How we started
In 1953 Mr Roy Wood Veterinary Surgeon set up practice in Western Road Crediton. In true James Herriot style he used his desk for bill writing in the morning, it was then cleared of paper and used as an operating table later in the day! The daily round used to be up to 40 farm visits a day covering a large area of Mid Devon.
In 1955 the practice moved to the current out of town site at Barnstaple Cross (pictured). In the early 1970’s, with Jonathan about to join his father from college, a specialized Veterinary Surgery was built. The surgery facilities have been upgraded and expanded on a regular basis, resulting in the inviting reception and consulting rooms we see today. We are very proud to also be an RCVS accredited practice under the practice standards scheme. This means we uphold excellent clinical skills and customer provision. Alongside this we are an approved training centre, which allows us to have student veterinary nurses here to complete their training, under the watchful eye of the college and their work based clinical coach.
Recent history
Lizzy Edwards joined us as a Veterinary Surgeon in 2013, and really embraced life in Mid Devon as a mixed animal vet. In fact, Lizzy enjoyed it so much, in 2015 she bought into the practice alongside Jonathan & Caroline Wood. With Lizzys love of all things feline, the practice gained the Cat Friendly Clinic Accreditation, at the time one of only a handful of accredited clinics in Devon. The award is given by the ISFM who set a strict set of guidelines for the provision of feline care and medicine.
In 2016 it was all change again at Jonathan Wood. After the unfortunate closure of our branch in Crediton town centre, we were able to open a new branch surgery at Bernaville Nurseries in Cowley, Exeter (pictured). This has ultimately provided much easier access for our Exeter based clients and we now have a large Exeter based client list.
Despite the difficulties we saw during the Covid Pandemic in 2020 the practice continued to evolve, but our ethos stayed the same – to provide a high level of patient and client care, at a reasonable price. We have completed re-accreditation for the RCVS Practice Standards scheme, achieving accreditation for small animal, equine and farm animal practice. The online portion of our business is evolving as the Veterinary world embraces social media. As well as our Facebook and Instagram presence, we also have a YouTube channel and a Veterinary App. The latter can be downloaded onto your smart phone, and allows you to ask us questions, book appointments and order medications. It also allows us to send you updates, news and even photos of your pet if they have to stay with us.
The start of 2021 has seen the completion of our new stable block and isolation facility, located on the side of the carpark. It has also seen the modification of the building slightly to allow for some redesign and the separating of the house from the surgery, which ties in with the retirement of Caroline Wood from the business in March 2021, and the business becoming part of the Vet Partners family.
October 2021 has seen Jonathan make the difficult decision to retire from the practice. It is a well deserved retirement for a person who has devoted many years to the care of all his many clients and patients. Jonathan joined his father Roy in the family business in the early 70’s and has continued to work tirelessly to provide care and treatment to all the animals and keep the business prospering. The surgery has evolved and grown in all aspects and Jonathan has witnessed many changes and innovations in Veterinary Medicine in these times. He has often commented that he wonders what his father would think of the surgery now.
As part of the Vet Partners family, this practice has developed collaborative relationships with Penbode, Calweton and Stringer veterinary practices which will enhance our service level and enable us to continue to develop. Jonathan knows that the team who will be running the practice will make sure that you will all continue to receive the same high level of treatment and care as in the past.
