Parklands Veterinary team celebrates double success at awards night

Parklands Veterinary Group has been named Veterinary Practice of the Year and vet Kim Lauson has been crowned Vet of the Year at a prestigious award ceremony honouring those who provide great care for pets.

Pet owners nominated the practice for a clutch of awards at The Local Pet Awards, which celebrate the care and commitment of people who work in the pet industry across Northern Ireland.

Parklands Vets, which is part of VetPartners, a veterinary group led by vets which owns some of the UK and Europe’s most trusted and respected veterinary practices and animal healthcare businesses, also achieved six other nominations in the Vet of the Year, Veterinary Nurse of the Year and Receptionist of the Year categories. 

Parklands Vets has sites in Dungannon, Cookstown, Portglenone, Drumahoe and Aughnacloy and its 108 team members are dedicated to providing the best possible care to small animals, livestock, pigs and poultry.

It delivers routine care, preventative healthcare and surgery and provides its own 24-hour emergency service from its Dungannon, Portglenone and Drumahoe surgeries.

The Local Pet Awards winners were presented with their trophies by TV personality Adrian Logan at a glittering ceremony at the Crown Plaza in Belfast.

Parklands Vets’ operations manager Richard Gilbert said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won two awards and we’re very proud of our six other finalists. I would like to say a huge thank you to all our clients who nominated us. Every member of our team is dedicated to ensuring we offer the highest levels of care to patients and an excellent service to clients and we’re thrilled to have received an award that reflects this.”

Vet of the Year Kim Lauson is a senior vet surgeon at Parklands’ Portglenone surgery and has worked at the practice for 10 years. 

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Kim said: “As a vet, my main aim is to listen, be patient and offer compassion and I go to work every day to generate a positive experience for clients and their pets, so it’s very rewarding to have won this award. One of the best things about working at Parklands is that the practice is integrated into the local community and we are on first name terms with the majority of our clients. 

“Over the years I have seen their puppies and kittens become dogs and cats, I’ve been there for every vaccine, the accidents and emergencies along the way, and sadly the end of lives. Thankfully, I see many clients back again with their next pet and even without an award that is enough to know I’ve done a good job.”

The practice’s other finalists were:- Vet of the Year: Liz Black; Veterinary Nurse of the Year: Megan Gallagher, Claire Dilly and Kelly Burns; Receptionist of the Year: Shannon Smith and Kathryn Devlin.