It’s one thing to be a female snake catcher but getting to do it professionally with your partner is quite another.
But that’s exactly what one Palmwoods couple are doing every day.
Dimity Maxfield was seven years old when she met eight-year-old Ryan Fuller at Riana Primary School in Tasmania.
The friendship blossomed and they began dating while attending Penguin High School in Tasmania aged 14 and 15.
“On June 4 we will celebrate our 12-year anniversary,” Ms Maxfield said.
“It was meant to be. We have all the same interests and both loved animals from a young age.
“Our love of handling reptiles and working together has strengthened our connection too, which is beautiful.”
After school Ms Maxfield was working in a wildlife park and Mr Fuller worked in a call centre, but professionally they wanted something more.
The couple took the plunge in 2019 and moved to the Sunshine Coast to open a snake-catching and rescue business and to be closer to family.
“It was a big step,” she said.
“You only have about three snake species down in Tassie and here there are about 20, so it was perfect. We absolutely love the Coast and I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
The 26-year-old said she became drawn to snakes from getting to handle them in college.
“It was also a rebellion against my mother who said I wasn’t allowed to do it,” she laughed.
“I absolutely fell in love with it and knew it was what I wanted to do.
“You get to interact with so many amazing creatures. We do a lot of rescues and it’s rewarding to see an animal that needs help and eventually be able to release them back into the wild … that’s what we love the most.”
She said it was a bit of a mixed bag when it came to client’s reactions to them working as a couple and her being female.
“Most people love the fact I’m a female snake catcher and say it’s empowering for women and things like that. Then some people ask how I do it and question whether I can at all,” she said.
“Most people love seeing us go out as a couple – but not everyone realises we are a couple because we keep it professional.
“It’s fun to work with my partner and I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s one thing to have the same passion but to be able to do the same thing together is really exciting.”
Mr Fuller echoed his partner’s sentiments.
“It makes things a lot easier working with Dimity, just having another set of eyes is good and we get to spend more time together,” he said.
“I just love animals and reptiles in general. They are different from every other animal, but they have that unfortunate stigma around them that we want to try and change.
“Every day is dynamic, you never know what you are going out to, so there is never a boring moment. You also pretty much meet every type of person from every walk from life and get to make connections.”
He said they’ve kept up in the snake-catching industry because of their unwavering commitment.
“It’s not an easy industry to get into and to maintain because you have to pretty much dedicate your entire life to it,” he said.
“You can’t go out on dates or go swimming or surfing or out to dinner properly, because as soon as you get the call, you have to go.”
Sometimes the couple try for a post-job date, which would usually be grabbing a takeout dinner or a picnic, just in case they got a call.
The couple began their business Snake Rescue Sunny Coast about four years ago.
Ms Fuller recalled the scariest job they’d been out on and the biggest snake they had handled.
“I was called under a house after an eastern brown and there was very little room to move with a very angry snake – the second most venomous snake in the world,” he said.
“The biggest venomous snake we’ve ever caught was a six-foot eastern brown and the biggest we’ve ever caught was a three-metre python that weighed about 10kg.”
Looking ahead, the duo’s main goal is to save up for their own house, expand their business and move more into snake education.
“Buying a house might just take catching 1000 snakes a year,” Mr Fuller laughed.
To find out more about their business head to Snake Rescue Sunny Coast.
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