During Dr. Jane’s many years at the SPCA, she has seen numerous changes in the Society at all levels. In the early nineties there were only 6 veterinary surgeons compared to over 25 in the team today, and there is definitely still room for continued growth. When she joined the SPCA, there were no computer systems for client details, patient histories and vaccination reminders; just paper records. Instead of an orderly appointment system, owners had to queue up in the morning with their pets to get a number to be seen. Away from the chaos of the main centres, one of Dr. Jane’s favourite memories was her once-a-month trip to Lamma and Lantau with her doctor’s bag filled with drugs and a small cool box for vaccines. In Lamma, the “clinic room” was a builders’ workshop without air conditioning and no proper exam table; and on Lantau she consulted in an “open-air clinic” at the ferry pier!

In August 1992 the SPCA’s Wanchai Headquarters opened providing comprehensive veterinary services in a well-equipped 24-hr hospital, a far cry from the makeshift pre-fabricated building at Tamar where Dr. Jane had begun her SPCA career. Over the last three decades, further improvements have been made to SPCA’s various facilities. Most significantly though, various spay-neuter programmes have been introduced to help control cat and dog populations in a humane, sustainable way, with Dr. Jane being particularly impressed with the success of the Cat Colony Care Programme, which has desexed over 75,000 street cats since August 2000.

Dr. Jane couldn’t be more proud of being part of this amazing journey. “It has been a wonderful experience to be part of all these changes especially with regard to improving animal welfare. After almost 30 years Hong Kong is well and truly my home and I look forward to the future and the challenges it holds. Fingers crossed I hope to continue to help animals for many years to come, and witness the realisation of the SPCA’s vision of Hong Kong becoming a truly Humane Society where humans and non-humans live in harmony!”