Empathy and experience: the ingredients to an award-winning vet surgery

Whether you’ve got a dog with separation anxiety, a cat that seems extra irritable lately, or serious health concerns for your fur baby – the team at Daisy Hill Veterinary Clinic is ready to help.

The surgery, which recently won the Logan Business Award in the Vet Services category, welcomes all pet owners – and they will be greeted by a team of experienced animal lovers with empathy in droves.

Owner, and vet of more than 20 years, Julian Nalliah says his team is made up of passionate, caring and professional people who are as skilled in handling intense emotion and ensuring owners feel listened to as they are in diagnosing and treating health issues in animals.

‘I fully appreciate the amount of trust it takes for an owner to hand their pet over to us,’ he says.

‘Our community is important to us and we were nominated for this award by a regular customer here, which is nice as well – it is great to get that community recognition.

‘I used to say my dream was running a vet surgery in a small town where people recognise you on the street and it’s just that friendly vibe, and I really feel I have that here.’

Julian says his team works with humans and animals to ensure they are comfortable at what can be a vulnerable and worrying time.

‘Our customer service is so important, we want people to feel as though they are informed, listened to, and that they trust us to do our very best for their pet,’ he says.

‘We make things as comfortable as we can for pets and owners.’

This includes access to a fully fenced turfed area outside behind the surgery, where nervous pets can get some fresh air, or families can gather to say their final goodbyes in a peaceful garden setting.

‘It’s a roller-coaster every day – I could go from having to deliver some sad news about a pet who I have been seeing for years, to the joy of a new puppy coming for a check-up in the space of half an hour,’ he says.

He says over his time as a vet, he has seen a shift in the way people view their pets.

‘Pets used to be largely outdoor animals and seen not quite as part of the family – now we are seeing them really become a member of the family, they are indoors, sleeping on our beds,’ he says.

‘As a result, we are seeing that pets are living longer and they are being looked after in a really attentive way, which is awesome.’

Since COVID, the surgery has also seen an increase in the number of behavioural problems.

‘When everyone was spending more time at home, we had more time to spend with our pets and now that things are normal again we are seeing that dogs have quite a lot of separation anxiety,’ Julian says.

‘Cats, on the other hand, weren’t too happy when their owners were home all the time – and now they are pleased to have the house to themselves again.’

Julian said storm fears, excessive barking and aggression were the other major behavioural issues he sees in dogs besides separation anxiety – and many of these issues could be traced back to some sort of anxiety.

For cats, behavioural issues such as attacking and spraying were most likely caused by a change in their regular litter or another animal on their property.