Our veterinary clinic was established way back in 1981 by the wonderful Adrian Arnold. You might remember him. Vivian Long took charge in 1999, another really popular and skilful vet who local people loved.

When the opportunity arose to buy the practice in 2012, it was an easy decision for Charlotte and Keith.  The previous owners, had spent years building a caring, and truly independent practice. Charlotte and Keith share the same philosophy: providing a welcoming and friendly environment coupled with exemplary clinical care, the very best you can expect.

But where did it begin for Charlotte and Keith?!

It was during their time at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine that Charlotte and Keith met. Keith qualified in 2022, starting his first job in a mixed animal practice based in Northern Ireland. Charlotte qualified a year later in 2023. After a a couple of years working in Essex, sun, sea and sand started calling. They worked abroad and travelled in and around Australia, there they had the opportunity to work with a number of different species, learn different techniques from other professionals and visit some good friends.  They briefly toyed with the idea of settling in Surfer’s Paradise in Australia, but decided they missed the UK and so returned to Essex in 2008.

Once settled in Essex, Keith worked as a vet at a practice in Tiptree and Charlotte worked as a vet alongside Vivian Long at Mayne Vets. As we mentioned, Keith and Charlotte took over the practice in 2012, however Keith didn’t join us straight away. As you might know, being a vet requires a lot of time at work, often accompanied by long stressful days! Charlotte and Keith have built an amazing relationship over the years and they were worried that working in the same building as your partner would alter this. However, they decided to take the plunge in 2019 and Keith started with us as practice manager, still doing the occasional bit of clinical work, and discovered that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Mayne Veterinary Clinic is the only independent practice in Colchester city centre, for the past few years more and more practices have been bought by corporates. Charlotte and Keith are determined to maintain Mayne Vets as an independent practice, so they can provide our patients with the best standard of care and have the freedom to choose the most suitable treatments available without the corporate pressure you might find in other practices.