Small Animal Vet – Fantastic Tier 2 Practice - Northumberland - £competitive salary + car & accommodation available.

Our client is a well established mixed animal practice with 3 centres that cater for small and large animals.

Their new purpose built surgery building provides state of the art facilities for all their small animal patients. This includes three new operating theatres and separate in-patient accommodation for dogs and cats.  A new imaging suite for x-ray, endoscopy and ultrasound significantly increases their diagnostic facilities. The upgraded and extensive clinical area, now all on the same floor and moving from two to four consulting rooms, allows them to increase our range of services and provide an enhanced environment for patients, owners and staff.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced small animal Vet to join the professional and friendly team of 10 Vets & 5 Nurses. The ideal candidate will have 2-4 years experience in small animal practice, although more experienced candidates will still be considered. It is essential that you possess excellent client care skills and the ability to work as part of a team.

Hours are Monday-Friday 8.30-6.30 with a 1 in 4 on call weekend rota.

In return, you will receive a competitive salary and benefits package, which includes car & accommodation if required.

If you fit the bill for this role, please send your CV to charlie.copleston@rigvets.co.uk or call us on 01392 314 070.

Our client; a well established and well equipped small animal practice in Dorset actively seeking a Vet to join their 2.5 Vet and 4 Nurse team.  The ideal candidate with be confident with all routine small animal surgery and consults, however, the practice are happy to provide training for the right individual.

You will also be responsible for assisting in continuing to provide excellent standards of client and animal care. You will be working 4 days per week, from 9am - 1pm with 1 in 3 Saturdays and no On-call.  Ideally candidates should have a minimum of 2 years experience but we will consider less. There is a competitive salary as well as CPD allowance on offer.  For more information please call Charlie on 01392 314070 or email your CV to charlie.copleston@rigvets.co.uk

Cats’ chance for Oscar glory

The 

 Dubbed the “Feline Oscars” the awards are designed to celebrate the real life stories of survival, bravery and heroism in the cat world and are open to any living cat rescued as a stray by its current owner or adopted from an animal welfare organisation.

 
 Hero Cat – Cats that save the day!

Best Friends – Where a best feline friend has radically improved the quality of human life

 A special Lifetime Achievement award will also be presented by sponsor Purina PetCare to an older cat chosen from all entries who has shown remarkable support or friendship to its owner over the years.

 Brian Blessed was one of the celebrity judges of the Rescue Cat Awards 2008 and starred in the original production of

 “I hope that Cats Protection’s Rescue Cat Awards 2010 will attract many entries to remind us of the love, companionship and sheer wonder that rescue cats bring to our lives.  I’m also thrilled to hear that this year’s ceremony will be taking place at the New London Theatre where Cats was first performed.”

 The winner of this year’s Rescue Cat Awards will inherit the title from previous winner Speedy, a tabby cat from Suffolk. Speedy won the award for the constant companionship she provides to her owner, 19-year-old Christine Payne, who suffers with a range of conditions including progressive spinal ataxia, epilepsy and severe learning difficulties. 

Locum RVN – Countrywide – My client is looking for an RVN to work alongside their team in their mobile veterinarian van, as part of a promotional programme. The programme would start at the end of March and run through until the end of October. Main duties would be carrying out pet health checks on dogs bought to the vehicle, and to deal with owners queries regarding other popular species of pets. Days worked would vary on location and the nature of the events worked, weekend work would be the norm. My client would be paying £8.50 - £9.43 depending on experience, Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays work would attract an additional payment of £10.00 p/h. Satisfactory completion of the programme will also attract a loyalty payment of £500.00.

For any more details on any of the roles, please feel free to give me a call on 01392 314 786 or email me on giles.jacobs@rigvets.co.uk.

Dogs Trust is delighted that the Government has announced a long awaited consultation on measures to tackle the issue of Dangerous Dogs. It has been apparent for many years that the existing Dangerous Dogs Act doesn’t work and that it urgently needs revising to help protect the general public and dog welfare.  

 Dogs Trust has been lobbying the Government about the benefits of compulsory microchipping for the past twelve months. The charity believes that permanent identification must form a central part of any new dog legislation so it is deeply gratifying that this has been included as part of the consultation. Just a third of dog owners currently have their dog microchipped, but should this become a legal requirement more stray dogs can be reunited with their owners, thus ultimately reducing the 9,000 dogs that are destroyed by Local Authorities every year. A recent survey conducted by Dogs Trust shows that 88% of dog owners would be in favour of such a law.

 Similarly compulsory third party insurance is a sensible precaution to protect both human and animal victims of dog attacks. Many household insurance policies will include this as long as the dog is in the insured person’s control at the time. There are also membership schemes such as the one Dogs Trust offers where for just £20 a year, any dog within the household has third party liability insurance up to a million pounds per claim.

 There is a real need to extend the existing dangerous dog laws to cover private property as well as public spaces but exemptions will need to be carefully thought through. For example if a dog were to bite an intruder in the home such as a burglar, would their owners be exempt from punishment?

 It is really positive to see a joined up approach from Defra and the Home Office in tackling the issue of irresponsible dog ownership. However it is essential that this is regarded as a social rather than a dog issue. It is unacceptable that a young person feels it is necessary to own a dog as a form of protection in order to feel safe on the streets.

 In terms of what appears to be missing from the consultation, Dogs Trust would have liked to see the total repeal of all breed specific legislation and more consideration given to the penalties awarded to irresponsible owners including possible custodial sentences. The charity is currently lobbying for the introduction of increased penalties along the lines of dog owner ‘ASBOS’ which firmly place responsibility for the dog’s behaviour on the owner rather than looking at the breed of the dog in question.