Ruislip Vets4Pets

My name is Elijah. I have been a vet for about 30 years working in research and in busy first opinion veterinary hospitals abroad and in the UK. I am passionate about internal medicine and soft tissue surgery. I live in Northolt with my family. Proud father to two daughters and an adopted 10 year old cat named Tiger. Outside of work, I love nature walks, cross country jogging, reading and travelling. Apart from English, I speak four other languages but I’m still trying to learn new ‘pet languages’.

I knew I wanted to be a Veterinary Surgeon from a very young age. It was something I was determined to make a reality.
After I graduated in 2008, I travelled to Cornell University in NY, USA, for an externship, where I became particularly interested in all aspects of Small Animal Veterinary Practice. When I returned, I completed a Masters in Veterinary Medicine focussed on cruciate ligament rupture in dogs. This further fuelled my interest in advanced practice and led me to complete a fourteen-month rotating internship specialising in small animals at the University of Cambridge.
Since then, I have accumulated over fifteen years of general practice experience, four working alongside Elijah and his team. I am particularly passionate about diagnostics and I am committed to offer the best possible care for your pets.
I speak three European languages: Portuguese, Spanish and rusty German.
When I’m not working hard, you’ll find me playing with my family dog Chico, and sailing and surfing on the beautiful coast of the Algarve, where I’m proudly from.

I have always had a strong interest in animals since a very young age. I have experience in a variety of different species ranging from domestic animals to exotics as well as aquatic animals; I currently have a Tartar sand boa named Tiny Tim, and a cat called Pumpkin - who was abandoned as a kitten and handed into Vets4Pets. I have a great passion for marine life and reptiles. In my own time I enjoy maintaining my own reef tank, in which I keep a variety of marine fish and invertebrates.

Since qualifying as a Veterinary Nurse in 2024, I hope to further my knowledge and specialise in exotic animals.

Since I was a young girl, I always loved animals and knew that when I was older, I wanted to work in the Veterinary industry. Working here at Vets4Pets has been a dream opportunity for me, and I feel proud of the knowledge and progression I have gained so far in my career. At home, I have two rescue dogs and a cat. I have previously also had hamsters, snakes, geckos and pet rats, so I enjoy the broad spectrum of small animals we see in practice!

Once I qualify as a Veterinary Nurse, my goal is to take courses to further my knowledge in in-patient care and internal medicine, as I find the most rewarding part of my job is seeing hospitalised patients slowly start feeling better!

As a child, I spent a lot of time around animals, whether they were my own, or strays when visiting abroad countries. I have fond childhood memories with the variety of pets I grew up with, from guinea pigs, hamsters and ferrets to cats and dogs.

My goal in veterinary is wanting to help educating owners to improve quality of life for their pets.

During my time at Vets4Pets Ruislip, I have gained a wide variety of experiences and knowledge from watching my team, and have developed a strong interest in pursuing a degree in Veterinary Nursing.

In the future, my dream job would be to qualify as a Veterinary Nurse and use my degree to volunteer abroad treating wildlife in conservations

I have worked at Vets4pets since 2019 and qualified in 2023 as a Veterinary Nurse. I have grown an interest in emergency critical care and surgical nursing, and hope to progress my career by completing an extended diploma in one of these areas. I love being able to help animals in their time of need, whether that's assisting with surgeries or providing hands-on care. I feel dedicated to providing the best possible care for my patients. 

I felt inspired to pursue a career in veterinary at a young age. 

Having owned a variety of animals my whole life I could not imagine a life without them, let alone a career. Despite my deep-rooted fondness for animals, unlike my colleagues I did not know that I wanted to work in the Veterinary industry from a young age, instead making the decision during the pandemic, when I came into the care of my five rats: Link, Noctis, Loki, Geralt and Basil. I should have taken note and changed careers far earlier when the highlight of my working day was when a customer would bring their pet in, but I’d like to think it’s better late than never!

In my free time I am a volunteer at a wildlife hospital, which has been and continues to be incredibly rewarding whilst rehabilitating and releasing British wildlife back to their natural habitats, as well as a crucial learning experience.

For the future, I hope to qualify as a RVN and continue a long career of caring about what is most important to both you and me: our pets.

Having previously worked as a team leader in medical sales and space, range and merchandising. I now enjoy my time doing something completely different working here at the Vets4Pets surgery as a receptionist and learning about animals and their wellbeing.
I have always had pets from a young age and currently own 3 cats Alfie, Ollie and Louie who love dreamies and enjoy leaving me ‘presents’ on my doorstep when I get home along with 1 rabbit, 1 hamster, fish and 5 guinea pigs. I have a fiancé and two grown up daughters, who I enjoy spending time with as well as socialising with friends.

I joined the practice in 2019, in a change to my previous career. Having always had a love of animals this job is perfect. I share my flat with my 2 cats, Chica and Pikachu, one of which I acquired through the practice earlier this year.  Animals have played a big part in my life, I grew up always having them around and cannot imagine my life without them. In my spare time, I volunteer at a watersports club for the disabled.