“King” Dobby, as the Chihuahua Dachshund cross is called, wasn’t behaving like his normal, energy-filled and demanding self.
asserted
cross → call → self
He wasn’t playing, he was lethargic, and sat shaking on the corner of the bed – usually he’s plonked right in the middle of his owners.
asserted
he → play → owners
His family knew something was wrong and rushed him to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.
asserted
something → know → Hospital
Turns out he had eaten an olive oil bottle top and chewed up a Croc sandal.
asserted
he → turn → sandal
The emergency surgery, necessary for the life-threatening blockage, was set to cost them almost $6000.
asserted
surgery → threaten → 6000
They couldn’t afford the massive vet bill and had to stop and contemplate letting Dobby go.
asserted
Dobby → afford → bill
“[I was] feeling lower than crap because, like, I can’t afford to get my fur baby fixed,” said Caitlin.
asserted
Caitlin → feel → crap
How on earth, she thought, would she tell her kids their dog wouldn’t be coming home?
asserted
dog → think → kids
Across Victoria, families are skipping vet visits, missing out on preventative care and, increasingly, facing the difficult decision of either incurring debt or euthanising their pet.
asserted
families → skip → pet
A 2025 survey by Animal Medicines Australia, the peak body representing the animal health industry, found that about 16 per cent of pet owners had accessed financial assistance to cover the cost of veterinary care, and that one in six people skipped taking their dog or cat to the vet to save money.
asserted
people → represent → money
Last year, 54 per cent of all people who visited pet hospital Lort Smith were struggling financially and received discounted care from the not-for-profit.
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who → visit → profit
“Financially, it was incredibly stressful,” Caitlin said.
asserted
Caitlin → say → ?
“It was the day before payday, we don’t have pet insurance, and we couldn’t use Afterpay.
asserted
we → have → Afterpay
I had to borrow money from family just to get started.
asserted
I → have → family
I was panicking, wondering what we were going to do and calling everyone for help.”
asserted
we → panic → help
After much stress, Dobby got the surgery he needed.
asserted
he → get → surgery
Lort Smith has a fund for people experiencing financial hardship.
asserted
Smith → have → hardship
That fund, said Caitlin, covered almost $4000 for the surgery, with the family borrowing the remaining $2000 with a no-interest loan from Good Shepherd.
asserted
family → say → Shepherd
“I was so worried about paying for treatment that I couldn’t even food shop,” Caitlin said.
asserted
Caitlin → pay → treatment
“We were just eating whatever was left in the fridge, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.”
asserted
whatever → eat → worst
Lort Smith chief executive Frances Mirabelli said the hospital is eating into its cash reserves to keep pace with rising costs and surging demand for its care.
asserted
hospital → say → care
To manage the volume, Mirabelli has rostered extra vets, staff and volunteers.
asserted
Mirabelli → manage → vets
But the model relies heavily on full-paying clients to subsidise care for those who cannot afford it – a balance that is becoming harder to maintain as household budgets tighten across the state.
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budgets → rely → state
With a state election approaching, the hospital is calling on both the government and the opposition to commit $1 million in targeted funding.
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hospital → approach → funding
“That’d help us help thousands of animals, and have a massive impact on so many people,” Mirabelli said.
asserted
Mirabelli → help → people
“It’s the emergencies that are the problem,” Mirabelli said, “that’s when it starts get really expensive.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
That’s not because we’re making huge profits – it’s just because that’s the cost of care at the moment.”
asserted
that → ’ → moment
Beyond that emergency relief, Lort Smith is also seeking an additional $4 million commitment to expand its crisis relief animal boarding network for the pets of people experiencing family violence.
asserted
Smith → seek → violence
The push addresses a documented gap in Victoria’s domestic violence support system.
asserted
push → address → system
A 2024 study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies recognised harming or threatening to harm pets as a method of family violence, while recent reporting by The Age highlighted how many family violence victims decide to stay in, or were torn about leaving, dangerous homes because they were unable to take their pets to crisis accommodation.
asserted
they → recognise → accommodation
Mirabelli said many victim-survivors (statistically mostly women) “won’t leave the house if they have to leave their pet.”
asserted
they → say → pet
“What we’d ideally like to do is have a purpose-built boarding facility, which would then be open to those fleeing domestic violence, housing instability, illness,” Mirabelli said.
asserted
Mirabelli → like → violence
“We’re asking for $4 million to build a facility, and we’re also seeking recurrent funding for that so we’re not relying on philanthropy to fund that service.
asserted
we → ask → service
The Aporia
