Vets for Pets Basildon Pitsea 24 Hour Hospital

30/10/2026

🐾💙 Meet Harry – our little superstar! 💙🐾

Just look at those little legs go! 🥹❤️

This handsome little chap is Harry, and he’s been coming to us for rehabilitation to help with his luxating patella (a kneecap that slips out of place).

This was only Harry’s second session on the underwater treadmill, and he’s already starting to find his feet and get used to it all. How adorable is he?! 🥰

It’s these little moments that make our hearts melt. Watching our patients gradually build confidence, strength and mobility is what makes our job so rewarding. 💕

Hydrotherapy and physiotherapy can make such a difference for pets with joint problems, recovering from surgery or simply needing a little extra help to move more comfortably.

We’re all cheering you on, Harry! Keep up the good work, little man! 🐶💦💙

🐾 Could your furry friend benefit from a little extra support?

Our friendly Hydrotherapy & Physiotherapy team at Vets4Pets Basildon Pitsea 24-Hour Hospital would love to help.

📞 Get in touch to find out how we can support your pet on their road to recovery. 💙

28/10/2026

21/10/2026

🐸💚 Meet Fnoop, our magnificent African Bullfrog!

Fnoop recently hopped in to see Dr Alberto, our exotics vet, after his owners noticed some concerning red spots and sores on his skin.

Following a thorough examination and review of his husbandry (environment, diet and care), Alberto identified a possible Vitamin A deficiency contributing to his skin problems.

Fnoop was prescribed a 7-day course of Vitamin A supplementation, and we’re delighted to report that his sores are already healing and looking much less inflamed! 💚

🌿 Did you know? Good husbandry and balanced nutrition are essential for amphibian health. Even subtle deficiencies can affect their skin and overall wellbeing.

💚 Exotic pets need expert care too! Every species has its own unique nutritional, environmental and medical needs, and getting these right is vital for their long-term health and wellbeing.

Our team is passionate about providing tailored, compassionate veterinary care for every patient, no matter how big, small, furry, feathered or scaly! Whether you’re concerned about your exotic pet’s health or simply want advice on giving them the best possible care, we’re here to help them thrive. 🐸🐾

16/10/2026

💙 From routine care to advanced hospital treatment - all under one roof 🐾

Meet gorgeous Thor, who popped in to see us for his vaccinations and brought that smile with him! 😍

While we’re proud to provide 24-hour emergency and advanced hospital care, an equally important part of what we do is everyday preventative healthcare: vaccinations, health checks, nurse clinics and ongoing care throughout your pet’s life.

And should they ever need more, our wider hospital team and facilities are right here too; from diagnostics and imaging to surgery, inpatient care and rehabilitation.

From their routine vaccine to the moments they need us most, we’re here for the whole journey. 💙🐾

15/10/2026

We have unfortunately had a deceased tortoise bought in to us, found in the SS13 3ET area. If you have any information or believe it to be yours, please contact us on 01268 585700 🤍

14/10/2026

💙 Before & After: Mildred’s BOAS surgery
Breathing shouldn’t be hard work. 🐾

These photos show lovely Mildred before and after her BOAS surgery and give a great visual insight into one of the procedures we can perform right here at our hospital. 🐶💙

For many flat-faced breeds such as Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs, noisy breathing, snoring or struggling in the heat can sometimes be dismissed as simply “normal for the breed.” But these can be signs of Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) where narrowed airways make it harder for them to breathe comfortably.

The good news is that, for appropriately assessed patients, BOAS surgery can make a significant difference to their quality of life. By addressing areas of airway obstruction, surgery can help improve airflow, exercise tolerance and sleep, and reduce breathing difficulties and heat intolerance. 🫁💙

And yes — BOAS assessment and surgery is one of the advanced procedures we can provide right here at our hospital. 😊

With experienced veterinary surgeons, dedicated anaesthesia and nursing support, surgical facilities and 24-hour inpatient care all under one roof, our patients can be supported throughout their journey — from assessment and surgery through to recovery.

Because sometimes surgery isn’t just about fixing a problem — it’s about helping them breathe easier and enjoy life more comfortably. 🐶💙

12/10/2026

🎉🍕 Birthday Celebrations, Pizza & a Little Sneak Peek! 🥳🐾

It was all about celebrating our wonderful RVN, Ben, as he marked his birthday! 💙

Of course, we couldn’t let the occasion pass without a little fuss! The hospital treated the team to a pizza lunch, and Ben’s colleagues made sure the celebrations extended beyond the colleague room by putting a birthday sign on his consulting room door, so every client who visited could join in wishing him a Happy Birthday! 😂🎂

It’s these little moments that make our hospital more than just a workplace. Behind the busy days, emergency cases and dedicated patient care is a fantastic team that looks out for one another and knows how to have a little fun along the way! 💕

👀 And if you’ve spotted the rather unfinished surroundings in our photos… yes, something exciting is happening behind the scenes!

Our hospital transformation is officially underway, with some exciting improvements to come. Watch this space! 🏗️✨

But for now, it’s all about Ben!

Happy Birthday, Ben! 🎉 Thank you for everything you bring to our team and the patients in your care. 💙🐾

09/10/2026

🐢💚 Meet Timmy – Our Little Fighter! 💚🐢

Meet Timmy, a 7-year-old terrapin with a heartwarming story of resilience and recovery! 🥰

Recently rescued by his devoted owners, Timmy was sadly suffering from a severe scale infection and needed some extra-special care.

Under the guidance of Alberto, our Exotics Vet, and with the incredible dedication of his loving owners, Timmy has been receiving ongoing treatment, including visits to our 24-hour hospital every 48 hours for his injections.

And the wonderful news? In just two weeks, Timmy has doubled in weight and is making remarkable progress! 🎉🐢

It’s been such a joy watching this little fighter grow stronger, and a lovely reminder of what can be achieved when advanced veterinary care and devoted pet owners work hand in hand. ❤️

At Vets4Pets Basildon Pitsea 24-Hour Hospital, we’re proud to care for pets of all shapes, sizes and species, including our more unusual exotic friends!

Keep up the amazing work, Timmy! We’re all rooting for you! 💚🐢

07/10/2026

🐢 Sometimes it really does take a team 💚

When this lovely tortoise needed a limb amputation, it was all hands on deck with two vets and one of our exotic RVNs working together to give our little patient the best possible outcome.

Exotic surgery can bring its own unique challenges, and cases like this show just how important experience, advanced surgical care, specialist nursing and teamwork can be.

From anaesthesia and monitoring to surgery and recovery, every member of the team had an important part to play. 🩺🐢

Different skills. One team. One very special patient. 💚

Another little glimpse into the work of our growing Exotics Service at Basildon. 🐰🦎🐢

07/10/2026

💙 Investing in our nurses means investing in better patient care

Here’s Maisie carrying out a Schedule 3 procedure — a great example of how developing and empowering our nursing team benefits not only our colleagues, but our patients and the hospital as a whole. 🐾

Schedule 3 allows appropriately trained and competent Registered Veterinary Nurses, under veterinary direction, to undertake certain medical treatments and minor surgical procedures. For our nurses, it creates opportunities to develop advanced practical skills, build confidence and make fuller use of their professional training.

For the wider hospital team, it means we can work more efficiently and collaboratively, allowing our vets to focus their time and expertise where they’re most needed while our skilled nurses take a more active role in patient care.

And ultimately, that benefits our patients — helping us provide a responsive, well-supported service across our busy 24-hour hospital. 💙

We’re incredibly proud to support our nurses to keep learning, progressing and using their skills to their full potential. Great hospitals aren’t built around one person or one profession….they’re built around great teams. 🩺🐾

25/02/2024

When Kelly from our Colton store's Pets Grooming salon discovered a lump on the tail of nine-year-old Rufus she suspected something wasn't right, so alerted his owners Les and Andrea so they could get it checked out. They brought him to Vets for Pets Leeds Colton where it was confirmed he had a cancerous tumour which needed surgery.

Les, who adopted Rufus from Dogs Trust in Leeds as a puppy, said: “Rufus is such a big part of our life; we’re absolutely besotted with him. We probably wouldn’t have noticed the lump if not at the groomers as the tail isn’t somewhere you would usually stroke and feel. Kelly loves Rufus and really looks after him, so we want to say a big thanks for spotting it. Who'd have known what would have happened if she hadn’t noticed.”

Rufus had to have his tail removed, but is now making a good recovery. He's been visiting Kelly for a groom every six weeks for the last three years. She said: “You get to know everything about a dog as you groom them. I’ve discovered similar things before on other dogs so I mentioned it to the owners so they could get it checked out. Dogs are my life and you do worry; I’m so pleased they caught it. Now he’s got a fully docked tail like a little bunny rabbit. It’s lovely and suits him – when he gets washed he wiggles his bum.”

21/02/2024

Arthur's owner Louise says he "looked like a brand-new tortoise" after having his beak filed at Sutton in Ashfield Vets4Pets.

Louise adopted the four-year-old Horsefield Tortoise from a family member in October. Although she has had other pets, Arthur is her first tortoise, so she has been doing some research on how to best care for him.

Louise said: "I noticed Arthur's beak was unusually long, so I brought him in to Vets for Pets; I bring all my pets there. When he came out, I thought 'you beautiful boy, look at you – you look so handsome!"

Vet Steph, who looked after Arthur, says that tortoise beaks continuously grow and normally grind down themselves while they're eating. She said: "Arthur needed a little help as his jaw isn't perfectly aligned; his lower jaw is further out than his top jaw, so I filed it around half a centimetre. He was really good; a real cutie."

18/02/2024

Owner Claire says she couldn't be more grateful to Vets4Pets Hamilton after their quick diagnosis saved the sight of six-year-old Alba.

Claire knew there was something terribly wrong with her miniature dachshund cross when she called her in from the back garden last summer and Alba ran headfirst into a closed patio door. She rushed her to the vets, where investigations led the team to diagnose her with uveitis – an eye condition which causes inflammation of the middle layer of the eye.

Claire said: "It all happened so suddenly; Alba must have heard my voice and guessed where to go. It was quite scary seeing how bad she was. We couldn't be more grateful for the team in Hamilton spotting the uveitis as quickly as they did, otherwise Alba would have gone blind within a matter of days. Their knowledge saved Alba's sight. I still can't believe it happened. It's taken months of treatments, but it's such a relief to have our girl back to being her funny, bossy self."

Vet Neil, one of the team who treated Alba, said: "Alba's pupil was really narrow and wouldn't respond to light properly, which can be a sign of uveitis. Once we had ruled out other conditions, we were able to get her to an eye specialist for ongoing treatment. She's now doing really well."

16/02/2024

Ducky's owner Antonia was in a state of panic when she saw a fox had dug its way into the field where she keeps him – killing two of her other ducks and chickens.

Antonia was about to move her brood into their pen for the evening when she saw what had happened and noticed that Ducky had severe bite wounds under his wing. She rushed him to Vets4Pets Vets Milton Keynes for emergency surgery – and after having his wound stitched up the one-year-old duck is now making a good recovery.

Antonia said: "I was so worried. You don’t often hear of ducks recovering from fox attacks, but there is something about Ducky and the way he was so brave. I'm sure he was protecting a lady duck, as he's a bit of a romantic. It's the first time we've gone to Vets for Pets, and the team were amazing; they've done an incredible job."

Vet Becca, who treated Ducky, said: "He's a really lucky duck, as it was quite a big wound. When he first came in, he was understandably subdued and quiet but when he came back for his stitches to be taken out, he wanted to explore and tuck his head into everyone’s shoulders."

07/02/2024

Well done to the team at Vets4Pets Guildford who've been awarded a silver level certificate for being a rabbit-friendly clinic.

After head veterinary nurse Ella noticed that more customers were bringing in rabbits the practice took a series of steps to give them as stress-free an experience as possible. Ella, who also fosters rescue dogs in her spare time, said: "There was a long list of things that we needed to prove that we did from making sure the rabbits are kept separate from other animals and not booked in at the same time as barking dogs, to providing heated kennels for those who need to stay in, and using special equipment made especially for rabbits."

Practice manager Kevin said: "All of our vets have plenty of experience with rabbits we have some real rabbit geeks here, so it was a big thing to us. There are so many good people in this world and I'm so proud to be around them."

28/01/2024

Beautiful Bear was born deaf, so he's learned to follow his owner Lisa's visual commands.

Lisa, who shops at our Tamworth store – "it's my second home!" – got two-year-old Bear as a kitten and suspected he was deaf when he didn't respond to her voice. She had it confirmed by her vet soon after. She said: "He was very scatty, and scared of people he didn’t recognise. He wasn’t bothered by loud noises like my other cat Emily and when I came home from work he wouldn’t hear the door open.

"He's doing really well though. I try to do some sign language with him – I point at him and do a solid hand sign at him to stop. He picks up on vibrations and scents too. He meows, making a really loud chirping sound which I’ve never heard a cat do before, and he’s always rubbing his head against my legs and following me everywhere. I was advised not to let him out because he wouldn’t hear cars or other dangers, so he comes outside with me every morning to have a sniff around the garden and always comes straight back in." Bear and Lisa's other cat Emily are on Instagram as

27/01/2024

Ten-year-old Dutch rabbit Alfie has been visiting vet Kate at Vets4pets Wolverhampton for dental treatment for the last eight years – and she says he's such a loveable character that he's become "part of the family".

He's one of the oldest rabbits treated by Kate and the team, and she says his longevity is down to the care and love he gets from his owner Tracy and her family. Kate said: "Alfie is famous in this practice – everyone knows him. We and his family are dedicated to making sure her little old man is happy. The beautiful thing about being a vet or vet nurse is you build these relationships with the owners and their pets – they become your surrogate pets."

Tracy's been keeping rabbits all her life, and says that having space and routine is key. She said: "Alfie is an old man now and has a routine. He goes into a hutch at night and is let out in the morning. He's out all day and has his favourite spots in the house. We clean him out every day and give him a lot of attention. When he was younger he would follow us around; if I was clearing a cupboard out he would be in the cupboard to help. Now he's old and wants to be warm and watch instead. I can't thank Kate and the practice enough. Kate's been fantastic with him."

26/01/2024

Eight-year-old Winnie the Schnauzer cross is running around like a puppy again thanks to laser treatment and physiotherapy after two successful knee operations at Vets for Pets Basildon.

Worried owner Tracy brought Winnie in to the practice after she collapsed on a walk last year – and the team discovered the cruciate ligament in a knee had ruptured. She’s since had ops on two knees and is on a recovery plan led by vet physiotherapist Izzy.

Tracy said: "Winnie has had a tough year with 15 teeth removed, two cruciate ligament operations and two bouts of pancreatitis but thankfully she's hardy. She’s treated fabulously at the Basildon practice. Izzy is great with her – she totally relaxes in her hands and does little snores with her eyes open. Winnie has a new lease of life again and is running around like a puppy."

Izzy said: "When pets have surgery or injure themselves they move differently which causes them to be sore in other places. Winnie has laser therapy then a massage to help the healing process. Laser treatment is a specialist service that not enough people know about – it can help in so many ways after an operation.”

19/01/2024

The team at Vets4Pets Cramlington say greyhound Frank was "an absolute gentleman" when he came in for some dental work.

Seven-year-old Frank was brought in by owner Harriet to get rid of some plaque which had built up and to treat a gum inflammation. Veterinary nurse Vicki said: "Frank was a very good boy and left with clean, fresh and sparkly teeth. It's so very important to get your dog's teeth checked and we advise pets to have an annual dental check. Eighty per cent of dogs over the age of three have dental disease. Prevention is much better than cure and regular checks and routine cleaning keep your pet's mouth healthier for longer and can help to prevent extensive extractions later in life. We are always happy to offer advice on maintenance and dental care at home such as teeth brushing or dental supplements."

18/01/2024

Veterinary nurse Mel from Vets4Pets Bristol Longwell Green loves cats so much she's helped the practice make a number of improvements to give cats as stress-free an experience as possible when they're brought in.

Mel, who has an Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour for Veterinary Professionals, helped introduce facilities like a separate feline waiting area and cattery and the use of quiet clippers – and the practice now has a silver level certificate for being a cat-friendly clinic. She said: "I love dogs but I'm really a cat person. Cats can be misunderstood which can lead to them having quite a stressful life, so if we can make things easier for them and help people understand what cats need then everyone will be happier.

"As animal lovers there's always more to learn and understand about what makes them happy. Enrichment at the home is important for a happy cat – and as cats are naturally solitary animals if you live in a multi-cat household it's important to understand what they need. The rule is to have a resource per cat, plus one spare. So if you have two cats you should have three feeding stations, three litter trays and three scratch posts spread around the house so they have the opportunity to move around to wherever they want to go. Scratching is as natural a thing for cats to do as going out hunting is, so if they're unable to go out it's about providing the chance for them to behave as naturally as possible."