Josie

and her small friend Pheanie

I moved to Canberra with my family 16 years ago. We made the “big move” from Yass so we didn’t really move far! I consider myself a native Canberran as this is my home, this is where my people are and I love every single part of our big little city.

Animals have always been a part of my life. My family has always had a menagerie of small animal companions but our truest loves have always been our dogs. We are “dog people”.

I grew up with a dog called Mishka, a Border Collie who was adopted from the RSPCA when I was six months old. She was the typical ‘girl’s best friend’ kind of dog. She was loving, gentle and patient. Even when I stuck my little fingers up her nose!

My current love interest is a Cattle Dog X, called Pheanie. I adopted her from the RSPCA in 2007, after begging my parents for months for a companion. I was told she is an Australian Cattle Dog: she has the typical ‘blue’ colouring but I suspect that this is only part of her heritage – she is a bit on the short side so we sometimes refer to her as Ms Stumps.

Pheanie was actually the catalyst for my career as a veterinary nurse. I had been unwell and house bound for a few years through my teen-hood when my parents allowed me to get Pheanie as a companion. We hoped that she would help me get ‘back into life’. We didn’t know at the time that she would become a best friend for not only me but for all of our family. Taking care of Pheanie helped me learn how to become strong again and helped motivate me to move forward and overcome my medical troubles. After making a full recovery from my illness, I knew that vet nursing was the only career that made sense for me. I wanted to help take care of other people’s “Pheanie”, just as I took care of her and her of me.

I’ve been a member of the Small Friends Team since 2011. This is actually my first job! This is where I learned the skills of my trade and I plan to stick around for as long as they will have me.

When I’m not at work you’ll find me taking long walks with my Pheanie, binge watching Netflix shows with my husband in “the nest” (aka our couch) or under a mountain of yarn from my latest crochet project/s. Sooo many projects. I call them UFOs – Unfinished Objects!