Western News: March 20, 2018

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4 Tuesday March 20 2018 Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi STAR MEDIA CITY2SURF FUN RUN – 2018 WESTERN NEWS McMaster & Heap Veterinary practice A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MICHELE... One of my earliest memories at four, had me dreaming one day about saving animals lives and thankfully my best dream came true. In fact it was cultivated by my parents and veterinarian Dave Marshall (my dad’s friend), who let me see Practice with him in Worchester street as a little girl every holidays. My parents moved onto some land when I was young basically so I could have a horse and be surrounded by animals, which I was. I would never want to do anything else, but sometimes my job is tough, mentally and physically and you think about your patients 24/7. It’s just the way it is for me and I honestly wouldn’t want Kyza to be any different. The last couple of weeks has seen some real highs and lows for me. All part of my role as a vet, but I thought I’d let you in on a snippet of my life. Today I laid to rest “Kyza”, at his home in the Cashmere hills. Kyza had been a frequent flyer of mine since I first vaccinated him in August 2006 as a delightful, bouncy, super cute little puppy. So for 12 years I’ve had a close relationship with Kyza’s parents and the man himself. To say he’s not been high maintenance nor costly would be lying, but when you meet this magnificent, funny, gentle Boxer up close face to face, it’s not hard to see why his family have given him every opportunity for the “best’ life possible. Kyza had undergone the scapel many times – knee surgery, lump removals, castration later in life, three operations to remove urethral and bladder stones, grass seed foreign bodies but what took the quality from his life in the end was Congestive Heart Failure, which he’d been battling for a while. No matter what his visit was for, he let me do anything I wanted as long as liver treats and pats were part of the deal. He knew my voice and would watch me from the waiting room ready for his name to be called. Right up until the end he was incredibly stoic, trusting, clever (he had a real knack of clamping his jaw as to avoid more medications) and he still tried so hard to please the humans he loved. He was a legend and I know he’ll be greatly missed, least of all by me. Today was lovely as it should be. It was a 28 degree warm summer’s day and Kyza was lying on the lawn peacefully and close by were the people he adored. He slipped off to sleep so effortlessly and easily and believe it or not he wagged his tail one last time as the drug was being administered, as if to say, “THANKS guys, I’ve had a blast! He wasn’t scared, he looked safe and at peace. As I popped him to sleep, tears welled in my eyes. 26 years of practising and sending animals off into the next life, doesn’t make me immune to feeling sad at saying goodbye to a true friend, a patient I’ll not see again nor have the privilege of helping. My last act of kindness and compassion is to end their suffering and discomfort and to make those last moments of life as kind and respectful as I can for the animal that has trusted in my care all of its life. On a high note, another fabulous K9 “Charlie” a 7 year old golden Cocker Spaniel, escaped death which almost seemed inevitable a few weeks ago. Charlie came as a second opinion and was a very sick dog with a gloomy future. He had refused to eat for over 2 weeks, had chronic pneumonia, kidney failure and white blood cells higher than I’ve ever seen in a dog in 26 years of practising. Our 10/10+ team of vets and nurses worked tirelessly and lovingly, often out of hours, on Charlie and we got to the bottom of his disease, started the correct treatment plan and the rest is history. Collaboration with canine specialists, lots of internet research and special and loving owners that wanted to try “everything”, gave us time to figure out the pieces to this difficult puzzle. So as you can see, no two days are the same and each day brings with it extreme pride and joy occasionally mixed with some sadness. BUT still being a “VET” is the best job EVER!! Dr Michele McMaster Charlie SPRINT START: Runners take off from Centennial Park. FOR A CAUSE: Elene Edmonds, Heather Christie and Rebecca Firth of Riccarton completed the City2Surf for the Bowel and Liver Trust. FRIENDS: Amy Batchelor (left) and Katie Donaldson, of Halswell, getting ready to start the City2Surf fun run at Centennial Park. Open 7 days Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place phone 338 2534, Fax 339 8624 e. mcmasterandheap@yahoo.co.nz www.mcmasterheap.co.nz McMaster & Heap OVER THE LINE: Riccarton’s Margaret Dodd (left) with 85-yearold Margaret Grofski, of Sockburn, who walked the 14km event, raising money for Ronald McDonald House. RACE: (From left to right) – The first three across the line were Brett Tingay, of Cashmere (third), Oska Baynes, of Beckenham (first), and Leuan van der Peet, of Lincoln (second). PHOTOS: ZOE WILLIAMS & RACHEL SLOAN
WESTERN NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Tuesday March 20 2018 5 News Family asked to detain driver •From page 1 But Mrs Taylor declined the operator’s suggestion to detain the driver. “It was a bit ridiculous, we just thought we can’t just leave him here . . . I can’t handcuff him to the fence, I can’t do anything,” said Mrs Taylor. Said a police spokeswoman: “The caller then advised that the man had arranged to get a lift to his home address, would be leaving his keys with the caller, and would pick up his car in the morning.” Police did not attend the incident and initially said they would be Lane Todd following up with the driver. However, police then said on Friday “there are no further lines of inquiry” and they would not be following up at this stage. Mrs Taylor said she was surprised by this and thought police would have “done so well before now.” She said the driver came to their house the following day to collect his keys and apologise. Canterbury Metro Area Commander Superintendent Lane Todd said “for safety reasons, we do not advocate ACCIDENT: Julia Taylor looks at the remains of her fence after a driver crashed into it on Sunday night. PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER members of the public attempting to remove car keys from people they suspect of drink-driving.” However, he said Mrs Taylor “did everything right” as the driver had willingly given her his keys. New Zealand Police Association president Chris Cahill said the front line is stretched but it is “hopeful the pressure will be alleviated by the increased police the Government has promised.” Minister of Police Stuart Nash said he is committed to supporting police with what they need “to recruit and train and deploy 1800 new police over three years.” The incident didn’t come as a surprise to the Taylors. Mrs Taylor said they had been “expecting” something to happen ever since moving to Ensign St in late 2016. She said cars do burn-outs and drive at speed on the street “most nights.” Mrs Taylor believes speed bumps would solve the issue. • By Julia Evans A NEW $2.5 million Fendalton water tank has hit an 18-month delay. Changes to the design following community feedback have pushed out completion of the Jeffreys Reserve suction tank, which will now be completed in December 2019 instead of this June, city council manager land drainage Keith Davison said. “This is because of the change of scope. The Fendalton- Waimairi-Harewood Community Board’s approval is also required for the use of land,” he said. The plans were changed by the city council after neighbours of the reserve expressed concern with the concept designs. “Key concerns and suggestions from the Have Your Say engagement carried out in September and October were the height of the tank and the affect on neighbours, security issues, visual impacts, use of existing site, consideration for other locations and lowering of tank height,” Mr Davison said. The city council resdesigned the tank in November and December and concepts will go Local News Now Fire rages, homes at risk Water tank redesign forces delay REPLACEMENT: A new water tank in Jeffreys Reserve will see water in the area return to pre-quake volumes. back out for community consultation in the coming weeks. The former suction tank was damaged in the February 22, 2011, earthquake and needs to be replaced to get local water back to pre-quake flow rates. But instead of replacing it with the same 200 cu m tank, Mr Davison said the city council is “future proofing” the pump station by increasing the size to 500 cu m so it will last for 100 years. The redesign remains within the $2.5 million budget, Mr Davison said. Four bores have already been dug by the city council 100m into the ground to get to the water reservoir below. Easter Specials Deep Cut Specials 20th March - 31st March 2018 JOHNNIE WALKER DOUBLE BLACK 750ml $ 54 .99 JIM BEAM 1.75 Litre SPEIGHT’S 24 Pack $ 58 .99 $ 32 .99 BOMBAY SAPPHIRE 1 Litre $ 43 .99 STEINLAGER CLASSIC 15 Pack $ 25 .99 STEINLAGER MID 12 Pack $ 19 .99 + GIFT WITH PURCHASE Hornby Liquor Centre 58 Carmen Rd • 03 349 3005 While stocks last Mon-Wed 10am-7pm, Thurs 10am-8pm, Fri & Sat 9.30am-8pm, Sun 10am-5pm
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Western News: March 20, 2018

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