Furry friends on centre stage at Pet Care Day

Published on 01 April 2026

Residents and their pets enjoyed Pet Care Day in Macksville today where Midcoast Vets Veterinarian, Patrick O’Donoghue, said monitoring a dog’s dental health emerged as a theme.

Pet Care Day was delivered with Nambucca Valley Council to support pet owners with concession-cards to access discounted vaccinations and health checks for dogs, free pet microchipping and information.

“We really enjoyed our community Pet Care Day today,” Mr O’Donoghue said.

“We did our canine vaccination and Council did its microchip program at the Macksville Vet Clinic in River Street.

“A common thing I saw to be on the look-out for today was dental disease, so if you have a dog with smelly breath or if you just want to come in and get it checked out, we encourage you to bring it in for a dental check-up.”

A total of 19 dogs and their owners attended Pet Care Day today.

Nambucca Valley Council General Manager Bede Spannagle said Council was pleased to team up with Midcoast Vets to offer free pet microchipping to attendees of the day and for Council Rangers to share information about good pet ownership practices.

“It was excellent for staff to have had conversations about pet health and a pet owner’s responsibilities under the Companion Animals Act 1998,” he said.

“A pet owner’s responsibilities are quite intricate under the Act. A common subject residents phone Council about is neighbouring dogs barking or animal health and welfare, so it was great for staff to get out and have a chat about responsible pet ownership today.”

For more information about keeping a companion animal and the Companion Animals Act 1998 visit our webpage here.