Our modern sciences, ancient traditions and everyday experiences, all shed light on the nature of wellbeing and the extraordinary relationship between mind and body. These insights are shared through the Happy Animal Clinic, a referral service providing an interdisciplinary approach to promoting your animal’s health and happiness.
- Jimmy Symmonds – veterinarian with further training in herbal medicine and acupuncture
- Cara Harris – animal behavioural scientist with a masters degree in psychology
We work together with you and your family veterinarian, combining our knowledge and skills, to provide a service to animals that addresses the mind and body as a whole.
MIND-BODY APPROACH
Mind-body medicine explores the complex interconnections between an animal’s mind, body and behaviour. This modern field of healthcare is also referred to as psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI for short.
An animal’s mental/emotional state is directly linked to the functioning of their nervous-, immune- and hormone systems, as well as the various organs (digestive tract, skin, heart, etc). Our approach involves an interdisciplinary approach to animal health and wellbeing that includes behavioural science, veterinary medicine, neurophysiology, psychology and herbal medicine.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
The Happy Animal Clinic is a referral veterinary service. We work in partnership with you, your animal companion and your family veterinarian, to find ways to promote your animal’s psychological and physical wellbeing. We currently offer home visits in Cape Town and surrounding suburbs.
You can look forward to a tailored program of support that integrates wellbeing strategies that work for you and your animal companions. Treatment modalities include herbal medicines, acupuncture, behavioural counseling, physical therapies and lifestyle advice as appropriate. These modalities are integrated with conventional treatments as prescribed by your family veterinarian.
We assist with a range of physical, mental and behavioural complaints in animals. These problems are often characterised by long-term psychological, neurological and/or immune system disturbances that benefit from an interdisciplinary approach.
Examples of problems that we address:
- Pain – e.g. arthritis, slipped disc
- Skin Problems – e.g. allergy, recurrent infections
- Digestive Problems – e.g. diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
- Old Age Problems – e.g. frailty, incontinence, cancer
- Behavioural Problems – e.g. stress-related conditions, anxiety, urinating inside, obsessive behaviours
Some of the general benefits of our approach:
- Greater awareness of the nature and needs of your animal
- Mental-emotional aspects of wellbeing are addressed
- Normal physiological functions are supported
- Positive methods to promote your animal’s wellbeing
- Enhanced human-animal bond
- Ethical, sustainable solutions for happy animals and a happy planet too
PROFESSIONAL FEES
Initial consultations: R500 (1 – 1.5 hr)
Follow-up consultations: R380 (30 – 45 min)
- includes: acupuncture, physical therapies and behaviour programmes
- excludes: herbal remedies and nutritional supplements
No travel charge for home-visits within the City Bowl. Home-visits charge for other areas will vary so please check with us.
REFERRAL PROCEEDURE
Consultations require a referral from your family veterinarian.
Contact your family veterinary practice and request:
- a referral to the Happy Animal Clinic
- a copy of your animal’s medical history, including any diagnostic test results and current treatments. Medical histories can be sent to us by email or fax, or you can bring it along to your first appointment.
- email: hi@happinessis.co.za
- fax: 086 275 0577
NOTE: If your family veterinary practice is unfamiliar with our service then they may want more information before referring you. Either direct them to this webpage or ask them to give us a call to discuss your animal and how we may be able to help.
ENQUIRIES
Unsure if we can help? Feel free to call or email us to discuss the suitability of our approach to a particular problem.
email: hi@happinessis.co.za
Jimmy: 079 389 9958
Cara: 073 747 1119