Poole Holes Bay Vets4Pets

My name is Dan and I am the Joint Venture Partner here at Vets4Pets Poole Holes Bay. I am delighted to welcome you to our page and hopefully to my clinic. I am privileged to work with an amazing group of vets, nurses and receptionists to offer 'top notch' care for all our patients. I am originally a northern boy from Manchester and moved to Poole in 2009. I love it here! I qualified from Glasgow University in 2003 and since then have spent time working in mixed, equine, and small animal practice.

I lived in New Zealand for two years working in a large equine hospital before returning to the UK to take up full time work as a small animal vet. In 2019 I completed the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in Small Animal Medicine. I have a real interest in medical conditions affecting cats and dogs with a special interest in hormonal disease and gastrointestinal conditions.

I have a keen interest in the veterinary profession and am passionate about creating a good workplace for my team to work in and helping the profession as a whole improve on this through my membership of several diversity and inclusion working groups.

In 2019 I was accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as an Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Medicine.

I live in Poole with my partner and my cat Milo and our gigantic dog, Hudson, I think Hudson is well known to many clients as he comes to work with me sometimes.

Alfonso graduated in Spain in 2011 and after a few positions volunteering, including work in a zoo decided to move to the UK.

Alfonso initially worked in veterinary public health and a mixed veterinary practice in Shropshire before moving in to the area of small animal veterinary work, this has always been his ambition.

In 2016 Alfonso moved to Dorset after a short sabbatical travelling throughout Europe with his partner in their camper van.

Since 2018 Alfonso has been a vital part of the Vets4Pets Poole Holes Bay team and he loves all aspects of the job, but has a particular interest in orthopaedics, rabbit medicine and exotics.

Alfonso has a black lab called Monty and a Yorkiepoo called Phoebe and enjoys going on hikes with them both.  When the weather allows Alfonso can also be found kayaking around our beautiful coastline. 

Will graduated from the Royal Veterinary college in 2018 and joined the Vets4Pets Poole Holes Bay team in August 2018. 

We were super proud when Will was the runner up in the Vets4Pets new graduate of the year 2018-2019.

Will has an interest in surgery and is constantly developing his surgical skills.

Will is a local boy and enjoys cooking and walking his two lovely spaniels.

Rachel is very much a local girl growing up in Oakdale.

Rachel graduated from Bristol University in 2009 and has worked with small animals and some exotics in the Poole and Bournemouth area since.

Rachel particularly likes to see cats, having had many over the years and now has her handsome moggy boy Hector who came in as a stray when she worked over at Vets4Pets Bournemouth. 

Rachel also keep lots of Discus fish and has a leopard gecko called Legolas.

Outside of work Rachel loves to bake (which team really love!).  Rachel is a keen cyclist, and when the weather allows she and her fiancé Sean can be seen exploring the coastline in their kayaks.

Sara has been a member of the practice team for over 15 years and works on alternate Saturdays.    Sara is originally from Spain and has lived in the UK for many years now.  

Sara has two children and 3 degus and isn't sure which keeps her most busy!!

Sara has a keen passion for preventative medicine and also has special interest in little furries (rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs etc)

Outside the practice Sara enjoys singing and going for long walks foraging for tasty bits for her three degus!!

Andy is a very familiar face in the practice and we are delighted that we are able to offer advanced orthopaedic treatment and diagnosis through Andy's skill and expertise.

Andy is a self-employed mobile orthopaedic veterinary surgeon and has been friends with Dan for many years.  

Andy has over ten years of experience in both first opinion and referral practice. At the PDSA he advanced to senior veterinarian and became a successful clinical team leader. He was in the first cohort to achieve the CertAVP(GSAS).

Andy is also an RCVS recognised Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery

In 2011 he left the UK to work at James Cook University in North Queensland. He then completed an extended internship at an orthopaedic and neurosurgical referral practice in the UK and is now studying towards the RCVS Diploma in orthopaedics.

I am also on the Editorial Board of the open access, EBVM journal Veterinary Evidence, which is published by RCVS Knowledge.

Jeni is a qualified Clinical Coach which allows her to help train and assess the progress of the trainee nurses within the practice. 

Sinead qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2011 and has been an integral part of the nursing team for much longer.

Sinead loves all aspects of her job but has a particular interest in physiotherapy and is looking to further her skills in this area.

Sinead has wonderful menagerie of furry kids at home which include Ralph her cocker spaniel, two cats called Keith and Nellie and a guinea pig called Flo.

We mustn't forget her beautiful son Albie too!

Originally from a human nursing background, Vicky started working at the practice as a nursing assistant in 2010.

After gaining valuable experience she completed an ABC level 2 Certificate for Animal Nursing Assistants in 2014. Finally, Vicky went on to complete her veterinary nurse training and qualified as a registered nurse in 2017.

Vicky has a keen interest in dog behaviour and is especially fond of German Shepherds. One of her favourite pass times is dog walking and she enjoys exploring new places. Vicky is also very interested in nursing care of our senior patients, she is striving to improve client education and provide ongoing nursing support of these patients via  nurse clinics.

She has a German shepherd called Martha and two cat protection league cat’s called Millie and Mogwai. In her spare time, she has a feral son to keep her busy! And enjoys walking and being outdoors.

Jenny joined the team as a student nurse in January 2019 and is currently studying for a foundation degree in Veterinary Nursing and qualified in September 2020.  Jenny has worked incredibly hard to pass her nursing exams and we are all extremely proud of her.

Jenny has a keen interest in surgical nursing and post-operative care.

In her spare time she enjoys rock climbing and horse riding.

Chloe has recently joined the practice in 2016. She enjoys general procedures and maintaining welfare standards of all animals that come into the surgery. She has a labradoodle called Bracken, two rabbits called Pepper and Emily and a leopard gecko called Hercules. 

She wants to study a degree or an apprenticeship in veterinary nursing in the near future! In her spare time, she likes to be outdoors and let her labradoodle run loose!

Miranda has been at the practice since 2013, she was an animal care assistant and then started her veterinary nurse training in 2016 Miranda has a keen interest in exotic species and also enjoys her nurse clinics. 

She has two Staffordshire bull terriers, a cat and corn snake to keep her busy.

Vicky has been at the practice since 2002, working her way up to obtaining her full nursing qualification in 2009, along with her A1 student vet nurse assessor qualification. 

Vicky is now a practice manager and enjoys having cuddles with in- patients and enjoys anaesthetics.

Vicky is part of the practice management team and currently works part-time following the birth of her beautiful son, Alex.

Vicky was instrumental in the practice passing the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme inspection in 2018.

Helen has been a key member of the reception team for over 7 years and previously has spent most of her working career working in administration.  

Helen loves her job and feels it provides a great combination of fun through the regular interaction with clients and their fur babies (the admin bits are also fun!!)

Helen is married with two children and two grandchildren.  

Helen has been adopted by ten dogs over the years with each one bringing joy and its own special memories to Helen, and who wouldn't want to be looked after by such a delightful person!

Fiona has been working for the practice since 2014. Fiona enjoys reception work and especially enjoys puppy and kitten cuddles! 

She has two cats called Urkel and Nigel as well as a Degu named Simon that she rescued from a garage! In her spare time she enjoys going to the gym, running, cross stitching and being with family and friends.

Kelly joined the team in September 2018, after working for 2 years as part of the Pets at Home team.

Kelly loves working with animals, making this her dream job.

Kelly has a black and white cat called kitty, and a sausage dog named Woody.