Margaret stepping down after almost 30 years at practice

AN award-winning veterinary nurse is retiring after almost 30 years service in Crow Country.

Magaret Stebbing, 59, head nurse at Stone Lane veterinary centre in Meldreth, will finish work at the end of this month.

She moved to Melbourn with her husband Tim in 1981, the year the practice opened, and she has worked there ever since.

“I will miss my work at the practice enormously, but I am looking forward to having some more time to pursue my other interests,” she said.

Initially starting on a part-time basis, Margaret assumed her full-time role as the practice grew. Her expertise were recognised in 2004 when she picked up the gold prize for the country’s top pet counsellor at the national pet health awards. This earned her and Tim a holiday to Vietnam.

She said: “The trip to Vietnam was a once in a lifetime experience. It was so different and I was not sure what to expect, but the Vietnamese were really friendly and seemed to bear no animosity to the West for the war. In fact schoolchildren used to stop us in the street and ask us to help with their English homework.”

In retirement she plans to spend more time swimming, and also volunteering with the Bassingbourn air cadets.

“While I know I will miss the clients and their animals, I consider myself lucky to have been able to work for so long in a career I love, to have had such good experiences and to have forged so many friendships over 30 years,” she said.