Todays Story

"Excuse me!"

Her body hung limp in his arms.

"She's been hit by a car."

I asked the gentleman to take a seat as I went and got the vet.

"She's gone, she's gone!" I heard the gentleman cry as I told the vet that we had an emergency just arrive.

I went over to the dog, slumped in her owners arms. I lifted her lip to look at the colour of her gums, extremely pale and her tongue was blue. I touched the corner of her eye to see if there was any reaction, nothing.

The man sobbed as I went and got a stethoscope.

As I knelt down to listen for a heartbeat I saw a small twitch in her front leg. Maybe she is alive? I thought to myself.

"I'm sorry, I can't find a heartbeat, I will get the vet to double check but I think she's gone." I honestly don't know how I managed to utter those words without crying myself.

I walked back into the consult room and mentioned to the vet that I thought the dog was dead. He grabbed the stethoscope from me and went out to where the gentleman sat, sobbing with his dog in his arms.

As I had suspected, she was gone.

I comforted the owner and we spoke about what to do next. He left, leaving his beloved pooch behind.




Working in a veterinary clinic always has its ups and downs. Todays events were certainly one of the downs. Sometimes it really affects me, sometimes I hardly bat an eyelid. Today it affected me. Seeing two grown men cry over the loss of their much loved dog is quite sad.

It made me think about my dogs and what it would be like if they were to suddenly leave me. It made me think about the guy who hit the dog and kept driving. It made me think about responsible pet ownership and keeping your pet safe and secure.

Who's fault was it that the dog was hit? The driver? The dog? The owner?




If you have any opinions or stories, share them with me. I would love to hear them! I can already feel another post coming along.....pet ownership.......

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

I have worked with her for 6 months and she has made those 6 months sparkle.

She welcomed me with open arms and has helped me through some very difficult situations. Rache has taught me a lot about nursing and a lot about life. She has taught me to stress less and joke more! She is a lovable, fun, quirky, easy going girl who is about to take the next step in her journey of life and move interstate to live with her fiancee. Sadly this means the awesome Rachey must leave us behind.

Normally it's me leaving and saying goodbye, this time i'm on the other end. I'm staying in the same spot and someone else is leaving. I'm not sure how we will cope without her, she is totally irreplaceable and no-one can fill her shoes!

Rache, you are awesome! Don't ever let anyone else tell you otherwise. You have been a true friend and i'm going to miss you terribly. I wish you all the best with the next step in your life. XOXO

June 21 - 28

Day 28 - On Your Shelf. Lots of DVDs and a little bit of love.


Day 27 - Bathroom. I love having a bath!


Day 26 - Where you shop. Coles supermarket.


Day 25 - Something Cute. Fluffy trying to squish into the little basket!


Day 24 - On my mind. The massive cooking mess I have to clean up! *sigh*


Day 23 - Movement. Attempting to get Sascha to play with her 'panic mouse'


Day 22 - From a high angle. A treat to myself for sucessfully completing a semester of Veterinary Nursing!


Day 21 - Where you slept. My Bed................my messy bed. :-P

Blogging, apps and technology

My sister has been my inspiration into starting my blog. She has actually been my inspiration for a couple of things recently. Blogging and sharing my creativeness through an app called Instagram and the photo a day challenge.

I find blogging a good way to release any stresses and express my thoughts a feelings, even if only a few people read it. Although I do wish I had more followers, I just don't know how to get more people to read my blog!

I'm still learning how to set-up the pages appropriately and I find myself asking my tech savvy sister to help me when I don't know the answer. I apologise if my blog seems a bit of a mess at times!!

I'm not the best with technology. Recently my phone was low on space so I went into settings and deleted a few things that I didn't think were important, turns out I deleted my entire contacts list! I'm still trying to get everyones numbers!

Technology is forever changing and we will be forever trying to keep up. By the time I get my blog sorted out and I actually know what I'm doing there will possibly be a new form of communication.

Playing the waiting game

Playing the waiting game to find out where we will move to next is not my idea of fun. Will we be in Sydney for another year? Will we be moving to another state? Will we be going back to South Australia?

Around the first week of July most defence members find out where they will be posted next year. It can be a very exciting and/or frustrating time. It is something we must face at least every 2 years, the possibility of packing up our life again and moving to a new town, meeting new people and making new friends.

Thus far my husbands position is stable so it looks like we don't have to move at the end of this year, which I'm very grateful for. Although moving so often allows you to get rid of a heap of junk and throw out a lot of things you don't need it is very stressful.

It has taken me a long time to get used to life in Sydney. I do enjoy it but it's completely different to Adelaide. For some reason it seems as though everyone in Sydney is in a hurry to do something...I feel as though they never sleep and there is never any time to do "nothing"......"something" is always happening.

I have mixed emotions about staying in Sydney another year. Sometimes I think it may just send me crazy, other times I feel like I need to embrace the city more as there's still so much for me to see and do.

June 11-20

Day 20 - One of the best photos you've ever taken. 2010 in the Netherlands.


Day 19 - Imperfect. Dinner!!


Day 18 - Something we don't know about you.... I have a new found love for tea!


Day 17 - In your handbag.


Day 16 - Out and About.


Day 15. Yellow. Fishies at TAFE.


Day 14 - Time.


Day 13 - Art. My body art.


Day 12 - From a low angle. Looking up at Louie on his scratching post.


Day 11 - Door. Zorro wanting to come in at work!

My BFF, Blackie Penty.

Blackie Penty is a legacy cat which resides with us at the AWL.

Since the start of this year he has been staying at the clinic so we can closely monitor his health. He is a 12.5yr old, domestic medium hair with chronic arthritis and weighs a whopping 8.5kg!! (He did weigh more!!)

Blackie has a great personality that I fell in love with whilst I was working in the shelter. I gave my boss a proposal to keep Blackie with us at the clinic to put him on a strict weight loss plan and exercise regime. I was exstatic when my proposal was approved!

Since being under the care of the veterinary clinic Blackie has lost 1kg and is moving around at an alarming pace! He used to sit on his bed, get up for eating (or sometimes not even get up! His food was sometimes placed right in front of his face!) and sleep. That was Blackies day. NOW he gets up, has brekkie, takes his meds like a pro, walks around the clinic, starts fights with dogs, explores and makes me smile every day.

A few weeks ago I was told Blackie would be taken away from the clinic - he would go into foster care. I was devastated. Blackie made me so happy and I didn't want him to go, I was very upset. I met the lady who was going to take him and instantly I took a disliking to her. She was abrupt and rough around the edges. I wanted Blackie to stay.

I have thought lots about this situation over the last few weeks and I guess i'm warming to the idea, I guess it will be better for him, since he does pick up every teeny tiny piece of food that is spilled on the floor and he has learnt to slip his hand through the bars in some of the cages and steal food out of other cats bowls!! (he is very clever!)  I do worry that he will be too much work for the foster carer and she will forget to feed him the right diet, or forget his meds....I don't know, I guess I have to wait and see how it goes.

I'm very protective of Blackie and I want the best for him. I treat him like my own.

Blackie helping me with the washing.

Cheeky Blackie

Blackie and Fluffy having a nap