North Downs Specialist Referrals

North Downs Specialist Referrals North Downs Specialist Referrals is part of Linnaeus Veterinary Ltd (A Mars Company).

North Downs Specialist Referrals is an internationally acknowledged centre of excellence for Specialist Veterinary Care, offering access to one of the largest groups of recognised Veterinary Specialists in the UK and Europe.

💉🐾 Did you know cats have different blood types, just like humans? Here at NDSR, we’re incredibly lucky to have a small ...
07/06/2026

💉🐾 Did you know cats have different blood types, just like humans?

Here at NDSR, we’re incredibly lucky to have a small group of local feline blood donors… but their life-saving work is always in high demand.

Recently, a sweet cat named Clemmie became critically unwell due to a dangerously low red blood cell count. She urgently needed a blood transfusion… but there was a problem!! Clemmie has a rare blood type, and none of our donor cats were a match.

Her owners turned to the local community for help ❤️

Clemmie originally came from The Stray Cat Club. In an amazing twist of fate, her fosterer, who had adopted Clemmie’s brother, Pomegranate offered to help.

✨ And the result?

Pomegranate was the perfect match.

He stepped up and quite literally saved his sister’s life by donating his blood 🩸🐱

We’re so pleased to share that Clemmie is now doing brilliantly, with her blood count back to normal 💕

Family isn’t always blood… but this time, blood family truly saved the day.

📸 • Clemmie snoozing peacefully during her transfusion
• Clemmie & Pomegranate as adorable kittens

🐾 Celebrating Veterinary Nurse Appreciation Month (VNAM) 🐾Throughout May, we had the pleasure of celebrating Veterinary ...
05/06/2026

🐾 Celebrating Veterinary Nurse Appreciation Month (VNAM) 🐾

Throughout May, we had the pleasure of celebrating Veterinary Nurse Appreciation Month and recognising the incredible nursing team here at North Downs Specialist Referrals (NDSR).

Our veterinary nurses are at the heart of everything we do, bringing compassion, expertise, and unwavering dedication to every patient and client they support. From delivering exceptional clinical care to offering reassurance in challenging moments, their impact is felt every single day.

We are very fortunate to work alongside such a talented, supportive, and committed team. Thank you for everything you do, not just during VNAM, but all year round 💙

03/06/2026

Meet Smudge 💙

Smudge, a 2-year-old domestic longhair, came to us unable to stand following a suspected road traffic accident. Imaging revealed a fracture to the dens of C2 and atlantoaxial subluxation, a serious and life-threatening injury.

Using advanced 3D planning software, our team carefully prepared and performed dorsal stabilisation surgery.

✨ Fast forward 7 months… Smudge is now neurologically normal and back to living a happy, comfortable life!

See Smudge’s journey 🐾

🐾✨ Meet Harry – our globe-trotting patient with a hooked problem! ✨🐾Harry made quite the journey to NDSR all the way fro...
01/06/2026

🐾✨ Meet Harry – our globe-trotting patient with a hooked problem! ✨🐾

Harry made quite the journey to NDSR all the way from Mauritius after a day at the beach took an unexpected turn… 🏝️🐟

While enjoying a fish snack, Harry accidentally ate more than he bargained for – including the fishhook! 😲 Despite initial attempts to remove it locally, specialist equipment wasn’t available, so he travelled to us for help.

Our surgical team was ready and waiting, but thanks to the expertise of our Internal Medicine Service, the fishhook was successfully removed endoscopically under general anaesthesia—no surgery required! 👏

We’re delighted to report that Harry has made an excellent recovery and will soon be heading back to the beach… although we think he’ll be sticking to hook-free meals from now on! 😉🐟

Well done to everyone involved in Harry’s care 💙

🩸 A Huge Thank 🩸We were delighted to welcome Pet Blood Bank UK back on Sunday 3rd May, and we’re so proud of what was a...
05/05/2026

🩸 A Huge Thank 🩸

We were delighted to welcome Pet Blood Bank UK back on Sunday 3rd May, and we’re so proud of what was achieved together.

Thanks to your generosity, 10 usable units of blood were collected, helping to support vital blood stocks and save lives across the country. Every donation truly makes a difference, and we couldn’t be prouder of everyone who took part. 💙

The Pet Blood Bank team also shared how well supported and looked after they felt on the day – thank you to everyone who helped make the session such a success!

📅 Next session:
Our next Blood Donation session is already booked for Sunday 28th June 2026. We’d love to see some new and familiar faces join us.

🩺 Interested in registering your dog as a blood donor?
Please contact Pet Blood Bank UK directly to register your interest:

🌐 Website:
📞 Phone: 01509 232222
📘 Facebook:
📸 Instagram:

Together, we’re helping save lives – thank you for being such a wonderful, caring community. 🙌

\

05/05/2026

🐾 It’s Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month! 🐾

This May, we’re celebrating Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month (VNAM), led by the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA).

Many of our nursing team work behind the scenes, but they are an integral part of our veterinary team. VNAM is all about shining a light on the incredible work they do every day. From providing expert clinical care to supporting you during difficult moments, their role is so much more than many people realise. Here at NDSR, we feel very lucky to have such a dedicated team of Registered Veterinary Nurses, Student Veterinary Nurses, and Patient Care Assistants working across our hospital. Their kindness, skill, and commitment make a difference to every pet (and person!) who we care for.

✨ We would love you to get involved! ✨

Has one of our nursing team helped care for your pet? Supported you through a worrying time? Shown extra kindness when you needed it most?

If so, please consider nominating them — it would mean the world to our team to hear your feedback and celebrate the impact they have made.

🐶 Find out more about VNAM and this years theme: https://ow.ly/yOtv50YUSK0

🐱 Nominate a member of our team: https://ow.ly/x0y850YUSK1

Thank you for celebrating with us the amazing work our nursing teams do!

🐾 When dogs bite off more than they can chew… 🦴Occasionally, dogs manage to swallow items that are simply too large, lea...
29/04/2026

🐾 When dogs bite off more than they can chew… 🦴

Occasionally, dogs manage to swallow items that are simply too large, leading to foreign objects becoming lodged in the oesophagus (the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach). This can be extremely uncomfortable and distressing, often causing regurgitation, excessive drooling, and significant pain.

In more severe cases, pressure from the object can damage the oesophageal wall and even lead to perforation - a serious complication that may require major chest surgery.

Just last week, our medicine team treated two dogs in one day who had bones stuck in their throats. Thankfully, with swift assessment and skilled use of endoscopy and specialist forceps, both bones were removed non‑invasively, avoiding surgery and allowing the dogs to recover far more comfortably.

🎥 See the team in action and the expertise behind the scenes.

A timely reminder of how important prompt veterinary care and safe chewing choices are - and a great example of teamwork, specialist equipment, and calm decision‑making making all the difference.

🌟 Teddy’s Story 🌟Meet Teddy — a brave little dog who came to North Downs Specialist Referrals after several months of wo...
13/04/2026

🌟 Teddy’s Story 🌟

Meet Teddy — a brave little dog who came to North Downs Specialist Referrals after several months of worsening pain. His case was complex, involving gastrointestinal problems, intermittent pain episodes, and later a low head carriage with tremors. Thankfully, with our multidisciplinary specialist teams working closely together, we were able to uncover the cause and give Teddy the care he desperately needed.

Teddy first saw our Internal Medicine Specialist, Fiona, who carefully reviewed his extensive medical history, including previous GI disease, chronic back pain, an adrenal mass, and recent vomiting and diarrhoea. Despite these factors, it became clear that Teddy’s most urgent issue was severe and escalating neck pain.

He was then examined by Veronica from our Neurology team. Teddy underwent advanced imaging, although his microchip position made MRI interpretation tricky. Even with reduced image clarity, Veronica was able to identify a herniated disc at C2–C3 as the most likely source of his pain. Further investigations later revealed additional findings, such as a quadrigeminal cyst and cystitis, but these were not causing his symptoms.

📅 On 11 March 2026, Teddy underwent spinal surgery using a ventral slot approach to remove the problematic disc material. The procedure was a team effort — with Neurology, Anaesthesia, Pain Management Specialist Roger, and our skilled nurses all working together to ensure Teddy’s safety and comfort throughout.

Our nursing team cared for Teddy around the clock, giving him all the support, monitoring, and affection he needed. He quickly became a favourite on the ward!

💛 Today, Teddy is doing brilliantly. His recovery has been steady, positive, and an absolute joy to watch. One especially heartwarming moment was seeing him relaxed and happy enough to pose next to Veronica’s own little brown Shih Tzu puppy!

Teddy’s journey is a wonderful example of how a truly integrated specialist approach can make all the difference. Internal Medicine, Neurology, Pain Management, Anaesthesia and Nursing all played vital roles in bringing this lovely boy back to his bright, happy self.

✨ Well done, Teddy — and well done to everyone involved in his care.

🩺 Did you know…?Dogs can occasionally develop fungal infections inside their nasal cavities and sinuses - most commonly ...
18/03/2026

🩺 Did you know…?

Dogs can occasionally develop fungal infections inside their nasal cavities and sinuses - most commonly caused by Aspergillus.

Typical symptoms include chronic nasal discharge, often with small amounts of blood. If we suspect Aspergillosis, our Internal Medicine team can diagnose the condition using CT scans and endoscopy.

👉 The photo shown here captures exactly what we might find: a ball of brown fungal plaques hiding in the frontal sinus, which we can access via the nose using specialist equipment.

Treatment usually involves carefully removing the fungus via endoscopy, followed by targeted antifungal medication.

At NDSR, we’re fortunate to have a wide range of advanced endoscopic tools to help our patients with complex cases just like this. 💙🐾

🌟 Did you know our Internal Medicine team offers video capsule endoscopy? 🌟Video capsule endoscopy is a non invasive tec...
09/03/2026

🌟 Did you know our Internal Medicine team offers video capsule endoscopy? 🌟

Video capsule endoscopy is a non invasive technique that allows our clinicians to take a detailed look inside the gastrointestinal tract, including areas that traditional endoscopy can’t reach. This gives us the ability to identify inflammation, bleeding, and other abnormalities with exceptional clarity.

The ALICAM® capsule is a tiny, easy to swallow device that captures thousands of images as it travels naturally through the gut. There’s no need for anaesthesia or a hospital stay, and it provides a full 360 degree view to support accurate diagnosis.

📸 In the first image, you can see a polypoid lesion in the stomach captured using the ALICAM® camera.

🖊️ In the second image, we’ve placed the small capsule next to a pen for scale, giving you an idea of just how tiny (and easy to swallow!) it really is.

We’re proud to offer advanced diagnostic tools like this to support the very best care for our patients.

If you’d like to know more about video capsule endoscopy or how it may help your pet, feel free to get in touch with our team.

📍 North Downs Specialist Referrals

The Friesian Building, 3 & 4 Brewer Street Dairy Business Park, Brewer Street, Bletchingley, Surrey RH1 4QP

📞 01883 741440
📧 [email protected]

Address

Friesian Buildings 3&4, The Brewer Street Dairy Business Park, Brewer Street
Bletchingley
RH14QP

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 7pm
Tuesday 8am - 7pm
Wednesday 8am - 7pm
Thursday 8am - 7pm
Friday 8am - 7pm
Saturday 11am - 1pm

Telephone

+441883741440

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when North Downs Specialist Referrals posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to North Downs Specialist Referrals:

Shortcuts

Share

Category