For OUTinPerth’s first ever Creatures page, we talked to Veterinarian Gwenda Williams of Pet Doctor Animal Hospital in Bibra Lake about her work as a vet and what she wishes every animal owner knew.
‘I wanted to become a vet because I hated feeling helpless when I saw animals in trouble. Then my very lovely dog Bette Davis died and I had terrible trouble coming to terms with the grief of losing Bette. I was in my early 30s at that stage, teaching, and had always wanted to be a vet. Something in me just said let’s give it a go. I can’t imagine doing anything else now.
‘Animals are absolutely subject to their owner’s ability and willingness to look after them. There are times when you can actually turn some around who doesn’t know a lot about looking after an animal to showing them good things they can do and inspiring them to do it. That just makes a difference to that animal and any animal they have in the future.’
What Every Animal Owner Should Know
‘Pet health insurance. I wish people knew just how expensive veterinary medicine is. People say, ‘Oh, gee it is expensive’ when they got a bill, but they don’t take that on before. Veterinary medicine gets no government assistance. That means if your dog or cat breaks a leg, it is going to cost you $5000. For me, the best thing in the world you can do is insure your pet before anything happens. Then, it is insured for life and that $5000 bill becomes a $100 bill. Your animal has the option of going to a specialist or an emergency centre because it is covered for any veterinary hospital in Australia.
‘High quality diet is another one of my priorities. It is one of the biggest things you can do for an animal from birth on. My major focus is on dog and cat biscuits because they are potentially a great way of getting nutrients into your pet. The range of biscuits is frightening in that some of them are just flour and water and fat – no nutrients. Yet, they can become the staple diet of a dog or cat. On the other hand, there are some brilliant biscuits that have vitamins, minerals, antioxidants. They are such good biscuits, and yet, you see a packet of one and weigh up the price with a packet of the other and obviously the good biscuits are going to be more expensive, but what you are getting is so different. It is like weighing up Cocoa Pops with a very high quality muesli. Of course, you are going to pay more, but you should. The results are brilliant. I can almost pick an animal as they walk in from the lustre in their coat. I’ll immediately say, ‘what is your dog or your cat eating?’ And I’ll know what brand of biscuits they’re on.
We had a project when I was in nutrition as a vet student. We were all budding nutrition scientists at that point, and it took me about 4 hours to come up with something that was nutritionally balanced. And it tasted shocking! So, these companies, they spend millions getting it right, and then they spend millions every year keeping it right.’
What to Consider Before Getting a Pet
‘The first thing I say to people when deciding to get a pet is: are you prepared to make it for the next 15 years? Consider your budget, because that is the biggest constraint people have. Then, consider your environment. Is it wise, for instance, to have a big dog when you can’t give it lots of exercise? What kind of time do you have? What kind of coat do you want in an animal? A long haired animal will require more maintenance than a short-haired one. Do you know if you have any allergies? I’ll see tragic situations where people get a cat or dog and find out they are allergic. And who suffers? The animal, every time. So, it is really important to consider different factors and options before getting an animal.’
