Dr.  Liz with Dirk.


I  (Dr Liz) am Wollongong born and bred, to Polish born parents.   My family consists of Dirk (my life partner and vet nurse) and four children (Tegan, Haiden, Sean and Paige).  Dirk was born in Tokoroa, New Zealand, to Dutch born parents. 

The extended family is our dog Teddy, our cats Fitz, Dash, and Pusski (inherited cat), our chickens (with a warm favourite of Ol' Faithful), and our pet rabbit (Hip Hop). 

Basic Information:  
I attended West Wollongong Infants School (when it existed), then went to West Wollongong Primary School, then went to Wollongong High School, and completed my Higher School Certificate (in the days when it was out of 500).  I scored high enough to join the Veterinary Faculty at the University of Sydney, graduating wth a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 1989.  

Dirk attended Amisfield School, then went to Tokoroa High School,  and then ended up at the University of Waikato doing something.  He ended up graduating with a Bachelor of Science, with a special interest in Geology.  Working as  a Petroleum Geologist soon followed, which meant that he got to travel to very exotic sites.  Like the middle of the ocean in Bass Strait, or some oil rig in the middle of the desert hours away from civilisation. His brother lived in Wollongong, and that is where Dirk and I met, on New Years Eve.

I started working in Wollongong, at Crown Street Vet Hospital, as this was just the next street across from where I grew up.  How easy was that! I could roll out of bed at 7.55 am and get to work on time for 8!  Those were the days. That was the year that I met Dirk also.  So, it was a big year!  My second year of work, I decided that I was going to travel to Europe, and attend the World Small Animal Veterinary Conference in Vienna, and then have a baby (Tegan).  That was also a big year! 

So, whilst I was working at Crown Street vets,  I started Puppy Preschool classes (after I first heard about them in 1992 when I was attending the AVA conference in Adelaide).  I find it ironic that I was the first to do Puppy classes in the Illawarra, and am probably the only vet clinic not doing them.  

Well, another kid came along (Haiden) which was great, but in those days, part time work for vets was not easily available... it was either full time or locum (casual work with 5 minutes notice), which didn't work for me at all. I really enjoy being part of a pet's life and following through, and you can't do that when you work a day here and there at different places.   Dirk was still working the oil rigs in those days, so the challenge was to develop a practice where I could be part of my families lives, as well as enjoy my working life.  Whilst I was sorting things through, I worked in Sydney,  to gain a broader experience of veterinary working life.  The challenge of balancing a career with family was always there.... so I found a solution... it was Vets on the Move.  That officially started in December 1995.  Unfortunately, it did too well, and we had to expand even further.

So came the next challenge.  We needed a hospital base.  The local vets weren't all too forthcoming into entering an arrangement where we could help each other, so we went searching for a place to call our own.  

My sister in law lived in Woonona, and she pointed me out to this run down building which used to be the corner store.  We looked into it.  The building inspector said it should be demolished.  I looked at it, and saw such potential.  It was, to my eyes, the most beautiful building. Granted, alot of work, blood, sweat, tears, and lets not forget money, has gone into this building. It is the building we all know as Russell Vale Animal Clinic, or "the Bellambi vets" to the locals.

It is upsetting to see that we constantly face graffitti and theft, which makes it harder for us to do what we do as animal carers, as we waste hours scrubbing "TAGS" off the side of our building, or cleaning up the broken glass! 

But onto a more positive note... The building was bought in December 1996, and by April 1998, it was open to the public!   But life wasn't interested in making things easy... in fact, it kept on reminding me of what was important, which is family.  Sean was born in October of 1998.  Paige came soon after in November 1999. 

So, it is now March 2010.  In April, we will have been open twelve years! 

Lots of things have changed, but the basis of what we do has remained the same.  We wish to enjoy coming to our little practice, and feeding lots of liver treats or Greenies to our visitors. 

Thanks for sharing the journey with us.   It isn't over yet!