This week the Chronicle spoke to Anexa vet nurse, Isa Hulena-Leslie, who is leaving her position at the local veterinary clinic after many years.
How long did you work at Anexa Vet clinic?
I started my full-time position as a Vet Nurse in February 2014, however I completed work placement within the clinic for around a year prior to this. I was very lucky to have landed such an awesome first vet nursing job, and in such a great place too.
What did you enjoy about the position?
There are so many aspects I loved; getting to know our awesome clients and pets, having a fun and supportive veterinary team and being taught invaluable skills by fellow colleagues. Not to mention the ‘peculiar’ animals we find ourselves dealing with in Raglan, including lots of different wildlife!
Where is your career taking you now, and what prompted the change?
It’s time for a change for me, which I have mixed emotions about! It has become common to hear fellow colleagues and clients say things like “I always thought you would be another Donna, at the clinic for 30 years!” which I thought could absolutely be a possibility, especially in such a great place as Raglan. So, I will be exploring my options
in larger Veterinary hospitals and after-hours emergency clinic’s around NZ, as emergency and critical care is an area within the profession where I know I can gain an invaluable amount of skill and knowledge.
What are you passionate about in terms of animal health?
I have a real passion for getting to the core of the health issues we see daily, so I am talking about preventative health, animal behaviour and psychology, nutrition, that sort of thing. Also education, as there are a lot of misconceptions out there about animals’ health and wellbeing, what is right and wrong. We need to work on changing our thinking from having the ‘right’ to own animals, to it being our ‘responsibility’.
What community projects/ fundraisers are you involved with?
I have been largely involved with the Stray Animal & Wildlife Fund since starting my job, which most of you will know is completely run on donations and we dedicate our own personal time to the running of it.
More recently, I have also become involved with a rescue in Albania (Animal Rescue Albania), and have been working on a few projects to generate on-going fundraising to try to help with the never-ending amount of animals in dire need there. Stay tuned on this, further info to come soon and we will need all the help and support we can get!
