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!

Always get good service and the pets are well cared for, not that they enjoy the visits mind you...
Good vets, they were really caring when we had to put down my mums dog. Sad times
My dog mojo had to have some teeth taken out yesterday. The staff and vets are an incredible caring dedicated animal lovingteam .. with all animals whole health being the whole heart of all their work and passion . Thankyou for making mojo pain free and happy again . And putting his worried mums mind at rest when I had to leave him . He is doing incredibly well the morning after . Thankyou so much .
I am so happy to have registered my little dog with Castle vets, they have been fantastic with Flo. They really go above and
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.
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.
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 ,
Wouldn’t take my cat anywhere else. Caring and professional. Not sure Moo would agree!
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.
Covid safe procedures in place and all clean and bright.
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!
We've had multiple pets here over 17 years. They've always been amazing with the animals, even through covid. The way they handle animals and also customers is amazing. Reception team are always on it and the veterinarians have always made the animals feel comfortable.
Thank you Giles and staff for your compassion and care of my baby girl Rosie such a sad time with such a hard decision to make but Giles gave me time to say goodbye to my bestest girl for the last 15 years. Thank you so much
Highly recommend, We've used this clinic for over 10 years and wouldn't go anywhere else.
Brilliant quick service
Lovely, Caring and Realistically priced.
Exceptional Veterinary Practice.Although I have been a client for many years, my dog Jack seldom needs care. Recently however he was suffering a gland problem.. Jack is an imported rescue and the BVA recommend a safeguarding procedure (blood test) prior to any surgery in such cases due to possible Brucellosis infection. I was uncertain of the benefits, but was able to have a practical and sensible discussion with Giles, beforehand Jack had the procedure under sedation & Giles whipped out a loose back tooth too. Jack is not insured, but I was given an estimate of cost at our initial consultation which matched our final invoice. Thank you Giles, it seems to have done the trick and Jack has forgiven you (almost!)
Absolutely lovely people. So caring, update you. My Pup loves them all. Have complete confidence leaving my pets with them.
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.
Great service
Lovely people friendly service
Top quality vets with top-notch staff. They really care about running a good and ethical business. I trust them.
Kind friendly staff. Clean and well equipped. Good vets who care for their patients!
I wanted to thank you for your incredibly responsive out-of-hours service yesterday. It very likely saved my dog's life. Your quick action prevented a serious and potentially life-threatening deterioration in his condition. Casper has been a patient since he was a puppy, and we've always received outstanding care. Thank you so much.
Saw us at very short notice before closing and gave very friendly and helpful service, reasonable price and would definitely recommend.