Sunderland Agony Aunt Denise Robertson digs the first hole for PDSA

Today, leading vet charity, PDSA, welcomed the nation’s favourite agony aunt, Denise Robertson, to the site of its forthcoming £1.6million Sunderland animal hospital to kick-off building work. Denise was joined by veterinary staff from the current Sunderland PDSA animal hospital, PDSA Senior Vet, Ian McClive, Head Nurse, Lindsay Atkinson and Manager, Michael Laing, to celebrate the start of this exciting project, which will benefit thousands of pets in the area.

 

Denise said: “PDSA does incredible work and is a vital service for local pet owners, especially in the current climate. I’m delighted to be invited to dig the first hole and I cannot wait to see the new hospital up and running later this year.”

 

Senior Veterinary Surgeon, Ian McClive, commented: “We’re thrilled Denise has joined us at the new site. The start of the building work is a landmark occasion for us and is the latest step towards our new hospital being built and ready to treat thousands of local pet patients.”

 

The hospital fundraising appeal is now in full swing and PDSA is calling for people to help raise funds.

PDSA unveiled plans for the state-of-the-art animal hospital in October 2009 and launched an appeal to raise the £1.6million needed to build and equip it. The new hospital, located on North Hylton Road, Castletown, will replace the current premises on Kings Road, Southwick, and will give PDSA the capacity to treat the ever-increasing number of pets desperately needing its help. 

 

The new hospital will be PDSA’s most advanced and eco-friendly facility to date. It will contain six consulting rooms, two operating theatres, a dental theatre, a digital X-ray room, a diagnostic laboratory, canine, feline and small furry pet recovery wards and a critical care unit for infectious cases.

 

Ian continues: “We’re hoping local animal lovers will support us by fundraising or donating whatever they can to help us reach our target.”

 

PDSA receives no government or lottery funding towards its PetAid services and relies entirely on public support. To find out more about supporting PDSA’s Sunderland Appeal by making a donation, buying a brick or organising a fundraising event call freephone 0800 917 2509 or visit www.pdsa.org.uk/sunderlandappeal.