Dunfermline and Dalgety Bay

Emma-Jane graduated from Glasgow Veterinary School in 2003. She has worked in small animal practice since joining the original Ryan and Calder practice as a new graduate. Emma-Jane has a particular interest in surgery, having passed her GP certificate in small animal surgery (GPCertSAS) in 2009. She mainly enjoys soft tissue surgery, often taking internal referrals from her colleagues for more complicated cases. She will also perform some orthopaedic procedures. At home, Emma-Jane is kept busy with the hectic daily life that comes with having a young family.

Mhairi originates from Glasgow and studied at Glasgow and Edinburgh universities. She has grown up with a pet tortoise Terry and enjoys spending time with her partner’s Lurcher-cross, Clyde. She has a particular interest in surgery and working with wildlife. In her spare time, Mhairi can usually be found on or near the rugby pitch, or playing music in a ceilidh band.

Rachel graduated from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in 2011. She spent the next nine years in Kent, England in small animal practice and emergency medicine before returning home to Scotland and joining Albavet in 2019. She has a special interest in surgery, both soft tissue and orthopaedics, and holds a Certificate in Small Animal Surgery. At home, she has two naughty cats called Feivel and Willow and three native ponies. Rachel is a keen costume maker, and plays competitive Roller Derby.

Originally from Aberdeen, Louise graduated from Glasgow Veterinary School in 2006 and, after a few years in mixed practice, decided to head off travelling to Asia. Louise settled in rural Thailand for two years at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre where she worked with elephants, primates, big cats and street dogs. She returned from the jungle and joined Albavet in 2014 where she has developed interests in medicine and dermatology. At home she has a wee ginger rescue tiger called Oliver.

Jane qualified from Glasgow University Veterinary School in 1983 and spent her early career in small animal practice. In 1992 she completed a PhD in antibiotic resistance at Liverpool University which lead to roles as a veterinary investigation officer then senior lecturer in veterinary bacteriology. From 1999 to 2001 Jane worked in general practice before setting up as a full time acupuncturist. In 2006 she was awarded the British Medical Acupuncture Society Diploma and in 2012 a post-graduate certificate from the University of Hertfordshire both in Western medical acupuncture.

Nicole started training as a student veterinary nurse with Telford college in 2009 and had placement with Albavet though out her three years of study. She qualified in 2012 where she was taken on as a full time registered veterinary nurse at our Dunfermline practice. Nicole is Head Veterinary Nurse in Dunfermline and very much enjoys her role leading the excellent nursing staff we have. Nicole has two children and a pug called Bertie. Nicole enjoys keeping fit by running and training at the gym.

Jess moved to the Stirling area in 2007 after living in a tiny village in the North of Scotland for the majority of her life. After deciding to follow her dream to become a vet nurse, in March 2013 she qualified from Edinburgh's Telford College with a level three diploma in veterinary nursing. Jess started working at our practice in May 2018 and has a passion for emergency and medical nursing, which is she currently studying towards a certificate in. She also has a keen interest in small furries and exotics. Jess lives with her fiancé, two rescue guinea pigs and her beautiful but crazy rescue Jack Russell, Skye, who loves walkies and cuddles from everyone she meets.

Stephanie is a registered veterinary nurse and has been with Albavet Dunfermline since she was at school - starting with work placements, then worked in the cattery at weekends, and as a student nurse. She qualified as veterinary nurse in 2011 and began working here full time. Her main interests are oncology and dental nursing. At home she has two Labradors and a cat of her own, which she spoils and loves a lot. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with friends and family and walking her beloved Labradors.

Shannon joined us as our Saturday receptionist as well as a student veterinary nurse at Edinburgh Napier University. She qualified in the summer of 2019 and helps out on reception every Saturday. She's been with us since her first placement and has a keen interest in emergency and medical nursing. Shannon is also a bit of a crazy cat lady, sharing her home with three cats, Kitty, Kitkat and Dizzee. In her free time, Shannon plays football and trains at the gym.

Nikki joined Albavet Kirkcaldy as a weekend receptionist in January 2017. She returned to the veterinary profession in 2014 after a long break to have children and run her photography business. Prior to that, she was head nurse at a large practice in Fife after qualifying in 2000. In October 2017 Nikki became a RVN again, and in February 2018, she transferred to Dunfermline as a part-time veterinary nurse. Nikki is Dunfermline’s resident ‘Cat Advocate’ and crazy cat lady; over the past year she has helped Dunfermline become a ‘Cat Friendly Clinic’, and she passed her year long Certificate in Feline Nursing. Now she is studying at Edinburgh Napier University to top up to BSc(Hons) in Veterinary Nursing level. When she has time to do something other than work or study, Nikki watches the Fife Flyers ice hockey team with her husband and two sons, the oldest of whom also plays for one of the junior hockey teams.

Ciara had always known she’d wanted to become a veterinary nurse, so once she finished school she completed two years at college where she qualified as a veterinary nurse with a diploma. In 2016, Ciara completed an additional top-up degree in veterinary nursing, qualifying in June 2018. Ciara started her first vet nursing job at Albavet in Dunfermline in May 2018. She enjoys all aspects of nursing as every day is different, but has a particular interest in dentistry, especially nurse led dental clinics, oral hygiene and home care. She would eventually like to gain a qualification as a veterinary dental technician and be able to run nurse dental consultations at Albavet. In her spare time, Ciara likes to go for walks up Arthur’s Seat, especially when the weather is nice. She also enjoys going home to Ireland to see her family and friends, and more importantly, her Golden Labrador, Cairo.

Rachael qualified in July 2016 from Edinburgh Napier University. Since then she has worked in small animal practices in Edinburgh and Fife. She is owned by Romanian rescue dog called Rosa and two ferrets, Linus and Lily.

Angela is a registered veterinary nurse with over twenty years of experience in the industry. She enjoys nursing a patient back to health and seeing a happy owner. Angela has a certificate in dog behaviour, which she needs to use on her own dog, Wallace. Outside of work she is generally busy with her two toddlers and parrot.

Kerry first came to the practice during her pre veterinary nursing course at Edinburgh’s Telford College on a Thursday and Friday. She came to work for us full time in April 2004, going on to complete her veterinary nurse training and qualifying as a registered veterinary nurse. She has an interest in wound management and has gained further qualifications in this area. at home she has a cat named Kat.

Yvonne first came to Albavet Dunfermline as a school student aged 14, gaining work experience and helping out with our old cattery on Saturdays. Two days after she left school she came to work with us. Yvonne qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2000 and works in the theatre with the surgical patients. She also has a keen interest in animal behaviour. At home Yvonne is kept busy by her young German Shorthaired Pointer called Rhum, her elderly old man Angus who is also a German Shorthaired Pointer and Thomas, the tabby cat.

Frankie has been employed by Albavet in Dunfermline as a student veterinary nurse since November 2017. She will be starting the level three diploma at Oatridge College in the beginning of September 2018 and is really looking forward to getting started! Frankie is a massive fan of football and played a lot when she was younger. She loves taking her dogs, Ruby and Poppy, for walks in her spare time.

Taylor is one of our student veterinary nurses at our Dunfermline practice. She has worked at Albavet since 2015 as a receptionist but was promoted to a student veterinary nurse in 2019. Alongside her receptionist job, Taylor studied animal care at Elmwood College and volunteered at a hedgehog hospital. Taylor has a rescued Jack Russell called Jess as well as three guinea pigs called Harris, Rum and Eigg. She has a great love and passion for animals and is very excited to be studying veterinary nursing at Oatridge College and is enjoying her practical placements at Albavet.

Claire has worked in our Dunfermline practice since 1991. She is a qualified animal nursing assistant and AMTRA SQP after completing her training at Elmwood college in Cupar. Being an SQP means that she is an animal medicines adviser and can dispense medicines for the veterinary surgeons and also administer flea and worming treatment. Claire lives with her husband and son in Dalgety Bay and loves walking in her spare time.

Trudy started working for Joe and Aileen Ryan (the previous owners of our practice in Dunfermline) in September of 1986, before qualifying as a veterinary nurse in 1992. She has enjoyed many years of working in the practice and have seen lots of interesting cases over the years. At home, Trudy is a dog mum to a young Whippet and even younger Boxer, a couple of Guinea pigs and some tropical fish. In her spare time Trudy enjoys horse riding and walking with her partner and her dogs.

Sammy is an animal care assistant at Albavet in Dunfermline. She has worked with us since December 2017, and you can usually find her in the dispensary or buzzing about in her maroon scrubs. If she is not in the dispensary, Sammy is usually through the back assisting with surgical procedures and caring for in patients. Sammy hopes that this job role will help her to progress her career further in the veterinary industry. When she is not at work, she enjoys going on adventures with her handsome lemon Beagle called Benji and spending time with her family.

Melanie has worked at Albavet since 1993 in a variety of roles, but now mainly deals with processing the insurance claims and providing reception cover. At home she has a tortoise, Simon, who is in his 20's and a German Shepherd called Kev. Melanie is also the practice pet bereavement counsellor.

Patricia started work at our Dunfermline practice in 1985 and qualified as a veterinary nurse in 1991. Since then she has moved around the country, working at a dog rehoming centre and at the University of Edinburgh Veterinary School as well as in other small animal practices. After returning to our Dunfermline practice, Patricia mentored student veterinary nurses and gained her certificate in nursing exotic species. She is now the practice administrator.

Jackie has been with the practice since July 2018. She works at Dalgety Bay three days a week as a receptionist and at Dunfemline two days a week as an Animal Care Assistant. Before coming to us she worked in the veterinary profession as an animal care assistant for 14 years. Jackie has also been a wildlife nursing assistant with the SSPCA and enjoyed hand-rearing orphaned animals such as foxes, squirrels, seals and hoglets. This work also involved nursing all types of wildlife until they were ready for release.

When not working Jackie loves walking her four dogs, Ellie and Mitzi the Jack Russell's, Susie the Labrador and Mila the Chihuahua.

Heather was born and raised in Harrow, London before moving to Glasgow for university to study politics in 2014. She then moved across to Fife in 2019 and joined the practice in early 2020. She has a boisterous rabbit, Trotsky, who likes to chase after the cat, Bobby. When she’s not working Heather likes to bake at home and cuddle up on the sofa with the cat.

Julia is originally from Harrow, London where she worked as a receptionist in a vets for 17 years before making the decision to ‘escape to the country’ with her family and relocate to Fife. Julia lives with her husband and their youngest son in Crossford. They share their home with their Lurcher, Sherbert, and their two cats, Hamish and Bobby. Julia enjoys walking, going to the theatre and painting in her spare time.

Helaina has worked at Albavet since December 2008 after completing her HNC in animal care at Elmwood college. She has since gone on to qualify as an animal health adviser in 2013. Helaina lives in Dunfermline with her husband Ross, her two cats Salem and Shadow and her dog Dexter, who is rather well known in the Dalgety Bay community.

Megan was born in London and began horse riding at the age of six, owning many horses whilst living there, before moving to Fife when she was 12. She studied equine and animal care at Elmwood College and hopes to study veterinary nursing in the future. Megan has two dogs, Luna who is a German Shepherd and Harley who is a Black Labrador. Away from work she likes to spend time with her young son, Hunter, watching him grow up and spending time as a family watching her husband play ice hockey.