Get to know Dr Amy March 24, 2015 16:20
Hi again! Thanks for taking the time to get to know me a little better :-) Obviously you know that I'm a small animal veterinarian, but I am a lot of other things as well! As many of you are probably aware, I am most certainly a family person. I may have bored you by telling stories about my husband and his work, the fish, our kiddies, our special dog, and little cat. I am so proud and fond of each of them I just can't help it - sorry! Here is a very recent photo of Tim and I and our three kids at O'Reilly's:
Olivia is 7, James is 5 and Rosemary is 3 now (apparently this makes her a giant). We enjoyed the birds, the pademelons, the suspension bridge and hiking at O'Reilly's so much. I was proud that the kids did an 8km walk one day - Rosie was carried only 1.5km of that distance. Not a bad effort for little legs! Here they are at Picnic Rock:
My cute little adventurers!
Less adventurous, but still super cute, is our little dog Lara. I'm told she is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel crossed with a Beagle. I haven't ever run the genetic test to prove it, but she acts like both of those breeds. She only came to us at the age of 4 - she was a patient of mine before that, and then needed a new home. Knowing how gentle and sweet she is, we were happy to welcome her to our family.
And we can't forget Crumpie. Her proper name is Crumpet - this stems from the first time we met her. Very soon after Tim and I were married we noticed a little cat around the neighbourhood that seemed to be thin and have no home. One day we cooked up a Sunday morning BBQ brekky, and she couldn't stay away. Tim held out a bit of crumpet for her from his plate, and she took it then darted off. She probably would have preferred the left-over bacon, but she wasn't in a position to be picky! So after a general process of checking that she had no home or owners, I microchipped, vaccinated, wormed and flea'ed her, and she became officially ours. I think she is about 10 years old at the moment, and I am also fairly sure she's Burmese. Again, no genetic testing, but she certainly has all the attributes of that beautiful breed. And of course, since she ate crumpet, she has been known as Crumpet ever since. Here she is in the park out the back of our yard. It's not the best shot, but she refuses to pose.
So that's the immediate family. Both Tim and I come from awesome, enormous extended families, and we like to keep in touch with everyone. I'm one of 4 siblings, and we all gather at Mum and Dad's farm in Maleny at Easter. Some in the house, some camping. And Tim is one of 5 siblings, and we all like to catch up at Hervey Bay from Christmas to the New Year. That's a raucous, crowded and thoroughly fun holiday!
As far as personal interests and hobbies, the list is verrrrry long! I'm the kind of person who likes to give everything a go. However there are a few consistent topics: I will always want to be doing something active. Usually mountain bike riding, sometimes body boarding, hiking or trail running. And I will always need to be creative. This could be playing music (I was in a bluegrass band for a fair while until the kids slowed me down), writing songs, drawing (I like to draw my patients), photography, sewing (currently into "refashioning"), renovating, cooking, fermenting, children's books, poems, etc etc. I tend to cycle around between the main ones. Here's a few pics:
Drawing of cute patient "Bobbie"
"Tomcat and the bluegrass kittens" approx. 2005
Crotchet Bootie
Painting murals on bedroom wall with Olivia
Tim and I also run an online business called Packlight (www.packlight.com.au) where we sell top quality, light weight and compact travel, hiking and camping gear. This is Tim's "thing" really - I just enjoy learning about all the cool gadgets and recent innovations. And then I really enjoy helping to test the products out. My latest discovery is wearing Merino wool in hot weather - it's amazing! You don't smell when you wear it. So you can wear the same clothes for longer, which means you can pack less.
How does all this relate to housecalls? Well, now you know the faces behind my family stories. And now you also know my energetic and creative side, which I am always applying to my veterinary work as well as to my leisure. That's what led me to start the whole mobile veterinary work in the first place, back in 2007. In future I will tell you about my Canine Microbiome Repair Trial, about the low stress handling techniques I'm beginning to implement, and about my ideas for expanding the business.
Well I have rambled on for a long time - if you're still with me I thank you for your dedication! And I didn't even get around to mentioning the fish. You'll have to ask me next time I'm at your place :-)
Dr Amy Coles
