New Gentle Pet Clinic set to open in new year

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – A new veterinarian clinic has announced its upcoming opening in Fort St. John at the same location as a formerly restricted, controversial clinic with a very similar name. 

Gentle Pet Clinic Ltd. has announced its pending opening on social media. It is a new business with a slightly different name and a new veterinarian, which will operate in place of Fort St. John’s Gentle Pet Clinic. 

According to the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia (CVBC), Gentle Pet Clinic’s accreditation was cancelled as of June 13th, 2024. A new facility intending to operate under the name Gentle Pet Clinic Ltd. received Provisional Approval to Operate on December 30th, 2024. 

The new facility comes with a new designated veterinarian, Navjot Pannu. Little is known about Pannu; however, social media posts indicate she worked in Ontario as a veterinarian in small animal practice in 2021 after completing a master’s in veterinary surgery in 2017. 

The previous Gentle Pet Clinic has come under fire several times, with complaints and fines filed against its veterinarian, Dr. Harpreet Dhaliwal, in 2023 when he failed to respond to complaints and cooperate with an investigation conducted by the CVBC. 

In 2024, Fort St. John residents discovered the pet clinic was continuing to offer veterinary services after its accreditation was limited by the CVBC. 

One family went public with their story of loss after a procedure at Gentle Pet Clinic in May, a spay appointment the clinic accepted booking for after the accreditation for such procedures had been revoked. Five days after the spay appointment, the previously healthy puppy passed away, her death believed to have been caused by the clinic. 

There is currently no information available about veterinarian Dhaliwal, and whether he will be involved in the new Gentle Pet Clinic Ltd.