Worried about your pet? Unsure if you need to call the vet?

Designed and run by vets, Vet Help Direct's interactive questions direct you to personalised first aid advice and clear guidelines about when to contact the vet.

Easy and fun to use, Vet Help Direct is the online source of reliable advice for concerned pet-owners.

You are just a few clicks away from practical advice from specialist vets, tailored to your pet's unique symptoms.

The Vets at Vet Help Direct

All advice on Vet Help Direct is compiled by qualified UK vets, members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS). Our veterinary specialists have extra qualifications in their areas of expertise. If you are a MRCVS vet surgeon and are inteterested in blogging for us please contact info@vethelpdirect.com

Susie Samuel MA VetMB MRCVS

After working as a vet for several years Susie was struck by how difficult it can be for pet owners to decide how urgently they need to call a vet, especially in the middle of the night, when their pet is showing signs of being unwell. Given a pet can’t tell you what's wrong sometimes it can be difficult to work out how serious their symptoms are. Susie wanted to provide a professional resource for concerned pet owners that would help them to decide whether their pet needed veterinary attention, and would provide them with vital first aid advice that was customised for their pet’s situation.

Susie is a small animal vet, with a particular interest in small animal medicine. She works in a practice in Plymouth and has a very lively terrier called Freddie. You can click here to follow Susie on Twitter

Neil Forbes BVetMed DipECAMS CBiol MIBiol FRCVS RCVS Specialist Zoo Animal and Wildlife Medicine (Avian) and European Specialist in Avian Medicine and Surgery

Neil Forbes Neil Forbes graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 1983, after a short period in Herriot country he settled in the SW.   Neil became an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine (avian) in 1992.  He gained his FRCVS in 1996 and became a European College Diplomate and Specialist in 1997.  He is currently President of the European College of Avian Medicine and Surgery.  Neil is head of the exotic animal department at Great Western Referrals, where he treats first and second opinion cases.  The case load at the practice includes rabbits, ferrets, other small furries, raptors, parrots, waterfowl, exotic zoo species, back yard poultry, reptiles - in fact anything apart from cats, dogs, horses and farm stock.

Richard P C Coomer MA Vet MB Cert ES (Soft Tissue) Dipl ECVS MRCVS European recognised specialist in Equine Surgery

Richard grew up in James Herriot country in North Yorkshire, graduating from Cambridge University in 2001. He initially worked in Morocco and his native North Yorkshire before completing an internship in equine medicine and surgery in Belgium. He then spent a short time working in first line equine practice in Kent before moving to the University of Liverpool, where he completed a residency in gastroenterology and soft tissue surgery in 2006. Since then he has worked as surgeon in York and Shrewsbury before a stint as assistant professor of equine surgery at Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany. He started working at Cotts Farm Equine Clinic, an ambulatory and referral practice in West Wales, in March 2008. There he now accounts for the majority of the surgical caseload of the practice. He passed his European Diploma in Equine Surgery in July 2008, gaining European specialist status in the process. He is currently enrolled for the RCVS diploma in equine soft tissue surgery. He is interested in all aspects of equine surgery, in particular minimally invasive surgery, gastroenterology and the management of wounds. In his spare time he enjoys cycling and mountain walking.

Karen Rickards PhD, BVSc, MRCVS, Principal Veterinary Surgeon, Donkey Sanctuary.

Qualified from Bristol 1994 and worked in equine practice for 4 years before undertaking a PhD in equine allergic airway disease at The Royal Veterinary College. Carried on working in this field as a post doc before taking up a lectureship in pharmacology at King's College, London. Started working at The Donkey Sanctuary in 2007. Main interest has always been lower airway inflammatory disease and the pharmacology of inflammation. Since working at The Donkey Sanctuary a new area of interest is pain recognition and its management in donkeys.

Jenny Sheriff BVM&S MRCVS

Jenny qualified from Edinburgh University and spent the first four years working full-time as a small animal vet in Somerset, gaining general experience in a large first opinion practice. She then moved to East Devon and has worked part-time there ever since, whilst also running a boarding kennels and cattery with her husband, and bringing up their three children. During this time, Jenny took part in a trip to Cyprus to help neuter large numbers of stray cats and improve their welfare, work which has continued since with the help of other volunteers. Jenny currently works as a part-time locum vet in a number of practices in Devon. The family has two boxers and three cats.

Joe Inglis BVSc MRCVS

TV vet Joe Inglis divides his time between the surgery, the TV studios of This Morning and BBC Breakfast, and the development kitchen of his natural pet food company Pets’ Kitchen where he puts his veterinary training to use creating healthy recipes for dogs and cats. Joe is passionate about all aspects of pet health, and has a particular interest in the effects of diet and nutrition on the long-term health and behaviour of pets. Find out more at www.petskitchen.co.uk and you can also follow Joe on Twitter.

Cat Henstridge BVSc MRCVS

I am a veterinary surgeon and qualified from Bristol University in 2003. After I graduated I spent a few months in Thailand working at a neutering clinic, something I really enjoyed doing and would love to go back someday. Since then, I have been working in Small Animal Practice in the West Midlands.

My day to day job involves all different types of pets. I deal mainly with cats and dogs, but see a fair few rabbits, guinea pigs, rats and the occasional ferret. My work is split between consulting, which can involve anything from a routine annual vaccination to explosive vomiting and diarrhoea and operating 'behind the scenes' and again, this can range from cat spays and neuters to limb amputation and abdominal surgery. This variety is what makes being a vet so interesting and exciting, you never quite know what the day has in store for you!

My main interest lies with small animal medicine, I love the problem solving aspect, taking blood tests and figuring out what is wrong. It is always great when you make a diagnosis and see a patient get better! I am also very interested in the day to day care of pets, and helping owners keep their animals in the best condition possible. The general health care of animals, from knowing how to keep them free of fleas, worms and other parasites, to feeding them the best quality diets is very important. Vets are a huge source of knowledge in this area, and will always be willing to advise but often there is just not enough time in a 10 minute consult to cover everything. This is why I got involved with Pet Street and am now their resident vet. My role there is to answer member's questions about their pet's health, blog about animal related issues and I also write regular 'factsheets' of veterinary advice

Reg Godwin BVSc MRCVS

Reg qualified from the University of Liverpool in 1973 and has spent his whole veterinary career in small animal practice. Initially he joined the RSPCA working for four years at the Putney Animal Hospital. In 1980 he joined the PDSA in Plymouth where for the greater part of his 18 year service he was Senior Veterinary Officer managing a staff of twenty people and being a trustee of the company pension scheme. In 1998 he decided to take more control of his working life by becoming a veterinary locum. Most work is done at Rosehill Veterinary Centre in Plymouth.Reg enjoys surgery most of all but regards himself as an all rounder and enjoys the camaraderie of being a team member. He has a particular interest in orthopaedics and opthalmology and seems to be the one in the practice who always gets to see anything which has scales, feathers or scares the receptionists. Apart from veterinary work, Reg regards being the father of triplet sons as having been one of the major time absorbers of his life. However he still finds some time for a multitude of hobbies including electronics, photography, genealogy, keeping tropical fish and renovating and collecting early British electric guitars. His own pets include Mabel the Jack Russell Terrier and two Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoises all of which were rescue cases.

Dr Roger Mugford

Dr Roger Mugford is a psychologist and farmer who introduced the concept of behavioural therapy to the veterinary profession by founding The Animal Behaviour Centre in 1979. Since then, his referral practice is seen as the leading authority in the field and has seen more than 50,000 pets. He invented the Halti headcollar plus other training and reward based behaviour aids distributed by The Company of Animals, of which he is Managing Director. Roger is a patron of Dogs for the Disabled, a trustee of Cancer and Bio-detection Dogs and was awarded The Blue Cross Welfare Award in 2005. His major current pre-occupation is the defence of dogs facing unjust treatment before the law with owners living in either palaces or in poverty.

Marie Kubiak BVSc MRCVS

Marie graduated from Bristol University in 2006, following placements within zoos, exotic practice and an elective placement in the Avian department at Great Western Referrals. She then moved to Kent to take up a position as a first opinion exotics vet, before returning to Great Western Referrals in March 2008 as a Resident in Avian and Exotic medicine. She is currently studying for the RCVS certificate in Zoological medicine and the European Diploma in Avian Medicine and Surgery. Over the last few years she has kept and bred a wide variety of lizards and snakes from 2cm dwarf geckos up to an 8ft red tail boa, as well as two very nervous cats!

Amy Bergs DVM MRCVS

Originally from New York state, Amy graduated from Cornell University with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2006. She spent two years working in a wonderful small animal practice in Chicago, which is where she met her future English husband. In 2008 they picked up and moved to England, where Amy now works for a small animal surgery in Surrey. She currently sees all kinds of small animals but has a particular love for cats and complicated internal medicine cases. In fact, her lifelong appreciation for cats has recently led her to begin studying for a certificate in feline medicine. She is constantly learning new things from her patients and their dedicated owners and still starts every day with a smile knowing that she has the best job in the world!!