How was your shift?
Get it off your chest.
Vets, vet nurses, kennel and shelter staff, rescue volunteers and practice teams. Put down what you're carrying before you go home.
Which best describes you?
This changes a few questions and which support lines come first. You can change it any time.
Everything you enter stays on this phone. Nothing is sent to your employer, your manager or anyone else. Unladen Paw is a prototype. It is not a medical or emergency service and is not connected to any practice, shelter or government agency. · Give feedback
Take a moment.
Step out the back if you can, even for a few minutes. Tell a colleague you need a moment. That's allowed.
Breathe with this
What you might be feeling
- Shaky, sick, or a racing heart
- Numb, or oddly calm
- Tearful, angry, or both
- Going over what you could have done differently
These are normal reactions. They usually settle over hours or days.
If a client threatened or abused you
It isn't part of the job and it isn't your fault. Tell your supervisor or manager and report it, even if it seems minor. Get checked if you were hurt. You can also contact police.
Ground yourself
Look around. Name them, out loud or in your head.
Call someone now
Add your practice manager, a colleague or the AVA line in so they're here when you need them.
Not sure who to tell?
If you don't feel safe telling your practice manager or senior vet, there are other people you can go to. Or write down what happened, just for you, while it's fresh.
What helps after
Handover to yourself
A few minutes at the end of the shift. Notice what you're carrying, then leave what you can at the clinic door.
Please talk to someone now
You said you've had thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here. Please call one of these now. If you're in immediate danger, call 000.
Light load
This phone isn't letting the page save. Your result shows here but won't be kept.
About the client
Report it and write down what happened. Practices can refuse to see abusive clients. You don't have to take abuse to care for animals.
Your safety
You said you didn't feel fully safe. That matters. Tell your manager or supervisor, and report it through your incident system. Bites, scratches and lifting injuries count too.
Getting home safely
You said you've got very little energy left. If you're driving, a 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave can help, or get a lift. Text someone when you're home.
What might help
People you can call
This isn't a medical assessment. It's a way to notice how you're going over time.
How it's been going
Last 14 days
Handovers
This phone isn't letting the page save, so handovers won't be kept.
Privacy & your data
Add a PIN, download what you've entered, or delete everything from this phone.
Caring for animals takes something out of you
What to watch for, and what helps. Tap a heading to open it.
Euthanasia
- Grief after euthanasia is normal, even when it was the kind thing to do. Many vets and nurses do it several times a week.
- Small rituals help: a pause, a moment with the team, a card for the family.
- Notice if the losses are piling up.
- Talk to someone who does the same work.
Angry, grieving or abusive clients
- Clients may be in shock or grief, and it can come out at you.
- Money conversations are hard. The cost of care isn't your fault.
- You don't have to take abuse. Step away and get your practice manager.
- Report it and write down what happened.
Cruelty, neglect and hard cases
- Seeing animals that have been hurt or neglected is distressing.
- Report cruelty to the RSPCA or your state inspectorate.
- Debrief with a colleague.
- If images keep coming back, talk to your GP or the AVA line.
When you can't do what's best for the animal
- Clients who can't afford treatment, or choose euthanasia you wouldn't, cause real distress.
- This is sometimes called moral distress. It's a sign you care, not a sign you're failing.
- Talk it through with your team.
After a mistake or a complaint
- Mistakes and complaints happen to almost everyone in practice.
- Tell your senior vet or practice manager straight away.
- Your professional indemnity insurer and the AVA can support you through a complaint.
- Tell someone you trust how you're feeling.
Long hours and after-hours work
- Notice if on-call and late finishes have become every week.
- Protect sleep and leave. They're the first things to go.
- If you're too tired to drive, don't.
Shelter and rescue work
- Animals you have cared for may be put down, or not get adopted.
- Compassion fatigue is very common in shelter work.
- Take breaks and step back when you need to. It's not a failure.
Bullying, harassment or conflict
You don't have to put up with it, and you don't have to sort it out alone.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- If your manager is involved, talk to someone outside your reporting line.
- The Fair Work Commission can make orders to stop bullying at work.
- For sexual harassment, 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is there 24/7.
Signs you're carrying too much
- Dreading the next shift
- Feeling numb after euthanasia
- Replaying cases at night
- Short-tempered with clients or at home
- Pulling back from people
Vets and vet nurses face some of the highest rates of burnout and distress of any profession. Feeling it is a normal response, not a weakness.
Volunteers and rescue carers
Fosterers and rescue volunteers carry a lot without formal support. Ask your organisation what's available, and it's OK to step back.
When to get more help
If your load has been heavy for two weeks or more, you dread going in, or it's affecting sleep or home life, talk to your GP or EAP. A GP can set up a Mental Health Treatment Plan for Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist. AVA members and their families can use the free AVA Wellbeing Support Line (1300 687 327, 24/7).
People to call
Save the ones that apply to you. They stay on this phone and show up on the Help now screen.
Support lines
You don't have to go through your practice manager
Sometimes the person you'd normally tell is part of the problem, or it just doesn't feel safe. Here are other ways to get support. You choose what to do, and when.
From your organisation
Your practice or shelter can add its own EAP and wellbeing numbers here.
Someone outside your reporting line
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Free, confidential counselling. Your manager isn't told that you called. Larger practice groups and shelters often have one.
- AVA Wellbeing Support Line. Free counselling for AVA members and their families, 1300 687 327, 24/7.
- A colleague at another clinic. Someone who knows the work.
- Your union. Professionals Australia covers vets. Vet nurses can ask about their own union options.
- Your GP. Outside work altogether, and can refer you on.
Text or chat instead of calling
For when talking out loud isn't possible, or feels like too much.
For particular situations
Animal cruelty can be reported to the RSPCA or your state inspectorate.
Spiritual and religious support
Some people find strength in prayer, ritual or their faith or cultural community after a hard shift. Others find it in nature, music, exercise or quiet. Whatever gives you meaning counts.
If your workplace has a chaplain or wellbeing officer, they support people of any faith or none. Their role is to listen, not to persuade.
Words to start with
The first sentence is often the hardest. You could say:
"I'm not ready to make a complaint. I just need to talk this through."
"Can this stay between us? Is there anything you'd have to pass on?"
"A case today has really stayed with me."
"I'm not coping with the euthanasias."
What happens if I tell someone?
- Counsellors, peer supporters and helplines keep what you say private. The main exception is if someone is at serious risk of harm. If you're unsure, ask at the start.
- A union can give you confidential advice before you decide anything.
- Your private record in this app stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
Not ready to tell anyone?
That's OK. You can write down what happened, just for yourself, and decide later.
Numbers and services are for New South Wales and Australia-wide. Check with your organisation for its own services.
Write down what happened
It stays on this phone. It isn't a report, and nothing is sent anywhere. If you later decide to raise something, notes written at the time are easier to rely on than memory.
My entries
Entries can't be edited, so each one shows when it was written. To add something, write a new entry.
No entries yet.
If you decide to share it, you can download it or send it to yourself.
Your phone, your data
PIN lock
Ask for a PIN when the app opens, and after it has been in the background for a minute.
PIN is on.
The PIN stops someone else opening the app on your phone. It doesn't encrypt what's stored, so keep your phone locked too. If you forget it, you can delete everything and start again.
Hide the screen
Tap the eye button at the top of any screen to cover the app straight away, for example in the staff room or on the way home. Tap to come back, or enter your PIN if you've set one.
Download my data
Download everything you've entered (handovers, private record and contacts) as a text file. You could keep a copy, or show it to your GP or counsellor.
Delete everything
Deletes your handovers, private record, role, contacts and PIN from this phone.
Delete everything from this phone? This can't be undone.
About Unladen Paw
Unladen™ Paw is a prototype made by Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd, Newcastle NSW. Unladen™ is a trade mark of Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd. It isn't a medical or emergency service, and it isn't connected to any practice, shelter or government agency. The questions haven't been clinically validated yet.
What's stored: your role, handovers, private record, saved contacts and settings, only in this phone's browser. Nothing is sent to anyone. There are no accounts, analytics or trackers.
Feedback: the feedback form is the only part of Unladen Paw that sends anything, and only when you press Send. It doesn't include anything else from the app.
Keep in mind: if you clear your browser data or remove the app, what you've entered goes too. Download a copy first if you want to keep it.
Version 0.1 prototype · September 2026