Watkins & Tasker Veterinary Group

Happy Fri-YAY! Enjoy the weekend and shout out to those working all weekend like our emergency out of hours team!

Photo of the week from the best hairstyle we have seen all week. Meet Bear! Can you guess his breed?
#somuchamazinghair

Today we said goodbye to one of our amazing RVN’s Michelle. Her leaving gifts typified everything she loves...Labradors, coffee and Oreo’s! 🐕 ☕️ 🍪
Michelle, who also breeds and competes gun dogs says a sad goodbye to many Yatton pets as she leaves us to further her career in canine behaviour and teaching gundogs.
We wish you all the best in your new adventure Michelle......and look forward to your vet visits to us with a Labrador or 10 for coffee and Oreo cheesecake!
... #sadgoodbye #veterinarynursing
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May is Veterinary Nursing awareness month! Throughout this month we will be showing off the amazing and varied work our nursing teams carry out and the care they give to your pets 24/7.
Did you know that every pet that undergoes an anaesthetic or sedation procedure with us will be cared for pre-operatively by our nurses. This includes carrying out blood samples, placing intravenous catheters, preparing and administering medications and ensuing your pet is fully ready for t...heir procedure or operation.
RVN’s Shell and Larissa placing an iv in fluffy Freya the golden retriever before her surgery.
#VNawarenessmonth
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Welcome to our new Pet of the Month for May! Dora the little mud monster was very popular in our collection of photos showing your pets enjoying the sunshine! Congratulations Dora!

Dora the mud monster at the beach....she ran after some birds and ended up in the mucky sinking sand 🤣😂🙈 #Doratheexplorer

So many happy Pets enjoying the sunshine! You can vote for your favourites by ‘liking’ their photo in this album. The winner will be announced 1st May and be our next Pet of the Month!
#photocompetition #funinthesun

Chloe’s latest consultation was a success!
101 reasons why our team are the best to work with!

**Update - We have power and are now open but arranged appointments will continue at Portishead **
Along with many other business on Nailsea High Street, our Nailsea Practice is without power this morning due to the high winds.
The phones have been diverted and we are rearranging as many appointments as possible to Portishead. We are really sorry for any inconvenience and would also like to say a big thank you to the Saturday teams for handling this unexpected situation!

It was not just Easter Eggs that were found hiding on Easter Sunday! Mortimer the 25 year old tortoise was brought into our Yatton branch after the bank holiday weekend having been found by a kind member of the public.
Thankfully Mortimer was microchipped so we were able to contact his owners. He had gone missing back in August 2018 and had managed to travel a mile from his home. It appears he had survived the winter months by digging down into the earth and hibernating un...til the weather warmed up again!
What a clever tortoise and thank goodness again for microchips resulting in a happy ending! 🐢
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So the sunny weekend has ended! Thank you to our Oncall Vets and Nurses for working hard 24/7 to care for your pets.
We’d love to see photos of your pets enjoying the sunshine for our monthly photo competition. The ginger cat crew were certainly making the most of it!
#sunshineandfun #photocompetition

Listen to our Head Vet Nurse Sarah tomorrow on BBC Radio Bristol Breakfast Show with Emma Britton as she talks about why winning Petplan UK Vet Nurse of the Year means so much to her (and us). Keep your ears tuned in between 6.30-9.00am!

Enjoy the long weekend, you can send us photos of your pets enjoying the sunshine for our monthly photo competition!

The gorgeous Dogue de Bordeaux ‘Bomber’ feeling sleepy today. Don’t worry Bomber the long weekend is very nearly here! ☀️

The cutest baby chicks were gifted to our Nailsea team yesterday as a thank you for caring for Honey the rabbit 🐰
Honey’s owner knits these little chicks to help support the charity Cots for Tots. We loved the chocolate filled chicks thank you!

Welcome to Woody our Pet of the Month for April!
Woody is a 14 week old Labrador who has been registered with us since he was 8 weeks old. He joined us for two Puppy Academy classes and is now out walking in the big wide world.
Here’s what Woody’s owners had to say........ “We’ve always been with Watkins and Tasker for all our animals so there was no consideration of going to any other vets. Our last dog Jake was looked after brilliantly (as were we!) especially when the end came by Mario and the nurses.
Woody is a Tasmanian Devil! He’s a bundle of joy and very sharp teeth! He’s brightened up our lives again after losing Jake, but we might have forgotten quite how sharp puppy teeth are!
His fave toys are his squeaky green ball and his lickimatt. But he likes playing with everything he can get his paws on. He also likes to try and stand in the dishwasher!” #Petofthemonth #bestbabyphoto.
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Our very own Vet Nurse of the Year 2019!
Last night Head Veterinary Nurse Sarah attended the Petplan UK veterinary awards ceremony, dubbed the Veterinary Oscars and she was a WINNER!
Sarah said “I could not do it without my Watkins and Tasker family behind me every step of the way”... Thank you to everyone who nominated Sarah and to all the wonderful pets she has ever cared for. This is a once in a lifetime award!
https://youtu.be/mIEvVzicEtQ

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She did it!! 🌟 We’ve been waiting up all night to hear the results of Petplan UK’s Veterinary Awards.
Head Veterinary Nurse Sarah only went and won ‘Vet Nurse of the Year 2019!’
... We know she does an amazing job day in and day out and are so very proud that this has been recognised with this prestigious award. Well done Sarah Super Nurse!
#Winner #VetOscars #Awards
More updates to follow once she has recovered from a late night!
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This week we let Dr Bob take charge while the team enjoyed an evening of team building Go-Karting! We couldn’t do this job without teamwork and the support of our amazing colleagues so it’s great to take a break together every once in a while!
#dreamteam #3rdforSteve

What a fantastic caring staff team at both Nailsea and Portishead. Cristina was really supportive and thoughtful as she explored all avenues to diagnose and treat our our lovely dog, Kira. Sadly we made the heart wrenching decision to end her life and as a family were allocated a room where we shared her final hours together. It was a very difficult time but we can't thank everyone enough for being there to help us.

Love from the Davie family

We went for a second opinion at Watkins & tasker after our previous vets had done a leg operation that had gone wrong ,Steve the vet was very professional at showing us a way forward with Frankie the French bulldog ,so we decided to change vets with them ,so she had hydrotherapy which the team are amazing to regain the strength in the leg as she could not be operated on as not strong enough as she could not put the leg down , in the end we went for operation sooner as no improvement because putting more weight on other leg,they did an amazing operation now with in month she can now walk ,so lovely to see still a bit of hydrotherapy and physio to go but nearly back to normal all thanks to all at Watkins & tasker ,Thankyou so much very great full James and Jessica .

We are veterinary cardiologists researching heart disease in Birman cats and came to the Portishead branch to perform heart scans on 6 Birmans. The staff could not have been more friendly or helpful. The set-up is fantastic and one of the most cat-friendly practices I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Thank you all for an exceptional experience.

Watkins and Tasker ,although further away from my home were there when my lovely dog Cazzie was ill. She had arthritis in her back legs but with their help and medication, she was able to get about and enjoy life. Unfortunately, she was too quick turning around one day, and ran into a concrete bollard. She damaged her head and after a few days, her behaviour changed and she became very confused and fearful and after a very distres sing weekend she had to be put to sleep.

The vet at Portishead was amazing, very kind and considerate, not just for Caz but for me also. I shall miss her, she was my constant companion. And if I decide to get another dog, Watkins and Tasker will be my first choice of Vet.

Thank you.

Thank you to the team at Watkins for such a caring and fantastic job in saving Max our 10 year black cat after a tricky operation to repair a perforated diaphragm following RTA and a fortnight of convalescence and cuddles at home he has bounce back better than ever cheeky and adorable! Thank you again!

Thank you so much to the team at Yatton for looking after my (initially!) fearful puppy, Ginny. Michelle does an outstanding job with her knowledge in animal behaviour and she has helped Ginny become confident and relaxed at the vets. Ginny has made a favourite friend in her and now I can't get her to leave! Vets Fiona and Andy have been fantastic also! I highly recommend taking your pet to this practice to be looked after.

Thank you so much to everyone at the Nailsea branch for looking after our little Bessy. From start to finish, you have been so helpful, caring and attentive. We are so grateful for all your hard work in getting Bessy back to full health. 100% recommend Watkins & Tasker!

Ms Rolly dachshund a few months ago lost the use of her back legs. She had an immediate emergency appointment, was referred to Langford Veterinary Hosp. next day, the following day had an operation. The staff at Watkins & Tasker have on all the occasions Rolly been there have always been kind, helpful and a pleasure to deal with.

Rolly says thankyou very much for looking after her.x

I highly recommend Watkins and Taskers. Steve and all the staff are fantastic. My dog Roxi always has the a warm welcome and the best treatment., I wouldn't take her anywhere else. Also Penny is amazing, she is lovely and goes out of her way to help with any claims I need to make. Thank you to all of you for the fantastic job you all do!

I have used Watkins & Tasker for many years and always found the service and the care offered to my pets to be outstanding. The compassion and sensitivity of staff from both Yatton & Nailsea branches after loosing my dog in tragic circumstances will stay with me always. I will never consider going anywhere else. I cannot recommend Watkins & Tasker and there amazing team enough.

I have always found the team wonderful. They are kind and understanding as well as efficient which is what you need when your much loved pet is poorly. They are good with both pet and human care. It makes a massive difference. And insurance lady Penny is a breath of fresh air and makes it less hard. Every practice needs a Penny. Tia is so well now. Thank you

I have a small cocker spaniel who became a teenager last year.

He first met Steve Tasker when he was about 12 months old as an emergency case following a play fight where he hurt his eye.

Over the years, he has received excellent service from the team following lots of small routine operations such as removal of fatty lumps and teeth cleaning.

More recently he had undergone a big operation to widen his outer ear to allow more air to flow to his inner ear and avoid inflammation/discomfort.

We are now post surgery and he has made a full recovery. I would like to extend my full thanks to Liz Watkins for the undertaking the operation, and Steve Tasker for the follow up care. The vets and nurses kept me fully informed as to his condition whilst he enjoyed his stay overnight in Portishead.

I would recommend them 100%.

Regards Nicola (and Hamish)

I cannot recommend the team at Watkin & Tasker Portishead. I know my cats are in the best possible hands when I leave them there, the staff are lovely and friendly and cannot do enough to help. I would never take my cats anywhere else

I Use Watkins and tasker for my 3 dogs, and also my ducks. One of my ducks had an accident recently and broke off her beak, all of the vets were so helpful and also the other staff there were fantastic too. So much help, and advice and glad to say my duck is now on the way to recovering. Highly recommended

Excellent .....Very big thank you to Steve who has repaired both our Cairn Terrier Rossi's Cruciate ligaments. Not only has he received fantastic surgery and care from the nursing staff his recovery from both surgeries which were within six months of each other, has been remarkable and he has been up and walking on all 4 legs within 2 weeks both times !!! Thank you to you all or your ongoing support and care, cannot rate you highly enough xx

Can't express how utterly wonderful all of the staff are at W&T. The front desk team really take time to get to know you and your pets - and this really makes a difference when there are traumatic times to deal with. Thanks to the amazing surgery performed on site by Mr Tasker and the entire support team post operation, Billly, our then 4 month old kitten, has still got 4 legs (yay!) - now at just over 6 months, he is happily playing with his brother Teddy. Ourselves, Bill and Ted were looked after by everyone with so much care, consideration and dedication. Would highly recommend :)

A very big thank you to the team at nailsea practice. A big thank you to all the vets, Mario, Andy, Mark and especially Steve who went above and beyond to try and save my beautiful shar pei barney. All the nurses were absolutely brilliant and caring. They all kept us updated on the situation and were very flexible with our visiting hours as we were 1.5 hours drive away. With Steve very knowledgable about the breed it put our mind at ease knowing barney was in the best place! It comes with a very heavy heart to say that our beautiful pup didn't make it, but the vets and nurses did everything possible to ensure barney was comfortable at all times. Would definitely recommend. Especially if you have a pei I would go and see Steve! Thanks again guys, you were all compassionate and caring in such a sad and heartbreaking situation.

A massive thank you to all the team for looking after my missing cat and returning him to me after nearly a year missing! It just proves to show how important it is to microchip your pets! Thank you!