Hey there,

I’m Kat!

I am the creator, author, web-designer and veterinarian behind The Runaway Vet website.

I’m a young Aussie who grew up in rural New South Wales with a passion for the outdoors, travel and all things four-legged. For a long time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew I wanted it to involve animals, adventure and helping others in need. Inspired by the stories of Jane Goodall, Catherine Hamlin and James Herriot, I was lucky enough to score a place to study Veterinary Medicine at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 2015.

Now, the sensible thing to do as a graduate vet would be to find a nice first job at a familiar clinic to learn the ropes. But after years of prioritising my studies over travel, I was ready for adventure.

So I moved to rural Northern Scotland to begin my working life as a mixed practice vet. It was a challenging yet rewarding experience- not only did I have to learn about new diseases, species and production systems, I also faced the more unexpected challenges of deciphering the local dialect (Doric), learning to drive a van in a snowstorm, and finding friends in a new country.

After almost 2 years, I was thinking of moving back to Australia when an appealing job opportunity caught my eye. It was a vacancy for a sole-charge vet to run a small clinic in the remote Australian outback. Within 2 weeks, I was boarding a tiny propeller plane to the Northern Territory to begin my new role.

Since then, I’ve left permanent work behind to focus on volunteering in ethical animal charities, working as a locum vet and meeting international vets to learn about their perspective on veterinary medicine.

So far, I’ve met vets and charity volunteers in Spain, Bulgaria, Dubai, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Iceland, Hungary and Sweden. I’ve learnt so much about veterinary medicine and the world, and found myself so inspired by what I’ve seen.

2020 has been an unusual year, and after a brief stint of veterinary work in Outback Australia and Papua New Guinea, I’ve spent most of the year in lock-down in Aberdeen, Scotland. While I do miss travel, I won’t be rushing back to travel internationally until the corona-virus is less of a concern. I don’t believe my need to travel is worth endangering others, but I hope one soon the world will open up again!

I’d love to hear from you- if you have any questions about travel, animals or vet work please get in touch via the contact me page. And any suggestions for locations or charities to visit next are welcomed too!

Thanks for reading!

Kat

Frequently Asked Questions

A collage of photos of Kat on her travels

No, I have no prior affiliations with the charities that I visit and I am not given any financial incentive to promote them. I write honest reviews about my experiences. I would never recommend an organisation that I did not love or that I did not find to be completely ethical during my visit.

On my travels, I have seen so many great charities and shelters that desperately need more helping hands.

Equally, I have many vet, nurse and animal-loving friends who tell me that they’d love to volunteer like I do, but they never get around to planning the trip they’ve been dreaming of. Many potential volunteers are worried about choosing the right charity, about their safety when they travel or want to know more about what to expect before they make a commitment (the same things that stopped me volunteering as a new vet)!

This website is my way to help those capable people connect to the charities that need them, and show others what a great impact that dedicated people can make to improve animal lives.

By saving! It may sound like a cliché, but when I work as a vet, I live a no-frills life and always save as much as I can to put towards my next trip. I make travel my priority, and then I build lifestyle and budget around that.

And the other important factor is that volunteering is actually a super affordable way to travel!

The charities that I visit are typically free for skilled volunteers, and sometimes even provide some accommodation or meals for their workers too. There is no way I could have afforded to live in the Galapagos Islands for five weeks if I had to pay for hotel accommodation. In addition, I tend to book cheap flights during tourist low-season, and only visit the countries that are affordable for me (sorry Norway!). And yes, I am still paying off my student debts.

So believe me, you do not need to be rich to volunteer overseas- but you do need to put in the research, work out a budget, and make saving a priority to make it happen.

There are a heap of ways you can help charities from where you are at home- from fundraising, to IT consulting and social media assistance. You might also be surprised by how many charities and shelters are already located near you- like StreetVet in the UK, or the RSPCA in Australia. Get in touch, and I’ll be happy to help you try and connect with charities that you could help remotely, or help you to look for any charities near you!

I even wrote an article about how you can help charities remotely – check it out here.

All the vets that I’ve interviewed are lovely professionals who I’ve met on my travels! Some of them I’ve worked or volunteered with, some are old friends, and some of them have connected with me via social media (especially in 2020 when its not been possible to meet people face-to-face).

The interviews are always conducted in a spoken format, and 90% of them take place in-person over a cup of coffee. I believe that there are a lot more laughs and personality in spoken interviews, so that’s why I never just send out a questionnaire to my interviewees (even if it results in hours of transcription work behind the scenes).

I’m eternally grateful to everyone who has taken part in the interviews, and I’ve genuinely enjoyed listening to all their unique stories!

I get this question surprisingly often. I do not run any shelters or charities myself, and I am not directly affiliated with any groups that do.

I am simply a vet who loves to volunteer, and I write reviews and recommendations for the ethical shelters and projects where I’ve had great experiences.

That said, I’m more than happy to help you to connect with a project that suits your skills and requirements- just send me a message and I’ll do my best to put you in touch with the managers and coordinators who can help!

Unfortunately, I am just a vet, not an international organisation. I do love to travel and volunteer, but I do not have my own rescue facilities for individual animals.

But please do get in touch! I’ll do my absolute best to put you in touch with the charity and rescue groups in your area who can help you! I don’t believe any animal should suffer, so please let me help you get the care your animal needs.

If you have any other questions, please reach out anytime. I’d love to hear from you, whether you have a story to share, a charity you’d like to help, or if you just need some help planning your volunteer trip or locum adventure.

You can also find me on facebook, instagram and pinterest if you’d like to see more content!