| THE TEAM
Welcome to Hope Vets, the result of our hopes and dreams both for ourselves and for what we feel veterinary practice should be to you and for your pets.
We are Stephanie (our vet), Barbie (the UK Vet Nurse of the Year 2007!), Steven (practice manager) and Judy!. | |
Slug and Worm
Maccabi
Macy
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Stephanie: I am the Vet in Hope Vets. I grew up in Brighton with my mom and a happy cavalier king charles spaniel and a special but neurotic collie cross breed. Being a tiny bit stubborn and inflexible, I settled on my chosen career at the tender age of 4 when all my friends wanted to be ballerinas. So, in accordance with this early plan, I went to vet school in Cambridge where I met Steven who seems to have been following me around ever since! After a stint in Aberdeen, Steve and I settled in Hertfordshire just after our wedding in 2003. We met our Barbie here and she has become an integral member of our little family. In seeking our dream we came across the property (yes, it is definitely THE one) in Bovingdon – the perfect mix of rural bliss, dog walkers heaven and close to family and friends – so of course we had to have it. So this is where Hope Vets now lives! I love being a vet and can’t imagine any other life. I find the academic side fascinating and just successfully completed a further professional qualification (the GP certificate in small animal medicine). The biggest pleasure for me though, comes through the relationships we develop with our patients and their families. At Hope Vets we can’t wait to meet you all and get to know you over the years to come. Being a small team we can ensure that you always have the continuity of seeing the same faces and never having to explain what’s gone before. My other all consuming passion is our pets. We have 3 border collies, they all have their querks (and I’m ashamed to say their bad behaviours) but we couldn’t be without them. My princess is Macy, a 6 year old black and white bitch. She is my first agility dog and together we got hooked, spending hours training in all weathers in muddy fields. To see her face light up when we do agility is the greatest pleasure. We were devastated when she developed a serious hip problem in 2007, then in October 2008 she became bionic Macy with a brand new hip. Now with hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and stacks of glucosamine she is loving her walks and will hopefully be able to run free again very soon. I’ll let Steven tell you about our little red devil Leeloo, so that leaves Maccabi, my youngest. He is my biggest challenge yet, largely due to him being from working lines and having an insatiable herding instinct. At home he is a funny sweet little man, when he concentrates he is a dream but when he sees something moving away from him his naughty alter ego possesses him. With lots of hard work we have managed to get him more under control. We also have a cat called Worm. You must forgive her name but she was brought in to the vets at 2 days old to be put to sleep after her mother was killed by a car. I reared her and named her when she was a hamster sized grey slimy blob. Well the name stuck and here we are! Worm does the independent superior cat thing very well and is plotting to take over the world. To complete our family there is a Bearded Dragon called Percy. Percy arrived with us emaciated and weak having been neglected and kept in inappropriate conditions by his previous owner. With a bit of TLC, Percy is now thankfully thriving. So that’s our family, all crazy, but we love ‘em! |
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Steven and Stephanie
Leeloo
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Steven: Hi. I’m Steven and I am practice manager here at Hope Vets. Broadly speaking my job is to make sure that Stephanie and Barbie have everything they need to provide the best possible care and attention to you and your pets. Let me step out of the shadows for a second to tell you a bit about myself… Perhaps inspired by my parents, I have always wanted to run my own business. I have also always had dogs, but until I met Stephanie, it did not occur to me that my business would be animal based. Then Stephanie and I got together, and I quite quickly realised that the best way to see my wife and to pursue my career ambitions would be for us to open a business together. The idea that became Hope Vets was born! If you’ve already read Stephanie’s intro then you probably have a good idea of what our home is like. Three gorgeous crazy border collies, one know it all cat and an incredibly lazy lizard make for a busy life and a very entertaining one. It’s probably fair to say that my leisure time is mostly split between dog sport and human sport. With the dogs it is principally agility, with a bit of flyball and cani-x (cross country racing with dogs on leads) thrown in. At agility I run our middle child, Leeloo. Lee is the smallest of the three which means she has to really give everything to succeed in jumping over obstacles that the bigger collies take in their stride. She is also from show rather than working lines, so possibly less naturally inclined than the others towards the types of activity we do. Fortunately though, my little girl has a massive heart so she will take anything on, no matter what the odds. In fact in our agility partnership it is me that’s the limiting factor not her! | |
Stephanie and I seem to spend countless hours urging dogs over jumps or trudging through muddy fields but somewhere in my week I do manage to find the time to participate in and watch sports which don’t involve the dogs. Hockey, running, squash and football are the ones I play regularly, but I will gladly watch and talk about just about any sport which doesn’t involve motors.
Hockey is definitely my main sport. I have been playing the game since, well, birth, and despite much talk of retirement, I am just about still going. In my youth I managed to play to a reasonable standard, and even though my best days are definitely past, I still take my training pretty seriously. Indeed some people would say that my fascination with heart rates, recovery rates and nutrition fall on the wrong side of obsessive… Anyway, that’s quite enough about me. It’s Stephanie and Barbie you have come to see!
Barbie |
Barbie:
I am the veterinary nurse at Hope Vets. I grew up in Wick (a small fishing town in the very cold north of Scotland) with my mum, dad, and younger sister. We made our epic journey south to Slough when I was 6, and the journey itself is a great story. My dad wouldn’t leave Glen (our working border collie) behind, my mum decided that if dad had the dog, she was taking the cat, and we decided that if they were taking the cat and the dog, we were taking the gold fish! On the journey Glen, Lynda (my sister) and I were all car sick, the cat escaped and sat in the middle of a dual carriageway and my dad had to run for his life to get her back. Then to top it off the goldfish bag sprang a leak, we had to stop at every service station along the way to refill the bag!
One of the main reasons my parents made the long journey south was because at the age of 3 I told my mum that I wanted to be a nurse for animals. With the recession in northern Scotland my parents had no money and feared that the lack of opportunities would compromise my sister’s and my dreams. I’m so glad they made the sacrifice as I LOVE my career and don’t ever imagine doing anything else. I love the challenges that every day brings and I love creating great relationships with patients and their owners. For me, there is no greater feeling in the world than handing back a patient that you’ve intensively nursed. I still get a tear in my eye when I watch an owner kiss and fuss over the pet they never thought they’d see again. I know what you’re thinking but I’m a sentimental soul, and have a great passion for what I do. |
| In my 10 year career in veterinary nursing I have been proud of many things. Overcoming dyslexia to finally become a fully qualified veterinary nurse was a big achievement for me, but perhaps my biggest achievement came in April 2007 where I won Vet Nurse of the year! Stephanie and I went to this amazing black tie dinner to collect my award. Apparently the food was fantastic, but I wouldn’t know because I was too nervous to eat! | | Stephanie and I have been great friends since I met her in 2003. Well actually, I was her princess Macy’s friend first. For me and Macy it was love at first sight, and then came the other two adorable rascals. I spend a lot of my spare time walking with Stephanie and her dogs or just chilling on her Sofa whilst dog sitting. I also enjoy making my own cards and reading lots of great books. I have three great feline characters of my own. There is Felix, a 5 year old black and white monster, who puts me to shame with his bad behaviour. Pebbles aka Fat cat is 9 years old. She is very cuddly and LOVES to eat and sleep, but my very special boy is Tiger. Tiger is a 10 year old tabby, who is the most lovable, brave and intelligent cat I’ve come across. Then there’s Jack, my beautiful but unfortunately one-eyed rat. Although little, he is a huge personality, and never fails to entertain me (and Macy). I hope you enjoyed getting to know me as I’m very excited about getting to know you and welcoming you into the Hope Vets family.
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Barbie is under there somewhere |
  | | Judy:
Hi all. My name is Judy and I am the Saturday receptionist / student vet. I was born and bred just down the road in Rickmansworth and have ALWAYS had a fascination with animals. After 12 years of nagging, my mum finally allowed me to get my first dog, a yellow Labrador called Penny and so began my love affair with Labradors. I am the odd one out in our family because out of 4 children I am the only one who is positively crackers about animals. I spent most of my childhood either out with Penny or building 'camps' in the local woods with friends. A couple of years after school I went to college to study animal care which led to a degree in zoology and just for good measure I got a Masters degree too. Some of you may have already met me in my previous incarnation as the owner of a pet sitting business in Rickmansworth. I ran this for 6 years and enjoyed every minute of it. I met Steph and Steven when I started walking Macy and Leeloo about 3 years ago. I also love dog behaviour and have an opinion on pretty much anything related to animals! Right from seeing the first episode of All Creatures Great and Small I have wanted to be a vet but never really had the opportunity to attempt my dream. Well, with Steph's help and encouragement I finally got the courage to apply to vet school and now here I am, trying to be a student again at 31 - I must be mad! Please don't worry if you see me in reception and in the consulting room, my job on reception means I can combine earning money with my learning! Oh and if you see a little black head peering above reception that'll be Kess the wonder dog. Kess is my baby and Leeloo's best friend. Continuing my love of Labradors I have decided that black ones are certainly the best by far. Kess truly is a once-in-a-lifetime dog and I am seriously considering cloning her for my vet school final year project! I love her to bits as does everyone who meets her. I am very much looking forward to meeting all the clients and hopefully seeing your pets from both behind the reception desk and eventually from behind a consultation desk! There are few things I enjoy more than gassing about pets so please do feel free to have a chat about yours or mine or anything else! | |
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