ONE of Scotland’s oldest veterinary practices has joined UK veterinary group, VetPartners.
Tay Valley Vets and Equine Centre in Perth, which has been treating small animals and horses throughout Perthshire since 1896, joins 14 other Scottish veterinary practice to be part of VetPartners.
Practice owners Harvey Carruthers, left, and Jamie Gartside will remain at the practice as clinical directors, along with their team of established vets and veterinary nurses.
The practice, which operates from a single site in Whitefriars Crescent, is one of the best known and respected in Scotland. Three years ago, it was named 2017 Tayside Small Business of the Year in the Courier Business Awards.
Tay Valley Vets and Equine Centre became the first practice in Scotland to achieve Gold Standard cat-friendly clinic status through the International Society of Feline Medicine, and is also renowned for its care of rabbits after receiving accreditation as a rabbit-friendly clinic from the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund.
The practice provides a comprehensive ambulatory equine service and also has equine facilities for diagnostic work and procedures.
More than 130 of the UK’s most respected and trusted small animal, equine, farm and mixed veterinary practices are part of VetPartners, with 5,514 employees working across more than 450 sites and from its headquarters in York.
Jamie Gartside, right, said: “Tay Valley Vets has been providing a top-class service to the animal owners of Perth for many years and we are delighted to be joining VetPartners.
“Although there will be no major changes to the service we provide, we feel the values and ambitions of VetPartners align perfectly with how we want to see our practice develop over the next few years. We see this as a positive move for ourselves and our valued clients, who will still be able to see familiar faces at the practice when they bring your pet or horse.
“For the equine side, it is very exciting as it means we are joining a group that includes Clyde Vet Group in Scotland and prestigious UK equine hospitals like Liphook and Rainbow in England.”
VetPartners CEO Jo Malone said: “We are delighted to welcome Tay Valley Vets and Equine Centre to our family of practices as they are a highly respected practice.
“Their decision to join VetPartners shows we are committed to attracting some of the best veterinary businesses across all species, both in the UK and Europe.
“We are committed to growing our mixed, farm and equine groups, which will bring benefits of scale, local support for our teams and access to a wide range of excellent specialist services.”
VetPartners, which is one of the UK’s major veterinary groups, also has five practices in Italy, and diversified to include Biobest laboratory in Penicuik, along with a small animal veterinary nursing school, an equine nursing school, research dairy and locum agency.
For media enquiries, please contact Amanda Little, VetPartners Senior PR and Communications Manager, on 07970 198 492 or email amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk