What makes Lucas Vets different?
Pet care excellence
From the earliest days when the practice was run in the garage of Sue Lucas’s house in Longwell Green, we have cared about the people who bring their pets to us as well as for those pets.
We recognise the very important role that animals have in many people’s lives, and so decisions about their health and welfare are much more than just technical or financial ones about this or that method of treatment.
We aim to spend the time to get to know you properly so that we can trust each other. We want you to trust us to give the best treatment and advice, and we want to trust you to have your pet’s best interests and happiness at heart.
Vets and nurses work closely together at our practice. This means you will often spend quite a bit of time with a nurse, talking about all the non-medical things that make an enormous difference to the quality of a pet’s life and the success of any treatment.
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The team
Meet the vets...
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Sue Lucas: Senior Partner
Sue qualified in 1977 and still enjoys veterinary work as much now as she did then! She has two children (neither of them vets) and has a reputation for knowing how to recycle everything from bottle tops (all sorts) to bras!
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Joe Tristram: Senior Partner
Joe has a very vetty life. As a child he had every animal his parents would tolerate! He decided to be a vet at the age of ten, is married to another vet, and thoroughly loves his work!
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Julie Boxall: Veterinary Surgeon (Part-Time)
Julie qualified from Bristol Veterinary School in 1985, and has been a core member of our practice since 1992. She is really keen on all things feline, and runs our ‘Cat Clinics.’ She also loves anything complicated, such as cardiology, neurology and oncology!
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Joanna Aplin: Veterinary Surgeon (Part-Time)
Jo qualified from Bristol Veterinary School the year that Julie Boxall started her training and has worked with Sue Lucas since 1988. She is the one we turn to for all the up-to-date information on new drugs, and she makes the best Victoria sponge we’ve ever tasted.
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Marjorie Polden: Veterinary Surgeon (Part-Time)
Marjorie holds a Certificate in Veterinary Dermatology, and as well as doing first opinion work with us, she sees dermatology referrals (for animals with skin disease). She can identify things down a microscope that the rest of us struggle to even see… Outside work she runs sewing clinics, so we all ask her to make our curtains and alter our clothes!
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Heidi Burkinshaw: Veterinary Surgeon (Part-Time)
Heidi came to work for us in January 2009, and immediately fitted in so well that it feels like she’s been with us for years. She is a highly skilled and experienced surgeon, and loves nothing more than the challenge of a complicated operation. She is known as our ‘Flapjack Queen’ – when she brings in a home-made batch, they can disappear in about five minutes!
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Debbie Glasse: Veterinary Surgeon (Part-Time)
Debbie also joined us in 2009, after a maternity break. She’s proved herself so useful that we keep asking her to work more and more hours! She’s got so much energy and enthusiasm for her work that our clients love seeing her with their pets.
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And our team of nurses…
Cherie May: Senior Nurse
Originally from Cardiff, Cherie came over the bridge to Bristol at the age of seventeen to follow a veterinary nursing career. When first working with us back then she would often say something like “ruddwyn weddy bllyno lan!” (Welsh for “am I tired!”) but now as a full-time working Mum she has boundless energy, keeping the people side of the practice in order.
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Tracey Dean: Senior Nurse
Tracey started work at Lucas Vets straight from school in 1996, and has worked her way up to Head Surgical Nurse. In her spare time she has two Burmilla cats which are quite a handful! She is also the choreographer for KLOGS, a local operatic group.
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Danielle Russell: Senior Nurse
Danni joined Lucas Vets in 2004, and qualified in 2007. She is our other knowledgeable rabbit enthusiast nurse. She recently became an assessor for our trainee veterinary nurses as well. She has a six-year old Dalmation cross who we all affectionately know as ‘Moo’!
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Olivia Richardson: Qualified Veterinary Nurse
Olivia gained her degree in Veterinary Nursing in 2006 and joined the practice straight away. She is our ‘blood pressure queen’ and has an interest in physiotherapy and rehabilitation. As an enthusiastic ferret keeper, she’s also the person we all ask about ferrets!
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Rachel Chilcott: Qualified Veterinary Nurse
Rachel also graduated from Langford and came to work for us in 2006. She is ‘bonkers about bunnies’ (in the nicest possible way) and runs our Rabbit Education evenings and Healthy Hopper clinics. She has two rabbits at home, including a wild rabbit which she hand-reared from a week old.
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Samantha Gillams: Qualified Veterinary Nurse
Sam started work with us in 2007. She is an agility enthusiast, and spends most weekends travelling to competitions with her highly trained dogs. She also has ferrets (although they don’t do agility competitions!)
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Stephanie Filer: Qualified Veterinary Nurse
Steph was originally one of our trainee nurses, who did fantastically well and passed her exams in 2009. Outside work a lot of her time is taken up by her guinea pigs, and she is also a shoe-aholic!
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Lisa Tolfree: Qualified Veterinary Nurse
Lisa works part-time with us (and is badly missed on the days she’s not around!) Outside of work, she enjoys horses and riding, and spending time with her family.
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Sue McDonald: Qualified Veterinary Nurse
Sue has a long history of veterinary nursing, although she is one of the newest members of our team, having joined us in September 2009. She has achieved the Certificate in Applied Animal Behaviour from Southampton University, and runs behaviour clinics to deal with all the problems our pets might encounter.
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And we couldn’t do it without the support staff…
Julie White: Practice Manager
Julie rules the office, keeps us all in line, and makes sure we all get paid! She says that she comes to work for some sanity, to get some peace from her mad family life at home (looking after three sons, two cats, a dog and a husband!)
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Janice Walsh: Office Administrator
Janice trained and qualified as a Veterinary Nurse with us, but in 2008 decided to leave nursing behind and head upstairs for what she thought would be a quieter life - little did she know….! She makes us abide by Health and Safety Regulations, as well as dealing with about a tonne of paperwork every week!
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Allison Street: Head Receptionist
Ali will often be the first person to welcome you when you come into reception. We rely on her to know all the intricacies of our Lucas Practice Plan (client membership scheme). She has an interesting collection of pets at home, including a Jack Russell, a tortoise,a budgie, and pond fish!
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Joanna Pearson: Receptionist
Jo has been working as a receptionist here since 2003 and is renowned for being totally unflappable, even with a queue of clients at the desk and the phones ringing off the hook! She is a fan of both Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Persians, and in total has a menagerie of thirteen animals at home.
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Brenda McLeod
Brenda is our Green-Fingered Gardener, who makes our lawns, beds and pots look so beautiful each year. Thanks to her dedication and talent, we’ve won first prize in the “Bitton & Oldland Common In Bloom” competition for the last two years.
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And our in-house artist!
Alex Lucas
As you may guess from her surname, the practice has been part of Alex’s life from the day she was born! We’re sure you will agree that the fantastic and amazing pictures on this site show just how skilful and talented she is. Visit her website www.lucas-antics.com to see more information, and to find out about getting a commissioned illustration of your pet!.
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Facilities
When you visit the practice, the first thing you will notice is our large car park, behind which is a paddock that we use for exercising dogs, and for training classes. On entering the building you will be greeted by our friendly staff behind reception, and you can take a comfortable seat in our large waiting room, or browse the shelves of our pet shop for toys, treats, or food items.
We have three well-equipped consulting rooms which the vets use, as well as a dedicated nurse consulting room. Behind the scenes, our two operating theatres and hospitalisation facilities (with a separate isolation ward) have met the rigorous standards necessary for us to be an Accredited Small Animal Practice under the Practice Standards Scheme. We have advanced anaesthesia systems, a practice laboratory, as well as a modern X-Ray machine, ultrasound, and two video-endoscopes.
We also have a Practice Ambulance, which means we are more than happy to collect you and your pet for appointments at the surgery, to deliver food or prescription items, or even do home visits if necessary.
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Services
As well as the standard appointments that we offer if your pet is poorly, or needs a vaccination, we provide an enormous range of other services that you might not know about.
Free Health Checks for New Animals
If you’ve just got yourself a new pet, whether it’s a kitten, an older dog from a rescue centre, or even a guinea pig, bring them in to meet us! We can give them a health check and talk about the best ways for you to look after them – and if they’re healthy then there’s no charge for the consultation!
Cat-Friendly Surgery
We have times during the week where we dedicate the practice to our feline friends, specifically aimed to make trips to the vets less terrifying for nervous cats. During these surgeries we ban dogs from reception (in the nicest possible way!) to give a calmer, quieter environment for our anxious patients.
Rabbit-Friendly Surgery
This is something we’ve just started experimenting with, for the same reasons as the cat-friendly surgery above.
Dedicated Nurse Clinics
Our team of highly experienced qualified Veterinary Nurses run a wide selection of clinics, including:
- Weight clinics
- Arthritis clinics
- Cat kidney clinics
- Diabetes clinics
- Senior pet clinics
- Behaviour clinics
- Healthy Hopper clinics
- Bereavement counselling
After-Hours Events
We run a variety of events in the evenings and at weekends, for example:
- Puppy Parties
- Cat Tastic Classes
- Rabbit Education evenings
- Fear of Fireworks talks
- First Aid classes
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Prices
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Initial consultation fee:
(Subsequent consultations
are often charged at a lower rate)
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£33.18
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Repeat medication fee:
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£16.57
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Bitch Spay from: (depending on size)
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£174.68 - £276.59
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Dog castrate:
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£148.04
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Cat castrate:
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£45.32
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Cat spay:
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£66.36
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Cat booster vaccination from:
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£28.20 - £42.00
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Dog booster vaccination from:
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£28.20 - £33.60
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Identichip:
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£24.25
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Puppy package including vaccinations, microchipping, worming and flea treatment:
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£75
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Kitten package including vaccinations, microchipping, worming and flea treatment:
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£75
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Join our Practice Membership Scheme to get substantial discounts!
Spread the payments and reduce the cost of your pet care now!
Our aim is to provide the best possible health care for your pets, in a pleasant and friendly environment. We are committed to keeping abreast of the latest developments in modern veterinary practice and providing high quality treatment. To help pet owners keep their animals fit and healthy, and to spread the cost of routine treatments, we have designed our own practice membership scheme – the Lucas Practice Plan.
Find out how cost effective the Practice Plan is.
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