Lara and Ricardo bolster ranks at award-winning Yorkshire hospital

Two new recruits at an award-winning small animal hospital in West Yorkshire have added to the family feel of the centres growing team

Happy couple Ricardo Fernandes and Lara Baptista have both joined Linnaeus-owned Paragon Veterinary Referrals, in Wakefield.

Ricardo is an EBVS neurology specialist, with a particular interest in treating inflammatory central nervous system diseases, and medic Lara recently completed a residency in internal medicine at Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists.

Ricardo, who graduated from the historic University of Évora in Portugal, added: “I grew up with a little cross-breed dog called Crespim, and a cat called Preta and as a kid I always knew I wanted to become a vet.

“So, when the time came to apply to university, it was a very easy decision.

“One of my most memorable cases was the opportunity to follow spinal surgery in a horse with a “kissing spine’ problem.

“This was a fascinating case because, as a small animal neurologist, one does not have that many opportunities to see spinal surgery in such large animals.”

Lara, who graduated from Portugal’s University of Lisbon in 2015, said animals have always been a part of her life.

She said: “Alongside my passion for animals, there was always this deep curiosity about medicine and physiology and by the age of 12 I had already read a medical encyclopaedia offered by my parents.

“I have always looked at medicine as a big jigsaw and I enjoy the exercise of putting all the pieces together until reaching the big picture and being able to give the families answers.

“My most memorable case to date was a one-year-old cat with feline infectious peritonitis.

“Although treatment had been available in other countries, I had only read about it, and this was the first cat in the UK to receive the drug for the treatment of a disease that had always been deemed fatal.

“His discharge was one of the happiest ones, and a result of a true team effort, and seeing him at the follow-up appointments, back to his cheeky self, was an indescribable feeling.”

Both Ricardo and Lara said they were delighted to be joining the team at Paragon in Wakefield.

Ricardo said: “I am very excited and grateful to have joined a referral centre with such fantastic facilities and a highly-skilled team.

“My main ambitions in my new post are to continue to improve my knowledge and skills by learning from my colleagues and also contribute to the team by sharing my experiences.

Lara added: “It is a great honour and opportunity to be able to join a friendly, work environment with an amazing team of very skilled clinicians and veterinary nurses.

“I am hoping that I continue to grow as a medic, develop new skills and learn from each member of the team so that I continue to improve every day in order to deliver the highest standard of care.”

Paragon’s multi-disciplinary care for your pets in the Wakefield area includes anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and soft tissue surgery.

Contact us at Paragon Referrals for further information on the care we provide.