Vet School

The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies or “Dick Vet” is a leading training centre and hospital for the treatment of all kinds of animals; domestic, wild and agricultural. The institute is renowned for its innovative and groundbreaking procedure and techniques.

The five, hour-long episodes let STV viewers see the behind the scenes drama of a working vet school and experience the difficulties that vets, students and owners face when a beloved animal needs serious help.

The series follows a number of vets at the school and documents how far these professionals go on a day to day basis to do all they can for the animals under their care.

In episode one Brodie the cat is brought in to the Dick School in desperate need of surgery for a tumour on his heart. Marley the snake visits the exotics department in preparation for his vital operation. Pooch the dog refuses to take things easy on his recently broken leg and Red the horse has a mystery illness that is threatening his life.

Dr Dylan Clements is a senior lecturer in small animal orthopaedics at the University of Edinburgh's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. He specialises in animals such as cats and dogs with broken bones or orthopaedic problems.

Dr Clements has a rather nippy encounter with Pooch the dog. Pooch is a Papillion who has been brought in by his owners after having trouble with his broken leg, its not healing. This Is a common problem for dogs who after a broken bone make the injury worse by not staying still enough for the bone to heal.

However, Pooch does not like Dr Clements handling his painful leg and tries to bite him. This is all part of the job for the nimble fingered vet, who deftly muzzles poor Pooch so he can have a look at his fracture.

Dr Clements said: “The facilities that we have for treating dogs and cats now are extraordinary and we’re not very far behind the human field we can do hip replacements, elbow replacements, knee replacements in dogs. We can put pacemakers in, there is a tremendous variability in what we can do now for dogs and cats.

The show will feature a number of specialists at the school documenting the lengths they go to daily to help animals and their owners.

Dr Nicki Reed works as a lecturer in Companion Animal Medicine at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies where she teaches students and her main interests are working with cats.

Dr Nick Bommer works for the Dick Vet Small Animal Practice, which is the ordinary vet practice within the vet school. The practice offers consultations to animals owned by the general public.

Dr John Keen is a senior lecturer in equine medicine at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinarian studies in Edinburgh. He has spent eighteen months in mixed practice and before that three years working in equine practice in Lambourn, Berkshire.

Dr Kevin Eatwell has been teaching clinical techniques to students at Edinburgh's Dick Vet School and handling reptile cases at the School's Hospital for Small Animals over the last eighteen months. He deals with the more exotic species including snakes, reptiles and birds.

Dr Brigitte Reusch is the first lecturer in Europe to focus on rabbit medicine and surgery. She feels fortunate to be able to study her chosen field at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and greatly enjoys her work.

Dr Clements hopes Vet School will “show the dedication the owners put in and the vets put in as that as the other staff and students of course, who are some of the best students in Britain, put in to treat these cases.”