When Siobhan Menzies left general practice to establish HolisticPet it was with a vision to provide safe and effective complementary therapies for pets which did not have the undesirable side effects often associated with conventional medication. It quickly became apparent that the animals most in need were those suffering from painful conditions. These pets invariably had reduced mobility and poor exercise tolerance. Many of these patients had already tried standard pain medications which either weren't effective enough on their own or which caused additional health problems. Siobhan noticed that adding acupuncture to the treatment regime seemed to have a beneficial effect and it soon became the mainstay of HolisticPet with the majority of patients seeking help for painful conditions. In her further quest for therapies to reduce pain and achieve a return to full physical fitness Siobhan introduced laser therapy; physiotherapy; physical rehabilitation; Emmett technique and hydrotherapy on the underwater treadmill.
HolisticPet is an independent veterinary practice which offers pain management and veterinary rehabilitation clinics at the home practice in Millisle as well as in our partner veterinary practices. We accept referrals from veterinary surgeons all over Northern Ireland and further afield working as a team with your primary vet to provide excellent pain management and rehabilitation therapies for your four legged family members. At https://www.earlswoodveterinary.com we see outpatients as referrals as well as managing many of the inpatients recovering from spinal or orthopaedic surgery. This is one of the most rewarding and satisfying aspects of our work, seeing patients that are completely immobile and unable to walk make the tough road to recovery under our care. See some of their stories on our facebook page HolisticPet vet rehab and pain management. Referral appointments are also available at our pain clinics at Clare vets in Ballyclare https://www.clarevetgroup.co.uk; https://www.gardenlodgevets.co.uk and Cedar Grove vet clinic https://www.cedargrovevets.com.
In June 2015 Siobhan invited Elsa Izaguirre to join the team. Elsa's studies in veterinary physiotherapy; her experience in a pet rehabilitation clinic in Spain; and her enormous enthusiasm and passion for her vocation soon made her a popular addition to the team. Elsa is currently on maternity leave but will return in Spring of 2022. She continues her studies in chronic pain management, rehabilitation and herbal medicine .
In 2019 experienced veterinary surgeon Sandra Dunbar added her extensive experience in competitive dogs and canine agility to the HolisticPet skillset. Sandra can be found at our Earlswood vet referrals pain clinic and expands the service for conditioning recovering and injured animals.
2021 saw the arrival of veterinary surgeon Theresa Miceli. Theresa has worked in vet clinics all over the world using her skills as a talented veterinary surgeon and veterinary acupuncturist to introduce pain management service to the clinics that she worked in. Her enthusiasm for her work, compassion for our patients and great sense of humour have made her a wonderful asset to the HolisticPet team.
HolisticPet is now a unique veterinary practice committed to reducing pain and improving mobility in their four legged patients while maintaining as good a quality of life as possible. All four veterinary surgeons are dedicated to working with your primary veterinary surgeon to provide an effective program of multimodal analgesia tailored specifically for your pet.