
Welcome back to a Day in the Life – this month we are joining Katerina Skarbek from Somersby Animal Hospital, which is located on the Central Coast of New South Wales. While Somersby Animal Hospital may sound like it is a generic veterinary practice, the reality is anything but – largely due to its proximity to the Australian Reptile Park, which is home to more than 2,000 animals. As a result, Skarbek describes herself as a mixed animal veterinarian who works primarily with exotics, wildlife and zoo animals.
In many ways, working at Somersby Animal Hospital is a dream come true for Skarbek. “I grew up on a horse stud and was telling people I was going to be a vet from the second I could talk,” she said. “I was always coming home with an animal that needed ‘help’ and I hand raised various animals from kittens to goats to ducks. Luckily, I had an animal-loving family who tolerated this very well.” Not surprisingly, Skarbek opted to study a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Newcastle University when she finished high school, and followed this up with a Bachelor of Veterinary Biology/Diploma of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Sydney, which she completed in 2019. “I always wanted to work with horses and exotics but did not think I would be able to do both until I did a University placement at Somersby Animal Hospital as a student,” Skarbek said. “I fell in love with the clinic and was lucky enough to be offered a job then and there.”
A regular day at Somersby Animal Hospital sees Skarbek attending to a packed and varied schedule. “I see at least six or seven different species a day, from macaws to alligators to zebras,” she said. The clinic has a regular clientele who bring in domestic animals for treatment, but Skarbek and the rest of the team at Somersby Animal Hospital also treat animals from six different zoos and wildlife facilities, as well as for multiple wildlife groups. As a result, Skarbek has to deal with an unpredictable case load and long hours. “A twelve-hour day is pretty normal, as our varied patient base often results in the need for a fair bit of research,” she said. “Weirdly, they don’t teach us how to take blood from a crocodile or how to anaesthetise a lion at university!”
Skarbek loves working with such a diverse patient caseload. “I’ve never heard of a ‘regular’ veterinary clinic that sees the variety of species that we do,” she said. “Not many clinics can say they have cheetahs, giraffes and Komodo dragons as patients.” That said, working with such an assortment of species also presents challenges, particularly when working with animals for whom there is not a lot of published data. “Due to significant inter- and intra-species differences in reptiles, for example, we often don’t have sufficient data to guarantee adequate anaesthesia in these animals,” Skarbek said. “And did you know that the eye of an echidna has not been fully described in the literature?”
The challenging aspects of Skarbek’s role have ended up becoming the most rewarding parts of her job. “I love problem-solving and working with species outside of the ‘norm’,” she said. “Whether it’s making an anaesthetic mask to fit a kookaburra’s beak, or figuring out how we can lift a 170kg Galapagos tortoise to access its plastron, this role throws me curve balls on a daily basis and I love it!”
JAI HUMEL
And now, we conclude our day in the life with Katerina Skarbek by asking our ever-so-slightly cheesy Creature Questions:
Do you currently have any pets?
Considering I live in an apartment, I have lots of pets! I currently have one tabby cat, three dogs (a chihuahua cross, a French bulldog and an American bulldog), three snakes and a galah.
What is your favourite animal?
If I had to choose, I would probably pick a big cat of some description. But, quite honestly, I am just obsessed with all animals.
If you could transform into any animal, what would you be and why?
I think I would transform into a leopard! Anyone who knows me is well aware of my strong affinity for leopard print.