Hero head nurse Becki awarded with a Nettie for her role in rescue

A VETERINARY nurse, who helped to care for an abused dog that had been severely beaten in the worst cruelty case she has ever witnessed, has been rewarded with a VetPartners Nettie in recognition of her amazing role in his recovery.

Paddy, a 12-year-old Boxer, is lucky to be alive after he was beaten across his head and left with serious eye injuries and lumps all over his body. He had also been starved so was skin and bone, and riddled with worms, when he was handed in at Avondale Vets in County Wicklow by a dog warden.

After his microchip was scanned, the practice rang his registered owner, but the man denied ever knowing the dog.

Thanks to the care of the veterinary team, including head nurse Becki McCarthy, Paddy made an astonishing recovery. Over the course of his stay in their kennels receiving lots of TLC, Becki fell in love with him – and she decided to adopt him.

Now Becki has been rewarded with a Nettie for demonstrating our values of being respectful, supportive, dedicated, approachable and working collaboratively as part of a team.

She will receive a £250 Love2shop voucher, a cuddly Nettie mascot and a certificate.

But perhaps the greatest reward is seeing the dog that was on the brink of being put to sleep blossom into a happy, healthy and much-loved family pet.

Paddy’s eyesight has been fully restored, he has put on weight and is thriving with the love and attention he receives from Becki and her partner, who own four other rescue dogs.

"It was the worst cruelty case I’ve ever encountered,” said Becki.

“He was sick and emaciated, weighing only 17.3 kilos, and his injuries were horrific. He looked like he was never going to get better but thankfully I was wrong. He got pain relief, antibiotics, lots of food and TLC and just go better and better every day.

“I tried not to look at him because I knew I’d fall in love with him, but I couldn't resist him. I rang my partner and told him and he said: 'Just bring him home.' It was the day before St Patrick’s Day so I have called him Paddy.”

Josephine Duggan, a retail assistant/admin at Breifne Animal Care in Cavan, has also been rewarded with a Nettie for living our values.

Described as a “rock” by colleagues, she takes great pride in her work and goes above and beyond for clients. She has taken on extra administration duties for TB testing and has met the challenge head on.

McGrath Vets receptionist Sarah Hensman, right, has received a Nettie in recognition of how supportive she is of colleagues. She increased her hours to provide extra reception cover and provide extra help. It means she has had to learn more about the large animal side of the practice.

As environment champion, Sarah also encourages team members to recycle and, when she isn’t working hard at McGrath Vets, she fosters greyhounds, lurchers and springer spaniels.

Parklands Vets small animal clinical director Andrew Turkington is renowned for demonstrating our values.

He receives an award after being nominated by VetPartners Business Development Director Jason Atherton, who said: “Andrew shows all our values of being dedicated, collaborative, respectful, supportive and approachable. He is a credit to the group and I enjoy working with him.”

If you know of someone who demonstrates all of our values and deserves a Nettie, you can nominate them here on MyVetPartners or email recognition@vetpartners.co.uk

Congratulations to all our April Nettie winners:

Tara Thomas – Receptionist, Abercorn Vets

Wendy Chandler – Auxiliary nurse, Armac Vets

Rebecca McCarthy – Head Nurse, Avondale

Josephine Duggan – Retail assistant/admin, Breifne Animal Care

Elizabeth Frew – Practice manager, Collier & Brock

Sarah Hensman – Receptionist, McGrath Vets

Andrew Turkington – Clinical Director, Parklands Vets

Carol Nicholls – Practice Manager, Southfield Vets

Rebecca Plumridge – Insurance administrator, Willows

Aisling Fleming and Gemma Dryden - Vets, Galedin Vets (shared award)

Article by Amanda Little, VetPartners PR and Communications Director.

Email amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk