Welcome to the Willows Veterinary Group, a mixed practice looking after pets, farm animals and horses.

Willows Veterinary Group is a mixed practice group which means that we look after pets, farm animals and horses. The Willows Veterinary Group comprises 23 small animal practices throughout Cheshire, Manchester, Staffordshire and the Wirral. The farm practice operates from 5 offices across Cheshire and North Wales, and  our equine hospital, Ashbrook, is in Allostock.

Willows Veterinary Group is proud to be accredited by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. The RCVS developed a voluntary scheme to ensure you, the pet owner, have the peace of mind that your pets are receiving the best possible veterinary care. This is known as the Practice Standards Scheme. Through setting standards and carrying out regular assessments, the Scheme aims to promote excellent veterinary care as standard. Be assured we won’t rest on our laurels just because we have this accreditation – we constantly strive to improve our service and facilities.

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When you see your vet it is like seeing your doctor, and just as your doctor may refer you to a specialist the same is true in the veterinary world. Willows Veterinary Group has our own referral centre – Oakwood Veterinary Referrals.  Oakwood is staffed by specialist Vets in Orthopaedics, Soft Tissue Surgery, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and Dermatology. Having this specialist centre means that all the practices within our group have access to the very latest equipment and diagnostic techniques including MRI and CT scanners.

Willows Veterinary Group is proud to offer our own Emergency Care in the majority of our branches. We have two emergency centres, with dedicated night teams who can care for your pet 24/7, 365 days a year should they become unexpectedly ill or injured. Run by our own staff and with instant access to your pet’s records we truly believe this makes a difference in the situation.

Just like you, it goes without saying that we all love pets – that’s why we do what we do. All our staff have pets – many of them strays that have been brought into our surgeries! We are here to help you every step of the way and are always available for help and advice.

Read about the Willows Veterinary Group history

A veterinary practice has existed in Hartford since the 1930’s. But today’s modern practice dates from the early 60’s when, in 1962, Derek Carter, a 1961 Liverpool graduate came to assist John Twist – formerly of Wilson and Twist.

From being a three man, mainly farm animal practice in 1962, today’s Group is a multi-vet and multi-discipline team working from 25 centres, employing over 400 people.

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1962 - 1966

In the early days, it was a three-man farm practice that ran a small animal surgery once a week on a Sunday morning. Soon afterwards, Gareth Llewellyn, a fellow ’61 Liverpool graduate, joined and immediately set out to develop a small animal service. When John Twist left in 1964 the Carter-Llewellyn Partnership was created and two years later another Liverpool vet college friend, Gareth Williams arrived.