South West vet cut above the rest winning Regional Business of the Year

A South West vet clinic has managed to show it’s a cut above the rest after taking home a prestigious business award.

Surprised, shocked and stunned are the words Waroona Vet co-owner Frosina Duckin used to describe the feeling when she won the regional business of the year award at the WA Regional Business Excellence Awards.

Hosted by the Bunbury Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the small town vet stood against fierce competition but still came out on top.

It’s the little vet that could, Ms Duckin said, when comparing herself to the competition.

She said she never expected to win with those in the industry rarely make large profits.

However, with judging categories exploring community engagement, environmental responsibility and more, the vet was found to be the clear standout.

Ms Duckin said even though vets were rarely profitable, they were vital for the community.

“If there isn’t a vet in town, farm animals, food security, even social animals bonds, all these things can start to fall over,” she said.

“For regions that don’t have vet clinics, there is a huge impact on the community, whether it’s agriculture or social.”

As the Waroona vet clinic is a mixed practice vet it covers animals from kittens to cattle.

“We have to be able to do everything,” Ms Duckin said.

On any given day Ms Duckin said vets at the clinic could be performing life-saving surgery, giving a dog a haircut, or out in a field birthing a calf.

She said this diversity was important for regional clinics like hers, but Ms Duckin said mixed practices were sadly on the decline.

“Many of the practices are being owned by the same few corporate companies,” she said.

“And with most things, the regions can then get a bit neglected, because cows aren’t profitable.”

The clinic helps farmers across the Peel region, dipping into the northern sections of Harvey when needed.

“I could have to send a vet out for three or four hours and from a corporate model, in four hours you could have appointments every 10 minutes,” she said.

“If we didn’t do it, there would be nobody else to do it.”

Days before the vet celebrated the victory, Ms Duckin said the clinic was wracked with grief as her partner and the clinic’s principal veterinarian Dr Ronald Schneider said goodbye to his father after a tragic accident.

“We went from lows to highs,” Ms Duckin said.

She said their emotional acceptance speech was dedicated to Dr Schneider’s work growing the clinic into the award winning practice it is today.