Veterinary staff are prone to extreme burnout and mental health issues due to the pressure of the industry, which is why there is a day to recognise the wellbeing of those in the profession.
Flynn's Walk is an event set to raise awareness of high rates of suicide and burnout, with those in the veterinary profession four times more likely than the general population to take their own life, according to Australian Veterinary Association research.
The walk is set to take place in Canberra this Sunday as veterinary director Sarah Dobry at Greencross Vets Tuggeranong attests to the high level of stress involved in the industry.
"There's only so many patients we can see in a day, and only so many things we can do in a day and we try to fit as much as we possibly can," she said.
"In the veterinary industry you have a set of people that are highly driven often with that perfectionist mentality."
The work ethic of vet staff is a factor Dr Dobry says makes things "become very difficult" due to the extra pressure.
"They're absolutely wonderful people and they just go, go, go and they're already going as fast and as hard as they can and then trying to add more to that becomes very difficult," she said.
Flynn's Walk was founded by Jack Levitt to honour his friend Dr Flynn Hargreaves, who passed away from suicide in 2018.
"We started the walk as a memorial event initially, to get together a community of people that knew him or had studied with him or worked with him and then it gained momentum pretty quick," Mr Levitt said.
"We held the walk again the next year and started to formalise things and make it more about helping the veterinary field thinking about things a bit more proactively."
Mr Levitt had been friends with Flynn since they were about 15 years of age and grew up in the same community in Melbourne and said he "started it because I was making sense of what it means to lose someone to suicide".
"The investment for me is effortless because it's me remembering a friend who I lost and loved so much, so it's just inspired us to keep going," he said.
Petbarn is the official sponsor of the event, which foundation manager Janelle Bloxsom says they hope the main message people get is the "hard work and dedication shown by vets" be recognised.
"There was a huge spike in pet ownership during the pandemic ... so there's a lot of work that vets do for clients and their pets," she said.
The event is taking place this Sunday at Commonwealth Place, Queen Elizabeth Terrance near Questacon at 10am.
Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14 or beyondblue 1300 224 636.
