Veterinary physio celebrates success after bouncing back from setbacks
A veterinary physio from Shipley has won South East Vet Physio of the Year through the Prestige Awards.
Katherine Brown picked up the award at the Solent Hotel & Spa in Fareham.
Katherine said: “When I first got the email telling me I had won the award I thought it was a scam, I thought they wanted something from me. I contacted my friend who had won a similar award to check it was a legitimate thing.
“I was really shocked, when it sank in I became really excited about the whole thing.”
Katherine started her practise - KB vet physio - five years ago after completing a masters in Veterinary Physiotherapy at Bristol College.
Veterinary physiotherapists work with injured animals, or animals with movement problems, to help
reduce pain and improve their health and Katherine’s current practice treats dogs, cats and horses.
Katherine spent her first twoyearsasmobileveterinary physio and was then offered
a space at a vets to carry out her practice. However, the Covid-19 pandemic changed everything for her, and she could no longer use the vets’ facilities.
Luckily, Katherine’s husband was a builder and constructed the veterinary physio her very own treatment room and Katherine has gone from strength-to-strength since.
Katherine said: “Since then it’s gone crazy, it just went nuts. A lot of dogs who would have needed surgery and been walking around in pain for months were sent to physiotherapy. And a lot of people started to do sports with their animals again. Just like a human athlete, it was my job to prevent them getting injured and make sure they were in top condition.
“I’ve got a lot more equipment, because I don’t have to move around all of the time. I’ve got floodlights which mean i can do evening appointments, i can do morning appointments in the winter when it is still dark. It just gave me loads more flexibility and also greater availability for people that work full time. Whereas at the vets I was fairly limited when I could see people. “
She added: “I think I’m in it because I really care about my patients and I really want to get results for them and the owner. It’s all about animal welfare for me really, that’s why I do it.”