VETS are celebrating four decades of caring for animals in Warwickshire.
Avonvale Veterinary Centres was established by veterinary surgeon Anita White and head veterinary nurse Sarah Coton in Cape Road in Warwick in 1984.
As demand grew, it moved to its current modern hospital in Broxell Close in 2000 and has continued to expand its facilities and services.
The Warwick Animal Hospital is open 24/7, and Avonvale now has six other clinics in Southam, Kenilworth, Wellesbourne, Stratford, Cubbington and Heathcote.
Reflecting on the last four decades, Anita said: “I think the main differences 40 years ago were twofold. Firstly, you were forbidden from advertising. So when we opened the Warwick surgery, all we were allowed was one small advert for one week in the local newspaper.
“Secondly, there were so few women in the profession at that stage. Whilst my graduating year of 1980 from Bristol was 50/50 men and women, in the Midlands there were only a handful of women.
“It didn’t worry me as this is what I had come to expect and I regarded the ‘don’t send a woman’ comments as a challenge to prove I could do as good a job.
“Warwick is a lovely community and I have really enjoyed being part of that community over the last 40 years, now treating the pets of grandchildren of some of my first clients.”
Avonvale clinical director Simon Davies added: “When the practice first opened in Cape Road, there was a single consulting room and small theatre, and the X-ray dark room was a small shed in the garden!
“Over the years, new technologies and developments have seen the surgery grow to become a leading centre of clinical quality and a busy 24-hour hospital for the region with more than 30 dedicated team members.
“Throughout the years, Avonvale has held true to its core values of combining local friendly service with quality clinical care for pets.
“It’s a wonderful milestone for the practice, and it was fantastic celebrating it with so many of the team from the original clinic all those years ago.”
Among its many milestones over the years, Avonvale became one of the first general practice vets in the country to offer a full diagnostic service in 2018, with video-endoscopy, ultrasound and the installation of a £250,000 CT scanner.
