Pets and veterans

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In honor of Memorial Day, this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast showcases Jake McCormack, Gunnery Segareant from the United States Marines Corps. McCormack and host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, discuss his life in the Marines and how the human-animal bond helped him cope with mental health struggles he faced once he returned home from tours abroad.

Along with his dedication to supporting the veterinary community, McCormack shares his own personal experiences, including the recent heartbreaking loss of a beloved pet.

Below is a partial transcript. Listen to the full podcast for more.

Jake McCormack, Gunnery Segareant, USMC: I feel incredibly lucky that I've had the opportunity to interact with the DVM community because I've seen so many parallels between the struggles that DVMs have with mental health and resiliency, and the same struggles that the veteran community goes through. I tried to every opportunity I have to talk to a DVM, I tried to let them know that they matter, that there are literally millions of people in this country that are so thankful for what you guys have chosen to do with your lives, because I have seen firsthand the the verbal abuse that veterinary hospitals can take because of you know, clients that don't understand the cost of medicine, they don't understand the things that go into taking care of animals or being accused that they don't care about animals because of a high bill cost. It's almost like there's this expectation that medicine is done for free. So I do my best to educate people who aren't connected to the veterinary community to make them kind of understand what goes into that and then every opportunity I get, I tried to let DVMs know that what they're doing matters and that their chosen purpose and their passion, it's truly thankless, but there are so many people in this world that are incredibly thankful for what you guys do on a daily basis.