Epsom Vets4Pets

I have had the pleasure of being a vet since 2003, after qualifying at Onderstepoort in South Africa. My first year at an RSPCA hospital in Johannesburg gave me invaluable experience and hands on skills. I have been working in small animal practice in the UK since 2005, and have gained a lot of experience in all aspects of being a vet making me a well-rounded vet working with cats, dogs, rabbits, Guinea pigs, hamsters to name a few, plus forming life long bonds with many pet owners. My real passion has always been surgery, therefore I studied further and attained a further qualification in soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery, giving me the skills to do surgeries such as cruciate ligament repairs, perineal hernia repairs, eyelid surgeries and reconstruction surgery with flaps and skin grafts. Over the years I have been very lucky to have worked with and got to know many wonderful colleagues with whom we have helped lots of beloved pets. Now I look forward to building and developing my new ‘work family’, and together we will take care of and help your furry friends when they need us and come down for a visit. I look forward to meeting the pets of Epsom and their families at our new practice! Featured in the profile photo is Kinks Govender, my 13yr old rescued DSH ‘Fur-baby’ who traveled from South Africa with me many years ago, and is loving living in Surrey!

Salonee is a veterinarian who graduated from Slovakia in July 2021 and started working with us in April 2022. You will notice that she will give your pets a wide variety of interesting nicknames during consults, such as honey pie and sweet potato! She loves cats, dogs and exotics alike. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, walking in nature, and dancing.

After completing my A levels, I started training as a veterinary nurse, qualifying in January 2003. I worked for many years in small animal practice, before taking a career break to have my 2 amazing daughters. I returned to nursing just over a year ago and I'm loving every minute! I particularly enjoy anaesthesia, surgical nursing and inpatient care. We share our home with Molly, the 15 year old Toy Poodle and 17 year old Bella, the beautiful black and white moggy. When I'm not at work, I like to spend time with the family, enjoying the outdoors and going on trips in our VW camper van.

Prior to joining the Vets4Pets Epsom team, I received a First Class Honours Degree in English Language and Communication & Television and New Broadcasting Media, which gave me the opportunity to live and study in America for a year. Even though I enjoyed my degree, I knew that my heart had always been with animals, so after I graduated I began working for Pets at Home, where I was trained in small animal, fish, bird, and reptile care, as well as animal nutrition and welfare. I even went back to university (again!) to become a C-SQP (Companion Animal – Suitably Qualified Person), which gave me a broader understanding of animal biology, and the parasites that can harm our lovely pets. After gaining some experience working in the Vets4Pets Epsom practice, I knew that was where I was meant to be and now as a newly Qualified Registered Veterinary Nurse I am still loving my career. I can’t remember a time in my life that I haven’t been surrounded by animals, from my beloved first dog, to my gorgeous chinchilla - but at the moment my pets are: a 10 year old Border Terrier called Tia who still acts like she’s 10 months old, and Rosie and Baggins, my adopted rabbits who are a mischievous pair that love nothing more than binky-ing around the garden and a getting a good head scratch.

My career has been primarily in finance and business management, I have spent most of my career managing a very large GP Surgery which was extremely rewarding but also very stressful at times especially during the pandemic.  I decided that I wanted to combine my skills and knowledge with my love of animals and made the move over to the Veterinary Industry at the beginning of last year.  My time at Vets4Pets in Epsom has been really great and the team are amazing to work with.  They have also been very welcoming of my two gorgeous boys Oscar, black Labrador aged 11 and new rescue, Major 3ish, German Shepherd.