My parents moved from Oxford, where I was born in 1967, to Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds in England when I was 5 years old. My father, a GP, took up a position as a partner in a medical practice just off the high street of that busy country market town. My mother, a Nurse and Midwife and by training looked after my sister and I and my other brother and sister when they arrived in 1976 and '78 respectively. From an early age, we always had dogs, rabbits, cats, hamsters and gerbils in the house. We learned to ride at a tender age.

'Diverse' would probably be the most accurate description of my secondary schooling. I went from Chipping Norton in England to Auckland Boys Grammar School in New Zealand, to Wynstones Rudolf Steiner School in Gloucestershire back in the UK, to Marling Grammar School in Stroud in Gloucestershire to do my A Levels.

Scots Apprenticeship, Yorkshire Journeyman

The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh was my home for the next 3 years as I began my pre-clinical training in veterinary medicine and surgery. For a year, interrupting my veterinary studies, I intercalated an Honours degree in Pathological Sciences, concentrating mainly on immunology, but picking up a smattering of molecular biology, virology, bacteriology and parasitology on the way.

After my final 2 years of clinical training in Edinburgh I went to work in Beeford in East Yorkshire in mixed large and small animal practice. My second post, a year and a half later, was just up the road from Alf White's (aka James Herriot) practice in Thirsk in North Yorkshire. I spent many a happy day running around the farms and yards in the dales in my little four-wheel drive. The practice worked out of Helmsley and Kirkbymoorside on the southern border of the North York Moors, just north of York itself. It was a very busy, and rapidly expanding small animal and equine practice with a large cattle and sheep farm client base.

Within months of qualifying in 1992, while still in Beeford, I was beginning to question the wisdom of conventional medicine. I could not help thinking, "Is that all there is to treat animals"? So I started looking further a field. I began training in homeopathy in 1993 at the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital with the Faculty of Homeopathy After a couple of years, a new course had been established in Oxford by the Homeopathic Physicians Teaching Group (HPTG to their friends). I moved to this as a natural progression from the Faculty course in London. This coincided with a change of direction for my career. I moved from the conventional Yorkshire practice in Helmsley to a newly established practice near Chichester dedicated to integrating alternative and conventional therapies in a first opinion practice.

Southern Homeopath and Acupuncturist

The practice on England's South Coast, established by Mark Elliott VetMFHom, MRCVS, was just what I was looking for. It served as a marvelous stepping-stone towards creating a truly holistic practice. A further two years modular study at the HPTG from '96 to '97 completed the course, but I still did not feel ready to take my 'Veterinary Membership of the Faculty of Homeopathy (VetMFHom)' exams. I stepped back from the study of homeopathy for a year to practice it. During this time I became aware of the potential of acupuncture and joined the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society. I completed their year-long course in 1998.

My colleague Peter Brown at the practice in Chichester also introduced me to Photonic Therapy as a method of stimulating acupuncture points without needles. I use this and needling methods now and am very pleased with the results.

In 1998 I took and passed my membership exams for the Faculty of Homeopathy I was delighted to be able to put the letters 'VetMFHom' after my name.

Holisticvet Ltd. as the practice has now become, is based in Bath at the Apthorp Centre for Chiropractic and Holistic Therapies in Weston, near Victoria Park. I see dogs and cats here. The building is beautiful. Looking out on the well kept garden is a joy. I've established close links with the Bath Veterinary Group, a company offering practices here in Bath. They offer excellent conventional medicine. I'm the person who works with people or animals where we think a complementary approach would be best.

I travel to London to the Hyde Park Veterinary Centre once a month to do a busy surgery there. The Purton Veterinary Surgery in Swindon is a destination each fortnight on a Tuesday for another hectic afternoon. In between times I see small animal patients in Bath and horses all over the country.

Southampton University has a fantastic course in behaviour and I am lucky enough to be a part-time lecturer, teaching the students about homeopathy and acupuncture and how these alternative therapies can be used in treating behavioural problems. I love it! I'm writing regularly for Horse Magazine and Dogs Today magazine as a regular contributor.

George Macleod, the godfather of British veterinary homeopathy, wrote a book on equine homeopathy 30 years ago. In 2005 I was asked to edit it to bring it up to date with modern developments in equine medicine. This I have done and it was published by Rider Books in October 2005. What an honour - to have your name on the front of a book with George Macleod.

I am a consultant to the progressive small animal feed company Anglian Meat Products. They are a massive force in my crusade to educate people about the benefits of feeding raw food to dogs and cats. Higher Nature, the quality supplement company are similarly keen on optimum natural nutrition for small animals and I am helping them develop human grade products to promote health in our animals.

Overall, I think I'm very lucky. I'm doing a job I love, treating and writing about horses, dogs and cats, with gentle, safe and effective therapies. I meet amazing, caring and inspiring people every day; people profoundly concerned for the welfare for the animal members of their families. Together we are able to help problems that may otherwise never be cured.

Holisticvet Ltd - Tel: 01225 48 7778 E-mail: nickthompson@holisticvet.co.uk