Family owned and run since 1954
Who We Are
There has been a veterinary practice at Heath Lodge since it was started in 1904 by George Elms, when the majority of patients were working horses from the local area.
From the 1950s, Heath Lodge was owned and run by two veterinary surgeons; Arthur Shenton and Tom Dean - until Mr Shenton retired and Tom Dean was joined in 1983 by his son Stephen, who remains Managing Director of Heath Lodge today.
Since 2001 the staff here at Heath Lodge have dedicated themselves solely to the care of companion animals, including cats, dogs, rabbits, and more.
In 2021 Stephen's son Simon joined the team at Heath Lodge, taking over the responsibilities of managing the day-to-day running of the practice.
OUR TEAM
Craig Nicholls
DVM, PhD, MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Craig qualified from the University of Melbourne in 2016 and has worked in both small and large animal practice in Australia and across the UK. An all-round general practice vet, he is especially keen on dentistry and feline medicine. He lives locally with cats Minerva and Gertie, and Norman the Border Terrier.
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Bethany Kirwan
BA, VetMB, MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Bethany qualified from the University of Cambridge in 2022 and has worked as a small animal vet in Hertfordshire ever since. She is interested in all aspects of companion animal care, both medical and surgical. In her free time she enjoys netball, swimming and countryside hikes.
Jennifer Meeson
BVetMed MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Jennifer qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2010 and worked at a number of local practices before joining Heath Lodge in 2021.
She enjoys all aspects of companion animal surgery but has a particular interest in soft tissue surgery and feline medicine.
Jennifer lives in St Albans with her young family and their two rescue cats, Theo and Eleanor.
Jack Welch
BVM&S, MRCVS
Veterinary Surgeon
Jack qualified from the University of Edinburgh in 2022 and, alongside working in small animal practice, has completed an internship in anaesthesia and analgesia.
He has a particular interest in anaesthesia and pain management. Outside of work, Jack enjoys birdwatching and can often be found exploring one of the local nature reserves.
Simon Dean
BAHons
Practice Manager
Simon joined Heath Lodge in 2021, taking over the responsibilities of the day-to-day running of the practice from his father, Stephen.
When he's not at work, Simon keeps himself busy with DIY projects and looking after his cat Martin.
Our Nursing Team
We're incredibly proud of our hard-working, dedicated nurses here at Heath lodge, who have been delivering high quality professional care for our clients and their animals for many years.
Some of our senior nurses have been working with us over 20 years, and we've always been proud to support them through further education and qualifications.
As a training practice, we've also been able to provide nurses in training with a place to hone their skills and learn invaluable experience from our team.
Marnie Goodfellow (Nursing Apprentice) Nadine Gumble DipAVN(Surgical)RVN
Veritie Moran RVN Scarlett Pattenden RVN Kelly Ransome RVN
Travis Shaw (Nursing Apprentice)