“I have been taking my boy Frankie to Acupet for pet acupuncture and rehab since his surgery for IVDD January 2023. Kym’s knowledge and care is second to none, she looks at his overall health and wellbeing and helps you to form a plan of action. Frankie has had acupuncture, laser therapy and we have had multiple herbal medicines to assist his journey. He’s making great progress and this would not have been possible without Kym! Frankie and I love our sessions with you and I couldn’t recommend Acupet more highly!“

Candice Baker

“Kym at Acupet has been a life saver for our miniature dachshund Latte. She has given additional years of life for our little fellow with my family. We have been taking our Latte to Kym from 2020. Latte lost the use of his back legs in 2020 and started dragging his feet. After being told of surgery by other vets, we were reluctant as to the recovery rates and the lengthy rehabilitation period. We did a lot of research and found out people have been doing acupuncture on similar cases with success in other parts of the world. A search in NZ for animal acupuncture led us to Kym. We had a few sessions with Kym and could see improvements on Latte’s condition almost straight away. He started regaining the use of his legs after a few months with acupuncture, the Chinese meds that Kym prescribed and the physio work she advised us to do at home. Our Latte has successfully regained the use of this back legs. He still continues maintenance acupuncture even today and we are happy to have our boy back with us.“

Seth Sires

“Acupet provides expert care with a broad approach tailored for the needs of your pet. Dr. Shrimpton has cared for our older dog, who has recovered from a few surgeries, and we trust in her expertise in both veterinary care (e.g. medicines) as well as in therapeutic acupuncture and laser work. Our dog has responded from suffering limited mobility to behaving like a dog half its age.

Anecdote: Acupet improved our dog’s recovery from surgery when it incurred a second injury on the opposite leg–requesting (this second time) of the surgical vet that they provide an alternative to fentanyl, and the experience was night and day–our dog was much happier and healed faster without the earlier trauma–and the result was much more humane. It alleviated so much stress for both patient and caretaker, and resulted in a much better outcome. This alone illustrates a very high duty of care, for which we will always be grateful.

That is just one win of many since we established care for our dog with Acupet. The regular therapy we have been able to provide for it through Dr. Shrimpton has given us a happier dog, and I highly recommend Acupet to anyone, with any pet, for expert and humane (and affordable) care.“

C S

“Betty is a 17 year old British Shorthair tortie girlcat. She is very loved. Kym came into Betty’s life 9 months ago. We had been searching for help with pain and aging joints. Betty had stopped jumping up on her favourite places. She had a limp and was faltering when climbing stairs. She was uncomfortable sitting back on her haunches. She was not happy in herself and quite withdrawn.

Our search was for someone we could trust. Someone qualified, with wisdom and experience in dealing with aging and pain management. Someone who had empathy and intuition, understood cats and believed in treating the cause and not just the symptoms. Someone who understood the balance of treating holistically, where possible, and with medication – if needed. Someone who understands quality of life over quantity of life.

Kym is this person. Betty visits every two weeks for laser therapy and acupuncture for an hour. We would never have believed Betty would be so tolerant of both procedures. A true testament to Kym’s skill. Betty is so calm and relaxed in the car ride there – she knows this is a safe place that makes her feel so much better afterwards.

Kym is a fully qualified vet. She is also very intuitive. She understands the comorbidities that impact older animals. She understands pain and its management – she knows how and when to prescribe pain medication – if needed. Kym also advised us on balanced nutrition, and introduced BalanceIT to add to her raw food diet for correct supplementation. Kym can also refer to other trusted and experienced specialists.

Kym’s ability to diagnose beyond what we could see is lifesaving. Kym identified a major teeth issue – a source of toxic, organ-damaging pain. She introduced us to Dr Craig Hunger at MVRC – the teeth expert who resolved this. Kym also identified a heart murmur that led us to Dr Keaton, a brilliant cardiologist at VSA. Betty was found to have very high blood pressure and could have had a stroke or gone blind if we hadn’t addressed this.

We want Betty to live the optimum life for her age. We have always strived to be pre-emptive in our care of Betty – to never get into a crisis situation. Kym allows this to happen. She understands all aspects of animal health. Betty loves her. We couldn’t recommend her highly enough.“

T W

“My dog Cindy started crying in pain a few months back. Got her on pain meds. Then she started stumbling when walking. Took her to my normal vet who said she probably has a brain tumour and might not last till Easter. Immediately I went onto FB and asked people if they knew of a Chinese doctor who looked after animals. Kym’s name was suggested. Kym diagnosed that Cindy probably had a stroke affecting her left side. So a treatment of acupuncture started, along with a herbal tonic Kym mixed herself, plus fish oil for Cindy’s brain. Cindy now walks without any stumbling and is naughtier than before. Kym also suggested medication for joints which I haven’t purchased yet, but once Cindy is on that medication I can take her off the pain meds. I don’t know what I would have done without Kym. So if you’ve got a sick animal needing specialised care please get in touch with Kym.“

Christine Dhari

“I was recommended to take my old girl Kiera to Acupet by a colleague.
That was a huge blessing as my dog would not be walking (and possibly put down) if it wasn’t for her acupuncture sessions, lazer and herbal medicine. For a 15 year old she is now thriving.
The results she has been receiving makes me realise you should never write off a pet just because they are old. Humans have the ability to support their elderly dogs and cats with natural treatments, that have them pain free and living their best lives.
Kym is a highly skilled, knowledgeable, professional vet who has our pets health as her top interest.”

Kim Gruebner

“Kym has changed Nelson’s world! Acupuncture and hydrotherapy plus reviewing his diet, exercise and pain meds for his chronic arthritis has allowed him to be pain free, so

much happier, more active and back to his old self and naughty behaviour! Wish I had come and seen Kym years earlier! 5/5.“

Hannah Lyle

“Our cat Sadie has just made it to 17 and the treatments she’s had with Kym have helped us successfully manage her long-term constipation, arthritis and other age-related conditions for the last few years. It’s amazing to see how quickly a session brings Sadie relief. Thanks Kym, for giving our old lady quality of life, for your knowledge and for always being so kind.“

Lena Erakovich

“I have had my precious dog Faye for almost 17 years. She is the first dog in my life and has come to change my world since the day that tiny baby arrived at our home! Faye had been a healthy and energetic dog until she was 14 when arthritis started to strike her gradually. It is however believed the pain started a lot earlier since she managed to hide her pain so well. She could no longer mask it when one day she sprang her leg very badly as she rushed to jump off from the bed to greet me at the door. Since then she had been having regular synovan injections, taking anti-inflammatory medications and joint supplements for more than a year until there was nothing more the vet could do. Her health further deteriorated with heart and dental diseases. She depended heavily on her bowed elbows to walk and could no longer function normally with the radiating joint and back pain.

I started searching for pet acupuncture and rehab in New Zealand and I found Kym. Instead of only looking at her limping problem, Kym used a holistic approach to look into the causes of Faye’s pain and her strange gait. Not only did Kym diagnose Faye’s chronic neck and back pain and the arthritis over her limbs, she also pointed out Faye is suffering from dementia disease and other neurological problems. Faye has had her needle treatments for almost a year now where we started from weekly then fortnightly. Kym also combined the treatment with herbal therapy and provided advice on different supplements that Faye may benefit from. Faye used to avoid me touching her incredibly stiff neck but now she loves me massaging her any time. Her blood circulation has also improved which has made her more alert to her surroundings, even though the dementia is incurable.

Kym’s work is very comprehensive. A few months ago when Faye seemed to have no coherent ability to walk with her hind legs due to her incurable neurological condition, Kym put her on laser therapy where a big improvement was seen within a few weeks.
Kym is so kind to animals and she shows genuine care to their overall well-being.
Faye is in her last span of years and I do understand that there is no miracle to continue fighting against aging ailments. Faye is however feeling more comfortable than before. I feel fortunate to have Kym on my team in providing palliative care of my Faye. I would not hesitate to recommend Kym and acupuncture to anyone.“

Tiffany Wong and Faye

“Pancho is a dachshund with back problems and he is not really big having acupuncture, however we push on through the desire to run away, twitching out the needles and generally being as tense as possible thanks to Kym’s never ending patience and good humour! Pancho is always much more pain free and free moving after seeing her. Highly recommend!.“

Fiona Black and Pancho

“Kym, I am so thankful that Charlie had you in his life as I truly believe you made a HUGE difference to his quality of life. I wish we had met you sooner but of course can’t go backwards :o). He was not the easiest of patients and yet you persevered and allowed us to come back each week and he most certainly benefited from the treatments. Thank you, thank you.“

Gillean Wayne

“Words can’t describe how grateful I am for all you did for my baby girl Angel.  She came to you as a terminal cancer patient with what we thought was back pain.  It turned out that it was the rapidly growing tumour on her liver that was causing her pain.  You found other areas of discomfort that my staunch old girl was not showing me and you treated them with acupuncture and natural supplements.  I truly believe that your program gave me 4 good months with my baby that I would not have had otherwise.  You were the first to speak of palliative care and your combination of acupuncture, natural supplements and pain medication kept Angel comfortable which allowed me to enjoy the last little while I had with her.  You are a kind, caring and compassionate person and I am so glad that we met you.  You became one of Angel’s favourite humans (not just because of all the liver treats you would give her ) – she thoroughly enjoyed her sessions with you.  Even through your own heartache of losing Sally – you remained our ‘rock’.  Angel was 6 weeks off her 13^th birthday.  I always hoped she would make it – I was going to throw her the biggest birthday party ever but deep down I knew that her ailing body would not be strong enough.  Her mind was still as sharp as ever which made the decision to let her go even harder.  I am now left only with my memories and amongst those very special moments will be the time spent with you Kym.  The dripping nose and quiet time on the mat with my precious baby girl and not forgetting all the times she tried to break into the treats container.“

Dot Mustor