Southpaws Specialty and Emergency Vet Hospital

Southpaws Specialty and Emergency Vet Hospital Australia's premier specialist referral and emergency hospital.

Introducing our NEWEST fixed-price surgery package!! 🎉🎉We’re excited to offer a comprehensive, specialist-led Femoral He...
20/03/2026

Introducing our NEWEST fixed-price surgery package!! 🎉🎉

We’re excited to offer a comprehensive, specialist-led Femoral Head and Neck Excision fixed price package! To make your pet’s journey to comfort simpler and more transparent. This all-inclusive package ensures your pet receives the highest standard of care from start to finish.

💙 Package includes:
• Initial consultation with a Southpaws Surgeon
• Wellness blood testing
• Specialist-led anaesthesia & pain management protocols
• FHNE surgery
• Post-operative pain relief
• Hospitalisation
• Routine rechecks at 7 & 14 days
• Pre- and post-operative imaging

💰 Pricing:
• Single side: $4,500
• Bilateral single session: $6,000

Our team of experienced surgeons and nurses will guide you and your dog through every step — from assessment to recovery — ensuring comfort, safety, and confidence in care.

📞 Book a free surgical consultation today and take the first step toward a pain-free future for your furry friend!

🩸🐾 Blood Donor Hero: Pablo to the Rescue!When Gumball, a young Russian Blue, was diagnosed with a large abdominal mass a...
19/03/2026

🩸🐾 Blood Donor Hero: Pablo to the Rescue!

When Gumball, a young Russian Blue, was diagnosed with a large abdominal mass and became anaemic, he urgently needed a life-saving blood transfusion.

Enter Pablo — a calm and generous British Shorthair who stepped up as a blood donor hero. 💙 After passing her health screening, Pablo safely donated blood that helped stabilise Gumball during a critical time.

✨ Why feline blood donors are so important
Cats rely on healthy donor cats for emergency transfusions used in cases such as severe anaemia, trauma, major surgery, and some cancers. Because cats have specific blood types, compatible donors like Pablo are truly lifesavers.

Pablo did wonderfully during her donation, receiving careful monitoring, fluids, and plenty of post-donation TLC.

❤️ Thanks to Pablo — and her amazing owners — Gumball received the support he needed when it mattered most.

🚨 We’re Hiring! 🚨 Southpaws is growing, and we’re looking for passionate Veterinary Nurses to join our team in both Surg...
18/03/2026

🚨 We’re Hiring! 🚨

Southpaws is growing, and we’re looking for passionate Veterinary Nurses to join our team in both Surgery and Emergency & Critical Care (ECC).

If you love working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment alongside specialists, residents and an incredible nursing team, we’d love to hear from you. Our nurses play a vital role in delivering advanced patient care — from complex surgeries to critical emergency cases — and we’re proud of the skill, compassion and teamwork they bring every day.

✨ Opportunities available in:
• Surgical Nursing
• Emergency & Critical Care Nursing

Whether you thrive in the operating theatre or enjoy the dynamic nature of emergency and critical care, this could be the next step in your veterinary nursing career. Join our dedicated team and help make a difference for the patients who need us most.

💌 hr@southpaws.com.au
🌐 https://ap1.hubs.ly/y0GT-L0

'reHiring

16/03/2026

Join us this Thursday night for our Mornington Continuing Education (CE) night! 🎉🎉

In this short video, Specialist surgeon, Dr Valentine Pollet shares a preview of what’s in store for the evening - from practical insights to real case discussions designed to support our local veterinary community.

These nights are all about learning, collaboration, and connecting with colleagues who share the same passion and care. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone for an engaging and informative evening! 🎊

If you are attending, we can’t wait to see you there!

📣 Calling all vets & veterinary nurses — you’re invited!Join us for an engaging Continuing Education Evening designed sp...
16/03/2026

📣 Calling all vets & veterinary nurses — you’re invited!

Join us for an engaging Continuing Education Evening designed specifically for our referring veterinary community.

🩺 Blocked & Bothered: When a Wee Problem Becomes an Emergency
A practical, case-focused evening exploring the assessment and management of urinary tract obstruction — from emergency stabilisation through to anaesthesia, surgical decision-making, and post-operative care.

✨ What to expect:
• Real-world ECC considerations you can apply immediately
• Anaesthesia and pain management insights
• Surgical perspectives and decision pathways
• Collaborative discussion with specialists and peers
• Drinks, bites & networking with the local vet community

🎤 Featuring presentations from our Emergency & Critical Care, Surgery, and Anaesthesia specialists.

📅 Thursday 19th March 2026
📍 Mornington Golf Course
🕡 Arrive from 6:30pm | Presentations begin 7pm

This evening is all about supporting our referring vets and nurses with practical knowledge, shared learning, and connection within our profession.

👉 Scan the QR code on the flyer to register — we’d love to see you there!

13/03/2026

Mornington CE Night - For Vets & Nurses 🐾

In this short video, Dr Benedetta Crivellari our specialist anaesthetist, talks about how our fellow vets and nurses would benefit from joining us at our latest Southpaws CE night!

Dr Benedetta will be joined by Dr Lorna O’Dowd, head of Emergency and Critical care, and specialist surgeon Dr Valentine Pollet. Talking all things blocked and bothered!

🗓️ Thursday 19th of March
📍 Mornington Golf Course
⏰ 6.30 for drinks, bites and networking.
Presentation starts at 7pm.

Register now -> https://share-ap1.hsforms.com/29uMFRCKNTVStGtVOsfa2Dw7axz8c

Looking forward to seeing you all there! 😍🥳❤️

🐾 Lola’s Orthopaedic Recovery Story 🐾 Meet Lola — a busy 6-month-old Staffy who proved that puppies and gravity don’t al...
13/03/2026

🐾 Lola’s Orthopaedic Recovery Story 🐾

Meet Lola — a busy 6-month-old Staffy who proved that puppies and gravity don’t always mix! After an awkward fall while trying to jump onto a chair, Lola was diagnosed with a tibial tuberosity avulsion fracture — an injury we commonly see in growing dogs where the patella tendon pulls part of the bone away.

Lola underwent surgical repair using K-wire fixation to stabilise the fracture and allow the bone to heal correctly while she continued to grow. Like many young patients, keeping her quiet during recovery was one of the biggest challenges (especially when she figured out how to escape her playpen! 😅).

At her rechecks, Lola continued to impress:
✅ Incision healed beautifully
✅ Normal limb use with no lameness
✅ Comfortable range of motion in the stifle
✅ Steady bone healing confirmed on radiographs

A small post-operative seroma settled with time and careful management, and once healing was complete, her implants were safely removed at 6 weeks to prevent growth-related complications.

Today, Lola is walking with no lameness and back to enjoying puppy life pain-free — exactly the outcome we hope for in these young patients.

Early diagnosis, appropriate surgical stabilisation, and dedicated home care all played a huge role in Lola’s excellent recovery. Well done to her committed owners for helping her through the rest phase (no small task with a Staffy puppy!).💙

We love seeing our patients return to doing what they do best — being happy, active dogs.

Helping pets live more comfortably starts with understanding their pain. 💙Our Specialist-Led Pain Clinic is designed to ...
12/03/2026

Helping pets live more comfortably starts with understanding their pain. 💙

Our Specialist-Led Pain Clinic is designed to provide dedicated, long-term support for pets experiencing chronic pain, mobility concerns, or reduced quality of life.

With personalised plans created by veterinary specialists, ongoing follow-ups, and collaborative care, we focus on improving comfort, function, and happiness — every step of the way.

Because pain management isn’t a single visit — it’s a journey.

📞 Contact our team to learn more or book.

Oliver’s story is one we won’t forget anytime soon 💙 When Oliver suddenly developed loud, laboured breathing early one m...
11/03/2026

Oliver’s story is one we won’t forget anytime soon 💙

When Oliver suddenly developed loud, laboured breathing early one morning, his owners knew something wasn’t right. Chest X-rays at his referring vet revealed a pneumothorax — air had leaked into his chest cavity, preventing his lungs from expanding normally and making breathing extremely difficult.

Our emergency and critical care team stabilised him with oxygen support and chest drain placement to remove excess air from his chest cavity, allowing his lungs to expand and a safer anaesthetic procedure for advanced imaging.

Advanced imaging confirmed the cause: a ruptured pulmonary bulla (an abnormal air-filled pocket within the lung). Oliver was rushed to surgery, where our team performed a median sternotomy and left cranial lung lobectomy to remove the damaged portion of lung responsible for the air leak.

This case was a true team effort, with close collaboration between our surgery, anaesthesia, and emergency & critical care teams, ensuring Oliver received seamless care from diagnosis through surgery and intensive recovery.

The procedure was a success, and Oliver began his recovery in ICU with chest drains, oxygen support, and careful pain management. Over the following days he steadily improved — breathing comfortably on room air, eating well (especially hand-fed chicken!), and greeting the team with a waggy tail.

By Hospital Day 5:
✔️ Pneumothorax resolved
✔️ Chest drains removed
✔️ Breathing stable without oxygen
✔️ Bright, comfortable, and walking well

Spontaneous pneumothorax can appear suddenly and become life-threatening very quickly, but with rapid diagnosis, surgery, and intensive care, patients like Oliver can make a fantastic recovery.

We’re so proud of this sweet boy and grateful to his dedicated owners for acting quickly when they noticed something was wrong. 🐾

🐾 Cruciate Disease in Dogs — What Every Owner Should Know 🐾 If your dog has suddenly started limping on a back leg, stru...
10/03/2026

🐾 Cruciate Disease in Dogs — What Every Owner Should Know 🐾

If your dog has suddenly started limping on a back leg, struggling to get up, or sitting with one leg stretched out to the side, they may be suffering from cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) disease — one of the most common causes of hindlimb lameness in dogs.

Unlike sudden sports injuries in people, cruciate disease in dogs is usually a degenerative condition, meaning the ligament gradually weakens over time before partially or completely tearing. This can lead to pain, instability in the knee, and eventually arthritis if left untreated.

🔎 Common signs to watch for:
• Limping or lameness in a back leg
• Difficulty rising or jumping
• Stiffness after rest or exercise
• Sitting with one leg out to the side
• Reduced activity or reluctance to play

🐕 Why early assessment matters
The knee becomes unstable once the ligament is damaged, which can cause ongoing discomfort and further joint damage. Early diagnosis allows us to discuss treatment options that restore comfort, improve mobility, and slow the progression of arthritis.

If you’ve noticed any changes in your dog’s movement or comfort, don’t wait — early intervention makes a big difference. Contact your vet to arrange an assessment.

🚨 Labour Day Trading Update 🚨This Labour Day, here’s where we’re at:🚑 Southpaws Malvern — OPEN 24/7 for emergency and cr...
08/03/2026

🚨 Labour Day Trading Update 🚨

This Labour Day, here’s where we’re at:

🚑 Southpaws Malvern — OPEN 24/7 for emergency and critical care
🔒 Southpaws Mornington — Closed for the public holiday

If your pet needs urgent care while Mornington is closed, our Malvern emergency team is here around the clock, as always. 💙🐾

Wishing everyone a safe and restful Labour Day!

🚨 Labour Day Long Weekend Emergency Care 🚨Heading into the Labour Day long weekend, a reminder that Southpaws Malvern Em...
04/03/2026

🚨 Labour Day Long Weekend Emergency Care 🚨

Heading into the Labour Day long weekend, a reminder that Southpaws Malvern Emergency is OPEN 24/7 all weekend long 🐾🚑

If your pet needs urgent or emergency care at any time — day or night — our experienced emergency and critical care team is here around the clock.

📍 Southpaws Malvern
⏰ 24/7 Emergency & Critical Care – all long weekend

Please don’t wait if you’re worried. We’re here when it matters most 💙

Address

1103 Dandenong Road
Kingston, VIC
3145

Telephone

+61395531775

Website

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About Southpaws

Southpaws is a practice consisting of vets and nurses who work with animal lovers who have pets with serious medical conditions by providing expert compassionate care so that their pets have the best chance for recovery and a return to a normal life.