We recently interviewed Dr Liz, a lovely veterinarian who has a strong passion for animals, which inspired her to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. With a natural inclination to care for animals and their families, she established the Russell Vale Animal Clinic, creating a space where pets receive personalized, compassionate care. In this blog post, Dr. Liz shares her journey, the joys of working with pets, and her dedication to community involvement and pet advocacy.
What inspired you to pursue a career in veterinary medicine?
Like many children, I was an avid reader of books, and many of them were about
animals, especially horses and cats. And I did not like people too much, so working with animals seemed like a clever idea. Seriously though, I cannot explain what drew me to care for our animal friends, and by extension, the people they call family. I suppose that is what a “calling” is.
Can you share a bit about your journey to establishing the Russell Vale Animal Clinic?
Without wanting to be controversial, back in the 1990’s when I was a new
graduate vet, but also a young mum of two children, there was no such thing
as part time work, time share employment or any thing else that was family
friendly. Veterinary work was either full time or nothing. And full time was 60
to 70 hours a week, weekends, on call, everything. I did work as a locum vet
in various vet hospitals, but I missed building relationships with my pets and
their family carers. As a mother of two children, (I know have four), I created
my own job, so I started Vets on the Move, the first house call veterinary
practice in Wollongong in 1996. As demand grew, we knew we needed a
hospital base – using an existing one was an option closed to us, so we
established our own. At this time, a run-down old general store in Bellambi
Lane came up for sale – this opened in April 1998 as Russell Vale Animal
Clinic – aka Dr Liz’s mad house.
What do you find most rewarding about working with pets and their owners?
I feel so blessed every day to spend time with the most amazing pet owners
who are doing the best they can with the resources they do have, to do the
best they can for their family. It is the best feeling in the world knowing, that in some way, however small, you made a positive impact in someone else’s (animal) life.
What does a typical day look like for you and your team?
Ah, the typical day question – My common tag line is “We plan, God laughs.”
Our typical day is that we try to do the best we can, with our resources, to
look after our pets in the best way we can. Sometimes, our “typical day” is not
a perfect day, – but every “typical day” we strive to do better.
How do you ensure that each pet receives personalised care during their visit?
There is always going to be what we want the “dream visit” to look like and
the “horror vet visit” that can sometimes be the reality.
Many factors go into whether it is one or the other. We love a quiet
environment for when each pet arrives – we can only achieve that if we know
who is coming in, and what time. Entering a room with a lot of pets which may
be reactive, is not exactly reassuring – turning up without any pre-warning
you are coming in, makes it uncomfortable for all the other pets (and humans)
who have made the effort to give us some warning. Our standard
appointment is up to 30 minutes, to ensure each pet and owner gets quality
time and information. Anyway, I am locally known as the “cheese lady,” “chicken lady,” “kisses lady”, whatever makes our pets happy, works for me, as I can be “any lady” for
them.
We try to recognise signs of anxiety in our pets and if needed we will do our
consults in the carpark, give them bandannas, schedule them for out of
ordinary hours to reduce their exposure to scary stuff (to give them a time to
understand and cope what is happening).
What are some common misconceptions pet owners have about veterinary visits?
There are many online blog posts that cover this, but I will go through some of
my personal pet peeves.
- vet visits are scary (they do not need to be)
- we only care about money and “if you cared for animals you would do it for
free” ( well, money does help keep the doors open, etc – If I need to explain why
we need to get paid for what we do, then whatever I say won’t convince you.
However, if there are any philanthropists out there who are happy to pay for all
my equipment, staff, bills and willing to pay me a living wage so I can work for
free, then visit me.)
- your own vet should be available and contactable at all hours of the day and
night (vets, especially solo vets like me, also need our family time too).
Can you share some tips for maintaining a pets overall health and well-being?
If regular vet visits are not on your financial radar, then learn how to do your
own objective check-ups of your pet.
Do monthly checks on lumps and bumps.
Flip your own dogs’ lips, and learn what is normal and not normal
(smell is not normal, and be aware pets hide their dental pain)
Seek professional help early (Dr Google does not count), as if you
spend weeks or months trying to fix something, you are potentially
making things worse or harder for the vet to fix. (Ear infections and
anal gland disease are common “emergencies” which do not need to
be).
Quality flea, tick and worming control are worth it – always money well
spent.
However, nothing beats an independent, objective person to assess your
pet’s overall health – when we see our pet every day, we may not notice
some of the more subtle changes that an independent person may.
Regular vet visits means we can pick up subtle changes easily, such as
unexpected weight loss (or gain), a fractured tooth or mild muscle loss (early
sign of osteoarthritis before the classic signs begin).
You are a sponsor for Pound Paws - North Gong Dog Day event, can you share with us your involvement here?
There is a quote by St Francis of Assisi which I use as my personal motto.
“Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough.
We have a higher mission – to be of service to them wherever they require it.”
Saint Francis of Assisi
(1182 – 1226)
Being involved in days like North Gong Day Event is “being of service” to our animal
friends, in that we can connect loving people with animals who deserve love.
Visit the North Gong Day Facebook page for updates on what we will be doing – but we
are so looking forward to being a part of what is going to be a wonderful day.
Website: https://animalclinic.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Russellvalevet
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