About
Hey, I'm Dr Edward Bassingthwaite.
—the Healing Vet
My mission is to provide the best quality, most compassionate veterinary care possible.
Animals have always been a large part of my life. I grew up on an extensive cattle property in North Queensland, Australia. And while I’m grateful to have grown up breaking in horses, running around the bush barefoot, splashing in the creek and puddles…
I didn’t always have the same relationship with animals that I do now. The truth is, I witnessed a lot of casual brutality towards all sorts of creatures before I became a veterinarian.
This stirred in me a desire to work with animals in a way where they’d begin to trust me and want to work with me, too. I didn’t believe fear and intimidation was necessary to work with animals, and I still don’t.
I took this love and compassion for living creatures to a professional level and in 1995, I graduated as a veterinarian. About two years out of veterinary school, I was fortunate to learn from Dr. Tom Ahern, an equine veterinarian with a special knack for treating horses with bad necks.
He was known for miraculously treating horses with lameness that other vets couldn’t find a cause for. Sometimes, he’d be so successful in curing their lameness that these horses would go back to the track and win races!
His success lay within his own unique method for treating nerve root compression due to subtle misalignments of the vertebrae in horses. He generously taught me what he did to relieve the pain, altered sensation, and changes in blood flow created by this nerve root compression.
I was amazed, and had to consider… If this technique worked for horses, could it work for smaller animals, too?
At the time, there wasn’t anyone in the small animal veterinary world specialising in bodywork. In terms of chiropractic, backs and necks, physiotherapy and massage, that sort of stuff just didn’t exist, outside of a few people working on greyhounds. So I began to explore and experiment.
By working hands-on with the pets in my practice, I discovered that lots of dogs and cats experience neck and back pain that isn’t obvious. You have to search for it and skillfully palpate with the intention of finding it.
This was the beginning of a 20 year journey of learning how to unlock pain, tension, anxiety and trauma from the physical body with healing touch and neuro-fascial bodywork. From this, the Whole Energy Body Balance Method was born—by me placing my hands on one dog or cat at a time, learning something new all the time.
Again and again I saw beautiful changes in the animals I was treating. Thousands of animals are my teachers in this work!
Today, using a balance of conventional diagnostics, treatments and holistic care, I offer professional vet services and trainings with the same degree of love and kindness as you have for your own pets.
After all, animal companions are part of our families, and we’d do anything for them!
At the Healing Vet, we believe…
Love is the cornerstone of healing.
Acting from the basis of love for your animal can lead to positive change not only for them, but for you as well.
Profound healing for your pet is possible.
While each pet’s life and journey is unique, every animal deserves to live their best life—with less drugs, more health, and no stress.
Much of the power to heal lies in your hands.
It’s our mission to empower pet owners and animal lovers to access and apply their own innate intuitive and empathic abilities to help their pets heal. We’re here to demystify the energetic nature of the body and help you build a deeper connection with your pets.