Our Story
As one of the oldest independent mixed practice vets operating in the Highlands of Scotland, Conanvet has always prioritised giving the best possible care to animals of all sizes. Starting at our first practice in Conon Bridge in 1936, we’ve since opened part-time branches in Gairloch, Ullapool, Fortrose and have acquired a full-time practice in Dingwall, all so that we can provide expert care to even more animals.
Our dedicated team of vets, nurses, admin and support staff work together to make sure your animal, be it a cat, horse, rabbit, llama, or anything in between, always gets the care it needs. Whatever your needs are, you and your animals can always expect to be treated with respect, care, and compassion.
Our Facilities
We have a dedicated clinical team and high standard of equipment that includes:
- Video endoscope
- Digital radiography
- Dental suite with digital dental radiography equipment
- Ultrasound
- In house laboratory
- Tonopen
- Faecal egg and fluke diagnostic tool (Farm & equine)
Directors
Douglas Swaffield
BVSc MRCVS
Douglas graduated in 1996 avoiding the glare of the BBC (the TV series Vet School /Vets in Practice were filmed in his year at Bristol vet school) he worked in mixed practice in the Midlands for 4 years. Preferring travel to partnership in his twenties, he locumed all over Australia and the UK, finally settling in the Highlands in January 2006, saving the drive to the mountains. Loving mixed practice Douglas can turn his hand to most practice tasks.
Mary-Jo Grant
BSc (Vet Sc) Hons BVM&S Cert AVP MRCVS
Mary-Jo graduated from the Dick Vet in 2007 and holds an Equine Advanced Veterinary Practitioner Certificate. After working in practice in Morayshire and in disease surveillance at the SAC. Mary-Jo joined Conanvet in 2014.
A local lass from the Black Isle, she remains grounded by the fact that Graeme Swanson remembers her as a wee girl on the farm.
How We Reached Here
Our History
1936
- The practice first opened its doors in a converted house.
1947
- The practice moved to Ardlair house, where we’ve been ever since.
1970
- We extended our consultation rooms to deal with the ever growing demand for expert veterinarian services.
1984
- The Gairloch branch was established in this year. We also started providing weekly consultations in the Ullapool village hall as well as becoming involved in the Red Kite Conservation project.
1991
- The practice was renamed “Conanvet” using the Gaelic spelling for the village.
1992
- The practice further expanded as we built an operating theatre, prep room, kennels and cattery, giving us the necessary space to deliver more specialist and wider ranging services.
2005
- The national RCVS Practice Standards Scheme for Vets is introduced - we got accredited the very same year.
2014
- We created a permanent branch in Ullapool, setting up in the Latheron Buildings. We also opened our Gairloch branch in the Farm & Gardens building.
2018
- We expanded further by opening a fourth branch at Fortrose.
2022
- We opened our fifth branch in Dingwall, allowing us to provide reliable and trusted veterinarian services for the wider community.