How it started

Fiona Dolan DrMedVet, MRCVS

Fiona grew up in the midlands of Ireland, spending time with her maternal grandad on his mixed farm and watching dairy cows graze at the end of her garden. Her father is a third-generation veterinarian along with his older brother.  It was not a surprise when she developed a deep respect for animals and a keen interest in animal welfare.  Naturally she chose veterinary medicine as her only university degree option.

During her time at Szent Istvan University in Budapest, she developed a passion for animal health, especially established and maintaining whole herd health.  She qualified with a cum laude Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in November 2009 and joined the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in January 2010. 

After working in a mixed veterinary role in Kent, her passion to work with cows attracted her to North Devon and she worked in general farm, but mainly dairy practice for 6 years.  Having taken a year off from veterinary, she had the opportunity of working on a dairy farm, where she focused on rearing dairy and beef calves.  She has a new and invaluable insight into on farm calf management to add to her clinical knowledge.

In order to continue protecting animal welfare, she has established Freedom Veterinary Advisory Services Ltd, to share her experience and expertise in maintaining animal health through carefully monitoring of production and health data.  The design of housing and handling facilities is also crucial in maximising health and decreasing animal stress, which in turn decreases farmer stress and increases production.  Fiona is a BCVA accredited Johnes and BVD Free advisor, along with having experience in managing and reducing Neospora and IBR.