Founding Veterinary Spokesperson

Dr. Ginger Bryant Hutchinson, DVM

New Smyrna Beach, Florida

A New Smyrna Beach institution. Twenty-five years in this community. A family practice she and her sister bought from their mother in 2004. She knew Paul. She commissioned one of his bridges. Now her clinic is the model for how Paul’s legacy reaches grieving pet families across the country.

#SaveOneThenMORE

Dogs. Cats. Horses. Cows. Sheep. Goats. Birds. Snakes. Every creature she carries.

How They Met

“A very nice man walked into my clinic as a client and wanted to know if I'd like a rainbow bridge for the animals that died. I asked if I could pay him. He said no, no, it's a gift.”

Then she commissioned a larger one. About ten times the size of the first. That bridge is still in her clinic.

Dr. Ginger · Interview at Glencoe Veterinary Hospital, April 2026

Her Father’s Letter

She still has it.

Dr. Ginger's father's letter, written to help her get into veterinary school

Dr. Ginger’s father was a veterinarian. He died of cancer 27 years ago at age 64. Robyn, her older sister, is 64 now. Ginger is 58. The parallel is not lost on either of them.

He wrote a letter to help get her into veterinary school. She still has it. She started vet school at 33. She and her sister bought the practice from their mother in 2004.

Her clients lifted the family up when her father died. “What they did for me was… they backed me. They’re amazing.”

The reality of the profession

By the numbers

3.5×

Female veterinarians

2.1×

Male veterinarians

The rate at which U.S. veterinarians die by suicide, compared to the general population.

The profession surpassed dentists more than a decade ago. New grads last on average five years before half leave the clinical floor.

Source: CDC MMWR, January 2019 (Tomasi et al.). AVMA Workplace Wellness studies.

The cumulative toll

“Ten percent of my days are happiness.”

One in ten. The other nine are euthanasias, angry owners, animals she couldn't save, and bills she couldn't cover.

Dr. Ginger Bryant Hutchinson, DVM · Glencoe Veterinary Hospital, April 2026

What she was taught in vet school

The 20/20 Rule

Of every 100 patients she treats: 20 get better no matter what she does. 20 don't get better no matter what she does. The 60 in the middle are where her work actually changes outcomes.

20 self-heal

60 her work matters

20 don't make it

“Nowhere in my training did anyone ever talk about finding balance.”

Dr. Ginger, recalling her vet school professor

The economics that crush a practice

Three profit centers. Two are being eaten.

Vaccines

Profitable. Eaten by mobile vaccine clinics that operate in parking lots and pet store partnerships.

Pharmacy

Profitable. Eaten by online pet pharmacies promising 20% off first orders. She still has to stock anti-seizure meds, insulin, anaphylactic-shock drugs.

Sickness

The costliest service to provide. 10% margin after staff. $300K+ equipment, replaced every 5-10 years. This is the only one left.

Operators tell us mobile vaccine clinics drain roughly six figures a year out of local private practices collectively. Multiply that by every county in America.

Practitioner-reported figure, not yet published research. Geographic scope (New Smyrna Beach vs. all of Volusia County) being confirmed.

What She Was Taught

“Twenty percent of patients will get better despite what you do. Twenty percent will not get better despite what you do.”

One of her professors. Orientation. The first week of vet school. Twenty-five years later it still lands.

“Nowhere in my training did anyone ever talk about finding balance.They don’t teach you that.”

Why This Matters

Veterinary professionals have surpassed dentists for suicide rate.

Vets. Receptionists. Kennel techs. Anyone working in a veterinary clinic. New graduates last about five years. The 27 U.S. vet schools take students with 4.8 GPAs. People who want to fix everything and want to be right every time. You can’t be right every time in this medicine.

Private practices like hers compete with online pharmacies and corporate chains. Three profit centers: vaccines, pharmacy, sickness. Sickness is what most clients come for, and it’s the lowest margin. Maybe ten percent after everyone gets paid.

Three hundred thousand dollars in equipment. Refrigerators full of insulin and anaphylactic-shock drugs that expire if you don’t use them. And clients who get angry that costs money.

That’s the math. The mental toll is the rest.

On Euthanasia

“Ten percent of my days are happiness.”

The cumulative toll of putting animals down, dealing with angry owners, and absorbing other people’s grief.

Dr. Ginger · April 2026

What Keeps Her Going

Angels on Earth.

Dr. Ginger and her sister and business partner Robyn at Glencoe Veterinary Hospital — Dr. Ginger and her sister Robyn. Business partners. Sisters first.

Her sister Robyn, who is also her business partner. They fight. She also has her back. “She would never let me leave here without knowing we did everything.”

A husband who put the kids to bed when she was working late through vet school. An oldest son who was the practice manager for four years.

And clients who walk into her clinic on the worst days and remind her she’s worthy. “An angel over this building protecting me for twenty-five years.”

Most veterinarians don’t have any of that.

The Bridge Plan

When Paul’s bridges are paid for by donations, they come to clinics like Dr. Ginger’s. When a patient passes, the veterinarian gives the bridge to the family. The bereaved walks out with something handmade by a man who understood loss.

When Paul’s bridges are gone, veteran craftsmen build the next ones. PTSD survivors with woodworking skills. Fifty percent to the craftsman. Pat Allabaugh receives five percent of every sale, in perpetuity. The rest funds the mission.

Dr. Ginger’s clinic is the proof of concept. The model that goes nationwide.

“My sister and I will be honorably a part of it.”

Dr. Ginger · on camera, April 2026

Visit the Practice

Where Paul’s bridge lives.

Glencoe Veterinary Hospital is a full-service family practice in New Smyrna Beach. The bridge Dr. Ginger commissioned from Paul is on display at the clinic. If you’re local, this is the place. If you’re a veterinarian anywhere in the country reading this, this is the model.

Website

glencoevethospital.com

Phone

(386) 427-4149

Address

423 N. Glencoe Road

New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168

Hours

Monday – Friday

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Follow Glencoe Vet on Facebook

For after-hours emergencies, Glencoe Vet refers to Animal Emergency Hospital Ormond and Animal Emergency Hospital DeLand.

For Veterinarians Anywhere

If you read this and recognize yourself, reach out.

Dr. Ginger is the first. The plan is hundreds. Every veterinarian who carries a bridge becomes the bridge for the families who walk in on the worst day of their year. We’ll help you set it up, no cost, your clinic, your patients, your story.

Bring Bridges to Your Clinic

For peer support: Not One More Vet (NOMV) at nomv.org.

Read Paul’s Story The Coalition Join the Coalition

If you or someone you know is struggling:

Call or text 988

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline · 24/7 · Free · Confidential

#SaveOneThenMORE