Experts

Nuala graduated from the University of Edinburgh Veterinary School in 1998. Following graduation, she spent four years at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, where she completed a residency in Veterinary Cardiology.

Nuala has spent the past 15 years working as a cardiology specialist assisting veterinary surgeons in the diagnosis and treatment of their canine and feline patients with heart disease. These invaluable experiences and professional interactions have served to highlight the importance of collaborative care as the key to improved patient outcomes.

Recognising the need to make specialist veterinary healthcare more easily accessible and available through a real-time, collaborative and educational digital platform, Nuala created Virtual Veterinary Specialists (vvs.vet) in 2017.

Through VVS, Nuala hopes to continue to create and develop ideas, products and services that solve real problems, positively impact the lives of veterinary professionals, owners and pets worldwide, and help shape the future of specialist veterinary healthcare.

Chris and his family share their home with three dogs, two cats, two gerbils, six fish, two goats, two sheep and a dozen chickens and they talk to all of them! Chris received his veterinary degree from Glasgow, and is the outgoing President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He runs Coach House Vets, an equine and family pet veterinary practice in Berkshire. Chris is a passionate educator committed to making the lives of pets and their owners the best they can be.

Read our latest interview with Chris where he discusses the challenges faced by the veterinary profession.

Mike graduated from Edinburgh University in 2004 and spent the next three and half years working in a small animal practice in Peterborough and Suffolk. He developed a keen interest in veterinary ophthalmology and completed the RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Ophthalmology in 2008. Mike was awarded the European Diploma in Veterinary Ophthalmology, and is now a recognised European Specialist in the field. Mike is a member of the British Association of Veterinary Ophthalmologists and his clinical interests include all aspects of microsurgery. In October 2017 Mike established Focus Referrals Ltd., a mobile veterinary ophthalmology referral service based within the Banbury, Bicester, Oxford area. With this new venture Mike aims to offer a specialist referral service in a first opinion setting at more affordable prices.

Tristan cares for family pets at his Surrey veterinary surgery Chertsey Vets. After qualifying from Cambridge University in 2005, Tristan went straight into practice, working at mixed practices based in Suffolk and Kent. He completed a small animal surgical internship and a further year of specialist training at Rutland House Veterinary Hospital where he began working in the field of emergency medicine and surgery.

With over 25 years' experience as a dog behaviourist and trainer, Mark helps dog owners manage their pets' behaviour by using positive, modern, force-free methods. Mark runs puppy socialisation and obedience classes for County Councils, rescue and rehoming centres. Mark teaches canine behaviour and body language to school children, in order to help the next generation to understand dogs. His aim is to help people on a one-to-one basis, using a professional and safe approach, with kind, fair and effective methods of behavioural modification.

Nick Jones knows dogs and dog behaviour, and helps pet owners understand and resolve any challenges that might exist. Nick helps with issues such as dog aggression, jumping up, pulling, non-recall, nervous behaviour, chewing, separation anxiety, biting and nipping, excessive barking and puppy visits. Nick is also a Dog Expert Witness and assesses dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Read our interview to discover more about Nick and his valuable work with dogs.

Celia Haddon is an expert in cat behaviour. She has a Masters degree in clinical animal behaviour from the University of Lincoln and several years of experience rehabilitating difficult kittens and cats. She is a published author with her book One Hundred Ways for a Cat to Train Its Human selling almost half a million copies in the UK. Her books have been translated into four languages. In addition, Celia regularly appears on radio and in newspapers and magazines following a 10-year stint with the Daily Telegraph as their pet agony aunt from 1997-2007, where she dealt with about 100,000 queries about all kinds of animals. Her website, catexpert, has free advice on cats, dogs and small pets. Celia lives with her two cats, Tilly and Toby, who rule the roost. Celia has produced a range of videos for CatDogFish providing tips on how to entertain and look after your cats.

Liz qualified from the University of Cambridge in 2004, and has worked in mixed practice in the Lake District, completed a small animal internship, and she now works in shelter medicine and emergency critical care. Her special interests are diagnostic imaging and cytology. Liz recently set up Vetsnet, a social enterprise resource website to promote wellbeing within the veterinary profession. She is a CatDogFish purist, with two dogs, a tail-less cat, and pond full of Koi carp.

Combining her love of animals with commercial expertise, Clare started working for the National Animal Welfare Trust (NAWT) in 2007, initially as Operations Director and then as Chief Executive in 2013. The NAWT is an independent rescue and rehoming charity which promotes responsible pet ownership. In 2015, it became the first rescue organisation in the UK to implement the Open Paw Shelter Programme for dogs and cats. Since owning her first rescue dog in 1999, Clare has immersed herself in the world of dog training and behaviour. She instructs at her local dog training club from Puppy Training to Advanced Competitive Obedience classes as well as 1:1 behaviour sessions. Clare is working towards accreditation in the KCAI Scheme and takes part in Obedience Competitions with her German Shepherd and Staffie.

Read more about the work at the National Animal Welfare Trust in our latest article on their successful Open Paw rehoming initiative.

David has been a practising vet in South London since 1978, having qualified from Trinity College Dublin. As well as practising, he has set up from scratch, or revived, 10 veterinary practices (including three hospitals) with a variety of partners or just on his own. His most recent achievement is the state-of-the-art London Animal Hospital in Camberwell which opened in April 2017. The hospital puts the wellbeing of its animals, pet parents and staff at the very centre of its design, within an environmentally-friendly building which has been short-listed for an international interior design award

Commenting on his career, David says: "I have loved every minute of veterinary work - even the tough times - maybe especially the tough times. I have witnessed huge changes in the profession and still very much enjoy keeping up to date without throwing out the tried and tested." In the little spare time that he gets, David likes to read, run, write, cook and do a bit of DIY maintenance. He is married with two adult sons (and a dog called Ella).

Paddy qualified from the University of Glasgow Veterinary School in 1989. She obtained the Certificate in Veterinary Radiology in 1994, the RCVS Diploma in 1996, the European Diploma in Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging in 1997 and is currently enrolled for a Masters in Clinical Research with the BSAVA.

She has worked in large, mixed and small animal practice as well as in academic and private referral centres in Britain and Switzerland. She did an 18 month mixed medicine and surgery internship at the RVC and did her postgraduate diagnostic imaging residency at the QVSH, Cambridge.

Paddy established Cambridge Radiology Referrals in 1998 and has provided specialist outpatient imaging since then with a focus on CT and ultrasound mainly for dogs, cats and exotics. She also provides some teleradiology and bespoke CPD services working within practices to help them achieve optimal imaging in-house. She has lectured on many CPD courses and at conferences over the years.

Paddy edited Diagnostic Ultrasound in Small Animal Practice: - a practical ultrasound book aimed at beginners and has been involved in a variety of clinically based publications.

She is a clinician first and foremost.

Qualifying in New Zealand over 20 years ago, Jeremy moved to the UK in 2000 working in number of general practices before running a small animal practice in London. In 2009, he relocated to Hong Kong where he began to pursue his interest in diagnostic imaging and feline medicine in earnest, while working for Hong Kong SPCA he continued his studies and built up extensive skills in ultrasonography, cardiology and internal medicine before moving back to the UK in 2011. In 2012, he completed a course of study to become a member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in Feline Medicine, and in 2015 he became a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Advanced Practitioner in Feline Medicine. He is a founder member of the International Society of Feline Medicine, Academy of Feline Practitioners.

Passionate about feline medicine, Jeremy volunteered for five years as an associate Editor for the Feline Internal Medicine folder of the Veterinary Information Network, a global on-line information resource for Vets. His areas of special interest and experience include internal medicine, cardiology, cardiac and abdominal ultrasonography. In 2017, after many years of planning and hard work, Jeremy realised his dream of opening a purpose designed feline-only practice in central London aptly named The London CatClinic. The clinic was recently awarded Overall Winner in the British Veterinary Hospital Association 2015-2017 Practice Design Awards.