Three vets have been nominated ‘best vet’ by dog owners for extra special care and attention shown towards dogs with arthritis.

The vets were nominated by the owners of arthritic dogs from across the UK, who were enrolled onto Boehringer Ingelheim's Metacam Continuous Care Programme (MCC).

The MCC is a 3 month educational support programme for owners of newly diagnosed arthritic dogs, which offers educational advice to complement the care and advice provided by their veterinary practice. Boehringer says that the programme has already been demonstrated to improve owner understanding of arthritis in pets.

In all, 247 vet practices took part in the award with 1,970 owners enrolling on the programme during the nomination period giving their feedback on their vets follow up care as well as informing vets on their pet’s progress.

The winners were: Mr Rip Kirby, a veterinary surgeon at Castle Veterinary Clinic in Broadway, who said: "I’m absolutely delighted to win this award. It came completely out of the blue. To get such a vote of confidence from the owners of dogs I care for is a real boost, not just for me but for the practice and all my team members." Mr Graham Oliver, veterinary surgeon at Buckley House Surgery in Nottingham and Mr Ian Taylor, veterinary surgeon at Spire Vet Group in Newbold.

The prize for each of the vets was two £750 Virgin Experience tokens.