To us, it’s personal
We live by our ethos of providing dedicated, professional care – not just for the animals in our care, but our clients and every member of our team.
We embrace our standing within our community and are committed to playing our role and providing the best care possible to all species.
When we were first established in 1948 we were a large animal venture, set up by Jim Baillie, a vet from Brechin to support local farmers. We are now a thriving mixed practice, treating pets, horses and farm animals throughout Angus and Perthshire from our four locations in Kirriemuir, Blairgowrie, Scone and Forfar.
We’re locally owned and locally managed
At our independent mixed veterinary practice in Scotland, we pride ourselves on our personal touch and deep-rooted commitment to the communities we serve. Our practice is owned and operated by a dedicated team of experienced vets: Graeme Richardson, Gavin Durston, Chris Aitken, Ed Hill, and Alex Hussey. Each of us live locally and are actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the practice, ensuring that our clients and their animals receive the highest standard of care.
We are deeply invested in the wellbeing of our patients and the satisfaction of our clients. We are accountable directly to you and our team and only make decisions that are in the best interests of our clients and their pets.
Our ownership model fosters a collaborative environment where each vet brings their unique expertise and passion to the table. This collective approach ensures that we provide comprehensive and compassionate care across a wide range of veterinary services, from routine check-ups and preventative care to emergency treatments and advanced medical procedures.
By choosing to remain independent, we have the flexibility to adapt and respond to the specific needs of our community. This means that we can monitor and treat local disease outbreaks, and that if a new medicine becomes available that we believe can help our patients we can start prescribing it the next day. It means we can create a fixed and transparent pricing model that prioritises clarity for our clients over billing for every twist and turn of a complex procedure. And it means we can drill down on exactly what our farm clients need for their business, to improve animal welfare and avoid costly problems down the line.
We believe in building lasting relationships with our clients, and this personal connection is at the heart of everything we do. Our team takes a lead role in the XLVets community of independent practices and we’re committed to ongoing education and staying abreast of the latest advancements in veterinary medicine, ensuring that your livestock and pets receive the best possible care.
We are proud to be your local, independent veterinary practice, dedicated to maintaining the health and happiness of the animals we treat.
Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your pets. Your support allows us to continue providing the personalised, high-quality veterinary services that set us apart.
Gavin Durston
Vet/Director
Alex Hussey
Vet/Director
Graeme Richardson
Vet/Director
Ed Hill
Vet/Director
Chris Aitken
Vet/Director
Communication and compassion
We believe that exceptional veterinary care is about understanding exactly what our clients want for their animal and giving them options to make the best decision for their circumstances.
As a proud independent practice – Scotland’s largest independent group and a leading member of the XLVets community – we’re big enough to boast a wide range of expertise, but small enough to know our clients personally and to tailor our service to suit their needs.
We’re proud of where we’re from, and we strive to be a positive part of our community every day. We care for injured wildlife for free, support agricultural shows across the county and regularly visit local schools and adult groups to give talks and advice.
Our values are at the core of our practice: integrity, community, excellence, happiness and friendship. We believe that when we get these things right, we are a veterinary practice that people can trust.
These values underpin every aspect of our approach. We’ve nurtured a relaxed and happy workplace for our team where efficiency, effort, teamwork and excellence are rewarded, because we believe that how we do things is just as important as what we do.
Explore our pet, equine and farm pages to find out how we can help you and your animals.
Welcome to Thrums
Friendly, knowledgeable, understanding and community focussed. When we asked our clients to describe Thrums Vets, these are the words that came up time and again, as you can see in the images below. We’re really proud to hear that, because, along with clinical excellence and integrity, that’s exactly what we strive for in every aspect of our veterinary medicine and customer care.
We’re a happy bunch, our team feel valued and enjoy their work. We all love animals and believe every animal has the right to a life free of pain or stress. Each member of our team understands that how we do things is just as important as what we do.
This is why we’ve been at the forefront of professional veterinary care in Angus and Perthshire for over sixty years, an integral part of our communities. Families and farmers have trusted us for generations, working together to ensure the health and happiness of their pets, and maximise the welfare and productivity of their livestock.
INTEGRITY
COMMUNITY
EXCELLENCE
HAPPINESS
FRIENDLINESS
Why choose Thrums?
Thrums Vets is Scotland’s largest independent veterinary group, with a team of fifteen vets across four branches, covering Angus, Perthshire and beyond.
We guarantee that, day or night, you’ll always get a Thrums vet with full access to your records. We value our clients and never outsource our out of hours work to a third party.
Because we’re independent, our vets have the authority to make the best clinical decisions for your animal, meaning your animal gets the treatment they need, quickly and efficiently.
Our team is a great mix. We have vets who focus in specific fields of interest, our nursing team deliver a high quality of care to all patients. As a team, we strive to give a gold standard service.
Throughout all of our practices, we follow the Fear Free policy to ensure our patients can visit and have the best experience possible.
We deliver senior clinics, weight management clinics, puppy and kitten checks and dental clinics.
Within our green team, we have a wide variety of interests including anaesthesia, radiography, wound management, surgical nursing and physiotherapy.
Working together allows us to deliver a service built on the excellence of our teams skills.
How we work
Our practices, in Kirriemuir, Blairgowrie, Forfar and, most recently, Scone, serve a large area of Angus, Perthshire and Kinross, from Arbroath and Montrose in the east all the way over to Murthly and Glenshee in the west.
When you register with your local practice, you’ll get access to the full veterinary team. Out of hours, a Thrums vet will be always be available to help your sick or injured pet, horse or large animal.
Within the team, we have vets with varied areas of interest, including cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry, as well as all small animals and horses.
We believe in a proactive, preventative approach for all animals.
Each practice offers free checks, clinics and advice for small animals to ensure your pet lives a long and happy life. Our innovative PetsApp service means you can message us when it’s convenient to you. We also offer Thrums Practice Plan to keep routine care simple and save you money.
With larger animals, we aim to develop an ongoing relationship with the farm or stable, not just on welfare and medical matters, but on all aspects of running a profitable and efficient business.
Recognition of clinical excellence
We are one of only five practices in Scotland to have been invited to join XLVets, a unique national organisation which aims to promote best practice amongst like minded veterinary practices.
XLVets is an invitation only organisation, restricted to practices who meet certain exacting standards.
Being a part of this select group allows us to tap into some of the most advanced expertise in the country, so you can be confident you’re getting the best possible professional veterinary service.
Meet the team
We are one of only five practices in Scotland to have been invited to join XLVets, a unique national organisation which aims to promote best practice amongst like minded veterinary practices.
XLVets is an invitation only organisation, restricted to practices who meet certain exacting standards.
Being a part of this select group allows us to tap into some of the most advanced expertise in the country, so you can be confident you’re getting the best possible professional veterinary service.
Working at Thrums
- Do you enjoy building great relationships with animals and people?
- Are you looking to develop your skills and career in a modern, well-equipped veterinary practice?
- Do you love the countryside, but appreciate being close to Scotland’s big cities?
- Would you fit in with a friendly, supportive, fun team?
Whether you’re a vet, nurse or administrator, if this sounds like the kind of place you’d like to work, we’d love to hear from you. We’re always looking for people that share our values and want to be part of a caring team. Watch this video, and hear director and vet, Gavin Durston, talk about some of the benefits of working at Thrums Vets.
Our current vacancies are listed here, but even if we’ve nothing at the moment, feel free to drop an email and register your interest, we’d love to hear from you.
