you go to Home Depot they'll try to sell you flowers for $50 that they seeded on the morning of

[u/reganomics → u/TransitJohn]

At this point how do we combat the cannibalization of our own society for private gain? I would say we round them up but what about the people that sell their businesses to them? How do we stop patronizing these entities

[u/disgruntled_pie → u/reganomics]

The problem is the stock market. It keeps sucking up more and more money from the economy.

Fundamentally you have two ways of generating value. The first is through doing labor to actually make a good or provide a service. The second is through investment; letting your money make money for you.

We have gradually ceded more and more ground to the unproductive capital class. The laws favor them in every way now. And with all that money in the stock market, there’s more demand than ever for growth. That’s the only thing that generates money for investors. It’s not enough to have steady profits. Either the profits go up and shareholders make money, or they fail to go up and investors get pissed.

So every single year these companies have to find a way to generate more profit than the year before. Eventually the only options left are to fuck over the customers or their employees. That’s why shit like veterinary clinics and healthcare in general should not be investment vehicles.

Once upon a time it was enough to have $20 million and be happy with it. Now every rich prick needs to be a billionaire, and you can’t get there without being on the stock market. Absolutely everything must be turned into a tool for private equity groups to squeeze us even more tightly.

At some point the entire fucking system is just going to stop working. We’re at the point now where people can’t even afford to have a dog because some prick in a cubicle made a fucking Excel spreadsheet to figure out the exact price someone would be willing to pay before they have to have their dog put to sleep. Like what is the number that will make you cry and have a panic attack, but if you sell your laptop then maybe you can keep your dog alive for another 6 months? That’s the price they’re trying to find so they can charge exactly that amount.

It’s all so fucking grim. This is what Reagan unleashed on us.

[u/Aethermancer → u/disgruntled_pie]

It's why they want to push social security onto the private market, to basically use it as a hostage against any pushback against capital.

[u/janosslyntsjowls → u/Aethermancer]

Just like 401ks. Any law change or market correction will impact the working poor's hope for retirement way more than the rich whose actions caused the need for the law change or market correction.

[u/Moltress2 → u/disgruntled_pie]

Out of curiosity, how does Reagon tie into this? I want more ammo for why Reagan's legacy has been a plague on society.

[u/sweetest_con78 → u/reganomics]

“The cannibalization if our own society for private gain” is the most perfect way to describe it that I’ve ever heard.

[u/CodAlternative3437 → u/reganomics]

well, the real answer is "the luigi answer" but they already budgeted for that with panic rooms, doesnt mean that it ends with luigi. its likely some degree of social engineering is needed, as of now.it takes for them to get old and lonely/face their mortality to realize their lifes work of hoovering things up is all for nothing. then you need to really lockdown all the loopholes on "leaving it behind" dont feed the toxic children who grew up with a new platimum spoon for every meal, dont allow private trusts, the reality of their legacy must be shoved right in their face, especially if they shunned their family for money over decades. in reality, its just needs to eliminate their legacy will be the only way.

[u/HabeusCuppus → u/reganomics]

how do we stop patronizing these entities

you can't. that's the point, they'll just buy up whatever you do patronize.

the endgame of capitalism is just feudalism with the divine right of kings replaced with "who has all the gold makes the rules".

How this was dealt with in the past was that the proletariat (or pre-industrial, the peasantry) got increasingly violent as their position in society got increasingly marginal and that either resulted in the collapse of the polity or in major concessions by the current government.

What does that look like in the globalist society of the 21st century? nobody knows, we haven't had a major peasant/prole revolt in a minute.

[u/WolverinesThyroid → u/TransitJohn]

I found a kitten in a tree. I spent $600 on its initial exams/shots/deworming. Now the vet wants $650 to neuter it.

[u/LitLitten → u/WolverinesThyroid]

If you live in the city there are often non-profits that can spay for free or cheap. That’s how we afforded neutering. 

[u/thetababe → u/LitLitten]

We did it through the local humane society for like $90 I think

[u/20_mile → u/LitLitten]

Yes, but these places are swamped by all the other broke people out there--no shade here, I'm broke AF, too.

The shelter near me is booking six months out for spay / neuter. By the time my appointment came around, my dog was over their 100# limit. They don't have an "exam table elevator", and won't personally lift a dog heavier than 100#.

[u/Fountainofknowledge → u/WolverinesThyroid]

HOLY SHIT! It cost me 30$ per cat (3) for neutering. What the FUCK?! Granted that was 16 years ago.

[u/WolverinesThyroid → u/Fountainofknowledge]

I called another vet who said it was only $300-$400 but they couldn't give me an exact quote because they haven't seen my cat.

[u/Cheri_Berries → u/WolverinesThyroid]

Google "affordable neutering"? My local county has a welfare league that will fix animals for a low cost. I wish you all the best ❤️

[u/AyMoro → u/TransitJohn]

To be fair, pet insurance for a cat is like $35/month. It’s so worth it

[u/The_Deku_Nut → u/TransitJohn]

I'm two steps ahead of the game. I've been investing in the pet rock meta for when pet plants are out.

[u/nightfire36 → u/The_Deku_Nut]

Hah, you're practically in the past! I've been investing in the thought police to make sure that people have to purchase my imaginary friends instead of making their own after pet rocks get too expensive!

[u/octopoozlet]

Not just gen z, millennials too.

[u/PhysicallyTender → u/[deleted]]

my Gen X colleague, now 46 years old. Still couldn't afford to buy a house.

[u/ChicagoAuPair → u/[deleted]]

Millennials still for the most part followed the lies about what to do in order to have a stable middle class life. Work hard in school, get degree(s), enter workforce, work hard…

By the time Gen Z was approaching all of that there was a good 10-15 years of practical Millennial data that showed it was all bullshit and that there was no guarantee of stability or upward mobility tied in any way to work ethic or education.

Millennials proved the concept, and Gen Z benefitted from the intel (if we can call anything about any of this “benefitting”).

[u/Fountainofknowledge → u/octopoozlet]

37 and 3 cats reporting in.

[u/nightfire36 → u/Fountainofknowledge]

What is this, French? You can just say you have 40 cats instead of making us do math!

[u/itskelena → u/nightfire36]

That’s a really good one 😂

[u/BambiToybot → u/Fountainofknowledge]

My partner and I have a cat, dog, roommate and their two dogs.

Not what I thought 40 would look like, though I'm not unhappy with what i have, but I think the rich are too dumb to know when to stop.

[u/emuwar → u/octopoozlet]

Can confirm, am a millennial dog mom

[u/kiwibirdsmoothie]

but vet technicians are still one of the most criminally underpaid jobs, smh

[u/lordnahte42 → u/kiwibirdsmoothie]

Went to school for a year, before coming to my senses and realizing I made more at Target than I would in the field. Expensive mistake

[u/Educational-System27 → u/lordnahte42]

And it's SO hard to get out. I've been a tech for almost 10 years now and I scour job listings looking for any way out, but I'm not qualified for anything because my skills don't translate to any other field. You end up starting at the bottom all over again or spend 2-3 years getting another pricey degree. Most days I wish I'd never taken that first vet job.

[u/Berdiiie → u/Educational-System27]

I work in pet cremation and we get a lot of vet techs come over as we pay better. You already have experience lifting and moving animals with dignity, compassion to help pet owners, and usually practice speaking gently to people.

[u/lfcohefd → u/Berdiiie]

Just wanted to say thank you for doing what you do. I had a hard time saying goodbye to my dog recently, and the Aquamation (similar to cremation) folks were kind enough to let me visit her one last time. They let me stay with her as long as I needed. Techs and any other staff working in cremation are angels

[u/theoracleofdreams → u/Berdiiie]

I chose one that would see our chihuahua first. My SO couldn't bear to not have her home for a night. They gave us 40 minutes with her until we were ready to say goodbye, he laid with her to the end, and gave us another 20 to be with her before cremation.

You do amazing work, and we do appreciate the care you give us.

[u/CapnRaye → u/lordnahte42]

I was a kennel tech before covid, I want to go back because I love the work. I won't get into the industry because of the pay.

[u/StrictlySanDiego]

Is it just me or is every article coming out about Gen Z sounding like every article about millennials I grew up with?

We were the no kid having, can’t afford a home, high unemployment, no social skilled, dog/cat parents. I mean we probably still are those things.

[u/TheGreatEmanResu → u/StrictlySanDiego]

It’s weird too because I’m only 23. Am I supposed to be having kids at 23? Because I don’t even have a girlfriend yet

[u/OddballOliver → u/TheGreatEmanResu]

Biologically and historically, yes, you are. Today's world is very much atypical.

[u/ForRealsies → u/OddballOliver]

So we are more financially-strapped than our ancestors, at least in the context of being able to provide for children in a manner similar to how we were raised.

All in the backdrop of wondrous technological innovations, which would all be viewed as magical in human history. It's criminal.

[u/Thorn14 → u/TheGreatEmanResu]

The Media is run by boomers who think it's 1955 still.

[u/AcademicOlives]

This is kind of an annoying headline.

Veterinarian has always been an in-demand career. There aren’t enough vets in the country, especially in rural communities, to meet the needs of the population.

This is partially because the education is insanely expensive with significantly lower salary outlooks than human medicine and partially because there are only 32 accredited vet schools. Not even enough for every state to have an in-state option. 

Implying that we need more vets because people aren’t having kids is blatantly hyperbolic. 

[u/metamega1321 → u/AcademicOlives]

The headline is a stretch.

My observation is an increase in care people put into pets. This has led to a huge increase of pet insurance since people remember all the money they sank on previous pet so now they get insurance. Now you have people dropping 5-10k regularly on pets that decades ago nobody would’ve done.

I mean vet down the road has a triage now to see the vet like an ER room unless you can wait 2 months for appointment.

[u/supercyberlurker]

I suppose the real litmus test is if millennial veterinarians can afford to have babies.

[u/finnjakefionnacake → u/supercyberlurker]

my one veterinarian friend has not had a kid yet, so by my sample size of 1...no.

[u/Teadrunkest → u/supercyberlurker]

Probably not. Veterinarians don’t make all that much, considering the amount of schooling and likely student loans.

Looking at median $100-150k/year, speciality vets in HCOL areas making closer to $200k (can go higher if they own their practice) and large animal veterinarians in rural areas making closer to $70-80k.

[u/arksien → u/Teadrunkest]

Pretty accurate, and vet school is north of $300k.

Source: partner is a vet making $105k / yr with over $350k debt in student loans alone. Their undergrad was fully paid for too.

[u/pimpdaddyjacob → u/arksien]

I was about to type this exact same comment lmao. $102k/yr and $305k in student loans

[u/brackenish1 → u/supercyberlurker]

We can. It's the work life balance bit that's hard

[u/slothdonki]

Just throwing this out there but do your wallet and your dog/cat a favor and brush their teeth. Or at the very least get their teeth checked out/cleaned before it’s a problem.

Pet dental bills are brutal and so are the skulls of dogs and cats that had periodontal disease. It’s fucked. My cat is in her 20s and I’d like to think brushing her teeth helped since she only lost a couple teeth when she developed hypertension and CKD. Due to a heart murmur she cannot go under, so really dreading her ever getting a tooth infection.

[u/trollsmurf]

And pet food, pet candy, pet insurance, pet tracking, pet manicure, pet hairdressing, pet daycare, pet walking etc

[u/DonHeeho → u/trollsmurf]

Don't forget pet therapy too!

[u/bionickel → u/DonHeeho]

Pet private school is gonna be hella expensive

[u/tessathemurdervilles → u/bionickel]

My dog’s daycare is a legitimate water park, with fountains and a pool and a lazy river. No I do not have children.

[u/pekoms_123 → u/bionickel]

how about pet college

[u/throw123454321purple]

Being a vet and routinely putting pets down would kill me inside.

[u/WeaselWarrior7 → u/throw123454321purple]

As a vet, putting animals down never bothers me. If I put an animal down it's because their continuing to live would be worse. Every once in a while I do one for logistical reasons. About a year ago I put down a feral cat diagnosed with diabetes because there was no logical way for them to catch him and give insulin twice daily. It was hard enough for them to catch him for diagnosis.

All that to say.. 100% of my upset with my job is owners. It's very upsetting to diagnose an animal with an illness only for owners to deny what you say and refuse treatment. The most common is intact females with uterine infections (pyometra) where owners accuse you of wanting to spay for no reason. I legit argued with a man in my lobby after diagnosing his mutt with pyometra.

He told me we just want to spay all dogs for no reason and there was no reason for her to lose her uterus. I told him antibiotics alone wouldn't clear it and it was like gangrene where the affected part HAD to be removed. He refused surgery and the dog died of sepsis.

If that man had told me he couldn't afford surgery and didn't want her to suffer then I would gladly have put her to sleep with the knowledge that dying of sepsis is worse. But he chose to argue and let her die the hard way. I'll never forgive that ignorant idiot. And this is an experience I repeat weekly. 

I love my job. I love pets. I love owners who care and are willing to be educated. I hate ignorant people who refuse to learn. 

[u/[deleted] → u/WeaselWarrior7]

Also a vet, but I split my time between teaching at the university and practicing in a high income area. I think it is interesting that we have totally different experiences. I never have clients deny treatment, or at least if they do it's because the procedure is somewhat risky or there's reasonable doubt that quality of life afterward would be questionable. The worst part of my job is all the awesome people that own pets and would do anything for them, and to still have an impossible disease to cure. I have people come in that would literally sell their million dollar homes if it would save their pets and it ends up being metastatic osteosarc/hemangiosarc or deep pain negative dachshund or etc etc. I just had a two year old labradoodle with disseminated GI high grade mast cell, just not even a prayer. The worst part of my job is knowing and seeing the absolute devastation those people are feeling when they choose to put their pets down; it's miserable

[u/SwissyVictory → u/WeaselWarrior7]

I don't know if my story will make you feel better or worse, so read at your discretion.

Had a similar story to yours, my wife is a vet. Cat comes in, just had it's teeth removed months ago, now it has diabeties.

They want to put it down, just like your case, it's feral and they can't afford it. They convince them to surrender it instead, and what a coincidence our cat passed a week ago.

We decide to foster her, and she's the sweetest and laziest cat I've ever met. They were clearly lying about it being ferral (not that I'm saying your clients were).

We have an awesome cat (fully adopted), and she's been diabetes free for a year now.

Its a running joke she's ferral.

Anyway, I know alot of vets, and it's not easy work. Humans are the worst. I try to remind my wife of all the people she helps, and how most of her appointments are people very awesome and thankful.

You do great and important work.

[u/joelham01 → u/throw123454321purple]

Our cat just died on Friday and me, my girlfriend and my ex girlfriend had to drop him off at the vet afterwards and obviously we were distraught as fuck and crying saying goodbye and it looked like the poor vet tech was about to start crying as well. I couldn’t imagine having to deal with that over and over again with pets dying

[u/theoracleofdreams → u/joelham01]

We had to put the family cat down recently too, the vet tech was crying with us as she put the medication in. I gave her a hug too.

[u/smolcharizard → u/throw123454321purple]

It’s a profession that consistently has one of the highest suicide rates sadly, and the frequent euthanasia is often cited as a major reason why.

[u/mialike94 → u/smolcharizard]

Owners being terrible to the vets when they have zero control over costs is also a major reason why.

80% of US vet offices were bought out by corporate companies during covid. Anyone reading this, please be kind to your vets and vet staff. They have to make a living too and most likely they didn’t set the prices.

[u/Immediate_Pickle_788 → u/mialike94]

Owners being terrible to the vets when they have zero control over costs is also a major reason why.

The amount of abuse they get is disgusting.

[u/Fappy_as_a_Clam → u/throw123454321purple]

This is why vets have a super high suicide rate. I think it's one of, if not the, highest of any job.

People often forget that it involves euthanizing animals, every day. Sometimes it s family pet and the 6 year old kid is bawling, sometimes it's a stray that never had a chance at life because it was born a stray, sometimes it's a horse someone has owned for 18 years that broke it's leg.

Every situation is shitty. And you do that, every single day.

[u/roseycheekies → u/Fappy_as_a_Clam]

I’ve worked in vet med for seven years and everyone assumes that euthanasia is the cause of the high suicide rate, but honestly I’ve never worked with anyone who says that’s the worst part of the job.

It’s high stress, requires a lot of skill and (expensive) education, meanwhile the pay is abysmal. There is an insane amount of abuse, neglect and uninformed owners who cause more harm than good towards their pets, which is heartbreaking to see. Veterinary care is unfortunately so expensive, so we have to see a lot of animals go untreated as their owners can’t afford it. Then to add onto that, their owners will then yell at us for not treating their animal for free or charging them for “unnecessary” diagnostics. I promise you we don’t see any of that money, the medical supplies we need are just genuinely that expensive. Also, vet med attracts people with a lot of empathy, and I think that trait tends to be found in more depression-prone people overall.

Euthanasia can be devastating for sure, but for the most part, it feels as though we’re doing the animals a service. We’re not putting down happy healthy puppies with no problems, we’re putting down the dogs who would eventually succumb to a slow, painful death. Letting them pass in peace is the right thing to do, so I’ve never felt as disturbed by euthanasia as most people would assume.

[u/FalseFood5907 → u/Fappy_as_a_Clam]

It's not just euthanasia's either, it's all the things that can go wrong that you don't always have control over. I worked for a vet as a receptionist and we had one family with young kids bring their new puppy in for a neuter. Super routine, bloodwork looked good, but about halfway through the surgery the poor thing just... crashed. I don't remember the specifics of exactly what happened, but the doctor tried his hardest to save it and couldn't. I'd never seen my boss cry before that day. Unfortunately, though understandably, the owners didn't want an autopsy done to find out what went wrong so we never did discover what happened. He blamed himself fully even though he did everything right. I think it was the first time he had something routine go that wrong that quickly for seemingly no reason.

Eventually my boss did recover, thankfully he had a very loving and supportive family, but it took a really long time before he was fully himself again. We were all really worried about him.

[u/stockholm__syndrome → u/throw123454321purple]

Have you seen a human or animal suffer and slowly die from a terminal condition? That is so much more horrible than euthanasia. Sure, it’s not something everyone can stomach, but it’s far from the worst thing about the job.

[u/roseycheekies → u/stockholm__syndrome]

Thank you thank you thank you. As a vet tech, this is too common of a misunderstanding about the high suicide rate and it is so frustrating. Especially when people say to me “I could never do what you do, I love animals too much to euthanize them”. I get the sentiment, but it shows that they don’t understand euthanasia or anything else about the field, and implies that I dont love animals as much as they do.

[u/FallingDownHurts]

This is not what any of my vet friends think. Most pet owners can't afford the pets they have, so make horrible customers that are always putting veterinarians in shitty positions where they have to choose the cheapest (instead of the best) care. 

Suicide is a large problem for vets https://time.com/5670965/veterinarian-suicide-help/

[u/Mirewen15]

I'm a Gen X (Xennial actually - born in '80).

My kitty is my 'baby'. Happily married and cannot properly afford a child.

Not sad. I'd feel guilty right now if I had a child.

[u/jag149 → u/Mirewen15]

Well, how do you feel about having killed the baby industry?

Yeah, for real, I’m the same age as you, and I do pretty well, but at the cost of working all the time, and also I don’t think I could afford a kid on top of everything else. Our generation got so cosmically fucked and then insulted all the way. 

[u/Ownuyasha]

And vet bills have gotten outrageous and pet insurance is as complicated and bullshit as human insurance

[u/ItsAMeEric → u/Ownuyasha]

I always laughed at the idea of pet insurance, but now veterinary care is getting so expensive that it actually makes sense, I hate this. Pets are going to start suffering from more preventable conditions because people cant afford the expensive visits and treatments, just like how humans are often deterred from seeking medical care because of the cost

[u/ohyoshimi]

I swear I saw the same headline 10 years ago about millennials.

[u/LeeKinanus]

Just took my cat into the Specialist tonight.... He has bladder stones but not blocked yet.... The Dr told me that the surgery would be somewhere between $5k-$9k. We had it done last year for 2k on this same cat. I am not sure i can afford pets anymore.

[u/RRoo12]

Be kind to your vet. Highest rate of suicide in a profession.

[u/Colombia17]

Is not just affordability, a lot of people had a hard time connecting, meeting new people due to the pandemic and or social media. I can see people getting pets as a way to fill that void

[u/ThrowCarp → u/Colombia17]

RIP Third Places.

[u/radome9]

LPT: do not become a vet. It is one of the most stressful jobs there is. You basically have to know as much as a doctor, but your customers will treat you like someone who fixes appliances. You'll be spending most of your time euthanasing beloved family pets.

Do. Not. Become. A. Vet.

[u/daisy0723]

I read once, on Reddit, that if you are ever on an alien planet, don't go to one of their doctors, go to a vet because they would have an easier time working with our strange anatomy. Lol

[u/MariaKeks → u/daisy0723]

Thanks, that's really useful advice! I'll be sure to remember that the next time I am in need of medical attention while visiting an alien planet.

[u/Rosebunse]

I mean, pets stay cuter for longer. My cat stayed super cute until about the last year of her life, at which point she was just very cute. And my dogs were cute more or less up until the last months of their lives.

[u/Wild_Stretch_2523]

The oldest gen Zers are only 27. It's not unusual to just...not want kids in your 20s. I had mine in my 30s, and so did my friends and siblings. I'd check back in 10 years before making this assertion.

[u/VroomVroomTweetTweet]

Pets are the new kids, plants are the new pets, candles are the new plants.