Guy Gordon - The Highland Vet: A Year at Thurso

Guy Gordon (Author)

Guy Gordon is a veterinary surgeon based in Thurso, Scotland. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1993 and worked in Fife and Perthshire before moving to Thurso in 1997. Guy and his team of vets, nurses and administrative staff are the stars of the popular Channel 5 show The Highland Vet.

Remembering my dad, Mike Gordon (19462020).

He would have loved this book.

As a child in primary school, I had an idea that I wanted to be a vet when I grew up. I loved animals and thought it would be an obvious and simple transition to become one. I embarked upon my training early when, one day, I found a tiny bird alone on the ground. With no visible sign of its parents or nest, I decided to look after the wee orphan myself. I filled a small box with cotton wool and placed it on a hot water bottle. This was to be its new home. I attempted to give it some sustenance with the aid of an eye-drop dispenser containing a variety of foodstuffs I thought might be suitable; bread soaked in warm milk and mushed-up worms. Yuck.

I would like to say that my ministrations proved successful and that the chick thrived and was eventually released successfully back into the wild. But, despite my parents and my best efforts, the little creature didnt survive. The experience taught me a few things, not least that there was a lot more to this vet business than I had imagined and that perhaps my vocation lay elsewhere.

Another childhood memory I have involving animals had a much more positive outcome. One afternoon, after school, my brother discovered his pet mouse, Sammy, lying comatose in his cage and breathing very weakly. There was much wailing and weeping from us three children until the cavalry arrived in the shape of my father, home from work. He put Sammy in a blanket-lined shoebox and the trusty eye-drop dispenser was pressed into service once again. This time around, it contained a tot of whisky. We carefully placed Sammy and his box beside the fire. By the time we had finished our tea and gone back to check on him, he was scampering all over the living room as if nothing untoward had ever happened. We had Sammy for a good long while after that, thanks to Dad and a wee drop of the good stuff.

In more recent times, my family and I became the proud owners of a dog, my first one ever. And not just any dog. Carlos the lurcher was a prince among hounds, the fastest in any park. We found him at Battersea Dogs Home and what a find he was. The care Carlos was given when he ruptured his cruciate ligament (as a result of running, of course) was exceptional, and made me all the more in awe of veterinary practices. Sadly, Carlos is no longer with us these days, but he lives on in our hearts.

In summary, I have a lot of respect for the vital work that vets do. And so, when I was first asked to narrate the Highland Vet television show, I naturally jumped at the chance. It was a wonderful opportunity to combine my love of both animals and the beautiful Scottish Highlands. I started work on the show just before the first lockdown in March 2020 and like everyone, I had to adapt to changing times fast. With the help of my husband Kevin, I was able to set up a studio at home, and the Highland Vet recording sessions aided by my soundman became a bright spot in what was otherwise a rather gloomy time.

The dedication of Guy and his team was inspiring to see. Working in all weathers across thousands of miles from the most northerly mainland veterinary practice in the UK, the stories of puppies, seals and the like being restored to health were heartwarming and uplifting. Like many people who have seen the show, I feel as if I know the Thurso vets very well. I recognise and admire their passion, skill and commitment to their work. The show was honoured with a Royal Television Society Award in 2021, which proves that many others too have fallen in love with this gem of a series.

Further fascinating insights to what the life of a Highland vet involves can be gleaned from the following pages, which reveal the challenges that these exceptional people face from day to day, working with the animals of the homes, farms and wild areas of northern Scotland. It has been my joy and honour to be involved with The Highland Vet, and I very much hope you will enjoy reading the book.

Phyllis Logan

Its Monday morning in D. S. McGregor & Partners Thurso surgery and Im preparing for an unusually demanding day ahead. Vet Rebecca is assessing the four animals that spent the night and will then put on her scrubs to join me in the operating room. Elsewhere, vet Fiona is wrestling with a full diary of routine appointments in our consulting area, and vet Ken is on his way to the local Veterinary Investigation Laboratory, where several post-mortem examinations await him. Out on large-animal calls, vet William is adding to his considerable career tally of horn and testicle removals, and vets Bridget, Pietro, Eilidh and David are about to spread themselves right across the farms and fields of Caithness and north Sutherland, assuming the varying roles of surgeon, podiatrist, dentist, medic or midwife as each situation dictates.

Its a typically manic start to the week in our Scottish Highlands practice.

Luckily, we havent had any emergencies to squeeze into our already full 9am time slot, but the walk-ins and I need an answer now type phone calls have been simply relentless, tying up all our receptionists time and trickling down a constant feed of questions and concerns to todays in-house vets.

Gregor from last week says his dog is still limping, Rebecca.

Fiona, Marjory wants to know if Tiddles the rabbit had a good night last night.

Guy, the man from yesterday is back with his greyhound again, says shes still not right. Any chance you can take a look?

Its all a far cry from the practice I joined in the late 1990s. Back then, about this time of day, one of the senior partners, a stalwart of the profession, would be brusquely instructing us with words to the effect of Get surgery wrapped up by midday and get out on the farms to do some proper vetting.

These days we can scarcely make our way through the long list of routine pet appointments without fielding a thousand other ancillary pet questions, let alone think about completing the surgical list before lunch and freeing up all the vets for work in the often all-too-fresh Caithness air.

The truth is, the animal-keeping habits of people have changed profoundly in the 24 years since I first started work up here in Thurso. There are quite simply a lot more pets, and pet owners today are a lot more clued-up as to what vets can do for them. As a result, people are much more willing to go the extra mile for the health and well-being of the animal they care for, and, for so many more people today, their pets are on equal footing with the human members of their family.

We, too, strive to provide the best care for the treasured companions presented to us, and so these manic mornings are here to stay. We accept the interruptions and the tasks shoehorned into our schedules as part of working life; but if theres one time when staff know they should find someone else to answer their queries, its probably when Im deeply engrossed inside someones pet with my surgical tools.