Business Beat: Soul Vet eases pets over rainbow bridge
FRANK NELSON
We love our pets so much that they often come to be considered one of the family. So it’s all the sadder when, through illness or old age, they have to be put to sleep … and doubly upsetting for owners having to make that final decision.
Which is where the Soul Vet comes in. Charlotte Patterson-Green, a general vet for almost 20 years, now specializes in providing pet euthanasia in the familiar, safe and stress-free surroundings of the animal’s own home.
Her care service includes consultations with owners who can be as involved as they wish with their pets’ passing; many people want to hold their cats or small dogs as they fall asleep for the last time.
Patterson-Green brings empathy and compassion to help grieving owners say their peaceful goodbyes to animals ranging from horses to rabbits though mostly cats and dogs. She says owners often feel a sense of guilt having an animal put down, “but I tell them, ‘This is an act of love’.”
A new restaurant set to open in Blenheim’s historic Hotel d’Urville on Saturday (9 May) offers the mouth-watering prospect of fine dining featuring New Zealand produce and flavours blended with a twist of French cuisine and style.
Chef Joan Diaz has worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant in his native France (Christopher Coutanceau, in La Rochelle) and more recently at the prestigious Gables Restaurant, in Russell -- while restaurant manager Emma Rossignol grew up in France helping with her father’s restaurant and vineyard.
She says the new eatery seats up to 30 guests who will enjoy good food and good service plus a wide selection of New Zealand and French wines and spirits.
Linda and Bruce Horton, owners of the Cosy Corner café in Seddon since 1989 – that’s 37 years! -- may have finally found a buyer after trying to sell the business for more than 12 months.
The café sparked little interest when it went for auction in late February. However, Linda says a potential buyer from Wellington is now under contract for the licenced café and bar which stands on an almost 1,600-square-metre section.
Juliearna Kavanagh, who owns the boutique hotel Escape to Picton with her partner Warren Lewis, has recently closed the hotel’s restaurant and wine bar after almost 20 years.
The couple bought the Wellington Street property in 2007 -- and Kavanagh, a French-trained chef, did all the cooking herself. However, trying to maintain her exacting gourmet standards in today’s tough economic climate has prompted the decision to close the eatery.
“There’s no money in food, unfortunately,” she laments. The hotel, which boasts three luxurious suites, is on the market, and Kavanagh hopes to increase its buyer-appeal as either a business or private home by converting it to a luxury bed & breakfast.
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