Meet the Team - Vets

After a short spell helping MAFF in Dumfries with the tragic Foot and Mouth Outbreak, Kevin joined Capontree Vets in 2001.

Initially Kevin was involved in all sectors of the practice, working at Haltwhistle surgery and on the road on farms and stables in the Brampton area.

Kevin comes from a dairy and beef suckler farming background, and has a real passion for cows and productive cattle farming. He opted to study for further qualifications in this area. By 2005 Kevin had been awarded by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons a “Certificate in Cattle Health and Production”. 

Kevin generally can be found out and about doing routine farm work but also gets a lot of enjoyment from doing companion animal emergency work where many will have met him.

In 2006 when Esk Vets in Longtown merged with Capontree Vets, Kevin became a Director of Capontree and has been based at Longtown as Senior Clinician since then.

When not at work Kevin spends time at the family farm back in Lockerbie where he now has a small suckler herd of his own and with his wife and three kids they have recently set up a small calf rearing unit at his smallholding near Longtown. He can be seen there at weekends with his wife, children, calves, ponies, Jack Russell dog, two cats and now 12 sheep as well.

David qualified from Edinburgh University in 1998 having enjoyed 5 years of learning the science of being a vet. He has worked in Scotland, Australia and Northern Ireland and has gained a wide knowledge of farming and farm practices. David is a mixed veterinary surgeon however his main interest lies in farm animals.

David enjoys working closely with farmers trying to improve the health of their animals. He is a firm believer in the team approach to animal health and welfare; with farmer education and development an important role of the modern vet. David is a LANTRA-approved trainer which enables him to gain funding to run workshops and courses on behalf of XL Vets. He also keeps up to date with new information by reading veterinary publications and attending courses.

David enjoys the outdoor life - hill walking, gardening, attempting to keep fit and spending time with his wife, two children and their many pets.

Dan graduated from Bristol University in 2000. After 2 years in mixed practice he joined the PDSA where he worked until 2008.

Prior to joining us at Capontree, Dan worked in the Midlands in the small animal section of a busy mixed practice. He joined us in September 2010 and is one of our dedicated small animal vets, bringing experience in all areas of small animal practice and a particular interest in surgery, especially orthopaedics. Dan has taken this surgical interest to the next professional level available, successfully completing his Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in November 2014; the product of over 300 hours of study! He joined our board of Directors in April 2016. 

Away from work Dan enjoys spending time in the mountains and has developed a keen interest in trail & fell running. In July 2016, 2018, 2022 & 2023 he completed the Lakeland 50, a race around the fells of the Lake District where runners must complete a 50 mile course in less than 24 hours. A glutton for punishment, he will be tackling this course again for the 5th time in July 2024!  

Brian joined Capontree after graduating from Edinburgh in 2012, Brian settled in well, joining a local rugby team, continuing a life long association with the sport. As well as rugby, Brian is a keen and highly skilled sheep shearer – a skill he developed on the family farm, Brian has even won trophies for his shearing at events including the Highland Show.

Brian took a 7-month working holiday (veterinary work and shearing) in New Zealand, where he learnt a huge amount about different approaches to veterinary care. He works in all sectors of the practice though he has a special interest in large animal work. 

Brian became a Director in Capontree in June 2018 and in July 2021 completed his Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice with an emphysis on Sheep Production.

Andy was brought up on the family dairy farm in Ayrshire. He first came to Capontree as a student in 1998, graduating from Glasgow in 2000. He then joined a mixed practice in Dumfriesshire for a couple of years before the travel bug bite him, leading to 2 years working in a variety of locations in the UK and Australia as well as traveling in Africa and south east Asia.

Andy joined Capontree in a very mixed role in 2004 and has over time developed interests in a wide range of topics – from fertility issues to acupuncture and therapeutic laser treatment. Over time his role has moved from a mixed position to a predominantly small animal role.

Andy has an ever expanding collection of pets, which his wife and 4 children try to add to, from time to time!

He is currently working towards a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice with a Small Animal Medicine bias

Mark graduated in from the Dick Vet in Edinburgh in 2010 (with Distinction). He started at Capontree Vets the following month and has been here ever since. Having been brought up near Cockermouth, home and the beautiful Lake District are only about an hour away.

Mainly working at our Longtown branch, he has a truly mixed role, with time split equally between work in the surgery with small animals and time spent out and about treating cows, sheep, horses and goats.

In his spare time he enjoys walking the fells with his 2 border terriers, helping out on the farm at home, watching rugby, and has recently been renovating a house.

Katie was brought up on a farm in the Scottish Borders and graduated from Edinburgh University in July 2008.  She subsequently began her career in mixed practice in Berwickshire and then spent 6 months travelling around New Zealand before returning to the UK to locum up and down the country; from Wiltshire to the Isle of Lewis!

Katie joined Capontree in March 2012. She mainly works out of our Brampton branch and consults at Haltwhistle too. Her main interest is small animal surgery.

In her spare time Katie enjoys cooking, baking and preserving, gardening and walking her Border Terriers Bramble & Thistle. She has also recently started riding again after a long break.

** Fiona is currently on Maternity Leave **

Fiona joined us in March 2017 after a spell in mixed practice in Scotland. She is a local, being well known to most of the farming community and in 2019 she married Stuart, a local farmer.

Fiona works as a mixed vet, seeing both small and large animals, predominantly in Brampton and Haltwhistle. She has taken a keen interest in several health initiatives, including the BVD Stamp it out campaign in England

Katherine joined us in August 2022 after graduating from the University of Liverpool that summer. She has started in a mixed role but has a keen interest in large animal work so will be focusing on this area initially, and is looking forward to getting to know all of our clients and farms.     

Having grown up in the Lake District she loves anything involving hills or water, so outside of work can usually be found running up a fell with her Border Terrier Maisie, or surfing over on the North East coast. 

Natasha graduated in the summer of 2022 from Liverpool. She has joined us on the companion animal team and will be based predominantly at Brampton. 

Charlotte joined us in Summer 2022 in a mixed position. She will be seen at the Brampton surgery and out on the farms. 

Sarah joined our large animal team based from Haltwhistle in Autumn 2023. She has interests in all aspects of livestock health and production. 

Euan qualified in the Summer of 2023 and joined our team shortly after. He will mainly be seen out and about on farms throughout the practice area. 

Matthew was born in Belfast but grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne. He graduated from Glasgow vet school in 2021 and spent two years at a small mixed practice in Angus before joining the team in Autumn 2023.

He works out of our Longtown branch as a 50:50 mixed vet, with a particular interest in emergency/out of hours work for farm and small animals. He is often kept company on calls by his dog, Annie, a Welsh Corgi.

Outside of work, Matthew is a keen football supporter, and regularly spends weekends off driving up to Glasgow to use his season ticket