Claire studied at the Royal Veterinary College in London, qualifying in 2001. She initially worked in mixed practice near London before moving up to the Peak District in 2004 to help her Veterinary Surgeon husband Steven with the setup of his small animal practice in Sheffield, which opened in 2005. Until the opening of Derwent Valley in 2016 Claire worked for the emergency/out of hours veterinary service VetsNow. She is still currently involved and kept up to date with Emergency and Critical Care as she has been invited to be an assessor and moderator for the Veterinary Nurse Certificate in the subject. It was while Claire was working as Head Vet for VetsNow in Nottingham that she met Rebecka as the pair were working for different veterinary care providers working out of the same building.

Claire lives with her husband and two children in a beautiful Grade 2 listed house on the edge of the Peak Park. They must like a challenge as when they bought their house it had no stairs and only some of the floors! Luckily some of their building skills gained whilst converting the Boat House into Derwent Valley Vets have come in handy and as well as stairs and floors, they now even have a bathroom and kitchen. There is still a lot to do but it will be a beautiful place when it is finished and most importantly for Claire it has space to keep her ever growing “string” of horses and ponies. For some girls it’s shoes, for Claire its horses! She also has quite a good collection of cats and dogs.

Claire obtained her Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in 2018 studying at night whilst doing her day job and still retains a keen interest in anaesthesia and pain management. She has been the driving force behind investing in the laparoscopic (keyhole) kit and always has her eye on the next big development in the veterinary world.