Meet the team at
Tamar Vets
Learn a little more about the team looking after your pets
Veterinary Surgeons
Richard Gale
Richard qualified from Cambridge University in 1995 and started his veterinary career at Tamar Vets (when it was then called Locke and Preston). He worked in Somerset and South Cornwall, pursuing an interest in Veterinary Cardiology, before rejoining Tamar Vets as a Director in 2012.
Having gained a Certificate in Veterinary Cardiology in 2003, he has continued to build on his interests in Small Animal Internal Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging. He has helped the Practice to develop its areas of expertise, embracing recent technical advances in the veterinary field, encouraging a drive towards excellence whilst maintaining its friendly identity at the heart of our amazing local community. Richard spends most of his time being bossed about by his two young daughters. He likes to play golf when he can and listen to music. Richard has a Labrador called Luna, two mad Cocker spaniels called Ziggy, Monty, and George the cat.
Jon Highet
Jon qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2006 and after working in mixed, farm animal and small animal practices in Dorset and Somerset, moved with his family to Bude to join Tamar Vets in December 2016. In 2021 Jon became a Director and has pursued an interest in orthopaedics and soft tissue surgery and now holds a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in this field. He particularly enjoy orthopaedics and wound care.
When not at work Jon can be found running around after his two young daughters, walking his dogs Dylan and Betty and he tries to go cycling, swimming and on dog walks.
Huw Stacey
Huw qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in 2000 and has worked in mixed and small animal practices in North Devon and Wiltshire.
He returned to practice with Tamar Vets after several years spent working in technical and management roles in the veterinary industry and is enjoying getting back to his roots taking care of our lovely patients and clients.
Outside of work Huw spends most of his time supporting his family with their pursuits which include horses, rugby and fishing.
Howard Locke
Howard graduated from Bristol University in 1982. Following a variety of jobs in the veterinary world, Howard set up Locke and Preston with Mr Richard Preston in 1987. Howard enjoys all aspects of veterinary work, particularly surgery. When not at work Howard can often be found walking, cycling or trying to start one of his classic cars.
Victoria Petherick
Erin Case
Erin is a native Texan who graduated in 2023 from CEU-Universidad Cardenal Herrera in Spain. She has studied and worked in Spain, Argentina, the USA, France, and now the UK. Her interests lie in soft tissue and orthopaedic surgery, and she plans to pursue further training in these areas. Erin has a soft spot for cats and has two of her own, Gordo and Basu. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, hiking, and learning new languages.
Callum Rea
Callum qualified from the University of Bristol in 2022 and has always been passionate about working with small animals. During his work experience, Callum came for a placement at
Tamar Vets and fell in love with the animals and team, and it didn’t take much convincing for him to start work at Tamar Vets after graduation. Callum has started to find a particular interest in veterinary dentistry and surgery. Callum enjoys board games and surfing in his spare time and spends way too much time calling all the patients puppies and kittens even in their later years.
Nursing Team
Jess Pollard
Jess started working for the practice in July 2018. She has worked for multiple vets in the southwest since starting her career in veterinary nursing in 2008, gaining experience across all aspects of the job with small, large and exotic animals. Jess particularly enjoys nurse clinics and can be found running puppy parties weekly. When Jess isn’t at work, she loves spending time with her two boys and husband. She doesn’t like a quiet life though and is kept busy with a multitude of pets. She has dogs, rabbits, ferrets, sheep, a hamster and a cat and will probably add to this!
Laura Sweet
Laura has had a love of animals from a very young age and had a menagerie of different pets growing up, from cats and dogs to ducks and a horse.
She started her career at Tamar Vets in 2009, after several years working on farms, and became a qualified veterinary nurse in 2016.
Her particular interests are senior canines, epilepsy, and caring for in-patients.
Outside of work, Laura has a love of Staffies and horses, but spends most of her time looking after a small human.
Kathryn Griffiths
Kathryn started working here as a student Veterinary Nurse in 2011 and qualified in June 2014. She enjoys all parts of veterinary nursing but has a particular interest in anaesthesia, theatre, and in-patient care. In her spare time she enjoys going for walks, baking, and listening to live music.
Beth Lewis
Beth joined the Tamar team in June 2023 after completing her BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Nursing at Hartpury University, qualifying in July. With a passion for nurse clinics, she enjoys hosting regular weight management sessions for our clients' pets. Outside of work, Beth has five guinea pigs and two cats, Saffron and Pickles, to keep her busy. Recently, she’s also started fostering guinea pigs for the Blue Cross.
Georgia Hughes
Georgia started working for Tamar Vets in 2021 and qualified as an RVN in 2023. She has a keen interest in feline, in-patient, and emergency care and also volunteers for Cats Protection as a kitten fosterer.
Georgia is currently halfway through her Certificate in Feline Nursing with the ISFM (International Society of Feline Medicine), which focuses on feline health, welfare and behaviour. By gaining this certificate, she aims to improve the care of cats within the practice to ensure they're receiving the best nursing care and minimising their stress during visits. Georgia is hoping that, in the near future, she will be able to put her knowledge to good use and work towards making the practice an ISFM-accredited feline-friendly clinic!
Outside of work, Georgia is kept busy with her own pets, including her dog Bertie, 3 cats and a tortoise, and loves spending time with her friends and family.
Nyah Watson
Nyah joined the practice in August 2021 after completing her A-levels. She started studying as an Animal Nursing Assistant in September 2021 and then progressed to Level 3 Veterinary Nursing in September 2022. She is currently in her final year of training and has her final OSCE practical exams booked. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, going out with friends or spending time at home with her family and pets.
Carina Dawe
Carina joined us in 2023 and has now qualified as an Animal Nursing Assistant from Bicton College. Carina will be starting her Veterinary Nursing studies in September. In her spare time, she likes to play with her dogs and meet with friends. In the summertime, she shows her pedigree flock of sheep at the local agricultural shows.
Sophie Day
Sophie joined us in August 2024 and is in her final year of level 3 Veterinary Nursing and aims to qualify at the beginning of 2025. Sophie has a keen interest in medical nursing and making our inpatients stay with us as comfortable as possible. In her spare time, Sophie can be found surfing and when on dry land, metal detecting.
Stephanie Gregory
Stephanie has been nursing for nearly 25 years, having qualified in 2005. For 7 years, she trained and worked as a qualified nurse in a busy orthopaedic referral hospital in Exeter before coming to Cornwall. She started with Tamar Vets (then Locke and Preston) in 2007 with a part-time position, as Stephanie then very quickly became a Mum! She's happily married with two teenage children, a very old, but still as handsome as ever, dog, and a one-eyed cat. Steph enjoys walking and mountain biking, and can often be seen swimming in the sea or the sea pool.
Stephanie has recently returned to nursing after taking a break to care for her Mum, who had dementia. Since returning with fresh eyes, she's impressed with what she sees. Tamar Vets has a big team with even bigger hearts. Steph says she feels inspired by the team’s enthusiasm and energy for this amazing, but at times, very tricky job! She loves looking after the oldies and feels privileged to be able to care for people’s lovely pets.
Paige Llewellyn
Paige joined the team in November 2024. From qualifying as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2020, Paige has since worked in various veterinary environments from hospitals to rescues including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in Old Windsor. Within this time, Paige also completed her Masters degree in Clinical Animal Behaviour at Lincoln University, in which she wishes to utilise this knowledge in helping owners with their pets in the behavioural setting alongside her nursing. Out of work, Paige enjoys reading, walking her fluffball pooch, Rosie, and spending time with family and friends.
Rebecca Cummins
Imogen Spencer
Reception & Support Team
Joanne Polhill
Jo grew up on a dairy farm in Hartland. She started working for Locke and Preston (now Tamar Vets!) in 1988 and is our longest-serving member of staff. She started straight from school and worked initially as a veterinary nurse, then qualified as an accounting technician in 2006 and now she works part-time undertaking all the practice's paperwork! Jo enjoys spending time with her family and can often be found with them, walking Arch, their black Labrador, on the beach.
Demelza Cornish
Demelza says she loves her job at Tamar Vets because every day is so different. Her main role is office and reception work, but she also gets to help with the animals when needed. In her spare time, she loves live gigs, festivals, long walks or chilling out on the beach with her friends and family.
Sue Gear
Sue is married to Barry and they have two grown-up boys. Sue has worked at Tamar Vets since 2000 and loves her job as the main receptionist at our Bude branch. She shares her home with a wide variety of animals and runs a small wildlife rescue centre. She takes in any orphaned or injured wildlife which comes into the surgery, where she gets a great deal of support from our vets and nurses. Sue is also a keen photographer in her spare time …what spare time!
Julie Honey
Julie started working for Tamar Vets in May 1999 and enjoys working full-time from our Holsworthy office, where she says over the years she has made many friends.
Tina Morey
Tina joined the practice in February 2016. Her main role is on reception and in the office, but she loves to help out with our four-legged and feathered patients if required. Outside of work, Tina enjoys spending time with her family and pets, walking in the countryside with their crazy Springer boy, Beano, and is a keen singer and member of her local choir.
Juliet White
Having relocated from London in September 2022, Juliet is thoroughly enjoying her next life chapter here in Bude.
When not working at Tamar meeting and greeting all our lovely clients and their amazing pets, Juliet can often be found at the beach or the Downs walking her 2 beautiful rescue spaniels. She loves all things sea-related, whether swimming in the sea pool, body boarding or attempting to learn to surf... she refuses to admit defeat!
Harriet Winchurst
Harriet started at Tamar in August 2021 as a receptionist. She enjoys meeting all the lovely pets that come in to see us. Outside of work, She is kept busy with her horses, pet sheep, cats, dogs, and chickens.
Carol Porter
Carol joined the practice in 2023 having failed at ‘retiring’ to the country! She works on reception and is delighted to be a part of the caring team at Tamar Vets. She particularly enjoys the interaction with the variety of people and creatures she meets in her day-to-day role. When not working, Carol enjoys spending time exploring Devon and Cornwall with her husband and their (mad as a box of frogs) spaniel Murphy.
Laura Smith
Laura joined Tamar Vets in 2023, with over 20 years nursing experience. Laura has a love for cats and often fosters kittens for the Blue Cross. She loves being in the outdoors, be it on the moors, beach, or in her garden with her three cats Olive, Eddie and Dot, and her tortoise T-Rex.