Being Bahar

Our newest recruit, Bahar is Melbourne born and an animal lover through and through. Her childhood home was full of budgies and cockatiels who happily lived alongside the family dogs. Over the years Bahar and her family have loved many dogs including a German Shepherd, a Papillon, a Blue Healer and two Maltese Terriers named Mr and Yoshi.

Bahar moved to her favourite holiday destination, the Sunshine Coast with her high school boyfriend Scott, in 2006. During this time Scott surprised Bahar with the second love of her life, Rascal, a tiny Maltalier puppy! They spent two years playing with their puppy, soaking up the sunshine and beach life style before deciding it was time to move their little family home to the Dandenong Ranges to live with their parents so they could save to buy their first home.

Over the next few years their furry and feathered family grew with the additions of Neo the Alexandrine Parrot, three guinea pigs, a dwarf mini lop rabbit, three chickens and their beautiful big boy Thor, an American Mastiff X.

In 2014 Scott asked his high school sweetheart of thirteen and a half years to marry him and in 2016 they travelled to Bora Bora to tie the knot and begin their happily ever after. The trip to Bora Bora was incredible, fun filled, love full and relaxing... however there was a small part of Bahar that could not wait to get home... she was coming home to start her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing!

Over the last ten years Bahar had tried her hand in many different industries; from cleaning a primary school to working on a flower farm, managing a department in Kmart to office administration... however none of these jobs were making her heart happy.

It was a light bulb moment when Bahar realised she could combine her love of beautiful and interesting creatures and her passion for feeding... I mean caring... for them with spending time with like minded people earning an income! She returned to Melbourne after her honeymoon to begin studying for her Certificate IV.

We were lucky enough to find Bahar studying at the Box Hill institute of TAFE where we took her on as a work placement student. Bahar quickly showed an aptitude for animal handling and an instinct for client communication.

Whilst chatting to Bahar about her past to enable me to write this article she said to me, "the last year when I have been studying Veterinary Nursing and working at the Oakleigh Central Vet has made me the happiest person ever! This is my path and I'm finally doing it, for once in my life I can say that I absolutely LOVE my job!"

Not only do we all feel so incredibly lucky to work with animals every day, but we are also so fortunate that we get to work with like minded people. We are the lucky ones who get to give the love and attention to your sick or injured fur babies, we get to shower them with kisses as puppies and kittens coming in for their first vaccination, we get to hear the stories of love and adoration and witness the final pats and cuddles, and we get to do all of this whilst supported by our close knit team.