Meet The Team

 The Veterinary Surgeons

 Chris  Jones BVSc GP Cert  MRCVS  (Director)

Chris joined Drake Vets in  2011.  He qualified  in 1999 and has been practising on his home turf in West Devon for the last 18 years.  He completed his GP certificate in Ophthalmology in 2010 and has a particular interest in medical and surgical eye conditions, especially those of the cornea.  Chris also has a keen interest in soft tissue and bone surgery including fracture repairs and cruciate rupture repair techniques.

Chris is a Director of Drake Vets with Karen

Catherine Jones PG Cert (SAS) MRCVS   (Clinical Director)

Catherine joined us in 2021 and is a very experienced vet who has been working for the past 20 years at the PDSA and other local practices.  She is very keen on soft tissue and bone surgery especially complicated fracture management and so this will improve our local services to our clients.

Catherine has a PG certificate in small animal surgery and so is capable of dealing with more advanced surgical cases (bone and soft tissue)  than most.  Catherine has dealt with  many complicated cases over the years (spinal fractures, shunt surgery, complicated fractures etc) and we are excited to have her here to improve our surgical ability.

Catherine was brought up in the area and like Chris has stayed put, they like nothing more than being on the moor in their spare time with their children and dogs.  Catherine is also a keen member of Dartmoor search and rescue as well as the search and rescue dogs association (SARDA) in which she has trained 3 search dogs and about to start with a 4th.

Katie Score MRCVS

Katie  joined us in January 2018, she was working in a busy Plymouth practice for the previous 4 years before joining us at Drake Vets.  Katie has a strong interest in all aspects of dentistry and general practice.  Katie is back from maternity leave and is available 3 days a week.

Emma Noyce MRCVS

Emma joined us in 2021 and is a good all rounder.  Emma graduated in 2021 and is developing her surgical skills but is particularly interested in medicine.

Andrew Ketteridge MRCVS

Andrew joined us in 2023.  He is an experienced vet who graduated in 2004

Andrew is a general GP vet like us all but he has a keen interest in soft tissue surgery and is very experienced in Laparoscopic surgery (‘Key Hole Surgery’).  Laparoscopic ovariectomies for dogs will be offered by the practice when he has settled in.  Key hole surgery also has many other indications and will become another area that we can offer our clients.

Ellie Needham-Bailey MRCVS

Ellie will be joining us in mid April 2023 and is an experienced vet with an interest in ophthalmology (eyes) and will be starting on her ophthalmology certificate.  Ellie is also a GP vet with good all round experience.

Jasmine Jupp MRCVS

Jas joined us in March 2024 and is settling in well. She has a particular interest in surgery and oncology especially chemotherapy which she is developing within the practice.

The Nursing and Admin Team

Karen Tyrrell (Director)

Karen joined the practice in  1994.  She is our Practice Manager and  Company Director, with responsibility for all aspects of accounts, administration and the daily running of the practice as well as nursing.  Karen has a variety of different pets including chickens, ducks and rabbits.  Away from work Karen’s time is spent with her family and her 2 young children.

Kate Wearing

Kate joined the practice in 1996 and is our main receptionist.  Kate is also responsible for our orders, stock, and the reminders for vaccinations and worming.  She spends her spare time with her husband and young son, and walking the family dogs.

Tracy Beech

Tracy joined the practice 1994 and is involved in animal and nursing care, reception and responsible for all the pet insurance claims.  In her free time she is involved in wildlife rehabilitation and dog re-homing.  Tracy has rescued numerous pets over the years and currently has 13 canine friends.

Laura  Maunder RVN

Laura joined Drake Vets in 2011 and has qualified as a veterinary nurse during her time at Drake Vets (and Duchy college).  She enjoys all aspects of veterinary nursing, having a particular interest in inpatient care, theatre and laboratory work. In her spare time she enjoys walking her Red Setter Ruby and looking after her six call ducks.

Su Williams RVN

Su has been with us many years and is a clinical coach responsible for teaching the student nurses alongside Kirsty.  She has a particular interest in wound management.

 Kelly  Beacham  RVN

Kelly has been working with us as an SVN and has recently qualified as an RVN.

Amber Goldsmith RVN

Amber has recently qualified as an RVN after going through the training with us and Duchy college.  She is very interested in exotics and has a large collection of snakes and lizards.

Jess  Asquith SVN

Jess has joined us in 2022 as a new SVN starting her training.

Abi Semmens RVN

Abi re joined us in 2023 and is one of our senior nurses alongside Laura, Su and Mary.  Abi has a particular interest in emergency nursing and is completing a certificate in this subject.

Laura Smith RVN

Laura is a very experienced nurse who has worked in a large hospital for many years and has joined us in 2024.  She has a particular interest in nurse clinics and is helping us re launch this area within the practice.

Mary Fellows RVN

Mary is also a very experienced nurse who used to work in a large charity practice for many years and has brought a wealth of knowledge and skills to the practice.

Maddy McCorry SVN

Maddy has been with us for a few years on training from the University of Nottingham and will be completing her training early this year and will stay on with us as an RVN.

Evie-Mabel Ross 

Evie joined us in 2024 and is currently a VCA (veterinary care assistant) and will begin her SVN training in due time.