northlands-vet

Winter 2025

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:03:11 GMT

Here’s what happened in the last six months!

Dear Valued Clients,

We hope this newsletter finds you and your family well, and you are staying warm and dry!

One of the focuses of this newsletter is pet dental care! Why do we care so much, and what can we do about it? We have many products, and tips and tricks available to help you keep your pet’s teeth clean and their breath stink-free! Virbac is running a dental giveaway for the months of July and August, so jump on board!

We have two new bravery awards to celebrate! Our youngest ever ex-lap, Frankie, and handsome Jett, who had a bad run-in with a car.

Did you know we run a weight loss clinic? If you have an overweight pet and need some help getting them to the right weight, sign up with Courtney, and receive a free Royal Canin food bin while stocks last!

Have you seen the new couches in our waiting room? They’re pretty snazzy, so check them out when you’re next in.

Lastly, we have some updates from our team: Bree is back from maternity leave, and we say goodbye to Erica as she moves to Europe for a big adventure.

Recently 2 of our special patients who are on a special Hypoallergenic diet won a free bag, courtesy of the amazing team at Royal Canin.

With love, Keryn & Bree

Pet Dental Care: Why do we care and what can we do?

Signs of Periodontal Disease

Did you know “doggy breath” is a sign of periodontal disease? Our pets, just like us, need regular tooth brushing to keep their gums and teeth healthy! Smelly breath is one of the first signs of periodontal disease, which can result in painful, rotten teeth that need to be extracted if left untreated.

Other signs include red, bleeding gums, and yellow or brown build-up on teeth. Grade 3-4 periodontal disease can cause gum and bone loss!

Why Do We Care?

It is estimated that by the age of two years, 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have periodontal disease. Gum inflammation, rotten or diseased teeth, and bone loss are all extremely painful conditions that can make pets grouchy and affect their ability to eat.

Bacteria from the mouth can enter the bloodstream, which can have detrimental effects on the function of the heart, lungs, and kidneys.

Home Dental Care

The best cure for dental disease is prevention! Daily tooth brushing is the gold standard but not all pets tolerate this. We have several products available to supplement brushing, including diets, treats, water and food additives, and wipes.

Grade 1 and some grade 2 periodontal disease can be treated at home with regular toothbrushing.

Veterinary Dental Cleaning

Grade 2-4 periodontal disease cannot be treated at home, and requires treatment during a dental cleaning. During a dental, we assess the health of the teeth and gums, scale and polish the entire mouth, and remove any broken or rotten teeth. This is performed under a general anaesthesia to keep our staff safe and our pets pain-free.

If you think your pet could benefit from a dental, give us a call and book them in for a check-up and a cost estimate.

ChatGPT – Can we trust it?

There has been a surge in artificial intelligence all over the internet recently, in search engines, on social media, and in the form of chats and apps such as ChatGPT.

While researching your pet’s symptoms, conditions, behaviour or medications can help you understand what’s going on, it is important to know where to look! ChatGPT and other AI tools are not reliable sources of information. They frequently make up information and they do not use exclusively reputable sources.

Posts on social media are increasingly created by AI bots, so make sure you pay attention to the pages where posts are coming from.

If you are unsure about something you’ve read online or have questions about your pet’s symptoms or treatment, give our nurses a call or book an appointment to talk our amazing vets. Our team keeps up to date with veterinary research and information, and we are happy to answer any questions you may have.

Bravery Awards

In the last few months, we presented some beautiful patients with well-deserved bravery awards!

Little Frankie and handsome Jett have each had a big journey this year. Read their stories below.

To follow along with more amazing successes like these, follow us on Facebook at Northlands Animal Care Hospital, or Instagram @northlands_animal_care.

Jett

Sweet Jett is one of the coolest cats we have ever met!

Back in January he had a run in with a car and broke his jaw. Dr Keryn did an amazing job wiring his mandible back together, and he has recovered very well.

We want to celebrate his bravery today as he was one of the friendliest and smoochiest cats we've ever had the honour of looking after, even while he was very sore and recovering from surgery.

Congratulations, Jett!

Frankie

Little miss Frankie has had a big life for such a young girl!

At just 2 months old she needed an emergency surgery for something that got stuck in her gut and made her feel very unwell. The surgery was successful, and we found some fabric she had eaten.

Despite the big surgery, she still loves to visit us and has recovered well, putting on good weight and growing and playing like a normal puppy. She is well deserving of a bravery award!

Weight Loss Clinic

Is your pet summer-bod ready?

If you have an overweight cat or dog, we can help! Our nurse Courtney runs a weight loss clinic, which includes a tailored diet and exercise plan for you pet to help them safely lose weight.

There is a one-time nurse consult fee for the initial comprehensive consultation, and all revisits are free!

If you sign up for this clinic, you’ll get a free Royal Canin food bin for your dog or puss while stocks last!

Clinic & Staff Updates

Bree is Back!

Bree is back from maternity leave! Her sons are growing up fast and learning so much every day. We are grateful to have her back to help keep the clinic running smoothly.

Goodbye Erica

We recently had a sad goodbye. In May Erica moved to Europe with her partner for a couple of years to travel, work as a locum vet and do lots of adventuring and rock climbing!

We will miss hear dearly, and we hope she will return to us once she has had her adventures.

You can follow along with her climbing journey at @erica_gatland on instagram.

New Couches

Have you had a look in our waiting room lately? We have a set of fancy new couches for you and your pets to sit on while you wait!

With love from the team at Northlands Animal Care Hospital

Summer 2025

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 23:25:12 GMT

Here’s what has happened in the last six months!

Dear Valued Clients,

We hope this newsletter finds you and your family well, and enjoying the summer! Our team have loved the holidays, and we’re back to serve you for another year.

Summer is great fun, but can bring a lot of challenges, from heatstroke, to an increase in fleas, allergies and cyanobacteria blooms in lakes and rivers! In this issue find tips and tricks for navigating the summer months.

Most excitingly, we have a new product: BRAVECTO QUANTUM! This is the FIRST year-long flea and tick treatment in New Zealand!

We’re also going to shine a spotlight on two of our amazing patients who have recently received bravery awards: Ted and Gizmo.

Have you ever wondered what it costs to feed your pet a veterinary diet?

Read on to see how cost effective it can be to choose a Royal Canin diet as a daily food for your cat or dog!

Lastly, we have some updates from our team: Bree is going on maternity leave again, and we are celebrating the birth of Tatanya’s son!

Ashley and Chris have joined our team since you last heard from us – make sure you say hi next time you’re in.

Summer Tips: Allergies, Heat Stroke, Bacteria & Bath Time

How to bath your dog

If your pup is going for lots of walks on the beach, finding mud puddles or swimming, you may find yourself needing to give baths! Dechra have some awesome tips and products for us!

Extra tips: In a bottle, mix 4 parts water to 1 part shampoo. Diluted shampoo cuts through the coat easier, and is easier to rinse out! Make sure to avoid their ears, eyes, nose and mouth.

Heatstroke Warning

Now that the weather is warmer, this is a timely reminder to not leave your pets in cars! Even a quick trip to the supermarket can be deadly on a hot day. Dogs and cats can overheat very quickly and get into trouble. Leave them at home or take them with you!

Seasonal Allergies? Try Cytopoint!

Does your dog have seasonal allergies? Is their skin itchy after running around in the grass? Consider Cytopoint! This injection works works like your dog’s own immune system. It is specifically designed to target and neutralize one of the main proteins that send itch signals to your dog’s brain, which triggers scratching, licking and chewing.

Give us a call if you think Cytpoint might be right for your pup!

Cyanobacteria Warning

Toxic algae (also called cyanobacteria) is a naturally occurring algae with the potential to bloom, producing toxins that can harm or even kill dogs, people and other animals.

Even a small amount (the size of a 50 cent piece) of toxic algae can be harmful if ingested.

Unfortunately, dogs love the musty smell of toxic algae and are naturally drawn to investigating it – usually by licking or ingesting the material when out enjoying rivers and lakes across the country.

Water containing toxic algae can pose a risk to health through recreational contact, drinking and gathering shellfish and mahinga kai resources.

Learn what to look for when visiting freshwater sites to keep your whānau and dogs safe.

Visit www.ecan.govt.nz for more information!

BRAVECTO QUANTUM

BRAVECTO QUANTUM has landed in New Zealand!

BRAVECTO QUANTUM is administered as a single injection by a veterinarian using the trusted ingredient, fluralaner. With just one dose, it delivers year-long flea and tick protection!

Whether they live in cities or suburbs, forests or near the beach, dogs of all lifestyles can be exposed to fleas. Fleas live and multiply in shady areas with leaves and debris as well as inside homes where they can hide in carpets and under furniture.

Fleas are more than just a nuisance – they can trigger flea allergy dermatitis causing intense itching and hair loss, transmit bacteria such as Bartonella henselae (cause of cat scratch fever) and Yersinia pestis (cause of Black Plague) and transmit flea tapeworm.

If you are interested in BRAVECTO QUANTUM, give us a call!!!

Bravery Awards

In the last few months, we presented some beautiful patients with well-deserved bravery awards!

Ted and Gizmo both recently had some pretty big surgeries, and both were amazingly brave the entire time! Read their stories below.

To follow along with more amazing successes like these, follow us on Facebook at Northlands Animal Care Hospital, or Instagram @northlands_animal_care.

Ted

At the tender age of 4 months old, sweet Ted had already had a major surgery!

He had been quite sick for a while, and needed an ex-lap to rule out a foreign body, in case he had eaten something he shouldn’t!

Ted recovered from his surgery beautifully, and was very brave throughout. He still loves to visit the vet for love and cuddles, and we love to see him!

Well done, Ted, you are the bravest boy!

Gizmo came to us extremely constipated and feeling very miserable. X-rays were suspicious for a foreign body, so our veterinary team decided to do an exploratory laparotomy, to see what we could find. Dr Keryn found a section of intussuscepted intestine! This is a painful condition where a section of the intestine folds inside the next section, and must be treated with surgery. The surgery went well, and Gizmo is now feeling much better!

His family is so pleased to have him back to himself. Well done, Gizmo!

Clinic & Staff Updates

Baby Atlas

Nurse Tatanya is currently on maternity leave after the birth of her beautiful baby boy Atlas in July 2024! She is loving the mum life, and Atlas is growing fast! Congratulations, Tatanya!

Bree’s 2nd Baby

Bree has gone on maternity leave again! She has just had her second son, and we are so excited and proud of her. Keryn and the rest of the team will miss you!

New Nurses

Ashley and Chris recently joined our team as new nurses! Have you met them?

Ashley graduated from her Vet Nursing Diploma in 2024. She plays a lot of football in her spare time, and is passionate about client education.

Chris completed his studies in 2023 and comes to us from another clinic. He loves gaming, going on his motorbike and is slowly learning guitar!

Student Training

Three of our team, Courtney, Cjay and Erica, work together to train the next generation of veterinary professionals!

We have several lucky veterinary and vet nursing students in a year who shadow our team to learn how we operate and practice the practical skills they’ve been learning in their studies.

Thanks, Erica, Courtney & Cjay! You guys are awesome.

Royal Canin Prices

Have you ever wondered what it would cost to feed your pet a premium veterinary diet?

Royal Canin has an incredible range of foods for dogs and cats of all life stages that start as cheap as $1.33/day for an adult cat or $2.45/day for an adult dog!

A premium diet doesn’t have to cost the earth, and will have amazing benefits for your furry friend. Pop in today to check out the variety of foods we sell and ask our nurses which one is right for your family.

With love from the team at Northlands Animal Care Hospital

Winter 2024

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 22:02:27 GMT

Northlands Animal Care Hospital Winter Newsletter – June 2024

Here’s what has happened in the last six months!

Dear Valued Clients,

We hope this newsletter finds you and your furry companions in great health and spirits as we embrace the winter season, and as we navigate through the colder months it becomes essential to pay extra attention to their health and well-being.

In this newsletter, we’re shining a spotlight on the crucial aspects of pet care: joint health.

Winter is of course the perfect time to snuggle up with our furry pals and show them some extra love and care. If you have any questions about keeping your pet happy and healthy this season, don’t hesitate to reach out! We’re here to help make winter wonder-fur for you and your pet.

We have an incredible new product for pets with arthritis that has changed the lives of dozens of our patients: Beransa for dogs and Solensia for cats.

We are also celebrating the launch of our new nurse Weight Management Clinic run by Tatanya, and two all star patients have received Bravery Awards! Read their stories inside.

Lastly, some exciting updates from our team – Bree is back and Erica is a winner!

Thank you for all of your love and loyalty over the last 3 years of our ownership. We have loved getting to know so many new furry family members.

Follow us on Facebook & Instagram for regular updates, health tips from our nurses and adorable photos – and occasionally a giveaway!

Stay warm!

Keryn & Bree

Joint Health: Staying Pain Free & Warm in Winter

Just like humans, pets experience joint issues, especially as they age. Arthritis and other forms of joint disease can impact their mobility, happiness and quality of life.

Here are some tips to promote joint health in your pets:

Keep ‘em Lean: Extra pounds can weigh heavily on their joints, so let’s make sure they’re on a healthy diet and exercise routine to keep those pounds in check! See the next page for our new Weight Management Clinic if you are struggling to keep the winter weight off your pup.
Move It, Move It: Gentle low-impact exercise is the name of the game to help keep your pet’s joints flexible and strengthen the surrounding muscles! Consider activities like swimming and short, controlled walks or indoor playtime to keep them moving and those joints limber and muscles strong. They say a 10 to 15minute sniff walk is as stimulating as a 45minute run so there’s just no excuse, dress up warm and head on out.
Warm & Cosy: Other simple things you can do at home can make a massive difference to their quality of life and include providing your pet with a warm, cozy bed and easy access to food, water, and litter boxes to minimize the need for strenuous movement, especially during colder weather. And of course, easy access to the cosy spots that may be high up to minimise jumping up or down and exacerbating strain on any joints
Nutritional Value: Sometimes our pets need a little extra nutritional help. Chat with us about effective supplements and incredible all in one diets like Hills J/D, Royal Canin Mobility or Purina Joint to keep those hips and knees in tip-top shape.

New Product Alert!

Beransa/Solensia: There is a new arthritic pain injection available offering a month of pain control after just a single injection. This is not only extremely effective but also kinder on the old lady/man organs and we have personally seen incredible results in many cases.

Get in touch if you need assistance with any of these issues or wish to try out any of the products.

Then we can set you up with a comprehensive orthopaedic exam that may include blood work and X-rays to establish a diagnosis and best plan of action for your favourite friend.

Weight Management Clinic Graduate Gucci

Sweet Gucci is being celebrated as the first graduate of our Weight Management Clinic!

Gucci had a starting weight of 13.5kg in September 2023. She was happy in day to day life but couldn’t walk very far without getting out of breath and couldn’t engage in activities like jumping on the couch or chasing the ball for very long.

Gucci is currently 9.1kgs with an amazing weight loss of 4.4kg!!! Mum has reported that Gucci appears much happier, even when visiting us in clinic, and can jump on the couch, chase the ball and go for longer walks without tiring easily. Overall Gucci has had a big quality of life improvement.

Well done, Gucci!!!! Check out her before and after photos!!!

If you have a pet that needs to lose some weight, give us a call to sign up with Tatanya. More details available on our website.

Bravery Awards!

In the last few months, we presented some beautiful patients with well-deserved bravery awards! Indie & Coco both recently had rather comprehensive hospital stays, and were absolute stars the entire time. Read their stories below.

To follow along with more amazing successes like these, follow us on Facebook at Northlands Animal Care Hospital, or Instagram @northlands_animal_care.

Coco

Coco got into some lily flowers at home and became very sick! Lilies are toxic to cats, and can damage their kidneys quickly.

Brave Coco spent several days with our amazing hospital team receiving IV fluids and care for her kidneys, and was so brave. Coco gave us lots of smooches and purrs, and after a couple of weeks, her kidneys are doing just great.

We were so happy to see her brighten up and get back to her usual self. Well done, Coco!

Indie

Indie came to us extremely unwell and had to spend several days in hospital, back and forth between us and the AfterHours Veterinary Centre, but she was such a trooper.

Our amazing team diagnosed her with atypical Addison’s disease and found the right course of treatment to make her well again.

Throughout it all, she gave us lots of love and cuddles and now feels SO much better back at home with her family. Well done, Indie, you are a star.

Clinic & Staff Updates

Reception Renos

If you haven’t already noticed the mini overhaul of reception, do pop in for a look. We now have a larger more appropriate waiting area and dedicated food section, but also a 3rd consult space which when not in clinical use we hope to use as a calm waiting area for cats.

This consult room has been such an amazing asset on busy days with our growing team. Watch this space as further improvements are due.

3 Years

Recently we passed the 3-year mark of ownership for Keryn and Bree who are still going strong thanks to our incredibly supportive team, and of course all of you our beloved clients. It has also been over a year now that we have been a stable full time 3 vet team after Dr Erica joined us over a year ago already.

We hope you all agree what an asset she has been to our team in general but especially to Silvi and Keryn and of course all of you.

Erica’s Wins

Erica recently won the NZAC national indoor bouldering series round 2 in Christchurch!!! Congratulations, Erica!

Bree is Back

Lastly we welcome Bree’s long-awaited return from maternity leave (much to Keryn’s delight), and of course welcome to the world baby Phoenix and possibly the future of NACH.

With love from the team at Northlands Animal Care Hospital.

Summer 2023

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 21:36:35 GMT

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Dear valued clients of Northlands Animal Care Hospital

We hope you and your furry friends are having a great day! We have some exciting news to share with you about the changes happening at our clinic.

As you all must know, we pride ourselves in our motto “Caring, Quality Service” but did you know we carry this out all week long? We are one of the only vet clinics in Christchurch open all week. Yes, that’s 7days a week, Monday through to Sunday. Happy, smiley, QUALITY service to you and your pets. We are now thrilled to announce that we are expanding our services and introduce you to Dr Erica Gatland who is joining Keryn and Silvi on a full-time basis. This means as of April 2023 we are not only open 7days a week, but we are also available all day for vet consults, and emergencies. Yup, you got that right! AND we have the most pawesome nursing team to boot. Let’s all take a minute to appreciate the awesome vet nurses of the world (a minute…) We have 10 of these extraordinary beings in our employ, that’s an average of 1 to 3.3 nurses per vet, per vet, a worldwide industry gold standard. This is great news for your furry loved ones, do let them know we have stocked up on treats and cuddles.

On a bittersweet note, we are approaching the retirement of Euan, who has been a valuable member of our industry for close to 50years. Euan has been reducing his hours over the last two years and has decided to hang up his stethoscope and spend more time with his wife Shar. We want to express our gratitude for his tireless service to our pets and community,
and we are sure you will join us wishing him all the best in his future endeavours. Although he may be retiring, he will remain a familiar face around the clinic from time to time, continuing to assist in complicated cases or for consultation by arrangement.

As we move into this exciting new chapter, we are thrilled to inform you that Keryn and Bree have taken over ownership on Northlands Animal care Hospital. They, (we) are dedicated to maintaining the high standard of care and quality reputation established and we will continue to be independently owned in Christchurch.

We also want to remind you of our online portal, where you can access your pet’s financial records, standards of care, and our bookings dashboard. Get in touch if you’d like this link emailed to you. Did you know that you can request repeat prescriptions and food orders through our website?

Lastly, we encourage you to follow us on Instagram and Facebook and if you leave us a Google review you stand a chance to win spot prizes, prescription food, flea or tick control, and more. Thank you for choosing Northlands Animal Care Hospital for your pet’s care, and we look forward to serving you in the future.

Keep those tails wagging!
Keryn and Bree