who we are
About Gentle Waters
Gentle Waters Pet Cremation is the South Island’s first Pet Water Cremation and Farewell Service, offering a more environmentally conscious alternative for honouring your beloved pets.
Co-founded in 2022 by Dr Nic Macdonald and Michelle Kirk, Gentle Waters Pet Cremation offers Christchurch and the South Island’s first Pet Water Cremation Service.
what we believe
Our Mission
Our Mission is to provide Canterbury with a compassionate and personalised water cremation service allowing owners to respectfully honour and farewell their beloved family pet while being kind to the environment.
Let one of your pet’s final destinations be in the caring, compassionate arms of the guardians at Gentle Waters Pet Cremation.
Our People
Dr Nic Macdonald (BVMS)
Dr Nic Macdonald is a registered Veterinarian who graduated from Glasgow University in 2001.
Nic has always been passionate about treating animals with respect and love as the hugely important family members that they are.
Nic’s career in Veterinary Medicine saw her spend a lot of time working in emergency medicine and critical care. Most recently Nic practices as a veterinarian in her own Pet Home Euthanasia service Our Pet’s Goodbye, which she set up in 2018.
At home Nic has two cats and a son who has inherited the same love of animals as well.
Nic’s passion as a veterinarian has always been her animal patients and their families through all stages of veterinary treatment. Part of her drive to set up Gentle Waters with Michelle was to extend the level of care that we give our pets during their life, in their moments of passing away and beyond their death as well.
Michelle Kirk (RVN)
Michelle is a qualified, registered Veterinary Nurse, who gained her Diploma in Veterinary Nursing from Otago Polytechnic in 2007.
An advocate and carer of animals from very early in life, encouraged by her parents, Michelle’s greatest accomplishment was moving to Montreal, Canada, working her way up to a position as Head Veterinary Nurse in a busy suburban practice.
Working in Canada enabled Michelle to experience a different level of Veterinary Nursing not seen in New Zealand at the time, providing an opportunity to return to New Zealand with new skills, ideas and a love of learning French as a second language.
On return back to New Zealand, Michelle turned her skill set to Veterinary Emergency Medicine and Critical Care where she took on the role of Head Veterinary Nurse at Christchurch’s busy After Hours Veterinary Centre.
The After Hours Vet is also where Michelle and Nic met, combining forces in providing high end, compassionate care to Canterbury Pets and their guardians.
Michelle branches out into Pet Cremation and After Life Care as a tribute to all the animals who have passed through her arms be it her own or a pet she has been entrusted with.
Pets deserve no less than the utmost care, attention and respect in their afterlife as do their guardians in their grief.