Vets4Pets Bearsden

I qualified as a Vet in 2009 from Glasgow University Vet School and have worked in small animal practice since graduating, initially in London for 4 years before making the happy move back up to Glasgow. I joined the practice in 2014, inspired by their thorough and progressive approach to patient care and small friendly team. We are very lucky to have such a lovely set of owners so committed to patient health and wellbeing. I love the variety of general practice and have a particular interest in small animal dentistry. The prevalence of dental disease in our pets is hugely underestimated and its impact on their quality of life as well as other organs and diseases is very significant. Outside of work I spend most of my time hillwalking and mountain biking, and more recently have been kept busy with the arrival of our baby daughter. We have 2 cats, Max and Molly, who are slowly coming around to the idea of our new family addition!

I qualified in 2010 from Edinburgh Vet School. When I first qualified I worked in a busy small animal practice in Bournemouth and then Bristol but decided to move back to my home town of Glasgow. After being qualified 2 years, I undertook another 2 year post graduate qualification while working to become an advanced practitioner in small animal medicine. This has enabled me to help my patients with more complicated medical problems such as respiratory, urinary and immune mediated diseases. I love all animals but I particularly enjoy feline medicine, especially helping my geriatric patients. I also enjoy ultrasound scanning. I currently live in the West End with my fiancé and my Devon Rex

I began my career in the veterinary world as an Auxiliary Veterinary Nurse in a small practice. I then moved to a busy, 2 branch mixed practice, where I was employed as a Student Veterinary Nurse. As part of my training I attended Edinburgh's Telford College on Block Release, completed a portfolio of assessed work and sat both theory and practical exams. I qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in January 2011. A year after qualifying I decided to move to a smaller practice where I became a Clinical Coach ( in-practice mentor/assessor for Student Veterinary Nurses). I was delighted to accept a job at Vet4Pets Bearsden as the practice's first RVN in November 2013. I hope to set up lots of nurse clinics as this is something I'm very interested in, particularly weight clinics. At home I have a crazy but extremely lovable Border Terrier called Flora and two bunnies, Sam ( a Netherland Dwarf) and Frodo (a Mini Lop).

My training started in 2010, working as an Animal Care Assistant in a small practice in Gourock. After 2 years there I began my Veterinary Nurse training at Edinburgh College, working between various small practices and the Glasgow Small Animal hospital. Qualifying in 2015, I joined the team at Vets4Pets shortly after. I’ve been here 3 years now and I’m now a clinical coach training our student nurses in the surgery. We’re always encouraged to develop clinical skills within the practice and I particularly enjoy dental nursing, keeping your pets teeth clean and healthy!

My name is Fiona Dickson and I am a final year veterinary nurse student. I have worked at Vets4Pets Bearsden since the day we opened six years ago. I started in reception which I loved as I got know and welcome all our lovely patients and clients. I then decided to study veterinary nursing, a career which I have always wanted to pursue as I come from a farming and very much an animal loving upbringing. I am currently in my final year of studying in Edinburgh and will be a fully qualified nurse in June this year. I enjoy all aspects of being a veterinary nurse, and I have a keen interest in lab work and consultations as I get to communicate and use my knowledge to help all our wonderful clients and patients.

I am one of a team of Registered Veterinary Nurses within the practice who began my studies in 2013 in Edinburgh. The team at Vets4Pets kindly allowed me to attend placement here from the first year of my course to completion. I also spent those three years on placement at Glasgow Small Animal Hospital. Both opportunities allowed me to develop my skills and confidently graduate in 2016.I have a particular interest to strengthen my Schedule 3 Skills, particularly surgery. This allows Registered Veterinary Nurses to maximise their full potential and broadens the scope for learning and growth within the veterinary profession. I thoroughly enjoy working in an ever evolving practice that understands not just the importance of holistic care for each patient; but that invests in its people also. We are encouraged to attend CPD regularly, to explore our interests and to work on improving our existing strengths. Whether canine/feline or anything else for that matter, I feel all should be held in the same high regard as our human loved ones.

I joined the team at Bearsden in October 2017 having previously worked in other vets4pets practices since starting my training in 2011. I am originally from Wick which is a small town right at the top of Scotland and have always loved animals from a young age. I moved to Edinburgh in 2010 so I could start my veterinary nursing course at Edinburgh Napier University. After having some time out I went back to University to qualify in June 2017 with a BSC hons degree in veterinary nursing. I have a special interest in exotics and wildlife nursing and gained lots of experience in my previous practice working alongside exotic specialists and owning several exotic pets in the past as well as nursing sick and injured wildlife so that they can be released back into the wild. I also have a keen interest in Animal behaviour which I would like to go on and study further. I have a passion for rescue animals and do a lot of charity work in my spare time. I am the Scottish coordinator for SSDR who help rehome unwanted or abandoned sled dogs this is very demanding and due to the likes of game of thrones and twilight increasing numbers of sled dogs are needing rehomed as they are not the easiest of breeds. I am currently owned by 3 malamutes, 3 ferrets, 1 cat, 1 African pygmy hedgehog, 1 snake, 1 terrapin, 1 budgie and some marine fish. In my spare time I like to take part in cani-sport events with my youngest dog Khaos. We started out with cani-cross which is basically running with your dog. e attended cani-fit classes to learn about the sport and build on our fitness together as a team and now regularly attend cani-cross races but I plan to do more work on bikejor and scooter this year as Khaos loves it and can go much faster than I could ever run.

After moving back to Glasgow in 2012 I registered my two Parson Russell Terriers, Meg and Lulu, with the practice. An opportunity came up in October 2015 and I joined the team as Practice Manager. With a degree in Management and previous experience in the banking and sports industry I was keen to take on a new challenge. This was the perfect opportunity to work with and continue to build a great team whilst being close to home and the school my children attend. I love working for Vets4Pets Bearsden and admire John and Laura and our team of committed and experienced Vets, Nurses and Receptionists for always striving to provide the best level of care possible. I also enjoy taking part in Regional and National projects where I am able to support others but also continually look at best practice and how to deliver the best possible service we can at Bearsden. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with family and friends and doing Yoga.

It has always been a dream of mine to work with animals and I absolutely love my job meeting all of our lovely clients and there fur babies. I work with an amazing team of people all dedicated to our clients and patients and making sure they have an amazing experience at the practice.

I have always loved animals great and small, as a young child and throughout my life my family have always had animal’s dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, we even had terrapins.

I have a loving family and 3 beautiful boys, we have 2 Pomeranian dogs called Ted and Jasper and we all love them to bits.

I have always loved the idea of working with animals, therefore I was extremely grateful when I was given the opportunity to do work experience at this practice. Before I knew it I was a full time receptionist and I've loved every minute of it.

I would say I'm hard working and I always strive to be the best I can.

I have recently applied to study veterinary nursing full time so hopefully soon I will be hanging up my receptionist hat and joining the nursing team during my training. Watch this space!

I joined the Vets4Pets Bearsden team as a Receptionist in April 2017. Previous to this my experience has consisted of a variety of administration based roles before I decided to try a career in animal care. I attended Oatridge Agricultural College and gained a HNC in Animal Care, before spending the next 3 and half years running my own business offering dog walking and pet sitting services in my local area.

Joining the Vets4Pets team allowed me to combine my experience in an admin environment, while learning a new skill set as a receptionist, but I still enjoy the best bits of client interaction and puppy snuggling!

In my spare time I like long country walks with my 15 year old collie cross, Scruffy, binge watching geeky box sets and travelling to new places when I can.