Call our 24-hour pet emergency centre
0800 PET EMERGENCY (0800 738 363)
Much like a human hospital, our large companion animal hospital is divided into several different services. Our first opinion departments include our Community Practice Service and our Emergency and Critical Care service. Our referral departments are predominately made up of specialist vets who can provide advanced diagnostic and surgical services. Our highly skilled imaging and anaesthesia departments support the daily operations of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
Our services
Our community practice has an amazing team of vets and nurses, providing a full compliment of services. Our team is experienced and knowledgeable – we're passionate about teaching and providing you and your pet with the best possible experience and care.
Our main services include:
- Consultation
- Vaccinations
- Desexing
- Dental care
- Flea and Worming
- Microchipping
- Puppy preschool
- Pregnancy checks and scans
- Feline Radioactive Iodine Treatment
- Weight loss clinics
- Pawsitively Positive sessions (desensitisation)
- Nurse consults
- Geriatric and end of life consults.
Our practice has an online booking portal for our General Practice Clients. You can book appointments, check invoices, pet details and even add photos. We have an extensive range of flea and worming products, as well as Hills and Royal Canin products, and knowledgeable staff who can assist with nutrition and diet questions.
Contact and hours
Companion Animal Hospital
- Hours
8am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday. Closed on Public Holidays
- vethospital@massey.ac.nz
- Routine appointments phone
- Pet emergencies phone (any time)
0800 PetEmergency (0800 738363)
- Location
Physical address
Massey Vets - Companion Animal Hospital
University Avenue
Fitzherbert
Palmerston North 4474Practice Manager
Pauline Nijman, p.a.nijman@massey.ac.nz
Bird and reptile care
Call our friendly reception to book an appointment with Wildbase Hospital for your pet bird or reptile.
Phone +64 6 350 5329
Emergency care
Our 24/7 service provides care for critically ill or injured companion animals. We provide overnight monitoring support to our Partner Practices, as well as overseeing the intensive care for our own patients from different departments.
The after hours team is made up of several teams to ensure the best care and support for your pet 24/7. All cases are managed by a team of practicing veterinarians, Emergency and Critical Care residents and interns, and our highly-trained veterinary nurses.
What you should expect
1, Make an appointment first
Email or phone us to arrange an appointment, or ask your local vet to refer your pet to us.
2, Bring your pet to us
If it's your first visit, arrive 10 minutes before your appointment time to give us details for you and your pet.
If you haven't filled in a form before you arrive, bring details of:
- your pet's age and medical history
- any medication your pet is taking or has taken in the past
- any medical treatment your pet has had recently
- the vet clinic you usually go to
- your pet insurance, if you have any.
We will discuss our recommended treatment with you before starting it.
3, Pay for your pet's treatment
We require a 50 percent deposit for all estimates before any veterinary work can be carried out.
You will need to pay in full when your pet is discharged. You can pay by:
- Qcard
- VetCare Finance
- Internet/Direct debit banking
- Eftpos – all major Credit Cards accepted (surcharge of 2 percent applies)
Student involvement
As a teaching hospital, our final year students are involved in all aspects of your patients care. This is an excellent opportunity for the students to work alongside experienced veterinarians and prepare to enter the workforce.
What does this mean for your pet?
We do not practice on your pet or do unnecessary procedures. Your pet's wellbeing is top priority when our students are involved in their care. All of our students will work alongside nursing and vet staff to learn how to read behaviour, safely approach and handle your pet, take your pets temperature, heart rate, do a physical exam and more.
Students first observe and then take the lead on client consults – but rest assured, our staff are supporting them the whole way! For this reason, a standard consult is approximately 60-90 minutes long. This allows the students to be thorough, consider each and every patient they see, and consolidate their theory with the practical.
You can also drop your pet with us for the day if it is more convenient for you.
Our team
Our Companion Animal Hospital is staffed by an experienced, knowledgeable and passionate team of vets and nurses.
Dr Thomas Odom
I completed my veterinary degree at the University of Tennessee in 1999. After a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery in 2000, I practiced small animal medicine in private practice in San Francisco for 15 years. I moved to New Zealand in 2014 to join Massey and now head the team of talented veterinarians in the VTH Primary Practice.
Susan Tomlin
Susan graduated from Massey University in 1991 and owned Hokowhitu Veterinary Clinic from 1996 to 2005. She was a shareholder of the Central City Vets and Cattery 2005-2007 – this company then became Pet Doctors Palmerston North where she worked as a small animal veterinarian until 2015. Susan has been a Small Animal Clinician at Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital since 2015.
Steve De Grey
I'm a Senior Practising Veterinarian with 29 years experience, initially in mixed practices (rural), and since 2014 working in the School of Veterinary Science with the Massey Vet clinic. I am also involved with the Veterinary Emergency Response Team and have training/experience in large and small animal rescue/disaster support.
Vet referrals
Vets – refer a companion animal to us for specialist care.
Accreditation
Cat-friendly clinic
We are proud to be an accredited cat-friendly clinic. Our staff are specially trained to make your cat's visit as positive as possible, by minimising contact with dogs and using low-stress handling techniques. Find out more about cat-friendly clinics.
Low-stress handling
Most of our staff are certified in low-stress handling for dogs and cats. They can tailor their techniques to your pet's personality and needs. Our students learn and practise these techniques while supervised by certified staff.
QS Ranking - Veterinary Science
The Veterinary School is ranked by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) as 19th in the world for veterinary science, the highest ranked school in the southern hemisphere.
