Being a veterinarian can be satisfying and rewarding, caring for beloved pets that can't care for themselves, or even speak up when they're sick.

But it can also bring mental health challenges that some feel have not been adequately addressed.

Now, some veterinary schools are trying to do something about it for the next generation of vets.

We should warn you that this story discusses suicide.

Yeah. For as long as she can remember, Chelsea Van Thoff wanted to be a veterinarian.

I loved animals. I was little and I wanted to be an animal. You know, there's just connections

that you can feel with animals that sometimes you can just never get with a person.

Like now.

Like now.

Yeah.

Her four-year-old Dalmatian, Hugo has sustained Van Thoff for the past two and a half years.

Ever since her partner and vet school classmate, Peter Tri, took his own life.

Hugo kept me going. I don't know if I would be here if I hadn't had Hugo when Peter left.

Van Thoffen Tripp met in a vet school study group. I remember walking into the room and being taken with him immediately.

She recalls how he always thought of others, donating blood and even bone marrow, and helping her

when she felt consumed by the self-doubt of imposter syndrome, that nagging sense that success

and achievements aren't deserved. After graduating,

they eventually settled in Washington, D.C., where Tripp worked at a veterinary hospital.

I always felt calm with Peter. Everything looked like it rolled off of his back. It's kind of

hard to think about now knowing what was going on in his head.

She says it wasn't until April 2022 that he even hinted at his own struggles.

I had actually asked him if he could see a therapist. And he was very open to it, very open to seeing a therapist.

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