One of our members is a respected author. She is in the process of writing yet another most enjoyable book, in which she plans to incorporate this extremely sad episode into her book.
She is a lovely, humble lady and her story is very close to all our hearts.
We look forward to reading her book in the near future.

Please keep sharing this petition.

"Prologue 

It is rare nowadays that in a small village, any individual escapes some form of gossip or criticism, especially someone in a position where many know them, or have met them frequently. In nine years living here, I have never heard anyone ever say a bad word about Alex the Vet. 

Not only is his whole life devoted to animals, but his kindness towards their owners and his compassion is legendary. He is universally loved and acknowledged for the gentle, humble and intuitively talented vet that he is. 

Of course, there is always the odd jealous oddball, who for attention or instability wants to argue the toss about things, and in doing so, plays into the hands of authority or companies, who are searching for reasons to blacken the name of a person who behaves impeccably. Thus it was, that word spread quickly when the news broke, by word of mouth, like wildfire, that Alex had a visit from 2 representatives from the company, with whom he shares ownership of the surgery and for which he is a partner. 

They informed him that they had allegedly received numerous complaints against him and that he should stay away from his own practice whilst they conducted an investigation. 

To date these alleged complaints are unfounded and even now, to about three thousand of us in the village, who have signed petitions for his return and written to the CEO, there are no believable answers as to why.

 Most of us suspect an ulterior motive on the part of the big conglomerate, who bought into the business and are swallowing up independent vets all over England. What they didn’t bargain for however, was the fury and indignation of our village. 

People left the practice in droves and settled with other remaining accessible independent vets. Without Alex there, the place was hollow, inept, meaningless and untrustworthy to many. Even four members of staff left as well, unable  to bear the coldness of the remaining clients and the change of atmosphere. It was no longer a happy place. Now we couldn’t feel secure in the knowledge that even in the middle of the night, we could ring Alex and he would come out to our sick pets. No longer could nervebags like me rush to him without dismissive ridicule, when our dog appeared pale or a bit preoccupied . 

Frequently, he would have long surgeries and stay with a sick cat or dog overnight. With the owner’s  permission he would take them to his own home. He would sleep by their crate , or sometimes he would have the crate by the side of his bed to observe them and let them recuperate. 

He would cry with their owners when the sad day came and they died or had to be put to sleep. Even then his obligation wasn’t over, he would phone the owners afterwards to check on how they were and his compassion and advice made every single person feel special - all eight hundred plus clients of us, who relied on him and trusted him with their pets. Animals were his motive for living, not money. He never seemed to take time off much, or work a shorter day than twelve hours, week in week out, month after month, weekends, in and out of office hours. 

Not only did he fill the role of a quasi saint in the village, but his wife must come a second close for her support of him. People loved him and his family. Everyone wanted him back and the big company out. 

Weeks later the company, cruel and ogre like, arrived in their big cars at the surgery, scuttling inside and locking the door for what they called a staff meeting. They even ignored a pre-booked appointment. In one case, a lady with a very sick dog booked in for 15:00, only to find the place locked, no reply when ringing the bell, and repeated and desperate phone calls unanswered.

 As fifteen protesters against the absence of Alex, stood at a distance and saw her distress, help was offered and constant phone calls made by them as well. Finally a pre-recorded message said that due to a staff meeting, any sick animal should be taken to a practice over ten miles away. A feeble solution perhaps, in this case even if you have a car, but not if you are an elderly villager without one and attending an arranged appointment on foot. This was the standard we now grew to expect without our Alex in charge. 

Weeks have passed. News is thin on the ground. Alex and his family remain at home, consulting with their legal team, against the might of the huge business they are up against. It is of course, a confidential matter between him and the company. It would be wrong to speculate or for details to be leaked by him or them. 

However, it was discovered that on the Facebook page set up in support of him, company members had enlisted, one presumes to spy on the comments of those who joined it, rather than to support him. 

Says a lot about the company - underhand and unpleasant. 

If Alex is exonerated and escapes the accusations and clutches of these nightmare executives and their lack of empathy towards our animals and our own peace of mind, we will rise up and follow Alex wherever he sets up alone or joins another independent practice. In the meantime, we ache for him and his family and long to see his cheerful smile and friendly greeting, as our animals rush to greet him (or in Bridget's case, being contrary, slide unwillingly and in horror through the surgery door, making me wonder whose side she was on.) 

Things remain unresolved, we wait and wait and hope for a good ending to this horrible time. In the meantime, many of our animals have no vet. Some people, as I have, have signed up with vets in other villages, reluctantly, but afraid that in an emergency there would otherwise be no care. Even so, we would return in a heartbeat if Alex reappears. 

Our support for him and his family is undiminished.

I’m sure Myrtle, wherever she may be, is organising petitions in dog heaven and standing on soapboxes preaching the extraordinary ability of Alex, having been told she had three days to live by another veterinary practise when she was nine years old, and then, under the care of Alex, living to two weeks short of her fifteenth birthday. When she died, he and I cried as he lay her on my car front seat, wrapped in a towel, still warm but her mighty spirit having left her at last. 

We believe he will be back. 

There must be a happy ending for us all, for our beloved animals and especially for our always dear Alex the Vet."