A MORPETH small animal practice has a new man at the helm.
Simon Caple, who was worked at Alnorthumbria Veterinary Group’s Belvedere Terrace surgery in Alnwick for the last 11 years, has moved on to head up its facility at Fairmoor.
He has been hugely instrumental in developing the small animal division of the company and the facilities at Alnwick and his addition to the Morpeth surgery will enable it to offer something new.
His extra set of skills, having previously been involved in gamebird work at Hy-Fly Hatchery in Lancashire, will give game farmers, breeders and sporting estates in the area a very specialist service.
Mr Caple said: “Although I am sad to be leaving Alnwick after so many years, I am absolutely delighted to be leaving our clients there with some of the most fantastic veterinary practice facilities in the country.
“I am now looking forward to meeting and working with new clients and the team of highly-skilled vets already based in Morpeth.”
The Fairmoor surgery has a client base of almost 2,000 and a team of 15, including four veterinary surgeons, support staff and veterinary nurses. Alnorthumbria recently opened an equine clinic next to the facility.
The company has also announced that Sara Jackson, who was born and brought up in Morpeth, has joined its staff.
She graduated two years ago from Cambridge University and since then has been working in veterinary practices in the North of England.
The former King Edward VI School student has a particular interest in animal behaviour, gaining a PhD in the study of dog behaviour, notably the behaviour of dogs used for scent-tracking and search and rescue.
She said: “I am really looking forward to moving back to the heart of Northumberland, it will be wonderful to be in a place where I feel most at home.
“I am keen to build on my interests in soft tissue surgery, canine medicine and animal welfare, and I know that working for Alnorthumbria will be the perfect platform to do this.”
Ms Jackson, who has four-year-old Sussex Spaniel called Quinn, will also be continuing her work on the human-animal relationship.