Karen Pearce BSc BVSc MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon and Partner
Karen graduated from the University of Liverpool Veterinary School in 1990. She worked in the Midlands for two years
before moving to the south coast where she worked in an equine/small animal practice near Southampton for five years.
After looking around for a good small animal practice to move to, she decided the only way to work in the type of
practice she wanted was to set up her own and so Hillside Veterinary Centre was established in 1997. Karen’s
professional interests lie in internal medicine, and in particular cardiology and endocrinology (hearts and hormones).
She is married to Chris Pearce, an equine vet, and they have three sons – Joseph, Elliot and Frederick. They
live in Witchampton, near Wimborne with an assortment of dogs, horses, sheep and cats.
Chris Devlin BVSc MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon and Partner
Chris graduated from the University of Bristol Veterinary School in 1994. His first job was in a mixed practice
in Gillingham, North Dorset, with an emphasis on cattle work.
Following an eight month locum in a small animal hospital practice in Bournemouth, he moved to Wimborne working
again with all species. Increasingly he found his interests lay with companion animals and in May 1999 joined Karen
at Hillside Veterinary Centre, becoming an equal Partner in 2001.
Professionally Chris enjoys working with all species and has a particular interest in rabbit health and medicine
and also ophthalmology. Chris is married to Sam and they have a young son, Barnaby.
Keith
Moore BVSc MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon, Assistant Keith qualified from Bristol University in July 1998. He worked initially in a general mixed practice in Cornwall
for three years where he developed his interest in small animal work.
Keith then worked as a locum for a number of small animal practices in southern England which were interspersed
with periods working overseas for veterinary charities in SE Asia and the South Pacific. Following the return from one such period he undertook the position of assistant veterinary surgeon at Hillside
in May 2004.
He has a general interest in all small animal medicine and surgery and also runs an acupuncture clinic
at the practice. He makes regular appearances on BBC Radio Solent’s morning show discussing pet issues.
Liz Philo BVet Med MSc VN MRCVS.
Veterinary surgeon assistant Liz first qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in a Bournemouth veterinary hospital before becoming a Veterinary Surgeon at the Royal Veterinary College.
She has had a varied career, starting with an internship treating mainly racehorses at the University of Pennsylvania, and including several years at the RSPCA hospital in Putney, where she gained experience in orthopaedic surgery and diagnostic medicine .In 2000 Liz had the opportunity to return to Dorset and ran her own companion animal practice until 2006.
Liz enjoys meeting people and their pets, and providing a holistic approach to disease treatment and health maintenance – looking at nutritional factors, and sometimes medicinal herbs to restore health and vitality.
Liz has worked occasional Saturdays in 2009 but joins the team for regular part-time work from January 2010
Our experienced nursing team is headed up by Helen Murphy RVN (left) who qualified in 1995 and joined Hillside in June 2008 coming from a busy 24-hour clinic in South West London. Helen and partner have recently moved to Dorset looking to enjoy a work/life balance and she believes that preventative health care and client education is the key to a happy healthy pet.
Hillside are an approved veterinary nurse training centre with tier 2 accreditation by the RCVS and Helen who is an NVQ assessor overseas all in-house nurse training alongside Chris Devlin BVSc MRCVS. Helen is also looking to develop Hillside’s nursing clinics and looks forward to meeting as many clients as possible to offer her wealth of experience and knowledge.
Gemma Burden RVN (right) qualified as a registered veterinary nurse in April 2006 having trained at St Mary’s Veterinary Clinic in Ferndown. Gemma joined the Hillside team in May 2008 and lives locally in Corfe Mullen. Her professional interests lie in animal weight management and ‘small furries’ – especially rabbits.
Stacey Wynn (centre right) joined Hillside as a trainee VN in December 2008 having previously worked as a Duty Manager at Farmer Palmers children’s farm/play park. Stacey is looking forward to pursuing her goal to train and qualify as a veterinary nurse.
Louisa Hancock (centre left) became the final member of the nursing team in January 2009 as a trainee VN. Louisa has previously undertaken a certificate in animal care followed by a degree in animal management and behaviour at Kingston Maurward College. She is looking forward to using these skills throughout her training.
Bev Leeson (right) is one of our part-time Receptionists and is the longest serving employee of the practice, having joined Hillside in 2000. Bev is a local girl, married with two grown up children and still lives in the village.
Beccie Jolly (left) joined the practice in 2003 and alongside Bev runs our Reception desk on a part-time basis during the week. Beccie is a local girl and has a teenage son, Sam.
Corrine Farmer is the third member of our friendly Reception team, joining us mid-2006. Corrine efficiently runs our Reception on Saturdays and is married with young twin boys and one other younger son.
Linda Eyres works on a part-time basis in our office, responsible for book keeping and other administration tasks. Linda is married with young twin boys and is a keen horse woman.
Marketing and PR is undertaken by Sam Devlin on a part-time basis. Sam is married to Chris and they live in Broadstone.
