Dear Google,
I ask, with humble respect of the power you hold in searches, to please not destroy my business listing all because of your changed algorithms.
Up until recently, my business was featured on the front page of google searches for my, and my immediate area, but most recently, it appears this is not the case. Thanks to some wonderful new pet owners, I have been told that they couldn't find me online, but have had to rely on word of mouth and my location to find me.
My website is mobile friendly, it is kept up to date with fresh content, as well as updating existing content. Sure its not the prettiest looking website, but isn't what the website is all about more important that whether it is pretty? I write a blog, I am active on several social media sites, including your own google plus. The point of all of that is not to improve my google standing, but to be able to do what I do best - looking after our beautiful animals.
In fact, knowing what you have done to my own website listing, means that I now no longer trust what you give with my own searches for other businesses.... after all, what great businesses are now being overlooked now, and not turning up where they should.
Ah well, instead of spending my time looking after the beautiful pets of my area, I am now going to be researching ways of including woonona, bulli, thirroul, wollongong, illawarra, dogs, cats, veterinary, bellambi, towradgi, fairy meadow, figtree, west wollongong, bellambi and any other wollongong suburb into my website, so at least it doesn't look like there is only one vet hospital in the northern suburbs of Wollongong, which isn't me. Sadly, it will make my website look like an unpleasant reading advertisement or roadmap of the wollongong veterinary landscape, rather than the informative website I wanted it to be.
Sadly, I do not have any spare cash to pay for an SEO or whatever manager, as all of my money goes into trying to keep my veterinary fees fair and reasonable. All that your algorithm changes do is just force businesses to spend money they do not have to get people to do updates to their websites which end up being paid for the customer that you claim you want to help.
Really? Is this fair? Stupid comment, I know. Life is not fair nor meant to be fair.
You know what the sad part of all of this is? It just shows that you cannot be trusted now.
Yours
Dr Liz
The mad vet who loves dogs, cats, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, budgies in the beautiful northern suburbs of Wollongong.
PS I know that in the whole scheme of things, there are bigger problems in this world, but geez, why make life harder.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Vet "Yes, Sir, I do surgeries and stuff"
At the Australian Veterinary Conference in Perth (in 2014), at the vet forum, a colleague of mine stood up and said "The general public have no idea what it is that we do".
At the time, I thought that comment a bit strange. Surely, the general public must have some idea. After all, they are very judgmental of vets or of how we should be doing things, if social media is any indication.
Whilst many of the veterinary shows on TV are great entertainment, and whilst they don't truly reflect the day in a vets life, they still do show a range of procedures and equipment, as well as some of the day-to-day stressors of a veterinarians life.
So fast forward to a general business conference I attended recently. Each of us introduced ourselves, and our professions and businesses to all. There were accountants, electricians, beauticians, hair dressers, truck drivers and marketing gurus. We all had a thing in common - each of us were in business, and we each wanted to improve our business.
When it came to lunch time, I was asked " So you're a vet? Do you do surgeries and stuff?"
"Yes, Sir... I do surgeries and stuff", and I left it at that. If I wasn't asked the question over a meal, then I would quite happily have gone into all of the things I do (as do my colleagues) every day. A lot of what we do isn't really appropriate meal time conversation.
Because of what we do, day in and day out, its easy to forget that many people do not realise what it is that we actually do.
Unless you understand the complexity and the skill that has gone into our work, you are not going to appreciate the value. To some of you, giving your vet money is just expensive, irrespective of the service they have given you.
But this post isn't about money, or expense... it is about the world of veterinary medicine.
For some of us, it is "magical". For others it is "science". And let us not forget the "art" aspect too.
The truth is - veterinary science is all three things. The magic comes every time there is a connection with an animal, physically or emotionally. The trust that that animal has in you, a stranger, to do no harm to them or their human family.
The happiness in their eyes and their smiles when they see you head over to the treat jar. Doing something that you know is going to make a big difference in that pet's life, whether it be a nail trim (they can walk more comfortably), expressing anal glands (no more scooting or sore bottoms), or the big stuff, such as fixing a broken leg or curing the dog of cancer.
Isn't that magical?
I read about it all the time - where fellow colleagues are forgetting about the magic of what they do because they are up to their umpteenth anal gland expression that day. As one colleague said to me recently, "I hate the boring anal gland and nail clip stuff". Sadly, whilst he thinks that way (and I know he's not alone), he has missed a simple joy of what being a vet is all about - the magic of making a difference in an animal's life for the better.
For you see, no matter how often they have done it, or how "routine" it is for that vet.... for that animal, when you have expressed their anal glands or trimmed their nails, you have made a HUGE impact on the quality of their lives.
Being a vet isn't about us, but about them.
Let us get back to the science part, after all I did graduate with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from the University of Sydney, not a Bachelor of Veterinary Magic from Hogwarts.
The problem I have with the "science" word as one would tend to think of science as rigid and fixed, like the laws of physics. But as one of my fav TV characters Dr Who would say, veterinary science is more "slimy wimy twisty outery type of thing". Of course, he was referencing time, being the Time Lord and all, but the same applies to veterinary work.
To rephrase that, veterinary work is a combination of magic, science and art. Combine that all together, and you have your local animal loving GP vet.
So let's get back to my fellow business person's question... Do you do surgeries and stuff"
Well, the best way I could describe it is comparing it to the human side.
In any given day, I could be a
.JPG)
I am humble general practitioner vet, doing the best I can to keep the animals that come under my care happy and healthy.
I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Bellambi.
At the time, I thought that comment a bit strange. Surely, the general public must have some idea. After all, they are very judgmental of vets or of how we should be doing things, if social media is any indication.
Whilst many of the veterinary shows on TV are great entertainment, and whilst they don't truly reflect the day in a vets life, they still do show a range of procedures and equipment, as well as some of the day-to-day stressors of a veterinarians life.
So fast forward to a general business conference I attended recently. Each of us introduced ourselves, and our professions and businesses to all. There were accountants, electricians, beauticians, hair dressers, truck drivers and marketing gurus. We all had a thing in common - each of us were in business, and we each wanted to improve our business.
When it came to lunch time, I was asked " So you're a vet? Do you do surgeries and stuff?"
"Yes, Sir... I do surgeries and stuff", and I left it at that. If I wasn't asked the question over a meal, then I would quite happily have gone into all of the things I do (as do my colleagues) every day. A lot of what we do isn't really appropriate meal time conversation.
.JPG) |
| Should I really be talking about Pyometron surgery over lunch with strangers? |
Because of what we do, day in and day out, its easy to forget that many people do not realise what it is that we actually do.
Unless you understand the complexity and the skill that has gone into our work, you are not going to appreciate the value. To some of you, giving your vet money is just expensive, irrespective of the service they have given you.
But this post isn't about money, or expense... it is about the world of veterinary medicine.
For some of us, it is "magical". For others it is "science". And let us not forget the "art" aspect too.
 |
| Every day is magic! |
The truth is - veterinary science is all three things. The magic comes every time there is a connection with an animal, physically or emotionally. The trust that that animal has in you, a stranger, to do no harm to them or their human family.
The happiness in their eyes and their smiles when they see you head over to the treat jar. Doing something that you know is going to make a big difference in that pet's life, whether it be a nail trim (they can walk more comfortably), expressing anal glands (no more scooting or sore bottoms), or the big stuff, such as fixing a broken leg or curing the dog of cancer.
Isn't that magical?
I read about it all the time - where fellow colleagues are forgetting about the magic of what they do because they are up to their umpteenth anal gland expression that day. As one colleague said to me recently, "I hate the boring anal gland and nail clip stuff". Sadly, whilst he thinks that way (and I know he's not alone), he has missed a simple joy of what being a vet is all about - the magic of making a difference in an animal's life for the better.
For you see, no matter how often they have done it, or how "routine" it is for that vet.... for that animal, when you have expressed their anal glands or trimmed their nails, you have made a HUGE impact on the quality of their lives.
Being a vet isn't about us, but about them.
Let us get back to the science part, after all I did graduate with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from the University of Sydney, not a Bachelor of Veterinary Magic from Hogwarts.
The problem I have with the "science" word as one would tend to think of science as rigid and fixed, like the laws of physics. But as one of my fav TV characters Dr Who would say, veterinary science is more "slimy wimy twisty outery type of thing". Of course, he was referencing time, being the Time Lord and all, but the same applies to veterinary work.
To rephrase that, veterinary work is a combination of magic, science and art. Combine that all together, and you have your local animal loving GP vet.
So let's get back to my fellow business person's question... Do you do surgeries and stuff"
 |
| Dr Liz plays "dentist" and "Radiographer" |
Well, the best way I could describe it is comparing it to the human side.
In any given day, I could be a
- ob-gyn (desexing a dog/cat/rabbit),
- oncologist (diagnosing and treating common cancers),
- general surgeon (stitching up lacerations or bite wounds),
- opthalmologist ( conjunctivitis, corneal ulcers),
- dermatologist (skin biopsy and allergy testing, or solving the itchy pet saga),
- dentist (assessing oral health, and instituting appropriate treatment including extractions)
- Renal specialist - diagnosing and managing pets with chronic kidney disease
- Anaesthetist - ensuring all pets have a safe general or local anaesthetic
- Arthritis management - developing joint and muscle management plans
- nutritionist - formulating an appropriate diet for the individual pet
I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Bellambi.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Happy animalclinic family
At Russell Vale Animal Clinic, our world revolves around all of the beautiful dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, rats, mice, possums, etc etc that we see.
Whilst much of what we do does involve sadness, most of what we do is to help sick pets become healthy again.
I share a collage of some very special animalclinic family members.
We have Pumpkin, Bella, Pusski, Scooby, Piper with Dash, Smiles, Piper, Schnitzel with Pandora, a snake (from our open day), Millie, Ol' George, Polly, Bobby and Soy (in love), Dash, Aslan, and Benji.
Our animals are so special, and each and every day, I remind myself how lucky we are that they have agreed to be a part of our lives.
As I have been saying for the past week or so... we are here for a good time, not a long time.
Let us cherish each and every day, and live it like it is our last.
I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Bellambi.
Do you have any of your pet's photo's to share? We would love to add them to our animalclinic family album. Feel free to email me.
Do you want to see our family album? Of course you can, just go here!
Whilst much of what we do does involve sadness, most of what we do is to help sick pets become healthy again.
I share a collage of some very special animalclinic family members.
We have Pumpkin, Bella, Pusski, Scooby, Piper with Dash, Smiles, Piper, Schnitzel with Pandora, a snake (from our open day), Millie, Ol' George, Polly, Bobby and Soy (in love), Dash, Aslan, and Benji.
Our animals are so special, and each and every day, I remind myself how lucky we are that they have agreed to be a part of our lives.
As I have been saying for the past week or so... we are here for a good time, not a long time.
Let us cherish each and every day, and live it like it is our last.
I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Bellambi.
Do you have any of your pet's photo's to share? We would love to add them to our animalclinic family album. Feel free to email me.
Do you want to see our family album? Of course you can, just go here!
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