Vets and Staff

Companion Animal Vets

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  Guy Bolger

  BVSc, MRCVS, GP Cert SAP graduated Liverpool 1985

  Director

  Guy Bolger leads our Companion Animal Department. Having worked in mixed practice since 1985, Guy now focuses exclusively on small animal work, with special interest in all areas of small animal medicine and surgery. He holds the General Practitioner Certificate in Small Animal Practice.

  Guy is committed to providing the very best first opinion veterinary service to the pets and pet owners of our wide local area, from our surgeries in Settle and Bentham. This includes our own on-call out of hours emergency service to all our registered clients.

  Married with two children, Guy lives in Selside, with dogs, cats, hens and Ryeland sheep. In his spare time he enjoys fell walking, garden-making, music, and when time allows, the odd game of tennis and golf.

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  Karen Swindlehurst

  BVMS, MRCVS graduated Glasgow 1991

  Associate

  Karen graduated from Glasgow in 1991 and has returned to work at Dalehead Veterinary Group, having worked here previously between 1994 and 2004.

  Karen is an experienced farm vet with special interest in herd and flock planning, health schemes and herd and flock disease monitoring. She also has a strong background in companion animal work with a keen interest in the surgical aspects of the role. 

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  Hollie Mackenzie

  BVSc, MRCVS graduated Bristol 2016

  Hollie joined the practice in November 2020 having relocated from a busy mixed practice in Derbyshire where she worked after graduating from Bristol in 2016. She has a keen interest in all aspets of veterinary work, particularly small animal surgery.

  Outside of work Hollie is kept busy by her Labrador and two naughty cats!

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  Megan Pearson

  BVMSci, fCMgr, MRCVS graduated Surrey 2021

  Megan graduated from the University of Surrey in 2021. She has a keen interest in all areas of small animal practice, particularly surgery.
  Outside of work, Megan enjoys fine food, good company and spending time in the countryside with the dogs.

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  Marcus Bennett

  BVetMed, Cert AVP, MRCVS

  Marcus graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2014. Following several years in general practice he joined a pharmaceutical company as their veterinary advisor. Marcus has decided to return to clinical practice as he missed dealing with patients and their owners.

  Outside of work Marcus spends most of his time looking after his daughter, 2 dogs and coaching CrossFit. 

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  Peter O'Hagan

  BVMS, Cert AVP (GSAS), MRCVS

  Pete comes from Ayrshire and qualified from Glasgow University in 2001. He then spent his first few years working in mixed practice and a busy small animal PDSA charity hospital before settling down in the Ribble Valley with his wife, three boys and a small Border Terrier.

  Pete gained a certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2012 and a Diploma in Business Management in 2023.  Prior to joining Dalehead Pete worked in small animal practice with an additional role on the Clinical Board of a large veterinary group and has strong interest in Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine.

  Outside of work Pete is a music enthusiast and also loves getting out in the countryside for dog walks or bike rides whenever possible.

Companion Animal Nurses

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  Katherine McNamee

  RVN, Head Nurse

  Katherine joined Dalehead in 2000 as a trainee nurse and after completing her training with us has risen to the role of Head Nurse. Her cheerful persona, friendly nature and enthusiasm for all things to do with veterinary nursing make her the perfect candidate for the job. Kat's main interest lies in the consultation and nurse clinic areas, building a good rapport with the clients and their animals, she also processes the companion animal insurance claims.

  Kat is a keen horsewoman and spends a good deal of her free time eventing when she not out with her labrador, Bramble.

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  Tracy Thurstan

  RVN

  Joined us as a full time qualified nurse in 2001 but after starting a family she now works three full days per week. Tracy enjoys the surgical aspect of veterinary nursing and studying behavioural problems in companion animals. She has a whole host of animals at home ranging from her dog Tally pictured here to two tortoises, Tommy and Tallulah. In her spare time, Tracy enjoys camping with her family and friends.

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  Natalie Pattinson

  RVN, CertVNECC

  Natalie joined the practice in 2017 after training and qualifying in Cumbria where she is originally from. Her main interests are theatre and medical nursing, and in July 2020 she completed a Certificate in Emergency and Critical Care Veterinary Nursing. Natalie has two cats; Edith and Squash, and a Border Collie, Floss.

  In her spare time, if not watching Formula 1 (of which she is an avid fan!), she enjoys reading and helping on her partner's sheep farm.

   

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  Glenys Sedgwick

  RVN, R-SQP

  Glenys is originally from Hawes but spent many years in the Penrith area where she did her nurse training in a mixed rural practice. She continued to work at this practice for a number of years before marrying and moving to Burton-in-Lonsdale to be with her husband who farms in this area.

  In her spare time Glen enjoys hill walking with her dog,spending time on the farm and generally being outdoors.

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  Lizzy Taylor

  Veterinary Nursing Assistant

  Lizzy has a strong background in animal care and is passionate about animal welfare. 

  In her spare time, Lizzy enjoys tending her small flock of Texel sheep, horse riding, walking with her dogs and caring for the various family pets.

Companion Animal Support

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  Alison Younger

  Companion Animal Co-Ordinator

  Having previously worked at the practice, Ally returned to Dalehead in 2017 and is thrilled to rejoin the team as Companion Animal Co-ordinator. 

  Ally is a real people person and is especially looking forward to meeting all of the clients as well as their lovely pets. She has an extensive background in management, customer service and companion animal nutrition.
  Born and bred in the Dales and coming from a sheep hill farming family, Ally feels like she is coming home. Queen of hobbies, outside work she enjoys dance, music, reading, sewing, walking, swimming and is passionate about all things 'foodie', loving to cook. She loves spending time with her family and friends and has an adorable house rabbit Charlie.

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  Elaine Kirkbride

  Companion Animal Administrator, C-SQP

  Elaine is a local girl and has lived in the area all of her life. She joined the practice in 2016 coming from an extensive background in customer service roles. She quickly made herself indispensable in the dispensary and currently manages the companion animal stock ordering as well as many other administrative duties such as co-ordinating the Dalehead Healthy Pet Club and processing insurance claims.
  In her spare time she enjoys travelling, yoga, zumba, and reading. 

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  Lucy Dean

  Farm and Companion Animal Administrator

  Lucy joined the Practice in 2019 initially as an Auxilliary Nursing Assistant. She is now an indispensable member of both the farm and companion animal administration teams, working on front desk at both our Settle and Bentham surgeries.

  Lucy grew up locally on her parent's farm and has a keen interest in all aspects of farming life. When not helping out on the family farm, Lucy enjoys walking her Border Collie dogs. 

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  Harriet Robinson

  Companion Animal Administrator, C-SQP

  Harriet joined the practice in 2021 and comes from an extensive background in customer relations in the hotel sector. She grew up locally on a farm and has been working with animals from a young age so making the move to join our reception team seemed like an ideal opportunity to combine her love for animals with her client communication skills.

  In her spare time Harriet enjoys going to the gym and exercising.

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  Richard Jackson

  Companion Animal Administrator

  Rick joined the practice in June 2019 and is primarily responsible for running the Bentham branch surgery. He has lived in the area for 17 years in Low Bentham with his family and three dogs and two cats.

  In his spare time Rick enjoys reading non-fiction and playing the electric guitar in local bands.

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  Sarah-Jane Haggas

  Companion Animal Administrator

  Sarah-Jane joined the practice in 2024 and comes from a farming background. Having gained transferrable skills whilst working in the horseracing industry, Sarah-Jane aims to expand her administration and customer service skills through working at Dalehead.

  Outside of work, Sarah-Jane spends the majority of her time exercising her horse, and helping on the family farm.