Kathleen Crisley (CSMT, CTMT, SCMT, CCFT) is the founder of The Balanced Dog in Christchurch, New Zealand. She has been providing mobile dog massage, rehab and fitness services for dogs since 2009.

Kathleen holds certifications in canine therapeutic, sports and senior canine massage from the Rocky Mountain School of Animal Acupressure and Massage in Colorado. She recognised the connection between pain and behaviour early in her practice, undertaking canine behaviour courses at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah before becoming NZ’s first Fear-Free certified therapist in 2018.

Since injury prevention is a foundation to good health, she became a sponsor of the 4 Paws Marathon in Christchurch in 2018, which is now an annual event. In 2023, she gained her Certified Canine Fitness Trainer qualification from the University of Tennessee, study which had been interrupted by the Covid pandemic.

Kathleen describes her services as ‘wraparound care’ which integrates with the traditional care provided by veterinarians. Her starting point with any new client is a thorough review of the dog’s veterinary records.

As a fully mobile practice, she values the opportunity to work in the homes of her human clients, where dogs and their families are most comfortable. This helps to build trust and understanding whilst enabling Kathleen to design exercises using items in the home, making it easy to adhere to the exercise programme.

With a first career in Environmental Science which lasted 20 years, Kathleen is a self-confessed Science Geek who follows developments in medical research, cognition and behaviour. Her blog, DoggyMom.com, is updated regularly with updates from the canine world. She has been writing a monthly column, The Canine Corner, forthe NZ Kennel Club, for the last15 years.

A ‘dog person’ for all of her life, Kathleen currently shares her home with a rescue greyhound named Sox. Managing his inflammatory bowel disease inspired her to start a support group for other dog owners. She also takes in special needs dogs for foster care.

Natalie’s career in the veterinary industry began almost 35 years ago as a trainee nurse after she finished secondary school. As her career progressed, she developed a strong interest in surgical nursing, in particular Orthopaedics, Soft tissue surgery and Rehabilitation. This passion led her to complete her Diploma of Surgical Veterinary Nursing and Qualifications as a Rehabilitation Therapist (Remedial Massage therapist & Hydro therapist).

Natalie now works as a Practice manager and rehabilitation therapist for an Integrative Veterinary clinic on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula in Victoria Australia and she is completing the Advanced Certificate in Small Animal Naturopathy through CIVT.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and being in the outdoors, in particular her garden, with the aim of being as self-sufficient as possible. She is also an avid Beekeeper.

Brooke is a Titled APA Animal Physiotherapist who graduated from University of Qld with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy in 1997 and a Masters in Animal Studies (Physiotherapy) in 2005. As a human physiotherapist she worked in private practice combining her skills in pilates and acupuncture. She now works in a purpose built small animal rehabilitation center and has worked in many Veterinary specialist centers in south east QLD. She rehabilitates a wide variety of acute and chronic conditions and enjoys providing holistic management to each of her clients, having recently completed CIVT's Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Acupuncture course. She has been involved passionately in Animal Physiotherapy since its inception in Australia and continues to develop awareness and mentor Physiotherapists as the canine clinical educator for the University of Liverpool Masters of Veterinary Physiotherapy programme. She has presented as a guest lecturer at a number of international and national conferences for Veterinarians, Nurses and Physiotherapists. When she is not devoting her time full time to clinical work in this industry she is busy raising two children, 2 rescue dogs and 2 cats and enjoying the incredible lifestyle on the Sunshine Coast.