Out of hours: after 19:00 and on Sundays, call 01632 960 445 and the recorded message will give you the number for Aldreth Veterinary Hospital, who hold our emergency cover. Do not email an emergency.

Independent since 1998

Two vets, three nurses, and the same people each time you come in.

We look after dogs, cats and rabbits in Tealmeadow and the villages around it. We are small on purpose: it means the vet who saw your animal in March remembers them in September, and you are not explaining the history again from the beginning.

Appointments are fifteen minutes and we hold four longer slots a day for the consultations that need them — new puppies, difficult conversations, and animals who find the waiting room frightening. Ask for one when you book; there is no extra charge.

What we do here

Routine and preventive

Vaccination, parasite control, microchipping, weight clinics and the nurse appointments that go with them. Most of it is nurse-led, which is quicker for you and cheaper.

Surgery

Neutering, dentals, lump removals, wound repairs and bladder surgery, in our own theatre with a nurse monitoring anaesthesia throughout. Pre-anaesthetic blood testing is offered for every patient and advised over eight years old.

Diagnostics

Digital radiography, ultrasound, and an in-house laboratory that gives us bloods and urine in about twenty minutes — so we can often start treatment during the same appointment instead of the next one.

Referral

Orthopaedics, advanced imaging and most cancer treatment go to Aldreth, twenty minutes away. We will tell you plainly when something is beyond what we should be doing here, and we will still be the ones who follow it up.

Vaccination, by age

The first year sets the pattern. After that, one visit a year covers the booster and a full health check, which is where most of what we find early is actually found.

  1. 8 weeks

    Puppy, first courseDistemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and parainfluenza, with leptospirosis. Weigh-in and a worming plan at the same visit.

  2. 12 weeks

    Puppy, second courseThe second leptospirosis component. Safe to meet other vaccinated dogs a week later; safe in public from two weeks.

  3. 9 weeks

    Kitten, first coursePanleukopenia, herpesvirus and calicivirus, plus feline leukaemia for any cat who will go outdoors.

  4. 12 weeks

    Kitten, second course, and rabiesRabies can be given from twelve weeks if you are planning to travel. Allow twenty-one days after it before any journey.

  5. 5 weeks

    RabbitsA single combined vaccine against myxomatosis and both strains of rabbit haemorrhagic disease, then yearly. Indoor rabbits need it too; the virus arrives on shoes and on insects.

  6. Yearly

    Booster and health checkWeight, teeth, heart, joints, eyes and a proper conversation about how the year has gone.

If a booster has lapsed

Ring us rather than assuming the course must start again. Depending on the vaccine and how long it has been, one dose is often enough — and for leptospirosis it usually is not. Either way it is a phone call, not a lost year.

The people

Ruth Callender, veterinary surgeon

Founded the practice in 1998. Soft tissue surgery and the long-running geriatric cases. In on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and alternate Saturdays.

Dev Manikam, veterinary surgeon

Joined in 2017 from a mixed practice. Dentistry, exotics, and the one who actually enjoys rabbits. In Tuesday to Friday.

Nurses

Beth, Sana and Ollie run the nurse clinics: weight, dental checks, post-operative care, nail and anal gland work, and puppy socialisation on Wednesday evenings.

Reception

Marianne and Joy. They have been asked every question you are about to ask and will not make you feel silly for asking it.