Alice Springs vet Dr Debbie Osborne calls time on 37 year career that put her on world stage

A Territory vet – who says she once treated an elephant in an unlikely spot – is calling time on a remarkable career which put her on the world stage. Find out why

Alice Springs Veterinary Hospital owner Dr Debbie Osborne outside her clinic. Picture: Gera Kazakov

A Territory vet is calling time on a remarkable career which took her to the world stage – and once required her to treat an elephant in an unlikely spot.

On June 27, the Alice Springs Veterinary Hospital will close its doors as owner Dr Debbie Osborne retires after 37 years as a vet in Alice Springs.

Dr Osborne said her time as vet took her to some unlikely places and saw her treat some unusual animals – such as when she was called out treat an elephant.

“There was an elephant one time when the circus came through – when there used to be travelling circuses still with animals, and that would have been probably late 80s,” she said.

Alice Springs Veterinary Hospital owner Dr Debbie Osborne holds Mango inside her clinic. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“It was something minor … I just remember going, that’s a pretty cool thing to do – I’m sure I wouldn’t get to do that if I’d stayed in Sydney.”

Dr Osborne moved to Alice Springs from the New South Wales capital after completing her studies as a vet.

She’d decided she needed to “go somewhere that was nice and warm and didn’t rain very much”.

“There happened to be a job going in Alice Springs. I thought, well, that’d be interesting for about six months,” she said.

Now, after 37 years at the helm of her own clinic, she’s moving on to the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, where she’ll join her husband in retirement.

Dr Osborne also did more than treat animals during her career: she was also president of the Australian Small Animal Vet Association – something which led her onto the world stage.

Guangbin Niu, Wenjun Song, Xiaoyu Lin, Yuanyuan Lin once travelled to Alice Springs to meet Dr Osborne. Picture: File

She later became the Australian delegate to the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, and through that position, used it to help those in need.

“I would go to the these international meetings and with an international congress and then got to meet vets from all over the world,” she said.

“I’m coming across all these international issues that I hadn’t been aware of, like how vets are struggling in the developing countries to even get access to drugs that we consider to be essential.

“And through my involvement with the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, I convinced the Australian Small Animal Vet Association to provide support for training of small animal vets in Vietnam.

“So Australia now has this connection with Vietnam in sponsoring each year, sponsoring some of their professional education for practitioners.

“I’m quite proud of that I was able to do that.”

Dr Osborne said the final two weeks of operation for her clinic are reserved for final checks ahead of the clinic’s handover to the Alice Springs Veterinary Centre.