Maria

Started life in Norway and after A-levels had four gap years. One year was spent in Australia where she met her English husband, Andrew. This brought her to England and Bristol University where she qualified as a vet in 1994. Her first six years were spent in a small animal hospital in the Cotswolds.

In 1996 she got involved with the BBC vet series Vets in Practice and was part of the team for four years. ‘It was exciting to be part of the Vets in Practice series, but a bit unnerving when strangers would start talking to me on the street.’

Viking Vets opened on the 2nd of August in 2000 and has gone from strength to strength ever since. Maria is a general practitioner, and likes all parts of veterinary work. She says ‘Opening a practice was quite a challenge, especially with 20 and 3 month old babies. The main driving force behind starting the practice was to create a small team of qualified and experienced vets and nurses who have their patients and clients as the first priority. One of the most important skills is to listen to what owners are telling us, everybody has a different relationship with their pet and we need to tailor-make every treatment plan to these needs. This is also important within the team, we try to make sure that there is room for team members to develop their skills and to have a job they enjoy. In addition to this we have been able to fuse work and family life by living on the premises, as far as I know I am the only vet who lives full-time over the practice in Bristol. Our boys have been able to come home from school and know that there is somebody in the house. It also makes it very easy to check on the in patients at night!' Maria is also very involved in the community with regular talks to schools and social clubs.

In her spare time she enjoys walking, eating and reading.