Companion collection - Interviews

 Mark Lowrie was born in Liverpool and grew up in the Cheshire village of Frodsham. He attended the local High School where he remembers playing the title character in the school production of ‘Oliver’. That was a one-off event, he recalls, noting that the role had been played a few years earlier, with presumably far more success by a certain Daniel Craig. Realizing that even at local level, competition for a career on stage would be tough, he took his mother’s advice and opted for one in veterinary medicine. A good choice by the man who was named PetPlan Vet of the Year 2022.

Chris Laurence is a member of that select band of people who have been made honorary life members of the BSAVA. He is known to the profession as the former chief vet of two of the main animal welfare charities. But he is also noted for his contributions to various other charitable bodies, within the ranks of the British Army as a distinguished and long serving officer in the Signals Corps, and for the residents of Tytherton, Wiltshire, as the main driving force behind the campaign to build a new village hall. John Bonner wondered where he gets the energy.

  ‘Care killed the cat’ is the original formulation of that familiar expression about the dangers of what can happen to our feline friends if they give free rein to their natural inquisitiveness. In this case, the word ‘care’ actually meant ‘worry’ rather than ‘tenderness’ but the staff and supporters of the charity International Cat Care would strongly disagree with either interpretation of the phrase. John Bonner reports on the people devoting care, consideration and more than a little curiosity to improving the lives of cats across the globe.

 Eric Isselée is a Belgian photographer who has made a career out of ignoring WC Field’s injunction to ‘never work with children or animals’. He developed his distinctive style through taking pictures of toddlers at nurseries and has used the same techniques in capturing images of up to 1700 different animal species. His work with companion animals has regularly graced the cover of BSAVA Companion.

  Hill farmer and veterinarian Keith Powell believes that bracken is a blight on the beautiful landscape around his home in the Brecon Beacons. So he has led a project intended to replace that toxic and invasive weed with woodland, providing aesthetic, environmental and economic benefits for the local community. John Bonner reports…

  This month, Fergus Allerton, who took on the editorship of Companion in September last year, speaks to John Bonner about his future plans for Companion.

 Ditte Vasby and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen veterinary school won one of this year’s BSAVA clinical abstract awards. Ditte spoke to Companion about the group’s research into determining the accuracy of VacciCheck for distemper, parvovirus and infectious hepatitis.

  Wanting to help yourself and your colleagues to improve clinical skills will always be the main reason why people are prepared to give up their time to serve as a BSAVA volunteer. But there are plenty of other talents that the Association’s members can develop after they become involved in setting up and running one of its major CPD events, according to Tom Reilly, the new Chair of the BSAVA Congress Committee.

  Greyhound racing may not have the high public profile that it enjoyed in Britain years ago but, as a vehicle for off-course gambling, it still attracts a large international television audience. Olivia Cook is one of the vets working to assure punters that the races are fair and the dogs are well cared for.