Your local, independent, trusted vet - Castle Vets (Dorchester) Skip to content

About us

Your local independent and trusted vet

Our practice was founded by Rip Kirby in 1992 with the ethos of being a friendly and approachable place to bring your pet. We are still committed to this, whilst providing the best possible care and treatment for all your pets. The practice remains independently owned by the vets who work in it, the only one in the area now. Being independent ensures the practice employees are motivated only by making pets better, not by keeping shareholders happy.

We have highly trained and experienced staff who will work with you to keep your pet in the best of health. We offer a full range of veterinary services, preventative health care, consultations, in-house diagnostic testing, imaging, and surgery. We have also partnered with Virtual Veterinary Specialists to ensure almost every problem imaginable can be dealt with right here at Castle Vets. We also offer a monthly budgeting plan and provide our own out of hours care to all our registered patients.

Many clients have been with us years and we consider them old friends, but we are always happy to welcome new faces, paws, tails and whiskers! Please do not hesitate to contact us about any matter big or small.

Reviews

Meet just a few of our happy owners and their pets!

Such wonderful professional service.Very sympathetic towards me and my dog when I had to let her go.All staff included especially when I had ring and book my dog on, thank you.
Saw us at very short notice before closing and gave very friendly and helpful service, reasonable price and would definitely recommend.
Did lots of homework about vets before relocating to Weymouth and Castle Vets came out top for us. We made the right choice because the vets here have been superb when needing to visit with the feline member of our family.
Highly recommend Castle Vets . Had to call them out sadly to put my 13 yr old dog to sleep, it was done with the most loving care & respect for Bracken . They never fail in there treatment of my animals ,
We can never thank Castle vets enough for the outstanding care over 10 years for our amazing dog Alfie. As well as all the routine checks, vaccinations and general care, they recognised aged 3 that he would need life changing knee surgery to prolong his life, which would have been shortened considerably had we opted for pain relief only, and which also improved his quality of life. He loved visiting both the Weymouth and Dorchester surgeries and all the staff always welcomed him despite his boisterous greetings which sometimes involved paws on the reception desk and knocking down of displays! When we became concerned that he was seriously ill, they were prompt and sensitive in their investigations and in giving us dreaded news, helping us to digest the implications for Alfie. This meant that we made the right decisions for him and he had a good last week of life with a final walk on the beach, a final visit to his favourite dog friendly pub (the Springhead at Sutton Poyntz and the last thing he actually ate - some carvery pork) - and time at home resting on the sofa, going down the garden, or sitting outside sniffing the air. When we saw a deterioration which signalled that he was uncomfortable, we called the vets and within 40 minutes, despite being nearly midnight, Kirsty the vet and Roxy, veterinary nurse, arrived at our house and made sure that Alfie's death was a calm, peaceful and dignified one. They must have been tired, but they sat on the floor with us all reminiscing about him, stroking him, talking to him and crying and only left, over an hour later, when we were ready. Alfie loved Castle vets and we do too.
Best local vets imo brilliant with my nervous mastiff x
Recommended so highly, this place and its staff are all amazing!
A very caring vet with very helpful staff. I've always managed to get an appointment quickly. Would highly recommend.
The best thing I could have done is move our dogs to the care of Castle Veterinary Clinic. They have just recently helped diagnose one of our dogs with a life threatening cancer. She is now cancer free and under the continued care of this wonderful practice. As soon as you walk in you are greeted by the most friendly staff. I am confident in knowing we are with the right professionals.
Absolutely outstanding service. All staff wonderful and the vets are incredible. Highly recommend
Most caring vets I have ever known...my boy was seriously ill and I couldnt have asked for better care for him...unfortunately he lost the fight but not without vets pulling out all the stops to save him....they let me visit and stay with him for hours while he was still here and after
They are really good vets! They look after my dog and he even likes going to see them
Fantastic! I can't fault at all... Looked after my cat so well and very reasonable prices
a loving, caring, passionate and hardworking team....the animals are treated like their own would be...time is dedicated to each individual client and their pets and they work so hard behind the scene......awesome team.....rock on.👍👍👍
We are new to the area and have had nothing but kindness and professionalism from the vets
Honest friendly great service and no pressuring sales techniques like some chains locally 👌
My Nelly has had a few issues and had to have an emergency op due to eating a fish hook! She was referred by Castle to a vet hospital and it was arranged very quickly. I can't fault the team at both Dorchester Road and Poundbury at all. Reasonably priced in vet terms I think and I would highly recommend.
Amazing care of my guinea pigs can't fault them Giles the vet was fab two weeks ago and explained everything in minute detail regarding my very small Piggie put me at ease
Really caring and honest vets. Feel really confident taking our animals there.
Lovely people friendly service
Always a friendly welcome at the surgery and helpful, professional advice.
Absolutely the best. Looked after our best boy Jake for nearly 14 years and were always kind, compassionate and supportive. All round lovely team of people.
We are Very Happy with the Service, Care and Treatment given to Sydney by Kirsty, Giles and the support team.Highly recommended.
Very friendly team who always make sure that your furry bestie is happy and healthy
As a new client bringing one dog and 2 cats for their initial appointments I have so far had only positive experiences, and have found it easy to get an appointment, easy to park, and so far have even seen the same vet each time which is nice for continuity. Reception staff are lovely, too!