It all begins with an idea.
Renita is a Trustee of the Pacific Animal Shelter and Hospital (Fiji). Born in Auckland, she grew up on New Zealand and moved to Fiji in 2013. Fiji is now home for Renita and where she found her passion for rehabilitating stray animals in Fiji when her German Shepherd faith joined the family.
Renita worked for several companies in New Zealand in the field of occupational health and safety and training and development. She now runs her family owned business in Fiji and has further pursued her passion for dog training, she went to New Jersey to expand her knowledge in this field and now specialises in rehabilitation of adult dogs.
Travelling has been a key part of Renita’s life and she has a particular interest in societal dynamics and experiencing different cultures. She now runs a social media platform which focuses on mental wellbeing in Fiji. She is an advocate for the use of animals as a key tool for wellbeing. She also hopes to one day run a retirement village for unwanted & senior dogs in Fiji.
Renita is an active member at our facility and is dedicated to PASH.
Trustee
Anntoinette is a Trustee of the Pacific Animal Shelter and Hospital (Fiji). Australian born, she and her husband Errol moved to Fiji in 1980 and have called the Fiji Islands home ever since. Upon their arrival, they set about to develop the up-market Club Naitasi Resort on Malolo Island, located 45 minutes by boat off the main island of Viti Levu. They managed the Resort until 1992 when they returned to Viti Levu and acquired Pacific Apparel, Fiji’s largest commercial uniform manufacturer.
Their love of resorts and resort management saw them decide to sell the apparel business in 1997, and they acquired the Nadi Bay Hotel in the village of Martintar, which they updated, expanded and renamed the Nadi Bay Resort Hotel. Thinking retirement might be a nice option, they sold the resort in 2014 and Antoinette stayed on until mid-2016 as manager.
Throughout her life, Anntionette has been an avid animal lover. Cats hold a special place in her heart, but she has a strong feeling of compassion for all animals. During her time in Fiji she was instrumental in forming and supporting an animal welfare group that is an essential facility in the western division of Fiji. Her business background and years of commitment to the animals of Fiji provide her a unique opportunity to help guide PASH on its mission.
Co-Founder & Medical Team Member
Sue is a Co-Founder of the Pacific Animal Shelter and Hospital (Fiji). She brings to PASH more than 20 years of experience in the veterinary industry. Born in Southern England in 1959, she started work as a dental nurse. She married in 1983 and shortly thereafter she and her husband Allen moved to New Zealand where they lived until Allen’s business brought them to Fiji in 1991.
Sue came to Fiji assuming that veterinarian care was easily accessible, but soon discovered the only animal clinic in the country was the SPCA in the capital of Suva. Sue took it upon herself to take a long-distance course in vet nursing and shelter set-up. Soon she joined a group of individuals who arranged to bring in overseas vets to operate spay/neuter clinics. In the meantime, she had convinced the SPCA to send a vet to the western division of the country every few months to operate. Her kitchen became the operating room. She served for several years as a Committee Member of the Fiji SPCA.
Soon they outgrew the kitchen and Sue was instrumental in setting up an SPCA clinic location in the western part of the main Island of Viti Levu, approximately three hours from Suva. The clinic became an animal shelter as well for abandoned cats and dogs.
Having worked with numerous overseas veterinarians, giving tirelessly of their time and efforts, Sue gained tremendous insight into the need for a permanent, fully-equipped animal care facility in the Fiji Islands. Thus, she joined the small group of people on a January morning in 2015 to discuss what would become PASH.Description goes here