Southern Tablelands Veterinary Hospital welcomes Goulburn community to first pet expo

With the Vet Hospital more than 35 years old, owner Amanda Craig, wanted to give new people to Goulburn the chance to check out the purpose-built facilities.

"We wanted to say to the new people of Goulburn this is where we are and this is the facility," she said.

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Ms Craig said at least 200 people toured the vet hospital with toy animals set up as if they were under anaesthetic and being monitored.

The tour aimed to demonstrate how the vets and nurses made sure animals were safe throughout procedures.

Those who toured the facility saw the treatment room, the surgery and the diagnostic imaging area featuring ultrasound, dental and normal x-rays. Tours of the test lab and pharmacy were also given.

"We are like a pharmacy for animals... we do in-house tests because they have a rapid turnaround as opposed to sending them off to the lab," Ms Craig said.

"We also wanted to introduce the new team."

Ms Craig, who grew up in Goulburn, and her husband, Richard, bought Southern Tablelands Veterinary Hospital seven years ago upon returning to the town, and gave the previous owners the chance to retire.

"Come February, we will be five full-time vets and two part-time vets so that should make it pretty easy to get an appointment and it will allow us to make our appointments that little bit longer," Ms Craig said.

As is the case with many industries, Ms Craig said it was hard to find vets Australia-wide and believed the practice's focus on staff wellbeing was what helped them attract vets to the practice.

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WIRES volunteer Kerrie Dunbar originally proposed the idea for the pet expo but Ms Craig was concerned they wouldn't have the resources to pull it off.

Demonstrating the passion of the staff, Ms Craig said everyone ended up coming together and putting up their hand to do a bit extra to run the successful pet expo.

There were 17 pet-related stalls on the day, including the RSPCA and WIRES, as well as food stalls and free face painting.

Ms Craig said pet behaviour was a focus with free consults available. Discussions centred on how to deal with pet anxiety and how the vet hospital was set up to reduce stress for pets.

Unfortunately, the wet weather cancelled a planned agility show but people still came to speak to Goulburn Dog Training about how to improve their dog's behaviour.

A pet parade gave the community a chance to show off their cute, small, big and interesting pets with prizes awarded in a variety of categories.

Local teachers were also involved in an art competition showcasing the artistic skills of children and adding bursts of colour to the vet hospital's walls.

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