Page 27 - Phonebox Magazine June 2006

20 years at the vets
Astonlee Open Day Sunday 20th August 1-5pm
Paul Manning opened the practice at No 68 Tickford Street on 1st August 1986. The house had previously been a manor house with an orchard, and at one time there was a transport café before the days
of the M1. At the time of purchase, the house was the private home of a local Newport Pagnell hairdresser.
The house was converted into a veterinary surgery, and the practice
grew quite rapidly, providing a service for all species of animals
including domestic pets, horses and farm animals. In 2002, Astonlee
opened a new animal hospital on the opposite side of the road, on
the site of the old BP garage. This had taken 5-6 years to achieve from conceiving the idea through planning and finally construction, and cost around £1million in total. By this time, the practice had made the decision to concentrate on providing services for domestic pets of all types.
The new facilities have been supported by many clients, who remember the ‘old days’ when the surgery started, where the record system was a card filing system stored in cardboard shoeboxes. It has been a wonderful experience to serve the local people and their animals, caring for them from ‘cradle to grave’, and seeing just how much they give back to their owners. It has also been very rewarding to see young children bring their pets with their mums and dads, and now 20 years later, those children are now grown up and coming along as grown ups, sometimes with their own children. Some mums and dads have become grandparents, and this is all part of the care that we experience at Astonlee as ‘family practitioners for pets’.
Clients (old and new) are all invited to come and see around the new facilities, which include areas where they don’t normally go beyond the very nice and spacious reception area. The building has been described by some visitors as a ‘Tardis’ (from the TV programme ‘Dr Who’) because there is so much inside it for the animals but it looks
smaller from the
outside’. The
office in the
tower provides a
panoramic view
of the town with
views right
across Milton
Keynes, so you
might want to
bring your
cameras with you. There will be demonstrations and people to show you round. Did you know that we have a separate dentistry room for the animals with machinery almost identical to your own dentist? Did you know that we have a sophisticated ultrasound machine that can help us with diagnosis of pregnancy (and yes you can have your own pictures when you bring your pregnant pet in for a scan). We also use the machine for diagnosis of heart and many other conditions.
Please let us know by contacting our reception team if you would like to come so that we can cater for the numbers. You can also find out more and see what special attractions there are for the day.
Paul and Hilary, and all the team would like to thank all clients for their loyal support. It has been and continues to be a privilege and a joy to serve the local community. Together, we can meet those needs in all sorts of ways that add value to the quality of that special relationship between humans and animals.
‘A good man cares for his animals.’ Proverbs 12;10. GNB.
Quality care for your pet
in our purpose built surgery & animal hospital
Fully comprehensive services incorporating high standards in technology and care (Ask for our Charter of Service)
Special offer for senior pets this month
a Fully equipped operating theatres
a Ambulance service
a Separate heated wards for cats and dogs
a Complementary medicine, including acupuncture a Cardiology, accidents and orthopaedics
a Specialised diets
a In-house lab a X-ray
a Ultrasound
a Vaccinations a Microchipping a Neutering
a Dental work Tickford Street, Newport Pagnell, Bucks
Tel: 01908 611637(24 hours service on premises) www.astonlee.co.uk
FREE HEALTH CHECK (for your senior pets over 8 years) PLEASE MENTION PHONEBOX MAGAZINE
Astonlee Veterinary Surgery
Tickford Street, Newport Pagnell, Bucks Tel: 01908 611637 www.astonlee.co.uk
Phonebox Magazine 27