Animal Referral Hospital Canberra

29/10/2026

Meet Sybil! 🥰

Back in 2022, Sybil visited our surgical department after experiencing hindlimb weakness. She underwent her second spinal surgery, and our team worked closely with her and her owners to navigate her recovery.

Fast forward to today: Sybil has just celebrated her 10th birthday! Four years post-surgery, she is thriving, happy, and living her absolute best life.

Spinal procedures can be extremely delicate, and diligent post-operative care plays a vital role in achieving successful outcomes like this. We couldn’t be more proud of Sybil’s resilience, and we’re so thrilled to see her doing so well! ❤️

23/10/2026

The great work at ARH Canberra brought to the world stage!

Dr. Eunice Lam (BVSc, DVM, MS) who is a Senior Surgery Intern at ARH Canberra, just gave a presentation at the most prestigious scientific meeting focused on veterinary surgery, the ACVS Surgery Summit in the USA. This annual event organised by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons attracts specialist veterinary surgeons, other veterinarians, veterinary students and nurses from all over the world.

Since Dr. Eunice Lam joined ARH Canberra in January 2024, this was her 3rd consecutive presentation at the ACVS Surgery Summit. This year, Dr. Eunice Lam talked about her study co-authored by Dr. Jacob Michelson (a specialist veterinary surgeon at ARH-Canberra) and Dr. Marco Lopes (a specialist veterinary surgeon at Oklahoma State University, USA) compiling information from all cases of proximal gastrocnemius avulsion in dogs and cats ever reported in the veterinary literature. One of the main conclusions of the study was the proposal of a novel classification system for proximal gastrocnemius avulsion. Dr. Eunice Lam and co-authors are now finalising the article about that study to be published in a scientific journal.

Dr. Eunice Lam is also a well-rounded small animal clinician who completed a 2-year internship and a masters in small animal emergency and critical care (ECC) at Washington State University, USA before joining ARH Canberra, in 2024.

We are so proud of Dr. Eunice Lam's great achievements and are so glad to have her with us! 🎉

15/10/2026

Meet Loui, the 13-year-old Labrador who proves age is just a number! 🥰

When Loui first joined us six months ago, osteoarthritis had severely impacted his mobility. Back then, standing on his own for even 30 seconds was an exhausting struggle.

But with a personalised rehabilitation care plan, managed through targeted weekly hydrotherapy, monthly rehabilitation sessions, and recent epidural and lumbosacral injections, he has blown all of us away with his incredible progress!

Under the dedicated care of Dr. Lucie and our expert Hydrotherapy team, Loui’s transformation has been nothing short of extraordinary. Today, he’s comfortably walking in the underwater treadmill for over 10 minutes completely on his own!

08/10/2026

02/10/2026

How cute are these brave blood donor hero’s!

(Pic 1) Blue donated for the first time this week, helping us keep blood available in our hospital for emergencies ⭐️

(Pic 2/3) Leroy helped save one of our very critically ill patients in hospital, and looked good doing it ❤️‍🩹

(Pic 4) Beautiful Pollux also helped save a kitty that was in desperate need of blood ❣️

(Not pictured) 🐶 Billie, Bobbie, Buster, Todd, Zippy, Indy, Happy and 🐱 Fanta have all donated in the last few months as well!!

We are incredibly grateful for all our blood donors (and their families) who continue to selflessly help other families and their fur babies in those tough times by supplying a lifesaving product that we can’t buy!

‼️ We are in need of more dog donors ‼️
See previous posts or our website for blood donor criteria - If you think your dog or cat could be a good blood donor, please reach out to our team for further information and support!
📞 (02) 6280 6344
💻 [email protected]

24/09/2026

Meet Summer! 🐾

Summer came to our emergency department feeling pretty miserable, she was suffering from continuous vomiting, couldn't keep food or water down, and was showing signs of stomach pain.

An ultrasound revealed a dilated loop in her small intestine, raising immediate suspicion of a foreign body obstruction. Our team performed an exploratory laparotomy, where we successfully removed a small pebble-shaped object!

We’re thrilled to report that Summer is back home, recovering wonderfully, soaking up endless cuddles, and living her best life!💖

15/09/2026

Meet Dr. James (aka Jimmy)!

Jimmy has been with ARH for 6 years this coming summer and is currently in the last few months of his surgical residency.

His journey into surgery is unique, having worked as an emergency veterinarian, and before that a youth worker. During his time as a youth worker, he has had the privilege and honour of journeying with a diverse group of young people going through all kinds of challenging family or social circumstances. It is that same passion that has translated into all things veterinary - often meeting and journeying with families during similarly challenging times.

In the theatre you will find him most at home with challenging soft tissue, neurology or orthopaedic cases. Outside work he shares a busy but fun life with his wife Kaitlyn (also a vet at ARH) and their 8-month-old daughter Freya. During his down time, you will find him cycling, running or playing music with his local church group!

We are so grateful to have Dr. James with us, with his expansive knowledge and his happy energy, bringing reassurance to our patients, comfort to their owners, and keeping the entire ARH team in high spirits each day. Thank you for all the hard work you do Jimmy!

10/09/2026

Meet our adorable new little patient! This little rescued possum joey came to us from a lovely member of the public for a health check after being separated from his mum after a misadventure.

After assessment the joey was deemed to be healthy and the local wildlife careers were called to arrange pick up and further care. Their length in care is dependent on their development and adaptation to independence, but can be from 7 months to a year+ case depending.

Behind every cute face is a lot of hard work, our team and local wildlife rescues and careers are making sure this little one gets the specialised care, nutrition, and TLC needed to grow up strong and head back into the wild where they belong.

If you see injured wildlife, you can call the following numbers:
ACT Wildlife: 0432 300 033
Access Canberra - After Hours: 13 22 81

03/09/2026

Big news! 🎉Congratulations to these incredible vets, Dr. Sasha Chapman, Dr. James Iversen, and Dr. Matthias Guo Wei Chan, on having their research papers recently published!

Here’s a quick look at their latest published work:

Dr. Sasha Chapman: Hyperbilirubinemia and neurologic signs in dogs with non-associative immune-mediated hemolytic anemia

Dr. James Iversen: Chronic lymphoplasmacytic villonodular proliferative synovitis in the stifle of a 3-year-old dog without concomitant cranial cruciate ligament rupture

Dr. Matthias Guo Wei Chan: Acute pancreatitis secondary to a massive falciform ligament lipoma in a dog: Surgical management and outcome

We are so proud of their dedication to advancing veterinary medicine and clinical research. And congratulations to all who supported them throughout their research!

Join us in celebrating their amazing achievements in the comments below!

Links:
Dr. Sasha - https://academic.oup.com/jvim/article/40/1/aalaf034/8429717

Dr. James - https://www.ovid.com/journals/vrcr/abstract/10.1002/vrc2.70562~chronic-lymphoplasmacytic-villonodular-proliferative?redirectionsource=fulltextview

Dr. Matthias - https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/vrc2.70538

AbstractBackground. Bilirubin encephalopathy is a poorly recognized complication in dogs with immune-mediated hemolytic-anemia (IMHA).Hypothesis/Objectives

02/09/2026

Meet Dr. Laura Downes!

Dr. Laura has been with us for 5 years and is the star anaesthetic vet in our surgery department! She thrives on complex, challenging cases and brings a wealth of experience across all aspects of veterinary medicine.

When she isn't keeping our patients safe in theatre, you’ll find her painting, diving into a good book, skateboarding, bushwalking, or working on her latest 3D printing project. She’s also a proud cat mum to two rescue domestic shorthairs, Bisou and Branston-pickle!

We love Dr. Laura’s exceptional skills and always-positive energy. Thank you for everything you do!