Timber – Border Collie
He came to Matt on his first day working as a qualified vet. He had been left alone with a 2 year old child unsupervised and as such this eventually led to a bite. He was brought to the surgery for euthanasia but Matt took him home. Because he had been beaten for biting he is a very nervous collie. He taught Matt a huge amount of animal behaviour relating to his nervous ways and he is the reason Matt is now so focused on correct handling and treatment of nervous animals, especially collies.
Gromit – Springer x Cocker Spaniel
Gromit joined the family as an 8 week old puppy. He is generally a very laid back dog enjoying nothing more than sitting on laps and licking faces, usually after he has got soggy and sandy on the beach.
Digger - Field Spaniel
Over a year ago Digger was brought to Matt shortly after being born. He came in for euthanasia due to a hair lip. Such a lively pup even at that age, and knowing it was a fixable condition, Matt brought him home instead. Sam spent a huge amount of time hand rearing Digger as he was slow to feed due to his lip. At 16 weeks old Katie Lenton did corrective surgery to his lip and he has never looked back. He is now a chaotic and lively dog and best friends with Mawgan.
Thomas – black and white cat
Thomas was brought into Sam by the scruff of his neck when a builder had found him in his van one morning, he came home for “the weekend” over 10 years ago. He is now the head animal in the family and can make any of the other cats or dogs move with just a firm stare.
Polar – white cat
Polar was brought home by Sam straight from birth. She was working at a practice where a cat was having a caesarean and the owner had asked for the kittens to be euthanased. Sadly one kitten had been euthanased by the vet but Sam stepped in when she saw what was happening and saved the other kitten. Polar was hand reared at home and is a fierce contender for any human lap space not already occupied.
Toodles – ginger and white cat
Toodles was brought to Matt as a stray 8 week old kitten with a broken front leg, presumed hit by a car. The fracture was several days old with protruding bone and a nasty infection. The only option was for Matt to amputate the leg. Against all odds Toodles thrived after the surgery and Matt couldn’t resist bringing him home to join the family.
Lofty – Veiled Chameleon
Lofty was bought for Matt's birthday by Sam and is a very different kind of pet. Sadly the whole setup provided by the pet shop was found to be inappropriate and has been fully replaced following extensive research. She is thriving and enjoys a healthy diet mainly consisting of locusts. Whilst she is a joy to keep and observe we advise against this kind of exotic pet without lots of time to research their precise requirements.
Fish
Since his year out of vet school studying marine biology Matt has become a keen fish keeping hobbyist. Having kept a huge 1000 litre community tank in the past (until it sprung a leak!) he now has a nano tropical marine reef tank and a freshwater puffer tank at home.
Fergy & Panda
2 cheeky rabbits that like to dig extensive warrens in the back garden.
Ducks
Matt brought home a lonely mallard that survived being brought home by an owner’s cat and Sam sourced another 2 ducklings to keep him company. They currently live in the back porch but will be soon to move out into the garden.
Chip - Miniature Dachshund
Chip is new to family and arrived at 6 weeks old. She is already proving to be a little madam but is providing several cute photos for the Facebook page.
Meet...
...the Thomas family
Matt Thomas
Qualified from Liverpool University in 2007, with degrees in both Veterinary Surgery and Marine Biology. He immediately moved to Cornwall having spent a lot of his childhood visiting relations in Helston. His first job was in Clifton Villa, Newquay, where he really enjoyed the experience of working with zoo animals. He then moved to Amos and Penny in Penryn. Matt left that practice when it sold and became the principal vet at Cornwall Animal Hospital.
Since then Matt has worked as a very busy locum vet but with on-going bookings at Plymouth Veterinary Hospital, and more recently, Calweton Veterinary Group.
Matt has learned a huge amount working within a large team in Plymouth, working alongside several certificate holders in various disciplines, including surgery, dermatology, cardiology, medicine, exotics and behaviour medicine. He now acts as a mentor at two practices for younger, recently qualified, vets. He has never wanted to leave the Penryn/Falmouth area having lived in Gweek, and now Constantine.
For the last 2 years he has been looking to find the right location to start his own practice and is very excited to have finally managed realise his dream.
During his time in Plymouth Matt developed a reputation as a reliable and trustworthy vet with a special interest in nervous patients. Matt feels that, as a profession, we have let down many of the more nervous patients in the way that we handle them. Matt’s approach moves away from restraint and uses instead the knowledge he has gained in animal behaviour to reduce their fear and allow examinations to be undertaken more easily without stress.
When not working Matt may be found on the local beaches either playing with his son or out on the water kitesurfing.
Samantha Thomas
Sam met Matt at Clifton Villa in 2007. She worked as a veterinary nurse for 13 years, starting before she left school. She has a passion for veterinary nursing and animal care and has a wealth of experience in the field as well as at home, rearing many baby animals of several species. Subsequently she ran a home pet care service called Cosy Creatures locally until she had their son Mawgan in 2014.
Mawgan Thomas (4yrs old)
Mawgan has been very helpful in the renovation of the practice and has become very competent with a screwdriver and a paint brush! He is a budding young farmer with an obsession with John Deere tractors and all things farming. Who knowns, maybe in years to come he’ll be opening a farming side of the practice?
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