Lisa Chimes: Animal Doctor to the Rescue

Written by Jana Angeles

Dealing with the nitty gritty parts while seeing the most heartwarming moments for the animals she’s managed to treat, Lisa loves the idea that the camera crew capture the best aspects of her career as a Veterinarian.

“Essentially it’s just me doing my normal day job and the cameras just following up around for stories that would be appropriate to show to the public obviously,” Chimes says. “Not everything we treat at work is something people want to see so the film crew try and sort of filter it a little so that it’s actually enjoyable for people to watch. I love doing the show; it sheds a spotlight on the veterinarian profession and I’m really proud to be a vet. I love that we get to showcase that for people around the world.”

Chimes states that she’s “always had a very strong interest and love for science and medicine” so combining this love with her adoration for animals made total sense for her. Though many people often pursued this career path, it required a competitive and studious nature while also accepting the challenges that came with it. Even in this interview, Chimes didn’t hesitate to share her top tips when introducing a new pet into the family.

“The most important thing is to make sure that you’re choosing your pet that you have the means to be able to look after. Your family needs to match the pet as much as the pet needs to match you,” she says. “It really is something that you need to look at and you also have to consider some factors such as how much you can give to the pet, the age of your children, your lifestyle and your financial situation. All of it has to be taken into account.”

Through her generous advice and her positive attitude towards animals, Chimes is still constantly trying to master the things that come with motherhood. As a parent, things have changed for her ever since. With her son, Hudson and daughter, Darcie, Chimes reveals the interesting lessons she’s learnt while raising her kids who are only a few years apart.

“It really feels like there’s so much more love in the family. I never imagined that we could love another child and then Darcie came along and your heart just kind of expands; you just have the ability to love so much and it’s quite amazing,” she says. “Seeing them play together as she get’s older and following her big brother around, it just melts you.  When you can see that relationship forming it’s so exciting. I’m really looking forward to seeing it develop.”

Even with such a small age gap, Chimes has already noticed the different personalities both her children have as people. With Hudson being three and Darcie being one, each of her kids have unique qualities she’s grown to love.

“They’ve got very different interests and I’m hoping over the next few years – as that sort of gap narrows – they’re going to start playing together and I’m really excited for that.” she explains.

Though motherhood has had its perks, she’s had to come across some challenging moments during her journey – some of which have been mostly internal struggles. It’s taken a while for her to adjust to parenthood but she’s becoming more accepting of the messy and carefree ways that come with raising two kids.

“You never really feel like you’re doing your best job at anything. You’re torn in a million different directions between the two kids and the dog, and there’s a lot of guilt,” she says.

“You feel like you’re just not giving everyone the best of your ability and I’m a bit of a perfectionist so it’s quite hard to wrap my head around that. As the days go by, I’m learning to kind of just accept that things are never going to be perfect and that there are so many creatures in my life to take care of [laughs].”

Chimes has managed to squeeze some time to write a couple of children’s books titled My First Kitten and My First Puppy. Both of them aim to teach younger children how to take care of their first pet – either a kitten or a puppy. Even though Chimes was very keen on becoming a vet originally, she pondered for a bit on architecture during the days of her senior years in high school. However, she knew in her heart that becoming a vet was something she wanted to do claiming, “it was the best decision she’s ever made.”

Filling up her days with her job, her pets and her kids, Chimes is content with how things are going right now, and as a mother, she’s realised that the little things in her life do count for something.

“At the moment, I’m just happy with the things I’m doing,” she says. “I’m really grateful for the way my life has panned out and if I can keep on teaching people about their pet, and be a voice and an advocate for the pet, then I would be really, really grateful if I could keep on doing that.”