There comes a moment in every veterinarian’s life when the noise fades and a single question remains:
Ano ba talaga ang pinaglalaban ko?
Is it animals?
Is it surgery?
Is it recognition?
Is it titles?
Or is it something deeper?
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I WAS BROKEN EARLY
I was a young veterinarian once.
Hungry.
Idealistic.
Still trying to prove that I deserved the title “Doctor.”
And then I was publicly criticized.
Not on Facebook.
Not on TikTok.
On national television.
There is something about public humiliation that changes you.
It strips you.
It tests you.
It makes you question your worth.
I remember smiling outside. Acting composed.
But inside, I was asking:
Baka hindi talaga ako magaling.
Baka mali ang pinasok kong mundo.
There was no social media to defend myself.
No online community to rally behind me.
Just silence.
And I carried that silence alone.
THAT IS WHY I CANNOT IGNORE A BASHED VET
Now when I see a veterinarian being destroyed online, I do not see drama.
I see a younger version of myself.
The shaking hands.
The sleepless nights.
The overthinking.
The fear that your license might be taken.
The fear that your name will never recover.
When a vet is summoned to the barangay.
When a PRC complaint arrives.
When PVMA issues surface.
When a client threatens legal action.
When a colleague attacks publicly.
Most of them do not know what to do.
Most of them feel alone.
And I remember what that loneliness felt like.
So I reach out.
Not for content.
Not for credit.
Not for applause.
Silently.
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There are battles I helped fight that I can never talk about.
There are vets I supported who will never publicly mention my name.
There are legal strategies discussed in confidence.
There are documents reviewed at midnight.
No spotlight.
No announcement.
But in my heart, I know someone slept better that night because they knew they were not alone.
And that… breaks me in a good way.
MY ADVOCACY IS THE VETERINARIAN BEHIND THE WHITE COAT
People think advocacy must be visible.
Spay campaigns.
Rescue drives.
Public lectures.
Those are beautiful.
But mine is quieter.
Mine is the vet crying in their clinic office after being humiliated online.
Mine is the associate scared to face a client complaint.
Mine is the clinic owner drowning in legal confusion.
Mine is the colleague attacked by their own peers.
I fight for the dignity of veterinarians.
Because when you attack one of us unfairly, you weaken the entire profession.
And I refuse to watch silently when I know I can help.
BUSINESS IS ALSO COMPASSION
Some people do not understand this part.
Helping a vet become financially strong is also advocacy.
I love teaching startup clinic owners how to build structure.
How to protect themselves legally.
How to price properly.
How to think beyond survival.
I tell them:
Sumugal ka sa sarili mo.
Bet on your capacity.
Learn finance.
Learn systems.
Learn strategy.
Because financial freedom is not greed.
It is protection.
A financially stable veterinarian is harder to bully.
Harder to silence.
Harder to destroy.
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And when I see someone I mentored open their clinic…
When I see them post their first renovation…
When I hear them say, “Doc, kumikita na kami.”
Honestly?
Mas masaya pa ako para sa kanila kaysa sa sarili kong milestones.
That is not branding.
That is not strategy.
That is fulfillment.
I AM FIGHTING SO NO VET FEELS SMALL
Maybe my advocacy was born from pain.
From that moment years ago when I felt exposed, judged, and small.
Maybe God allowed that humiliation so I would recognize the face of fear when I see it in another vet.
Because now, when someone calls me shaking,
When someone messages me at 2 AM saying,
“Doc, hindi ko alam gagawin ko,”
I do not just give advice.
I give presence.
I tell them:
You are still a doctor.
You are not your worst case.
You are not your loudest critic.
You are not defined by one angry client.
And sometimes, that is all they need to stand again.
IF I AM REMEMBERED ONE DAY
I do not know how history will remember me.
Maybe as a businessman.
Maybe as a leader.
Maybe as someone controversial.
But if one veterinarian, somewhere, says:
“When I was at my lowest, he stood beside me.”
That is enough.
Because at the end of this career, beyond titles and awards, beyond success and numbers, what remains is this:
Did you lift someone when they were falling?
That is my advocacy.
And maybe… that is why I went through what I did.
Dr. Geoff Carullo is a Fellow and the current President of the Philippine College of Canine Practitioners.
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