Page 100 - Port Douglas Magazine 33

10
QUESTIONS
with
DR. CAMERON HENDRICKS
We have a chat with one of
the new docs on the block,
Dr Cameron Hendricks,
of Port Douglas Vets
The team at Port Douglas Vets (L to R) Tyler Mous, Harry Waters, Jade Devlin, Cameron Hendricks.
The t eam a t P ort Dougl as V e ts (L t o R) T yl er M ous, H arry W a t ers, J ade De vlin, Camer on H endricks.
PHO T O CREDIT : J er em y L ebeuf .
PHOTO CREDIT: Jeremy Lebeuf.
1.What inspired you to become a veterinarian?
Being a vet provides the perfect balance of technical and intellectual
challenge, and the fulfi lment of helping an animal in need. Every
day is different from the last and you never know what new problem
is going to walk through the door, and what skills and information
you’ll need to draw upon to help the animal. We both grew up
with animals and understand how they contribute to their family’s
health and happiness. The fulfi lment of being a vet relates not only
to helping the voiceless animal, but also in playing a role in the
positives of pet ownership.
2. What is one of the biggest challenges working in veterinary
science?
One of the biggest challenges is that every case requires your full
attention and expertise to achieve the very best outcome. You
could perform a textbook perfect cat surgery, and then move onto
a sick dog, switch your mind from surgery to medicine in an instant
and this process can repeat itself 20 plus times a day. Every life
that comes through our door is as important and special as the life
that arrived both before and after. Staying constantly focused can
certainly be challenging, but the rewards are well worth it.
3. What does your perfect Sunday look like?
Breakfast with my family. Long walk to get coffee. Relaxing fresh
seafood lunch. Fishing or diving in the afternoon. Picnic on the
beach for dinner with a nice bottle of red or white depending on
the dish.
100 tourismportdouglas.com.au
“One of the main
inspirations for
opening a vet clinic
here was the fact that
we absolutely love
the place and really
wanted to live here...”
4. What is one of your favourite holiday
destinations - past or future?
This is going to sound fabricated, but honestly
Port Douglas. Before opening Port Douglas Vets,
we had been holidaying up here every year for
years. While we always went bush during our
trips up here, a fair portion of the time was spent
in Port enjoying everything it has to offer. One of
the main inspirations for opening a vet clinic here
was the fact that we absolutely love the place and really wanted to quality veterinary facility offering a consistent service. Port Douglas
live here. Now that we are actually here and have been able to get has the small-town community vibe that is a big part of both our
involved in the community only reaffi rms our decision to move here backgrounds. It’s a great part of the world for lifestyle, exploring
and start the clinic. and raising a family. We knew from our market research that the
right Veterinary Service here would be warmly welcomed and
5. As pet owners what should we be mindful of in the Tropics? appreciated by the community, which has certainly been the case
Everything. Haha. It’s crazy, the climate together with the vegetation since we opened.
are perfect conditions for a number of nasties when it comes to the 8. What excites you about future developments in your field?
health of our pets. Paralysis ticks are a big one up here. They do
exactly as the name suggests, their toxin causes paralysis, which Probably the fact that there are always things to learn. There is
if left untreated can be life threatening. Thankfully there are great never a point where a veterinarian can confi dently say that they
preventatives on the market as well if your pet does acquire a tick, know everything there is to know and that they can do everything
there is also antiserum that we can administer against the toxin. that there is to do. We will learn something new every day, until
Leptospirosis is another disease of concern in the tropics. It is spread the day we retire. Scope for professional development is vast and
every year we attend conferences and workshops to improve our
by rats and mice and while it can be lethal to your pet if they catch skills and knowledge. Every time that we learn something new our
the disease, it is also a human health risk. These two factors make
it a must with respect to prevention. There is an effective vaccine patients benefi t as we are able to apply this expertise to our clinic
and the job that we do.
available which forms part of our annual health assessment and
vaccine protocol. 9. Any particularly interesting cases you have had through your
6. Any advice to those thinking of pursuing a career in door or a funny story you can share?
veterinary science? We had one case of a staffy who happened to stumble across a
fi sh hook with bait attached. Before the owner could react this dog
Study hard at school. Get a good grounding in the sciences, quickly gobbled the bait, fi sh hook, line attached and all. So he came
especially chemistry. After all, the course is called Veterinary
Science. See if you actually like the industry and what we do. in, nylon fi shing line disappearing down his gullet. Quite happy
Spend some time in a Vet Clinic if possible, but also get out on with himself indeed. Owners were not as impressed as he was.
Obviously we couldn’t just pull the line as that would jag the hook
farm, animal shelters, welfare organisations. University is tough, but into the esophagus. So we anaesthetized him, took radiographs
the workplace is tougher. Good work ethic and enthusiasm can’t be which showed the location of the hook in the mid-esophagus. Then
taught, but they are two attributes essential in this fi eld. Getting into
the course is the hardest part initially as the demand for university with the use of an endoscope and an instrument called alligator
places is very high. Academic excellence and a positive mindset forceps we carefully removed the hook via the mouth and surgery
was avoided. The dog woke up from the anaesthetic none the wiser.
are what is required to stand out from the rest. And of course, don’t
give up on your dreams, they are achievable, but nothing hard ever 10. Coffee or Wine?
came easy.
Depends on the time of day, but we are quite fond of and well
7. What attracted you to Port Douglas above other destinations acquainted with both. And sometimes espresso martinis please.
to open your practice?
My business partner, Harry and I had both spent time in Port
Douglas before and loved the location, the community and
the surroundings. We felt there was a need here for a one-stop,
portdouglasvets.com