Bob Partridge qualified from Edinburgh’s Royal Dick Veterinary School in 1984 having served briefly in the British Army with the Royal Engineers. After a period in mixed, equine and small animal practices he established his own practice in Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England in 1988. His interest in Veterinary Dentistry was established in 1986 when he was one of the first vets in the UK to have access to a high speed air driven dental machine. This led to Bob being a founder member of the British Veterinary Dental Association (BVDA) in 1988 and acting as Treasurer. The practice in Harrogate grew and in 1992 Bob created the first Veterinary Hospital in the whole of North Yorkshire (England’s largest county). An integral part of this development was the “Peter Emily Dental Theatre” and the numbers and complexity of the dental cases (both internal and referred) increased. After the sale of the practice in 2016 Bob established a dedicated referral practice in North Leeds.
In 2011 Bob achieved Diplomate status of the European Veterinary Dental College. This was one of his proudest moments as it represented many years of work and allowed him to use the accolade of Recognised Veterinary Specialist in Dentistry. He is also now a Recognised RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Dentistry.
Knowing the benefits that he has received from being a vet, Bob has always tried to put something back into the profession he loves. He helped found the BVDA, has served for a number of years on BSAVA Congress Committee as Treasurer, has served on BVA Members services committee, has served as an officer and then President of the Veterinary Hospitals Association for over ten years and was elected to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Council (the governing body of UK vets) in 2006 and re-elected for a further four year term in 2010. He has recently served a term as Secretary for the European College of Veterinary Dentistry.
He ran the London Marathon in 2001, 2009, 2012 and 2015. He has raised funds for Heart Research, Cancer Research and Water Aid, but is far too keen on food and wine to run a fast race.
In 1999 Bob founded Pet Smile Month, an annual pet dental health promotion. This led to over 1500 veterinary practices in the UK providing free dental check-ups for clients, together with distributing dental health promotional materials and widespread media coverage in the press, radio and TV.
Bob believes that the priority for improving the health and welfare of companion animals is by improving the education of the profession in veterinary dentistry. He is regarded as a highly motivational speaker at veterinary congresses and events in the UK, Ireland, Europe and has also lectured in Japan. In addition, he provides in-practice training and mentoring and provides residency training.
A training management system was evolved within the practice and led to the creation of Training-Progress, which provides a highly sophisticated on-line system for structuring staff training.
Bob lives with his long-suffering wife, Jackie, in a windswept farm in the Yorkshire Dales with two Springer Spaniels and a trio of Geese. They also play host to a flock of Herdwick sheep, belonging to one of his nurses. They are keen Scuba Divers and Skiers and vacations require water – either in solid or liquid form!