Breaking News - at Russell Vale Vets
Why is it so?
In 2015, our youngest son, Sean is going to be entering Year 11 - his final two years of high school. And in 2016, our youngest daughter, Paige, will be starting Year 11 also. (yes, my younger two kids are 13 months apart, as are my older two children Tegan and Haiden).
As of 1st Feb 2015, we have alternate arrangements for "out of hours" emergency care for all of our animalclinic family.
For your information - I am sharing the message as will be recorded on our "out of hours" answering machine as of February 2015.
"Thank you for calling Russell Vale vets on
Bellambi Lane.
Our open hours are 9 am to to 6 pm Monday
to Friday and from 9 am to 12 on Saturdays. Closed on Sundays and Public
Holidays.
If you are the owner of an injured or sick
pet which requires attention, then call 02 42 83 2333 that is 42 832333, and
follow the message. Identify yourself as a client of Russell Vale Animal Clinic
to enable access to the after hours service.
The closest fully manned 24 hour facility
is Animal Referral Hospital on 02 97588666."
In 2015, our youngest son, Sean is going to be entering Year 11 - his final two years of high school. And in 2016, our youngest daughter, Paige, will be starting Year 11 also. (yes, my younger two kids are 13 months apart, as are my older two children Tegan and Haiden).
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| An older photo of my kids at a family holiday at Mogo Zoo! |
Why am I telling you this?
There are many challenges that I have to deal with as a solo veterinarian in general practice. And within this is also the challenge of operating a small business, working hard to provide a decent value-for-money veterinary service for loving pet owners, whilst generating an income to financially support my family.
Let me keep it simple - up until now, I have tried to be super-mum, super-vet and super-business person. Thankfully, I have an amazing family (immediate and of the animalclinic family kind) that allows me to keep up this illusion of being "super". The reality is, life has a good way of forcing you to face your priorities.
In 2015, I need to set some boundaries, and remove my guilt from not being available 24/7 for you. My children need me to be there for them, as in a few short years, they will be adults.
This is my one and only chance to be there for my younger children, at this, one of the most challenging times of their teenage life. I made the mistake of not doing this for my older two children.... it is a mistake I am NOT prepared to make again.
For example, on Australia day alone, I answered three pet owner's enquiries (all are people who are not clients of ours) via sms, two emails (again from non clients), and 2 phone calls (from existing clients - neither which were an emergency, but the owners were concerned and needed someone to talk to).
Being available 24/7 for loving pet owners is part of the unwritten unpublished job description of what being a vet is.
As my younger children are entering the high school years that will determine their graduating result, being available for others 24/7 is just no longer possible.
I am not saying that these calls were unwarranted or unnecessary. The owners had cause to be concerned. What I am saying is that I, as a person, cannot continue to do it, every day and every night, at the moment!
As a result, I have entered into a financial agreement with a larger local veterinary hospital such that the loving pet owners of Russell Vale Animal Clinic will be able to access the after hours emergency vet until further notice.
What does remain unchanged? You can email me at any time for any general questions... Dear Dr Liz will not be affected. This is a valuable service, that I will continue to offer to all loving pet owners, all over the world.
You can txt us at any time any general questions. We will try to help, but our response may not be fast enough in an emergency situation.
For your information - I am sharing the message as recorded on our "out of hours" answering machine.
"Thank you for calling Russell Vale vets on
Bellambi Lane.
Our open hours are 9 am to to 6 pm Monday
to Friday and from 9 am to 12 on Saturdays. Closed on Sundays and Public
Holidays.
If you are the owner of an injured or sick
pet which requires attention, then call 02 42 83 2333 that is 42 832333, and
follow the message. Identify yourself as a client of Russell Vale Animal Clinic
to enable access to the after hours service.
The closest fully manned 24 hour facility
is Animal Referral Hospital on 02 97588666."
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I am Dr Liz, the vet from Russell Vale Animal Clinic. I am a mother of four beautiful children, and am proud to have established Vets on the Move (the first mobile vet practice in the Illawarra in 1995), and Russell Vale Animal Clinic (the first female owned veterinary hospital in the Illawarra in 1998).
Thank you for your ongoing support and understanding, it is something that I truly appreciate and do not take for granted.
