What is your role at Mayhew and how long have you been part of the team?

I work in the Community Vet Clinic as a Student Veterinary Nurse, and will be starting my course in January. I’ve had a few different roles with Mayhew over the past four years, though – I started volunteering at the vet clinic in October 2016 and a year later I took up a position as a student Veterinary Care Assistant (VCA).

After I qualified in November 2018, I took a job as a maternity cover in the clinic reception for a year, before going to be a VCA in a veterinary hospital. Soon afterwards I was thrilled to be offered the position of student Nurse back in the clinic at Mayhew. Even though the clinic had to close in the first lockdown, I was still able to cover as an Animal Care Assistant during the night shift.

Tell us about what a typical day at Mayhew might look like for you.

My working day starts with preparing for the day’s surgeries and procedures by making sure the equipment and tables in our prep room are set and the operation board is up and running. I then assist the vet team throughout the day. Another big part of the job is checking on our animals that are staying at Mayhew, which is one of my favourite tasks as I get to know them really well. Another side of my role is working in the clinic reception along with our star receptionist Kathy, manning the phones and managing the clinic diary.

What is your favourite thing about Mayhew?

I think it’s a combination of things – the fact that we work not only with animals but also with the community is something that has always impressed me. Every single one of us comes to work with the same mindset, to give our very best to help the animals in our care.

Do you have any pets? Tell us a little about them!

My family – in Portugal, where I’m from – has two lovely cats, Kim and Juliet, who are eight years old, and our dog Thor who is almost 14 years old. Late last year we also expanded the family with my brother’s dog Missy who I have only met so far via video call. Luckily my flat mate here in the UK has a cat too, so I still get some of that feline love fix.

Currently I’m…

• Reading: Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez, and Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
• Watching: His Dark Materials series 2. From December onwards it will be Christmas movies every day – Die Hard is top of the list!
• Listening to: The Podcrawl podcast, and I’m also trying to catch up with the Empire Magazine film podcast, as well as podcasts about and from LGBTQ+ communities and Black history.
• Cooking: The downside of lockdown was that I became very keen on takeaways, but I’m now reverting back to cooiking more wholesome meals and making it all as plant-based as I can!
• Obsessed with: Movies, and catching up with the ones I have missed; Knives Out, Us and Call Me By Your Name are top of the list.