Nothing beats experience!
Paul from UCD in 2000 and joined Ark Vetcare in 2003 after a period working in the UK. That’s closing in on a quarter century at the coalface!
One of the things Paul can bring to the practice is a wealth of experience. In the early days in Ark Vetcare Paul had the great fortune to work alongside Paddy Treanor, Kevin Glynn and Jim Walsh for many years; all vets who amassed huge amounts of clinical experience and were great mentors. Many years of 60- and 70-hour weeks have meant there are very few presentations Paul has not seen. Like any job you just cannot beat time on the job gaining experience alongside an attitude of continued learning make a pretty good mix. Through continued education Paul has become a competent ultra-sonographer, soft tissue surgeon and is confident with many orthopaedic surgeries.
However, have things changed over the years. Paul is immensely proud of the team in Ark Vetcare having watched it grow in both numbers and competencies over the last 20 years. The way they showed up for the clients and the surge in the demand for pet care during the pandemic is a testament to their commitment. Paul believes the early days, when we had less staff, the hours could be quite punitive. There were often stretches of 12 straight days without a break when you worked a weekend. It was just the way things were. It allowed the delivery of an incredible level of service. A general practice open 7.30 am to 8.30 pm weekdays and open Saturdays and Sundays. Nowadays we have more staff and the conditions for the staff are more sustainable and rightly so. This is a real positive. We are also able to offer a lot more flexibility, many staff are on shortened working weeks and there is a better work life balance. Medicine is always improving and there is a great culture of self-development in the team. Paul has witnessed the medicine and surgical skills improving as medicine evolves - a natural evolution. The anaesthetic drugs and protocols have all improved significantly and the quality of the nursing care is very high. These are all incremental improvements.
When asked what the most important thing is to offer our clients Paul believes it is to be there for the pets in your care. Get yourself out of bed and be there for them at 7.30am rain, hail, or shine. It’s great to see the new generation of vets embracing the culture. Providing the service through lunch as well as an evening service makes pet care something that is accessible for all those who want the best for their pets. Paul believes doing this with a high level of care and competency creates the right environment to get the best clinical results.
Paul is also a pet owner. The family have 2 dogs at home. Trixie a lurcher cross and Snoopy a Terrier cross. They are both 5 years old now. The family rescued them as pups from the WSPCA. They are great fun and bring great positive energy into their home. They sadly lost their 3 cats in quick succession over the last 2 years and prematurely at that. Paul and his family had rescued the mother cat Rainbow Dash in 2017 and she had 2 kittens - Bestboy and Bear (affectionately chosen by his young children). Sadly, Bestboy got attacked when out and about and got sepsis that could not be saved. Rainbow and Bear had a genetic kidney condition that meant they went into kidney failure very early in life. Paul delivered the kittens as a caesarean section in May 2018 with his young kids present and all to quickly the family have gone through the compete cycle of life's journey with them. That’s the lot of a pet owner.
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