"We help our patients who are physically challenged, painful or uncomfortable, using professional veterinary care, physical rehabilitation and hydrotherapy, to improve their quality of life and to provide our clients with peace of mind."
Animal Health and Hydro was founded by qualified veterinarian Dr Tanya Grantham in 2009 as a result of an interest in investigating integrative therapies to support physically challenged and debilitated animal companions. Since then Animal Health and Hydro has grown into an amazing opportunity to serve our human clients, their animal companions, our colleagues and the greater community.
Our Core Business
Our core business is to make our client's pets feel better. At Animal Health and Hydro we bring together science, practicality and love in order to provide individualized solutions for small animal and equine companions needing physical rehabilitation and/or pain management beyond allopathic medication and conventional Veterinary interventions.
At Animal Health and Hydro we specialise in the Physical Rehabilitation of dogs and cats. Our small animal services include Canine Hydrotherapy, Feline Hydrotherapy, Veterinary Acupuncture, Light Therapy, Thermotherapy, Cryotherapy, Massage and many other options. Some of our practices also treat equine patients. Our equine services include sports massage and body work, as well as post op/injury rehabilitation among others.
In addition to the physical rehabilitation of animals we also help many clients with the fitness and conditioning of their canine and equine athletes, as well as working dogs. Due to the nature of dog and horse sports/work, many are susceptible to injury. Our conditioning and fitness programs help improve limb awareness, build strength in the core and musculature, improve balance and provide mental stimulation. We can help our clients, their working dogs or sporty companions to gain a greater advantage over the competition and keep working at their peak for longer.
The Business Model
Dr Tanya Grantham and the team that she chooses to surround herself with share many common values and a growth mindset. Dr Tanya's vision for Animal Health and Hydro is to have an Animal Health and Hydro branch in as many areas as needed, so that we are able to conveniently treat as many animals as we can, and change the lives of not only the patients but their human guardians too.
Dr Tanya has demonstrated at least three times over that the Animal Health and Hydro model is a fantastic "plug and play" system which can be implemented quickly, within a new practice to ensure that the new practice can be both fully operational and profitable in a very short period of time.
The systems and procedures have been designed over a number of years to ensure efficacy in the treatment of our animal patients, and the smooth running of the business so that the facility can deliver an excellent customer service, provide value to our clients, and grow into a stable income for our franchisees.
What is expected in an AHAH franchisee
An Animal Health and Hydro franchisee embodies a growth mindset and a dedication to lifelong learning and personal development. An AHAH franchisee is a leader and a mentor who seeks out , appoints and develops a team of strong, likeminded individuals who also uphold and embody the values of the Animal Health and Hydro brand.
An AHAH franchisee is a veterinary or para-veterinary professional who desires to expand on this area of specialty, to take on a greater business focus with the aim of building a true entrepreneurial enterprise (and not simply create a comfortable job for him or herself), through to the development of business goals and strategies in the pursuit of business growth.
An AHAH franchisee is someone who is responsible and accountable, and is willing to learn about business, leadership, marketing and strategy, and desires to take advantage of the business systems, business training and coaching opportunities afforded by Animal Heath and Hydro Head Office from time to time.
The AHAH Franchise Team
The physical rehabilitation profession is a relatively new profession, only having been promulgated in 2017. Prior to the first Veterinary Physiotherapists graduating from Equine-Librium College, a number of individuals had already made a career for themselves in this industry, gaining a wealth of experience and providing a much needed service for their clients and patients. Many of these individuals were able to register for an authorisation from the South African Veterinary Council under the "Grandfather Clause" owing to their pre-existing education, training and on-the-job experience.
In order to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge and expertise, these rehabilitation practitioners sought out internationally offered and accredited training programs such as the CCRP offered by the University of Tennessee, Hydrotherapy courses offered by Greyfriars in the UK. Others completed their canine and equine bodyworkers certifications through Caninology Canine or Equine Body Workers. Others completed their TCAP through The College of Animal Physiotherapy. Each of these people bring to the table a wealth of knowledge and experience and continue to contribute greatly to the industry.
Additionally, Veterinary Nurses can work within various practice settings, including private practices and may specialize in Physical Rehabilitation of animals. They may assist in therapeutic exercises, provide pain management techniques, administer physical treatment modalities, and contribute to the recovery and rehabilitation of injured or post-surgical patients.
At Animal Health and Hydro we are committed to upskilling individuals with a passion for physical rehabilitation, who are permitted by virtue their authorisation or registration from the SAVC to work as a Physical Rehabilitation practitioner. As this is a growing industry we need to develop practitioners to meet the growing needs of the pet "owning" public.
The Franchise Management Team
Dr Tanya Grantham
Dr Tanya always knew she wanted to help animals. From a very young age she put her mind to becoming a qualified veterinarian and spent every moment of her childhood working towards achieving that dream. Like many veterinarians in South Africa, Dr Tanya Grantham began her career as a student at the University of Pretoria at Onderstepoort in South Africa and qualified in 1994. Dr Tanya started working as a small animal veterinarian in private practice and in 1995 went on to own her own practice along with her equal share business partner. Dr Tanya worked in her own practice for over ten years until she fell ill,
forcing her to slow down from owning and managing her own practice for a period of time while she recovered from her illness.
While recovering she revaluated her life, her career path and her goals and upon returning to work full time established Animal Health and Hydro, a small animal, physical rehabilitation practice in Rynfield in Benoni.
Dr Tanya is a qualified Veterinary surgeon with surgical capabilities and the ability to perform prolotherapy, gold bead implantation and intra-articular injections in small animals. She is also a qualified Veterinary acupuncturist with Western and Eastern training and obtained her certification through the association of British Veterinary Acupuncturists and the CHI institute.
Dr Tanya’s passion is to improve her patient’s quality of life, and in doing so is able to give her clients more peace of mind. She is able to achieve this through a number of treatment modalities. As every patient is unique and responds differently, and every client is unique, Dr Tanya is able to work with the client’s available resources the most limiting of which is often time and money. Dr Tanya always seeks to provide a solution which is best for the whole family.
Dr Tanya is a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner and her small animal physical rehabilitation skills include (but are not limited to) analysis of conformation and gait, full physical assessment, manual therapy skills such as massage and myofascial release techniques, hydrotherapy (pool and underwater treadmill), therapeutic exercises for dogs and cats, ability to set appropriate goals according to tissue trauma and phases of healing. More recently she completed a course in Canine Sports Medicine hosted by Dr Chris Zink.
Dr. Tanya also loves to share her knowledge with veterinary professionals, pet owners and anyone that is interested in enhancing their life (and the lives of their companions) through information and skills.
Dr Tanya has developed an online continuing professional development certificate course for veterinarians and veterinary nurses: Canine Integrative Physical Rehabilitation. She is the tutor and mentor for the duration of the course, which is 12 months. The course is supported and delivered by The College of Integrative Veterinary Therapies in Australia (CIVT), and is available on her LMS which can be found at www.drtanyagrantham.co.za. Dr Tanya Strives to upskill suitably qualified individuals to enable them to work in this growing industry to enable us to meet the needs of pet-parents. Her wildly improbable goal is to establish a foundation that supports all veterinary professionals on every level – be it physical, emotional, spiritual, personal or through business education, financial aid and learning skills that enhance our hands-on abilities.
Dr Tanya has worked as a lecturer and examiner of veterinary physiotherapy students (canine), for Equine-Librium College, Plettenberg Bay and has hosted many of their third and fourth-year students at Animal Health and Hydro, as part of the integrated learning component of their qualification. Animal Health and Hydro is also an approved facility (University of Tennessee) for CCRP externship hours.
More recently Dr Tanya has started offering free Facebook Live webinars for the public, and with her team of therapists has started launching online courses for pet owners.
Up until the end of 2021 Dr Tanya was a regular writer for the popular veterinary trade magazine “Vet News” and to date has written over 50 articles for the publication. In 2022 she has decided to give up writing for Vet News and write for a quarterly Veterinary nursing publication instead, to ensure that she is reaching all key stakeholders within the Animal Health team. Dr Tanya launched her Veterinary Membership portal which provides a great detail of information aimed at Veterinary Professionals which includes a monthly CPD accredited webinar.
Since 1995 Dr Tanya has owned and run her own businesses. Since starting Animal Health and Hydro is 2009, she has gone on to open four branches, one in Benoni, one on the West Rane, another in Fourways the fourth in Pretoria East. In recent years Benoni was bought over by Jessica Evans and Pretoria was bought over by Bianca Rootman. Both Benoni and Pretoria East continue to operate as AHAH franchises. Dr Tanya's then business partner decided to take over the Fourways branch and has opted not to remain part of the Animal Health and Hydro brand, for her own personal reasons. West Rand remains owned and run by AHAH Head Office.
In May 2024 Animal Health and Hydro bought over the well established Animal Physical Rehab entities from Dawn Jones, which will be operated by Head Office.
Dr Tanya’s business skills include business strategy development and management including industry specific development. She has spent the past 5 years working with Action Coach, business coach Geoff Fairhurst and has more recently completed the InnerMBA program which is designed to create business leaders with high levels of business acumen with a focus on personal growth, emotional intelligence and self-mastery, she has also completed a "Conscious Marketing" certification.
Denico Brand
We first met Denico Brand when she brought her German Shepherd dog , Jellybean, to us for the conservative management of severe Canine Hip Dysplasia. We can honestly say Denico was our most skeptical client we have had to date. Well, to cut a long story short, we must have done something right, as she soon converted from being a skeptic, to being a raving fan, and has inserted herself into our team.
Her ultimate goal is to inform and educate the pet-owning public about the benefits of Physical Rehabilitation, not only for the conservative management of orthopaedic conditions, but the importance of Physical Rehabilitation both pre and post surgery.
Denico holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management through the Gordon's Institute of Business Science, (the Business School of the University of Pretoria), a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management from the Institute of Marketing Management, as well as a Post Graduate (Hons) Degree in Psychology from UNISA.
Denico is particularly passionate about growing personal brands. She takes a keen interest in the skills and expertise of various AHAH team members and seeks out ways to help them position themselves as the authority in their field. Denico also enjoys Marketing Strategy, Business Strategy and Operations Management. Denico has joined our team as our Operations Manager.
Denico has over 25 years business experience, with over eight years at a senior level within a large thriving, corporate organisation managing a high performing sales and marketing team.
Jessica Evans
Jessica Evans is one of our Physical Rehabilitation Therapists and the practice manager at our Benoni practice. She guides our patients through physical therapy treatments with compassion and professionalism. She been a valuable part of our team since 2013.
Jessica is a certified Caninology Canine Body Worker and has completed her Equicanis Africa Myofascial Release
Level 2 course. She has also completed a certification as a Canine Fitness Trainer and Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner through the University of Tennessee.
More recently Jessica attended training for Veterinary Reception and Management as well as completing her Veterinary Practice Manager Certification through the Cambridge Institute of Dog Training and Behaviour.
Jessica’s passion is preventative. Jessica loves working with canine athletes and working dogs. Her goal is to condition their bodies to help prevent injury. Her desire is to educate companies, trainers, and pet owners on importance of setting strong foundations when dogs are still puppies to ensure a long, mobile, and pain-free life.
Her experience interacting with and managing dogs outweighs her years. She has been active in the National Breed Showing arena for just under fifteen years.
More recently Jessica has attended a number of online courses in Digital Marketing and is fast developing a passion for marketing and content creation. She spearheaded the Animal Health and Hydro online learning and Veterinary Membership Platform. Jessica’s growth mindset means that she is involved in the strategic planning of the organisation.