Alsager Vets4Pets

After graduating with distinction from the University of Liverpool in 2012, I worked in mixed practice for six years before moving to companion animal practice. 

I have a particular interest in chronic pain management and arthritis and I have been a qualified acupuncturist since 2014.  

At home, I have two cats called Crumble and Bluebell.  In my free time I enjoy going for walks in the local countryside.  

I joined Alsager in Feb 2021 and look forward to becoming a familiar face (albeit behind a mask for the foreseeable!).

I grew up in Macclesfield surrounded by a menagerie, and knew I wanted to be a vet from the age of about 6. I qualified from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 2014: five years training in the city was certainly a change from the peace of rural Cheshire but I loved every minute. In my spare time I enjoy running and going to the gym, although seem to be battling near-constant injury, and would love to (eventually...!) run a marathon. I also love long walks in the Peak District with my Whippet, Flo and rescue Wire-Haired Fox Terrier, Jack. Having spent eighteen months in another small animal practice I am very excited to be joining the team at Alsager and am looking forward to the adventures that lie ahead!

I secured my first job in a veterinary practice at the age of 14 years old when after a two week work experience placement I was offered the opportunity to work as an animal care assistant after school, at weekends and during school holidays. This lead to me qualifying as a veterinary nurse from Rodbaston agricultural college in 1996. I spent 2 years working at the PDSA in Stoke on Trent before travelling to New Zealand were I worked in a referral hospital in Auckland for a while then continued travelling around the country picking up work as I went including fruit picking, planting trees and working in a saw mill before finishing my travels in South East Asia. On returning to the UK In 2000, I had various head nurse positions in practices in Lancaster, Biddulph and Congleton. During this time I also worked weekends at the local emergency out of hours clinic and eventually in 2014 accepted a position of head nurse there. In 2015 I came to Longton Vets4Pets as head nurse where I met Lindsey before the opportunity at Alsager came up. Main interests are anything small animal but particularly enjoy wound management, radiography, anything surgical and very much enjoy nurse clinics which gives me the opportunity to get to know clients and to be involved in helping to keep their pets fit and healthy throughout their lives. Hobbies - I'm a retired rugby player after 25 years but still very keen spectator. I enjoy fishing, walking our two dogs - Vinnie an English springer spaniel and Bodhi a Hungarian Vizsla, reading, cooking, camping and anything else that involves me being outdoors. I look forward to welcoming you and your pets here at Alsager.

I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a Veterinary Nurse, qualifying was a big achievement and I found my dream career. I have now been qualified over twelve years and during this time I have gained a huge amount of experience and skills, I have worked in both busy first opinion and referral practices where I have been involved in nursing routine and more complex medical and surgical cases. 

In my last position I worked my way up to being head nurse, looking after a team of qualified nurses, student nurses and a nursing assistant. I was also a clinical coach and I found it rewarding mentoring students, helping them to develop their skills and become confident in all aspects of veterinary nursing during their training.

I particularly enjoy surgery, and nurse clinics. Playing a part in nursing a patient back to health and giving patients a high standard of care is so rewarding, the difference it makes to both the patient and their owners is immense. 

Recently I joined the team at Alsager. I have enjoyed getting to know everyone and settling in to the team. Over the months I have been getting to know regular clients and their pets as well as welcoming new ones to the practice. Making a visit to see us as positive and enjoyable as possible is important to me, I enjoy being able to offer support and good advice to clients so that they can make good choices and provide the best possible care for their pet. 

 

I am mum to two young boys who keep me super busy when I am not in work, we love exploring and being outdoors. During evenings and weekends when I get the opportunity I really enjoy going running.  We have two cats and two rats who are a big part of our family, my boys love helping to care for them and give them plenty of cuddles.

I have recently joined the Vets4Pets team after almost 3 and a half years in my last practice. I am very excited to be in our shiny, new surgery and am looking forward to meeting you and your pets! At home I have a loopy chocolate Labrador called Cadbury and a lovely old man, Harvey our rescue German Shepherd-cross and 2 very noisy guinea pigs, Stanley & Norman. in my spare time I enjoy walking the dogs and spending time with my family and friends.

Working with animals has always been a passion of mine. From a young age I used to help out at my local pet shop and from there I started to walk the dogs on my estate which I loved. After high school I went on to ReaseHeath College to complete my NVQ in animal care, in hopes that one day I would start my veterinary nurse training. I now have a 4 year old son named Romone, who shows and shares his love for animals, just like his mum, which is amazing. We have two dogs Fly (whippet cross) and Darcy (Bedlington terrier) and three cats Marcellous, Elijah and Nicklaus. Two rabbits, Sparky and Peter and last but not least four fish.

Although I am fairly new to the Alsager team I've previously worked at another vet practice in Stoke on Trent and always been a pet owner and animal fanatic, so feel I fit in pretty well.  Riding horses since I was 11 gave me a taste for country life with larger animals, which is helpful when my mother in law lives on a farm with 20+ rare breed goats and sheep, where I always end up getting roped in to the dirty jobs! Closer to home I share my life with a crazy Schnoodle puppy named Rory and a bunny called Boris, along with my partner and son.  The old cliché 'find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life' is definitely true since I started here and I can't wait to meet all of your furry family friends.