I have now been at my new practice for seven weeks and the time has just flown by, mainly thanks to the fact that I have joined an incredibly friendly team.

I am up and running with a different computer system and finding where everything is in a new set up – it was strange to go from 18 years of knowing exactly where everything was to being the new-girl who had to keep on asking where things were kept. Luckily animals and treatments are the same wherever you are working and, thanks to a great group of people, I already feel really settled and happy.

One of the bonuses of working at Castle vets is that we treat all the animals from Taylor’s Rehoming Centre at Kingston Maurward. I have been a big fan of Taylor’s since the centre was built in 2004 but I forgotten that they rehome more than just cats, they also rehome lots of other small furries, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, mice and hamsters. Hence, in the last two days, I have castrated more guinea pigs than I probably did in the preceding five years at my old job. Neutering all these animals means that they can be safely rehomed with a companion without the risk of unwanted pregnancies.

Taylor’s is currently closed for visitors and rehoming due to the pandemic but they are looking to safely re-open again soon, so please do think of them if you are looking to get a guinea pig, rabbit, hamster, mouse or (indeed) cat. They are a great rescue centre and we are lucky to have them so close.