Most of you might know Alice as the lovely smiley face at reception. So, in our Autumn newsletter we thought we’d tell you a bit more about her!
Alice is from a small village in Essex and was grateful to have the opportunity to grow up surrounded by the countryside. As a child she always had family pets; her parents are big fans of Labradors and Alice has still got a soft spot for them today; they’re her favourite breed!
We’re all big fans of Sir David Attenborough at the clinic and Alice is no exception. Like many of us, she grew up watching his amazing documentaries, which played a big part in her love for animals. Although she absolutely loves animals, a career in the veterinary industry wasn’t something she planned. Alice has had a fantastically interesting route leading to working with us at Mayne Vets but if we look at her previous professional experience, to us it seems she was destined for a role in the veterinary industry!
At the age of 14, Alice started working in a residential home which she loved. Here, she was able to care for others and provide comfort and stability to elderly people. From here, Alice took her first career twist and started work in chocolate factory; a fact the team have only recently discovered and are now surely going to think of ways to make full use of these skills in the future!
Alice then had another major career twist where she hopped on a plane and flew to Australia! Amongst many other jobs, she worked on a racehorse stud farm, learned to scuba dive and trained on a cattle ranch learning how to become a “Jillaroo”. She has a lot of fond memories of her experiences in Australia and enjoyed the outdoor life, so on her return to the UK she spent 2 years working at a Horse Sanctuary, caring for horses, ponies and donkeys in all weathers.
So, that finally lead her to us. The three main requirements of working in the Veterinary industry? A love of animals, the wish to help people, and a love of chocolate…she was always going to be the perfect fit! When asked ‘why?’ she accepted a job with us, she replied the team had a “family feel” about them and are very welcoming. It has now been nearly 2.5 years since Alice started working with us and we couldn’t imagine the practice without her.
As with most of the team at Mayne Vets, she has a household of furry friends at home. Storm, her cat, was first handed in to us at Mayne Vets in fairly poor condition. He was getting on a bit, not in the best of health, and not exactly the friendliest of patients either! Alice fell in love with him straight away though and adopted him once he was feeling a little bit better. Storm not only shares his house with Alice and her lovely boyfriend but also with 3 adorable rescue rabbits, Anna, Elsa and the newest addition, Thumper! Outside work, other than looking after her furry friends, Alice also enjoys long walks, cycling, canoeing and reading.
As you can see, Alice is quite a character. She has the ability to see problems from a different view than many of us in the team and so plays an essential role in the clinic; without her, our days at Mayne Vets wouldn’t flow as smoothly as they do. Thank you Alice!