Torquay Vets4Pets

Dr A.D. Viljoen established Vet4Pets Torquay in 2014 and still owns the practice today.

He qualified in South Africa in 2003 at an internationally recognised gold standard academic hospital. He spent three years lecturing at the academic hospital and also ran a community-outreach clinic in the African bush during that time. He then made the move to private practice and spent two years working all over South Africa. He emigrated from South Africa to the UK in 2008 and has been in Small Animal Practice in the UK ever since. He has a real passion for general practice and preventative healthcare. Dr Viljoen also has post-graduate certificates in small animal medicine and in small animal surgery and he is recognised as an Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He has a particular interest in early or low grade gastro-intestinal disease in dogs and cats and how this can impact or cause a wide range of other health concerns. His expertise in this regards was recently recognised when he published two peer reviewed articles in a leading scientific journal which is a rare accomplishment for any general practitioner. All of this means that Dr Viljoen can provide an advanced level of advice and treatment across a broad spectrum of medical and surgical problems. He is also a great resource to our other vets in giving advice or performing advanced procedures for their cases. He is a proud Devonian and lives locally with his wife, two daughters, Lefienja the dog and Matewis the cat.

As soon as I left school I knew this is what I wanted to do, so I went straight into an animal nursing assistant course which helped me get my first veterinary job in Exeter! Moving from receptionist to student veterinary nurse a few years later, I then moved to Vets4Pets Torquay in 2015 to continue and later finish my training.

I have been qualified as a veterinary nurse since the beginning of 2017. This was always my dream and it is great to do it with such a wonderful team behind me.

Working full time at Vets4pets Torquay as a veterinary nurse is great! Working so closely with clients through every step of their pet’s care is so satisfying and seeing the difference that I can make is so rewarding. I am also a clinical coach, helping train our future nurses. I look forward to sharing my experiences and knowledge with both clients and colleagues every day.

I currently live in Exeter with husband; my British short hair cat, Bailey; my Bengal cat, Reggie and my domestic long haired cat Leo.

I have been working for Vets4Pets Torquay for 7 years and finished all my exams to qualify as a registered veterinary nurse in June 2021. My passion is diagnostics such as x rays and lab work. I also enjoying nurse consults and I am currently completing a certificate in non-clinical nurse consulting; this will give me the opportunity to increase the types of nurse clinics we can offer at the practice. 

I live at home with my partner, 4 children and our 2 dogs Kai and Baron.  In my spare time you can usually find me walking the dogs, spending time with my family or doing my course work. 

Since a young age I always knew that I wanted to work with animals. After graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Animal Science, I started working part-time in the veterinary profession whilst also riding racehorses. As soon as the opportunity arose to start my nurse training, I immediately dedicated myself to my training.

I qualified as a registered veterinary nurse in 2015 and started working at Vets4Pets in 2017. I love the team and the practice ethos of preventative healthcare to the extent that I returned to the practice after a short absence to pursue other opportunities.

I have a particular interest in all aspects of feline nursing, hospital nursing and diagnostic imaging.

I live in Newton Abbot with my husband, my house-cat Binx and my 2x Arabian horses, Hassan and Cynbad. When I am not working I enjoy exploring the countryside and competing and showing Cynbad nationally.