I went to this vet for the first time on the 30th November with my two dogs, Toby and Sampson who are both on the nearer side to 16 years of age. This vet had been recommended to me by a couple of people and I had lost some confidence in my old vet.

All I can say is I wish I had discovered this veterinary practice years ago. Toby and Sampson went to a vet in Schofields for the first 8 or so years until they let me down badly in an emergency situation. I then took them to another vet in Blacktown for the next 7 years but lost confidence in some of her treatment decisions especially when we learned last year that Toby had early stage kidney disease and Sampson had early stage liver disease. They have both been on Hills Prescription Diet KD and LD respectively ever since which did help to balance out their blood test results for kidneys and liver respectively.

Unfortunately, Toby also acquired "doggie dementia" about a year ago and he seemed to be deteriorating so on 30th November, saw Lani Burrell at Woodstock Animal Hospital.

What a wonderful and competent vet she is. I was immediately impressed with her. She is clever, confident, concise, clear, very knowledgeable, very personable and so very gentle with "the kids" as I call them. She examined both and we decided to do blood tests again on Toby. Lani said she would call me the next day (her day off) with the results. Lani called me the next day and the news was not good. Toby was in end stages (stage 4 as Lani explained) of kidney disease. She went through the limited options available but in the end, her advice to me was enjoy the time you have left with him and call me at any time if you have questions or need help. I called her a number of times in the ensuing days as Toby's condition deteriorated rapidly until on Tuesday 1st December, we decided to stop his suffering and let him pass to the next life. I was beside myself with grief for my gorgeous little baby whom I had loved for almost 16 years but knew it was the right thing to do for him.

Lani was just superb and you could not have asked for more from a vet. She checked Toby over and estimated he might have about a week left to live. I told her I didn't want him to suffer any pain or discomfort particularly as he hadn't eaten for 6 days or drank anything for 2 days. Lani said she felt it was the right decision. I signed a consent form and she explained exactly what she was going to do and what would happen as a result. We sat on the bench in the waiting room and I held my baby while Lani injected the anaesthetic. Within a matter of seconds, my baby Toby was asleep forever but importantly, out of any pain and discomfort.

Lani was so compassionate whilst I was sobbing and crying my heart out. She was so understanding even giving me a big hug and yet she had only met me once prior to that day. I was just astounded at this woman's compassion.

Lani Burrell is an exceptional vet that I could not recommend highly enough. As Sampson has survived Toby but is also getting on in age and with some health challenges, I will definitely be going back to Lani with Sampson.

I rang the practice today to make sure that the crematorium staff had picked Toby up and the staff member who answered the phone was also so compassionate and gave me her condolences. She was also able to confirm for me that when picked up, Toby was treated with dignity and respect by the crematorium staff member. I will post a separate review about them once their service is complete.

I would honestly travel from anywhere in Sydney to take my pet to a vet like Lani Burrell. She deserves an award!

As an endnote, I also found their charges to be very reasonable. Consult for the kids, blood tests, two medications as well as euthanasia, all up $290. That would have cost at least $600 at my old vet.

Approximate cost: $290

National Tradies customer service was very poor! They don't know the meaning of the words customer service. Good product at good price but service is just non-existent.

I ordered 4 wood venetian blinds and one Holland blind which were to be installed by 19th October 2015. They eventually were installed on the 5th November despite their printed promise of supply and installation within 10 business days. I had ordered the blinds and paid a cash deposit on 2nd October 2015. On three occasions they were coming out to install the blinds but then simply didn't turn up. They didn't phone or send me a text to tell me if they were coming or why they hadn't shown up. I had to constantly phone them for updates and to find out why they hadn't shown up as arranged. It caused enormous inconvenience and frustration and it cost me $19 in phone calls chasing them which I deducted off their bill.

Once they were installed, because I paid cash, the installer did not have a receipt. Asked me to text him my email address and he would email the receipt for the guarantee. I have texted him 3 times since 5th November and still have no receipt and expect I will never get one.

Even if you have to pay a bit more, go elsewhere. DON'T TOUCH THESE GUYS WITH A BARGEPOLE!

Approximate cost: $1160