Client stories

Mary Puppins didn't have an easy start to life. Unloved, terrified, and with an illness that could easily have killed her, Mary very nearly didn't make it through her first year.

But thanks to generous donations from the community, we had the skills, equipment and capacity to give Mary Puppins the best chance at life.

"Mary Puppins was absolutely petrified of people when she first arrived at our shelter," remembers Mandy Doolan, Adoption Centre Manager at Lort Smith Campbellfield.

Our trainers worked on building Mary's confidence and restoring her faith in people. Over time, fearful Mary began to show her loving, playful side, and soon became a firm favourite at the Adoption Centre. "We watched her blossom," Mandy says. "It was really special to see."

A New Year's Eve emergency

But on New Year's Eve, Mary's triumph almost turned to tragedy. She began vomiting, became extremely lethargic, and was off her food. Her foster carer rushed her to Lort Smith Animal Hospital for help.

Thankfully, our vets had on-site access to sophisticated diagnostic facilities and equipment, including pathology and X-ray machines, which helped them find the source of her pain: Mary Puppins had an obstructed intestine, a condition that could easily have become fatal.

Our surgeons performed an enterotomy to remove the blockage and, while doing so, found that Mary's intestines were inflamed and grey. She was in very grave danger of peritonitis, a potentially deadly infection of the abdomen. Mary was moved to the ICU.

Her best life

When we look back over Mary's story, the work of Lort Smith and its supporters is clear every step of the way. Working together, our vets, shelter staff, volunteers and supporters were able to first protect her, then house her, and ultimately heal her.

Two months after her ordeal, Mary Puppins was adopted into a loving new home, and instantly bonded with her new sibling, a boisterous chocolate Labrador. She's now living what can only be described as her best life.

Mary Puppins' story could very easily have had a different ending, if not for the extraordinary care of the Lort Smith staff and volunteers, and the generosity of everyone who donated.

The organisation is named after Louisa Eleanor Lort Smith (née Montgomery). Born in 1875, Louisa was the daughter of an Irish soldier settler, and grew up on a cattle farm, "Childhood Heart", near Sale in Gippsland, Victoria.

One of twelve children, young Louisa was sensitive to animal welfare, and this shaped a lifelong dedication to preventing cruelty to all animals.

Marriage to respected Melbourne solicitor Charles Lort Smith in 1925 didn't dampen Louisa's fierce belief in animal rights. In 1927, she and other advocates formed the Animal Welfare League of Victoria. A true visionary and well ahead of her time, Louisa recognised the need for an animal hospital open to all creatures, whatever their carer's circumstances.

Lady Frances Lyle

The indefatigable Louisa convinced her friend Lady Frances Lyle, a passionate animal lover herself, to donate £5,000 to the project. The Lort Smith-Lyle Hospital for Sick and Injured Animals opened in Villiers Street, North Melbourne, in April 1936, and is still serving the community from this central location.

Since then, demand for our care has led to a new clinic and adoption hub in Campbellfield, in Melbourne's northern suburbs, which opened in December 2021, and the redevelopment of our Villiers Street hospital.

A journalist wrote in 1938 that "No one has ever been able to resist Lady Lyle and Louisa Lort Smith", and that's as true today as it was then.

The mission of these formidable women, and their progressive ideas about the common good of animals and the people who care for them, are as powerful as ever. The original Lort Smith vision of a world where everyone can share the love of an animal is definitely alive and well in the 21st century.

• Our story

When we first met adventurous cat Allie, she had substantial injuries after a brutal encounter with a fox. Her carer, Jess, brought her into Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne when the usually lithe and nimble cat's condition rapidly declined and she was in extreme pain.

Allie was examined by our vets, who knew exactly what she needed to survive.

However, the cost of Allie's care was high, and Jess knew that the only way she could survive was to surrender her into the loving care of Lort Smith.

Allie had life-saving surgery to amputate her injured leg. It was one of nearly 10,000 surgeries performed at Lort Smith each year. A delay in this surgery would have meant a much more tragic outcome.

Recovering on three legs

Only a few days after surgery, Allie was visibly happier and more alert, and our experienced veterinary staff could see she was recovering well. Allie's uncontrollable pain was gone, and she was quickly learning how to navigate the world on three legs.

"She was a completely different cat. She wanted attention and constant pats. Allie picked up walking and using three legs like a pro. It seemed almost natural to her," says Kate Andrews, Animal Welfare Officer at our Adoption Centre.

Allie has come a long way since arriving as a beautiful but injured pet. She won hearts at the Adoption Centre with her gentle nature, and is now thriving in her new home.

Allie is alive today thanks to the wonderful supporters of Lort Smith.

When Billy arrived at Lort Smith, he was dazed, unresponsive and in pain.

"It is very upsetting to think of an animal being in pain and suffering like this, for so long," says Dr Kassandra, one of our vets. "Billy came to us with significant head injuries, but they weren't fresh – they were likely at least a week old … He had been walking around in pain all that time."

A mystery

Billy had very serious burns to his face, and how he got them is still a mystery. "We initially assumed that Billy had been hit by a car," says Dr Kassandra. "[But] a lot of the trauma normally associated with being hit by a car, such as grated nails, were absent with Billy."

"His general condition was pitiful – he was skinny, and his coat was matted and flea-ridden. He was moderately anaemic because of the fleas. I was very shocked at the state of him."

He was so unresponsive that our team first thought he might be deaf. After cleaning his wounds and starting pain relief and antibiotics, Dr Kassandra found he could hear. Billy was dealing with something that can be even harder to manage: severe emotional trauma.

Learning to feel safe

We asked one of our long-term foster carers, Jacqui, to look after him. "My colleagues know I am a sucker for the 'underdog' and really desperate cases, so Billy was the perfect next dog for me to welcome into my home," she says.

At first, Billy was terrified. "He had shut down to the human-animal bond and was so scared of me," says Jacqui. "I slowly introduced him to my two dogs who are experienced foster siblings, and he was pleased to see them … but if I approached him, he panicked and fled.

"He would cower shivering in the corner and pretend I wasn't there, in the hope that I would go away."

Then one morning, he had two seizures in 20 minutes. Jacqui rushed him back to Lort Smith, where he spent two nights in our Intensive Care Unit. A CT scan of his head found an old pellet lodged in his jaw. "We found it incidentally – you cannot feel it from the outside, and there was no associated swelling, which indicates it must have been an old injury," says Dr Kassandra.

A different dog

Our vets are carefully weaning Billy off his seizure medication, to see whether he needs it long term, and he has regular acupuncture with Dr Amanda to help with his fear and anxiety. "He is always very relaxed and calm afterwards," says Jacqui.

Slowly, Billy is learning to trust. "He is a completely different dog to the one I first brought home," says Jacqui. "Whilst he is still quite shy, he's very comfortable with me and loves to crawl into my lap for cuddles and seeks out all the pats he can possibly get!

"There is definitely a family out there that will love a special little dog like Billy."

"If we had not given Billy a second chance by providing top class veterinary care for free, we would never have realised his potential as a much-loved animal companion," says Dr Kassandra.

Animals like Billy rely on our supporters. Your donation helps us give them the care, time and patience they need.

• Foster care

Lucky, a five-year-old ginger cat, came to Lort Smith after it was suspected he had been hit by a car. His carers told us he had been missing for days, and when he came home, they knew something wasn't right. They brought Lucky in to see Dr Brittany, who agreed that Lucky hadn't been so lucky and needed urgent medical treatment.

Dr Brittany assessed Lucky and found his left back leg was broken. Lucky was limping and couldn't put weight on it. X-rays confirmed he had a fracture that would need either a bone fusion or an amputation. After much discussion and consultation, the team decided amputation was the best option for him. He also needed all the teeth on one side of his face removed, because of the suspected car accident.

Lucky was surrendered into our care and recovered well from his surgery. Like most animals who have an amputation, he was happily strutting around on three legs within a couple of weeks. He settled into his foster home with one of our Animal Welfare Officers, Beck, who cared for him as he recovered.

Pillow foot

Beck soon noticed that Lucky's paws were changing. They looked inflamed and swollen, and he couldn't walk for long, taking just a few steps before lying down again. Beck brought Lucky in to see a vet, who diagnosed him with plasma cell pododermatitis, commonly known as "pillow foot". Pillow foot is caused by the immune system being mistakenly triggered, often by a minor infection the body tries to fight off. In doing so, it overproduces white blood cells, which pool in the foot pads, causing pain and inflammation.

Fifty per cent of cats who develop pillow foot are affected by feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). That was the case for Lucky, who had tested positive before his first surgery. FIV interferes with the immune system and depletes white blood cells, making it harder for cats to fight off illness and disease.

After a few weeks of steroid and antibiotic treatment, Lucky's pillow foot had almost entirely disappeared. Beck's diligence and care meant his condition could be treated early, which is vitally important for cats with FIV. Lucky's pillow foot may return in future, and he may be more likely to get diseases or infections than other cats, but many cats with FIV live a long and otherwise healthy life.

Staying put

Beck first fostered Lucky so he could have some time away from the hospital and recover at home, but she quickly fell in love with his gentle personality and fondness for belly rubs. Beck's family felt the same, and together they decided Lucky would stay for good.

Lucky for Lucky, he still has eight lives remaining …