Veterinary surgeons

Clinical Director

Steve qualified from Cambridge Vet School in 1989 and worked for the next 12 years doing mainly small animal and cattle work in Oxfordshire before moving to Devon. Steve became a partner at Gabriel, Grills and Associates in Ivybridge, and developed his small animal interests particularly in orthopaedic surgery and reptile medicine. In 2013 he sold the practice to CVS and took on the role of clinical director at Filham Park, as well as here at Woodlands in September 2015. Since then Steve has enjoyed working with the staff at both sites and trying to integrate the best parts of both practices to provide the best quality service that we can to all of our patients. Steve's leisure time is spent as much with his family as possible, walking two Terriers, coaching his youngest son’s football team at Ugborough Football club and practising Taekwondo.

Danai qualified as a veterinary surgeon from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. She has always loved animals and when she was eight she nursed a small pigeon back to life - her first client! After working for a while in Greece, she moved to the UK, working for six months for the PDSA before then joining Woodlands Vets in 2015. Her special interests are surgery and feline medicine. In her spare time, Danai goes swimming or hiking. When the weather is warm she is always underwater as she is a qualified scuba instructor on the side.

Luke graduated from Bristol University in June 2012 and then worked in a small animal practice in Torquay. He joined the team here at Woodlands Vets in April 2015. Luke enjoys many aspects of both canine and feline medicine, but particularly the clinical pathology and cytology (interpreting blood results and looking at small tissue samples down the microscope). Whilst to many it may sound dull, he likes to think of it as being a detective - using all the clues to reach a diagnosis. Luke has a particular soft spot for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. When not at work, he enjoys cycling, playing the piano and going to the gym.

Jane qualified, with honours, from the University of Bristol in 1983 and has been passionate about animals since she was old enough to catch them and cuddle them. She spent 12 years in mixed practice in Worcestershire and the Isle of Wight, enjoying the farm and equine visits. Since 2004 Jane has worked solely in small animal practice. She is experienced in all aspects of first opinion practice and has a special interest in rabbit medicine and surgery. Jane lives in Ivybridge with her family's rescued rabbits, cat and dog. Benji, who is a rescue dog that no one else wanted, has definite delinquent tendencies and has educated Jane in problem canine behaviour.

Justine qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Bristol Veterinary School in 1995 and then joined a mixed practice in Newquay, spending three and a half years there. She did a mixture of small animal and farm work which also involved dealing with the animals at nearby Newquay Zoo, seeing with various cases ranging from darting monkeys to suture their wounds to treating anorexic pumas. Justine joined Woodlands Vets in 1998 and her particular interests are anaesthesia and small furries. Her hobbies are spending time with family, especially walks on Dartmoor and swimming in the sea.

Kerry qualified from Bristol University in 2000 and worked for over two years in mixed practice, initially in Cornwall and then in Totnes, before deciding that she wanted to work entirely within small animal practice. Kerry has now been working at Woodlands Vets since 2003 and her particular interest is in small animal surgery, both soft tissue and orthopaedics. She gained her certificate in advanced veterinary practice in April 2016, with all her modules being surgery based. Outside of work Kerry's main interest is her horses; she has two, both of which she has competed up to advanced medium level in dressage. The dressage has taken a back seat recently due to Kerry having two children and also at home she has a rescued Romanian street dog called Danny and two rescued cats, Alan and Poppet.

Sarah graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2014 and started work at Woodlands Vets straight after. During her first year at university Sarah was lucky enough to travel to South Africa where she spent three weeks working on a cheetah reserve. In her free time she can be found walking her Border Collie called Cassie on Dartmoor, horse riding, cycling and enjoying a piece of cake or two with friends.