The Unicorn Vet: Why We Need to Shine a Light on a Hidden Crisis

Once upon a time there was a child who dreamed of saving Gorillas alongside Dian Fossey. He sold chocolate bars at break time to raise funds for his various small creature appreciation societies and gave his free time between homework, football and Commodore Amiga time to helping out on the city farm. All endeavours to hopefully bring him closer to his dream of becoming a vet...

...Fast forward 30 years and despite recent coverage amid the publication of this year’s Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) report, behind nearly every wagging tail and happy purr in the UK is a veterinary professional and possibly an entire team quietly going above and beyond, often at the cost of their own free time and wellbeing - desperately trying to appease that childhood dream they had of being able to help and serve as many livig creatures as possible.

In a move to bring this silent struggle into the spotlight, UK Vet, Cofounder of veterinary communication platform PetsApp (and once a young Gorilla enthusiast - Gorillas are still his 2nd favourite animal, he's just not so young these days), Dr. Thom Jenkins has recently published a short children’s story titled: The Unicorn Vet

With a goal to raise funds and awareness for much needed mental health support across the entire veterinary community. The Unicorn Vet is a heartwarming tale about care, belief, and the magic of imagination. Young, El always dreamed of becoming a unicorn vet. She read the books. She did the training. And she was ready - no matter how mythical the patient! But when her dad says unicorns aren’t real, El faces her trickiest case yet.

“I’ve worked with rhinos, horses, even zebras…” says Dr. Jenkins, dad to 4 (with 1 more on the way) “but burnout is the real wild animal in the room. The Unicorn Vet is about bringing some lightness to a heavy truth — and showing that the childhood dream we all had as budding vets was not just a mystic fairytale.”

While the veterinary profession is often romanticised, the data paints a much starker reality. According to landmark studies by both the AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) and the BVA (British Veterinary Association), standardized mortality ratios for veterinarians were 1.6 times higher for men and 2.4 times higher for women compared to the general population. Alarmingly, suicide rates for veterinary technicians/nurses were 5 times higher for men and 2.3 times higher for women. A statistic that the British Veterinary Nursing Association is actively campaigning to create a loud voice for, through-out May: Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month Dr. Jenkins, a vet turned tech founder, created The Unicorn Vet not only as a creative outlet and bonding bedtime story for his daughter El but as a rallying cry for the profession. All proceeds from the project will be donated to VetLife UK, an independent charity offering free, 24/7 support to everyone in the veterinary community from students and nurses to non-clinical staff. In recent years the veterinary profession has often been vilified due to the actions of a select few larger organisations within pet health, the repercussions of which have severely affected local, independent vet teams who while also drowning in the costs of providing an increasing higher standard of care, have been made to feel unwillingly detached from their local communities as they fight to compete with the prices larger groups, buying in bulk can churn out.

Piling Costs Covered by Vets

To give an example of costs even your smallest practice will need to cover before you even step through their doors:

In-house blood analysers: £4,000 - £20,000 Ultrasound machines: £8,000 - £60,000 Digital radiography: £18,000 - £45,000

“Competing against Tesco is what I compare this too. Your green grocer in the corner cannot sell your milk, eggs and bread at the price Tesco does and I’d say the same should go for us local vets, but it doesn’t. The corporates groups have huge buying power, they get drugs at a fraction of the price we pay and yet we (small, local owned vets) get grouped alongside the behaviours of larger groups who have buying powers we simply do not have! Small, local , independent vets are at the heart and soul of communities, we are there for your pets, we love, we care, but we are being destroyed emotionally and financially."

Behind the Scenes: The Realities of Veterinary Work

Despite their passion and dedication, veterinary professionals continue to face high-pressure environments, heavy caseloads, and chronic understaffing.

🇬🇧 UK snapshot (taken from the yearly BVA & RCVS surveys): Over 70% of veterinary professionals report working regular overtime

Average 5–10 hours of unpaid overtime per week

Many stay 1–2 hours past closing time every day

🇺🇸 US context (AVMA 2023): Full-time vets average 45–50 hours/week

Emergency vets often exceed 60 hours/week

Weekend and Evening Work is the Norm - even after a week of grueling back to back shifts!

The PetsApp Pack are active supporters of VetLife UK with members joining recent hikes with the likes of Vet Voices across the UK to raise money to support the work the Vet Life charity does. “Veterinary professionals are some of the most compassionate people I’ve met — and yet they’re often stretched beyond human limits,” adds Dr. Jenkins. “It’s time we addressed this crisis with the seriousness and innovation it deserves.”

The Unicorn Vet is actually Dr. Thom’s 6 year old daughter (Elleanor), who wishes to follow in his footsteps and practices to do so by actively helping to take care of their mini zoo which includes Becki their dog, Addy the cat, a garden full of wild turkeys and arguably El’s 3 brothers!

A Tech-Powered Future With Heart

As co-founder and CEO of PetsApp, Dr. Jenkins leads a team focused on making high-quality pet care more accessible — without overburdening veterinary teams. With tools like AI-powered note-taking, client chat, and wellness plan automation, the PetsApp platform empowers clinics to deliver care efficiently while preserving human connection.

How You Can Support:

The Unicorn Vet is available now, with all proceeds going directly to VetLife UK. Purchase your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Unicorn-Vet-Thom-Jenkins-MRCVS/dp/B0F62TPF6Z

• "It's such a beautiful initiative for Veltlife."* -Fundraising Manager, Michelle Gratton

Media Contact:

For more info and photographs of Dr. Thom, the PetsApp Pack, Vet Life and the Unicorn Vet please reach out to: Naomi Oikonomou Head of Growth, PetsApp 📩 naomi@petsapp.com

About Vet Life UK

Vet Life's mission is to provide support to members of the UK veterinary community and their families who have emotional, health or financial concerns, whilst seeking ways to prevent such situations in the future.

The veterinary community continues to experience significantly higher levels of depression and suicide than the general population. Vetlife works to ensure that those engaged in the veterinary community are aware of available assistance, and signposts them to sources of help should they, or a colleague, be in need of support. Support needs vary according to circumstance and may involve short-term support to cope with an immediate crisis or longer term support for those affected by age, ill health or disability.

Where possible, the Charity tries to enable those they help to become independent and self-sufficient again, and also to maintain longer term support for those who are not able to do this because of age, ill health or disability.

You can help the PetsApp pack raise funds to support the Vet Life vision for a better veterinary future by either donating 👇

here

Or by purchasing a copy of the Unicorn Vet; with all profits going towards Vet Life UK. 👇

Get your copy.

About Dr. Thom

Dr Thom Jenkins MA VetMB MRCVS Thom is a vet and has run veterinary clinic groups internationally. He has sat on the board of and been an advisor to companies both within and outside of the veterinary sector. He is the CEO and Co-founder of PetsApp, a client engagement tool providing client communication, reminders, appointment booking and digital payments to hundreds of clinics and thousands of veterinary professionals. Thom is proud of the work the PetsApp pack have done in alleviating the load on veterinary teams facilitating business growth, while improving the care received by pets and their owners.

About PetsApp

PetsApp is a UK-based veterinary client communication platform designed to streamline workflows, reduce phone traffic, and support better pet owner engagement — without burning out clinic teams. Used by thousands of clinics worldwide, PetsApp helps veterinary professionals deliver better care while maintaining their own wellbeing. About VetLife: VetLife is a registered UK charity providing independent, confidential, and free support to the veterinary community, 24/7. Learn more at www.vetlife.org.uk.