Star Guestlist At This Year's Vets4Pets 10th Annual Congress

Andy Colbourn from Bayer with Vets4Pets Leeds, winners of Practice of the Year The 520 guests attending this year’s Vets4Pets 10th Annual Congress saw stars with special surprise appearances from Ashleigh and Pudsey and Coronation Streets’ Sam Aston during the ‘Masquerade Ball’ themed Gala Awards dinner. Held at the prestigious Deansgate Hilton Hotel in Manchester on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th November, the Vets4Pets staff members and gusets gave Sam Aston, better known as lovable ‘Chesney’, a rapturous welcome as he joined the awards celebrations as a thank-you after Vets4Pets Joint Venture Partner Leigh-Anne Brown worked with Coronation Street writers on an emotional final storyline for Chesney’s pet Great Dane ‘Schmeichel’. Those attending the gala dinner were also treated to a surprise appearance and performance from Ashleigh and Pudsey. Delighting the audience with a preview of their special Royal Variety Performance routine, Ashleigh then joined Mike Hopkins, Group Marketing Director, on stage and told the audience about the many highlights for her and Pudsey since winning ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and how she was looking forward to working with Vets4Pets to help raise awareness of the importance of preventative pet healthcare. Saturday evening also celebrated the successes of Vets4Pets 85 practices over the last 12months, with Sam Aston presenting many awards including ‘Practice of the Year’, which was won by Vets4Pets Leeds, ‘Partner of the Year’, won by Rachel Smith of Vets4Pets Sunderland, and ‘Receptionist of the Year’ won by Paula Ramsey from Vets4Pets Harrogate. Overall the weekend was a great success, where Partners and their staff, together with Vets4Pets Support staff and important suppliers, had the opportunity to let their hair down on the Saturday evening and then take part in a Sunday full of Career and Personal Development seminars, lectures and workshops. The CPD day kicked off with a fantastic seminar by Sarah Heath - BVSc DipECVBM-CA CCAB MRCVS on cat behaviour, followed by talks from Vets4Pets support team members on topics such as ‘The Hitchhikers Guide To Recruitment’, ‘ Effective Debt Control For Your Practice’ and‘ Building Your Online Community Without Ending Up In The Dog House’. The weekend ended with an update from Dr Kerry Simpson on feline infectious diseases and vaccination.

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