TOWERWOOD VETS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Student Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
She started at the practice in 2019 and completed her Level 2 Animal Care Assistant qualification this year. She recently started studying as a Veterinary Nurse and is enjoying working with inpatients. Her favourite thing about working with animals is seeing the various cases and learning about all the different aspects of nursing. Her most memorable case was a dog who had a limb amputation- he recovered very well and Alex loved watching the progress he made!
Alex has two French Bulldogs at home, Frank who is 6 and Arthur who is 3. She enjoys taking them for walks in the woods and giving them lots of cuddles. She also has a tortoise called Jeff who loves kale and exploring the garden.
In her spare time Alex enjoys spending time with her dogs and socialising with friends.
Job Titles:
- Registered Veterinary Nurse
Job Titles:
- Student Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Amy's passion is looking after the inpatients before and after any surgical procedures they might be having. Amy loves seeing the older patients and enjoys doing consults and laser sessions for the senior pets.
She has two rescue cats that came into the practice called Tipsy and Flash. She also has two dogs, a cocker spaniel called Tilly and a rescue terrier from Spain called Charlie, in her spare time she enjoys competing the horses and finding new places to walk the dogs.
A 12 year old rescue cat called Sophie and a very energetic 6 year old working cocker spaniel named Buddy. Sophie wasn't fond of Buddy at first but has developed a soft spot for him over the years.
Andra also comes from Romania and joined our team in 2018 via Cristina who is a close friend dating back to their university days.
Andra has a passion for handicapped pets and helping any animal in need live life to the fullest. Back home in Romania she has a cat called Orshi who suffered spinal damage when she was only 3 weeks old. Orshi was hospitalised under Andra's care for one month, but now, at 4 years old, thrives in a special wheel-chair Andra put together for her. Andra also fostered a dog with spinal issues called Bentley. Bentley had travelled to Romania, Italy and England with Andra but now has a full time loving home in Scotland.
Andra's most recent addition is the recently adopted Nala, a working Cocker Spaniel. In her spare time, Andra enjoys taking Nala for walks in our lovely Yorkshire countryside, and travelling back to see family every opportunity she can having recently become an aunty.
Andra also has other talents. Before qualifying as a vet, Andra also completed a degree in food engineering!
Job Titles:
- Head Veterinary Surgeon
- Hom MRCVS Head Veterinary Surgeon
Meet Brendan, our clinical director with his lovable Labrador Pippa and adorable Arti. Pippa arrived with Brendan as a puppy in October 2011 and loves nothing more than cuddles and a tummy rub in front of a warm fire. Arti was a puppy of one of our nurses, Stacey's dog Lottie who you'll meet below. She joined the team in 2015 and has been Brendan's shadow ever since! Brendan, and his wife Kristina, also have a cat called Pud, who arrived with Kristina as a rescue kitten way back in 2000 and another rescue kitten Spider who completes the gang of 4 animals in 2014.
Brendan has been the head vet at Towerwood Vets since 2003, having joined the partnership as it was as far back as 1998. The practice was first set up by John Saxton, a renowned holistic veterinary surgeon, back in 1971. The practice has come a long way since then and Brendan's proudest achievement has been to build the team at the practice, one of the leading centres for integrated veterinary care for the pets of North Leeds and beyond.
Brendan has clients who come a long way to the practice to be treated in an integrated and holistic way, however as a vet student Brendan reflects on being considered a sceptic himself until seeing first hand, time and time again how thinking a little bit differently about a case can change the course of care. One of his favourite sayings is ‘If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail' and he prides himself on looking at each case with an open mind and respecting the human animal bond as one of the core principles of the way he works.
Out of a very busy work life, Brendan loves to travel but, in particular, he loves taking Pippa and Arti to the Lake District, a childhood home away from home! He also enjoys sport, in particular rugby, and enjoys growing his own fruit and veg!
Job Titles:
- RVN Registered Veterinary Nurse
Meet Charlotte and Dave! Charlotte is one of our members of the admin team who joined our practice in July 2019. Charlotte loves spending as much time with Dave as possible. Her favourite thing at the practice is seeing all the clients' pets walk out a lot happier than they walked in, because she knows how it feels and can relate to being a pet owner with a poorly pet.
Charlotte really enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She has worked in many different varieties of jobs but has never worked with animals before. When the role appeared she really fancied a change of career, and she hasn't looked back since.
Cristina joined the Towerwood team in July 2017 following graduation from vet school in Romania. Here is Erik with her, again making sure everyone gets lots of kitty cuddles!
Her passion has always been animals from being a young child with her dog by her side all of the time. Her abiding memory was asking her Mum to make more sandwiches for her lunch, as she just couldn't resist feeding all of the street dogs in Romania after school. Following her own dog being poisoned and being only able to watch her fade away in her arms, Cristina made the decision there and then to be a vet and do everything she could to help other animals in distress.
Cristina loves complicated cases and getting stuck into solving problems, these are often the most rewarding for her. Her passion for her work often brings a great sense of fun and calm to the team at Towerwood and she loves the puppy parties and working with a great team of nurses.
Cristina has a keen interest in integrative medicine, and she's recently became a board member of the World Association of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine. She has completed her certificate in Traditional Chinese Veterinary Acupuncture in 2019 and now is working towards her Veterinary Food Therapy Certification.
Job Titles:
- RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Dom graduated from Edinburgh Napier in July 2020 as a registered veterinary nurse. Her favourite part of practice is doing something different everyday and getting to know all the patients.
At home she lives with her Cairn Terrier Archie, Labrador x Dalmatian Benji and Sparky the sassy budgie!
Meet Elaine and Senna! Elaine joined the team in 2015. Elaine is the Client Care Manager for the practice. She ensures that clients are happy with their experience when visiting the practice and has an important role in the day to day running of the administration and finance of the practice.
Elaine has two daughters, Ciara and Roisin. When she is not at work, she is either trying to tire out Senna her springer or relax by doing Yoga.
Eve joined the team in 2019 as part of our valued reception team. She has always had a love for animals, so felt very lucky to get the position where she can meet so many lovely pets and owners every day. She has two dogs at home, Dessie (a lurcher) and Zac (a whippet) and Barney who is a rabbit. It's a strange combination but they all get on surprisingly very well!
In Eve's short time with us, her favourite moment in her job so far has been seeing the cutest new born puppies after a C-Section.
In her spare time she loves to walk the dogs in new places, and finding a good pub for lunch.
Job Titles:
- RVN ISFMCertFN Head Registered Veterinary Nurse
I was in love with animals since I was in kindergarten. But seeing my dog miserable and sick was the worst feeling ever and that's what inspired me to be a vet.
Job Titles:
- RVN Veterinary Nurse
- Veterinary Nurse
Katie joined the team in 2017 as a placement student and has since stayed with the clinical team following qualifying in Autumn 2018.
Katie most enjoys working in the surgical theatre as part of her role at the practice because she has a keen interest in anaesthesia. She also assists Brendan in managing his holistic workload, liaising with clients who need help or require appointments with him.
In her spare time, she enjoys going running. Katie has recently moved into her own place but is not allowed any pets, so she enjoys plenty of cuddles whilst at work. Here our previous practice cat Ronnie is keeping her good company!
Job Titles:
- Deputy Head Registered Veterinary Nurse
- RVN ISFMDipFN Deputy Head Registered Veterinary Nurse
Meet Katie and her gorgeous Cockerpoo Dexter. Her family surprised her with Dexter as her 21st birthday present as she's always wanted a loyal companion of her own. In 2018 Dexter got a new friend in Ozzy, a working spaniel puppy who quickly settled in. At home she has two guinea pigs called Peppa and Layla. Katie qualified in 2013 and loves working in our friendly team, she has recently taken the position of deputy head nurse within the practice. Katie loves to talk about raw food feeding and seeing the benefits this brings to our patients, as well as looking at alternative ways to help treat pets. She loves using the K-Laser to help patients and seeing the improvement a course of treatment can make to that patient's life.
Katie's most memorable moment in practice so far was helping a dog who was giving birth to puppies that were stuck. Following a lot of nursing care everything turned out well and she loves the rewards that nursing these kinds of cases can bring.
In her spare time Katie loves to spend time walking her dogs and socialising with her friends. Katie is also part of the Calverley Chasers flyball team along with fiancé Ben. They have a caravan and love to travel around the country at weekends with their team to play other flyball tournaments. Dexter is quite the flyball aficionado!
Job Titles:
- Brand & Marketing Management
Meet Kristina and her lovely little cat Pud. Pud is a rescue cat that came into Kristina's care during her first job as a student veterinary nurse back in 2000. At the time, as a kitten of only a few days old, Pud needed hand rearing as he was found in a shed in an elderly lady's garden. She thinks his Mum had been locked out from the shed and getting back to him a few days earlier. Pud is now almost 20 years old and going strong! Along with Brendan, they also have Pippa and Arti, a Labrador and a Spaniel who you will see around our website, and another little hand-reared black rescue cat called Spider who was found and brought in to Towerwood in 2015.
Having worked at the practice as a student and qualified veterinary nurse previously, Kristina returned to the practice after a few years in other regional practice work, as a Co-Director and an assistant to her husband Brendan. She has now scaled back to a much smaller role helping with branding, marketing and some financial matters.
Out of work Kristina loves travelling with Brendan and loves the tranquillity and peacefulness of the Lake District. She has also recently rekindled a love for creative pastimes such as sewing, embroidery, and even knitting, and can often be found at home attempting to make a new top or dress, or knitting a new jumper!
Job Titles:
- Team Leader Reception & Admin
Job Titles:
- Registered Veterinary Nurse
- RVN Registered Veterinary Nurse
Meet Nicole, and her little furry friend here is Agnes. Nicole loves to look after and care for our smaller inpatients at the practice.
Nicole joined the team in 2016 as part of her second year as a student veterinary nurse, and has become a fully qualified member of the team in 2017.
Job Titles:
- Registered Veterinary Nurse
Meet Stacey and her spaniel Lottie. Lottie is a working gun dog, who regularly can be found running the fields around Yorkshire. In 2016 Lottie had a litter of puppies, one of whom she kept who is called Roxy. Our head vet Brendan Clarke also has a puppy from Lottie's litter, she's called Arti who you met above!
Stacey is an equine girl. She loves the care and attention required by horses and how much love they give back, and has fun riding through the countryside, but Stacey decided to become a veterinary nurse rather than pursuing an equine career as she loves all animals and caring for them. She has a particular interest in the surgical and in-patient element to her role at the practice and loves working at Towerwood Vets with such a close and caring team of people. She completed a ESVPS small animal certificate in anaesthesia in 2019.
Out of work most of Stacey's time is spent looking after her sons Henry and George, but loves to get out riding from time to time and with her young family can often be found walking the dogs together.
Meet Ronnie's best friend Sue, who is here giving him lots of treats and cuddles when he was the centre of our practice. Sue has Ruby at home who was one of two rescue cats she adopted together. Millie, Ruby's daughter, sadly was ill and didn't recover at the end of 2019, so Ruby is now coming out of her shell a little more.
Sue came across our practice quite by accident when looking for a new job. She joined the practice a fair few years ago now in 2005 and says she wouldn't want to do anything else now. She loves meeting clients and their furry friends, and loves being part of our close team at Towerwood. We wouldn't be without her on reception!
In her spare time Sue loves to go to the theatre and socialise with friends. She loves a good drama series on tv and also loves to read. Previously, Sue was an air hostess with British Airways and says one of her proudest moments was being involved in an emergency landing at Heathrow airport and receiving a letter of commendation from the management team on how the emergency landing was handled.