Introducing Our Practice Team
Dr Richard Hillam
Director and Veterinary Surgeon
BVSc PhD CertVR GPCertSAS MRCVS
Richard qualified from Liverpool in 1989. Initially he was employed in traditional mixed practice until he moved to the Bristol Vet School where he worked for six years. During this time he was awarded a PhD in orthopaedics and obtained the RCVS certification in radiology. He joined Arvonia Vets in 2001. In 2014 he passed the European certification exam in small animal surgery.
His interests are radiology, ultrasonography, ophthalmology, orthopaedic and general surgery. He has a rescue cat, a number of fish and a border terrier called Poppy.
Dr Darran Jennings
Director
BVSc MRCVS
Darran recently joined Arvonia as a director. He graduated from the University of Liverpool with Richard in 1989. Although Richard and Darran have not worked together until recently, they have been friends throughout university and their careers. Darran says "it's great to be part of such a lovely independent practice such as Arvonia . Working with excellent caring colleagues, including my long term friend, and now colleague, Richard is extremely rewarding"
Dr Miriam Duncanson
Veterinary Surgeon
MRCVS
Miriam graduated from the University of Zaragoza in Spain in 2017. Her Scottish connections have contributed to bringing her to the UK. She has a keen interest in feline medicine and diagnostic imaging. In her spare time she enjoys cooking and going for walks with husband and children.
Dr Emma Toms
Veterinary Surgeon
MRCVS
Emma qualified from the Royal Veterinary College London in 2019. Her main interests are in small animal medicine and CT. Emma knows our CT scanner inside and out! Her focus is further raising the standard of medical care of pets entrusted to our practice.
Dr Jake Fisk
Veterinary Surgeon
MRCVS
Jake enjoys working across both the Churchdown and the Reddings sites. His interests are in both Medicine and Surgery with a bias towards surgery. Jake grew up locally and qualified from University of Bristol in 2022.
Karen Rolfe
Practice Manager
Karen has many years working in the dental industry before moving to the veterinary world. She is committed to client care, making Arvonia run smoothly and to it being a great place to work.
Susie Anderson
Senior Receptionist at The Reddings
Lisa Counsell
Registered Veterinary Nurse and Head nurse
RVN
Along with huge amounts of energy Lisa brings many years experience to the Arvonia team.
Michael Leachman
Registered Veterinary Nurse
RVN, RCVS Clinical Coach
Mike is a highly experienced nurse having worked accross many practices in the UK. His extensive experience includes emergency and critical care, referrals, diabetes counselling and training student nurses.
Zoe Hale
Trainee Veterinary Nurse
Zoe has a love for all animals and really enjoys caring for patients at the practice. She loves all aspects of her job and finds it very rewarding helping animals. In her spare time, she likes to go on walks in the Forest of Dean with her lurcher called Lenny and spending time in the garden with her rescue chickens, Fifi and Posey.
Olivia Woodman
Trainee Veterinary Nurse
Olivia has many years experience working in veterinary practice with a wide skillset. She is a valuable team member at Arvonia and is just starting her RVN training.
Avery Warner
Student Veterinary Nurse
Avery is with us for a year whilst training to become a Registered Veterinary Nurse
Andrea Geddes
Senior Receptionist at Churchdown
Andrea joined the team in October 2021 after working in a bank for 22 years! She has a rescue dog from Bosnia called Blue & enjoys gardening during her time off
Nina Preest
Receptionist
Nina enjoys working with the clients of Arvonia at both the Reddings and Churchdown sites.
Lucy Bain
Receptionist
Lucy joined us in 2022. She loves to cook & bake and regularly treats the team. She loves to spend time on the coast going for walks with her husband. She has two old Jack Rusell’s called Sydney & Percy and would love to give a good home to a rescue dog in the future!
Melanie Houghton
Receptionist
Melanie has 15 years of experience caring for animals in a rescue, home-care and wildlife hospital setting. They love helping our animal clients at Arvonia and their families too! In their spare time they run a wildlife gardening community, provide wildlife casualty rescue support and organise conservation events such as tree planting.
Poppy The Dog
Collector of cuddles
Poppy regularly visits the practice to ensure things are running smoothly and to ensure adequate attention is given to her!
Tony Nevin
Osteopath
DO BSc (Hons)
Tony specialises in treating both people and animals suffering from physical conditions and he operates a weekly clinic at Arvonia Vets for small animals needing osteopathic treatment.
Over the years Tony has pioneered the use of osteopathy on numerous species of animals, birds and reptiles. This has included everything from treating British wildlife casualties at UK rescue centres to caring for elephants and ostriches in the wilds of Africa. Tony currently works at zoos and collections in the UK and overseas, as well as at several veterinary clinics.
Vets from all over the country refer pets to Arvonia Vets to receive osteopathic treatment from Tony.
Tony is also a founder of the Society of Osteopaths in Animal Practice (SOAP), and is on the teaching faculty for postgraduate studies for osteopaths in animal practice.
