Introducing Our Practice Team:
Everyone at Heronden Vets is committed to providing you with the very best in pet healthcare. Our veterinary team is a wonderful group of very professional people who have a shared attitude of compassion towards you and your pet.
Veterinary Surgeon and Director of Heronden Vets
Dr Victoria Vidal - BSc Hons DVM MRCVS
Victoria started her career in horse racing in Newmarket, going on to work in Africa on a black rhino conservation project and subsequently in Geneva. She has worked in both small animal and equine practices around the UK and after pausing her career for children, she opened Heronden Vets as a practice focused on compassionate care. Victoria lives in Tenterden with her husband, daughter, three horses, two dogs, a cat and two lazy snakes. At home, Vicky has a fondness for buying old, pre-loved furniture and riding her horse..
Our Team
Andrei Uricaru CertAVP MRCVS
Andrei has been working as a surgical bias vet since 2012 and as a referral surgeon since 2014. He is used to busy and challenging cases and he loves working as an orthopaedic surgeon. He is competent in a wide range of surgeries, from fractures and cruciate ligament surgeries to arthroscopies.
Having 3 cats and 2 dogs at home, he knows and understands the pressure of putting your loved friend through surgery and he will always have the best interest of your pet at heart.
Katie Cranstoun - BVetMed Hons MRCVS
Katie qualified from the Royal Veterinary College London in 2007. She began her time in practice as a mixed and equine vet. For the last seven years she has worked in small practice. She has a particular interest in soft tissue surgery and pain management in older pets. She also practices veterinary acupuncture.
Outside of work Katie enjoys horse riding, running with her slightly crazy boxer dog Mabel and spending time with her husband and their two young children.
Anna Skinner - BVSc MRCVS Cert AVP (small animal medicine)
Anna graduated from Bristol Uni in 2010 and worked in Essex and Suffolk for 5 years (as a small animal vet and doing a small amount of equine work) until she moved to Kent with her husband Tim. In 2016 she completed her RCVS certificate and became an RCVS advanced veterinary practitioner in small animal medicine. After a few years in a practice in Surrey, 2 daughters, getting her cat Gingerbread and a house move she joined the Heronden in 2021.
Anna particularly enjoys challenging medical cases and soft tissue surgery. Her spare time is taken up with her two small children, but she hopes to get back to her hobbies (horse riding and netball) when she has more time!
Franco Cortesini - DVM MRCVS PgCertSAS
We are delighted to welcome Franco to the practice – Franco studied at Perugia Veterinary University in Italy, graduating in 2005.
He continued his education with a post-graduate Masters Degree in soft-tissue surgery (SCIVAC, Cremona, Italy) and gained a Post-Graduate Certificate in Small Animal Surgery (PgCert SAS) in October 2017 and is working towards RCVS recognition in small animal surgery. and have a specific interest in diagnostic imaging and ultrasound.
He enjoys playing the guitar in his free time and also works for the charity Vets without Borders
Charlie Allaway - Veterinary Client Service & Business Development Manager
Charlie spent the early part of her career working in London and travelling the globe on business. Charlie’s true passion is horses and she competed successfully at Eventing before having her children.
Having started a family she began working part time within the pet industry to allow her to balance her family, work and love of animals. In 2012 she moved down from Buckinghamshire to set up a livery yard near Rye. Her children regularly compete all over the country with their ponies. Charlie loves all creatures great and small and has her own menagerie, including several chickens, pigmy goats, three dogs, four cats, five horses and too many reptiles to mention!
Morgan Samworth - Receptionist
Morgan has worked in the veterinary industry for 3 years on the ANA , animal care and reception sides of the business.
She particularly enjoys being involved with animal welfare, emergency care and triage as well as speaking to clients.
Morgan has 2 rescue cocker spaniels, 3 cats, a hamster, a fish and a leopard gecko called Pesto.
Jessica Summers RVN - Nursing & Clinical Manager
Jessica Summers RVN is Head Veterinary Nurse at Heronden veterinary surgery, she is also clinical coach to our nursing student. Jessica trained to be a registered veterinary nurse at Canterbury College in 2017 and has a passion for all areas of veterinary nursing, especially emergency critical care and medical nursing. Jessica has undertaken further training in areas of nursing consultations such a diabetic monitoring, feline behaviour and dentistry.
When she is not at work Jessica enjoys spending time in the Kent country side walking with her two Hungarian Vizslas, Mia and Magnus, or on horseback with her mare Flossy.
Mollie Fiander RVN
Mollie has always had a variety of pets & always knew she would be working with animals.
Mollie started off as a kennel nurse in 2017 at a practice in Bromley and worked her way up & qulifying as an RVN in 2021 subsequently moving to Tenterden when she joined us at Heronden in 2023.
In her spare time Mollie likes to visit National Trust properties with her rescue dog Captain & enjoys travelling to visit her family.
Sarah Puttock RVN
Sarah joined Heronden in September 2024 having worked as a Registered Veterinary Nurse at a practice in Sittingbourne, Kent.
Sarah qualified in 2019 and particularly enjoys the work surrounding nurse consultations as well as getting involved to support and train new nurses.
Sarah has 2 cats and enjoys painting and reading in her spare time.
Lucy Saunders - Student Veterinary Nurse
Lucy joined the practice in May 2023 having previously worked in Tonbridge as and Animal Care Assistant. She has always had a passion for animals & her goal has always been to qualify as an RVN.
Lucy has a 17 year old Jack Russell terrier called Rosie who she loves spending time with.
She is enjoying training at Heronden as a student nurse and her special areas of interest are theatre work and in-patient care.
Aimee Rowe - Student Veterinary Nurse
When Aimee left school she wanted to train to work in the veterinary industry but got a little distracted on her gap year by horse racing.
She has spent the past 6 years working in racing alongside training and racing her own horse.
The opportunity arose to start training as a vet nurse at Heronden Vets which she is really enjoying – especially getting involved with and learning about Radiography.