Arriving in Huddersfield from Ayrshire as a young child, Rhona spent years learning the local dialect (her Yorkshire born and bred husband declares this to be work in progress still) before returning north of the border for her university studies. After five years in Glasgow and having qualified with honours, she returned to Huddersfield and Donaldson’s Vets as an assistant veterinary surgeon- the next step in a long association with the practice which started when she was a volunteer helper at just 14!

After years in a truly versatile role within this big mixed independent practice treating all creatures great and small, Rhona became a partner in 2003. Concentrating more on small animal medicine, Rhona became increasingly interested in rehabilitation and sports medicine through her experiences with her own young pup who had hip dysplasia, and quickly realised that this area of veterinary medicine which relatively new and less well known at the time needed to be available to many more animals. Her determination to bring the best facilities and expertise to the patients who need it has been a very personal mission and is at the root of ARC’s development and everything the team does.

Rhona spent several years training and studying in the UK and Spain prior to qualifying top of her class in 2009 as a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner through world leaders the University of Tennessee and has additional qualification in Veterinary Acupuncture. She has presented lectures and seminars to fellow veterinary professionals across the UK.

When not in ARC, Rhona is often to be found climbing, hiking and ski touring around the UK and the rest of the world (one of the reasons she is proud of ARC and Donaldson’s Vets sponsorship and support of our remarkable local Search and Rescue dogs) often with her own dog Rudy who loves nothing more than riding cable cars and ski lifts and nose ploughing snow.
She also enjoys training and coaching martial arts, which these days largely involves being squarely defeated by small children.