Veterinary surgeons

Clinical Director

Helen studied at Edinburgh University and qualified in 1980. Helen is our clinical director and manager of our hospital surgery at Halifax. She has a particular interest in cardiology and animals with heart disease may be referred to see Helen at the hospital.

Sasha graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2016 and joined West Mount soon after. She enjoys all aspects of small animal practice, but has particular interests in emergency medicine and pain management. Sasha is originally from North Yorkshire where she can quite often be found walking with her dogs and spending time with her family and friends. Currently she has two dogs, Dylan and Layla, and a cat named Inka. She also enjoys travelling, particularly to cities with lots of history.

Claire joined West Mount Vets after graduating from the University of Glasgow in 2017. She enjoys all aspects of small animal medicine and surgery, and loves working within our team! In her spare time, Claire enjoys catching up with friends and family, going out for meals and participating in outdoor activities. Claire is also a keen traveller, and spent two months in 2017 exploring South East Asia. Having recently moved to the area, she looks forward to discovering what Yorkshire has to offer!

Lisa qualified from Edinburgh in 1989 and initially worked in mixed practices around the UK, looking after farm animals as well as pets. She has settled in West Yorkshire with Keith, her pilot husband, and their two children who have both flown the nest for university. The family pet is a black Labrador called Ginny. Away from work Lisa has taught students animal management at Kirklees College passing on her knowledge and experience of animal health and welfare. She also enjoys taking the country air with Ginny and helping as “Tawny Owl” at a local Brownie pack. Lisa has worked for us since 2004, mainly at our Paddock branch. She enjoys working with her colleagues and meeting all our clients and their animals.

Celeste joined us in March 2015 after previously working in a mixed practice and a dental referral. She has special interest in soft tissue surgery and dentals. Celeste grew up in Argentina surrounded by various animals on her family farm in Patagonia. Her love for animals encouraged her to become a vet. Celeste met her better half while working in New Zealand and decided to settle in the UK in 2007. In her spare time she enjoys walking in the countryside with her family and black Labrador, Luna.

Caroline graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London in 1995 and joined the practice in 1999 – working part-time. She mainly works at the West Vale branch with her husband Chris and also does occasional surgeries at all our other branches. Together they have four flatcoated retrievers that she successfully competes with in various gundog events. Caroline’s hobbies include gundog training, showing and walking – in 2016 she completed the Coast to Coast long distance trail. Caroline also organises events for the Northern England Flatcoated Retriever Association.

Chris joined the practice after graduating from London’s Royal Veterinary College in 1995. Since moving to the area Chris and his wife Caroline have settled near Ripponden with their four flatcoated retrievers. Chris is our branch manager at our surgery in West Vale and enjoys knee surgery and radiology. When not at work he and Caroline enjoy the Pennine countryside and working with their dogs – and what better way to combine the two than to walk the Pennine Way, an ambition fulfilled in 2000. Other walks completed more recently include the Cumbria Way, Wainwright’s Coast-to-Coast walk and even the Inca Trail, in Peru.

Will joined us immediately after graduating in 2015 from the Royal Veterinary College in London. His interests within the practice involve microscopy and ultrasound and he hopes to develop these skills in the future with specialising. Outside of work Will enjoys fencing and bike riding around the valleys of Yorkshire.

Lizanne is originally from Edinburgh and qualified from Edinburgh University. She has worked in West Yorkshire for more years than she cares to remember. She and her husband Richard have two daughters, one of whom is a vet working mainly in farm practice and the other is training as a diagnostic radiographer (with human patients rather than animals). Lizanne enjoys spending time honing her map reading and navigational skills as pillion on Richard’s motorbike, touring in both UK and the continent. Lizanne works mostly at the Paddock surgery.

Hilary graduated from Glasgow and is very experienced in small animal medicine. Hilary lives locally in Huddersfield but may be seen at any of our five branches as she provides help at busy times or when colleagues are away.

Vicky, a regular vet at the Todmorden surgery, started with us in February 2006. She originally comes from Cheshire and qualified from Cambridge University in 2004. Since then she worked in a mixed (farm and companion animal) practice in Preston for a year before taking a six-month sabbatical travelling around South East Asia. She is very enthusiastic about working in small animal practice and especially enjoys surgery and feline medicine. Vicky lives in Hebden Bridge with her husband and two small children. She enjoys outdoor pursuits such as walking, trips away in her caravan, live music and gardening.