MEET YOUR LOCAL RETAILERS: RIPLEY VET

Ripley Vet offers a full-service small animal hospital with everything from preventative medicine, surgical intervention, anaesthesia, dentistry, x-rays and ultrasounds to laboratory and blood testing, kitten fostering services and even a puppy preschool.

Having opened in 2018 and sharing a birthday with Dr Andrew and Ripley Town Centre, Dr Andrew Hemming and Practice Manager Sarah Hemming (his wife) knew the region would be perfect for their vision of a full service veterinary hospital, catering to the growing population and their furry friends.

We caught up with Dr Andrew to find out more about Ripley Vet and the team’s long-standing connection with the Ripley community.

What attracted you to Ripley Town Centre?
We used to eat mangoes on the back of our ute while looking over the rolling hills and grazing cows, so have a deep connection to the area and we thought it would be a lovely place to set up a hospital. We originally had a small practice across the road but after that sold, we knew we could focus on building our ideal hospital to a high-quality standard.

How has Ripley Vet grown since 2018?
We’re constantly growing year-on-year. In our first year of opening, we were the youngest clinic to receive the Hospital of Excellence accreditation from the Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association and are one of only four practices in Queensland that have that level of accreditation. To receive this accreditation veterinary hospitals must achieve the highest levels of quality healthcare and practice management in innovative, state-of-the-art hospital facilities.

We have a very loyal client base who are committed to their animals, and it’s been exciting watching Ripley Town Centre grow and develop. It’s a warm and friendly area, and almost everyone is here to embark on a new journey so it’s humbling to be their local vet.

Are you looking to offer any new services in the future?
We’ve been full service since day one, but we’d love to offer acupuncture and herbal medicine at some point. We are primarily an animal wellness hub, so we want to offer a holistic experience — there just aren’t many vets around that specialise in these medicines!

What has been the most interesting animal you’ve treated?
The most interesting animal would be an eagle! Someone had picked it up from the side of the road, so we checked it out and then sent it to the bird gurus down the road to recover.

What do you enjoy most about connecting with locals and their furry friends?
We love hosting community events with drinks and nibbles, and presenting on interesting topics, including animal health, dentistry, first-aid and animal behaviour.

It’s really nice to connect with clients outside of the usual hospital setting, so we’re looking forward to getting into more community events, especially the upcoming Pet Expo and community Christmas events at the end of the year.

What do you love most about working at Ripley Vet?
I love seeing our staff grow. We’ve got 15 staff at the moment including vet students, and we have a big focus on leadership training and clinical development. We’ve just been nominated for the Lincoln Institute’s Annual Best Led Practice award for our leadership courses and how we run our practice. Our Head Nurse has also been nominated as one of the Top 3 Practice Leaders in Australia and we are incredibly proud of her achievements.

Finally, who is the top dog of Ripley?
This might be contentious, but the top dog would have to be a tie between my two dogs — Normus our Border Collie is a big fan of coming to work with me and Sage, our 10-week old Border Terrier is very cute.

If your furry friend needs a check-up, make sure you pop in to Ripley Vet at 20 Main Street and say ‘hi’ to Dr Andrew and his friendly team. For events and updates on Ripley Vet and Ripley Town Centre, keep an eye on the Ripley Town Centre website and Facebook page.