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!

Very good vets and brilliant staff
Great service with very experienced staff. Always greeted with a friendly smile.
Our cat has used this place for a good couple of years. He hates it. I don't think that's a reflection on the quality of service, he just doesn't like being checked over. The staff have been lovely. I think their charges are reasonable. I'm sure the cat will continue to use them all of his medical needs.
Brilliant vets ,competitive pricing and staff are fabulous!
1st class. Friendly understanding staff, who are genuinely concerned for welfare of all the animals they see.
These vets are the best I have used. All of the vets and staff are so friendly, caring and compassionate. We recently had to have our handsome boy put to sleep our dog and ourselves could not have been in better hands.A big thank you to all of you for everything.
Friendly staff and very helpful.
Very friendly, kept everything safe with distancing but still had that personal touch.
My 16 yr old cat became suddenly very ill, I rang Castle vets and I saw us the same day. They were incredibly caring and reassuring towards my pets needs. Reception staff are also amazing and very friendly. I will never take any of my pets any where else. Thank you Castle vets.
Have just registered our new pup here after the passing of our old Spaniel. Staff are friendly and ready to answer any questions. Appointments run to time and good parking outside.
I am so impressed with this Vets. Giles was particularly helpful, calm and patient with our many questions regarding our new dog. He was informative, kind and seemed to genuinely have the time of day (which from past experience is rare). The reception staff were courteous and helpful and we signed up for their monthly plan which started straight away with flea and worm treatment included. We are really happy customers and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Castle Vets to any other pet owner. Thank you!
I have recently changed vets and I'm happy to recommend the excellent compassionate and thoughtful service my pets have received. From the lovely caring receptionists to equally caring and competent vets I am most impressed. I initially thought that this particular veterinary practice would be expensive but have discovered that the prices have been very reasonable and compare favourably. Thank you Ellie, Lucy and Kelly, you are doing a great job!
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.
Nice friendly staff and good service, but cost of drugs high
Lovely people friendly service
What an amazing service from the vetinarian, who looked after our dog while on holiday. He was very caring of both the dog and us.If we lived in the area, we would use this practice for all our dogs 🐕Thank you. Well deserved 5stars.
Just picking up flea treatment for our 7 month old kittens. But very friendly and willing to chat and show interest in what happened to our cat who died, which I appreciated.
Known as the DoggieDocs to my jessbag of a dog, he actually walks in through the doors himself here!
All our cats are registered here. Compared to two other veterinarians in Dorchester, we find these the best. A little bit more expensive, but they do have our full confidence.
Would be nice if a bench was provided in the car park to sit on. As our appointment was running late and we weren't in a car because Maisie Pearce doesn't like getting in cars. Staff were excellent though.
I have been using Castle Vets for many years. I've always had excellent service from kind, thoughtful and highly trained staff. My dogs love trips to the vets.
Castle Vet's lovely. Welcoming! Organized! Knowledgable! And friendly!
Would not take my pets anywhere else. They really care for the animals and are extremely knowledgeable.
Saw us at very short notice before closing and gave very friendly and helpful service, reasonable price and would definitely recommend.
Very satisfied with the service i recieved from castle vets.Would recommend to any one to take there.