Dr Sophie Jenkins MRCVS with Star a leopard gecko
Dr Sophie Jenkins BVetMed
PgCEAS GPExAP MRCVS
RCVS Advanced Practitioner in
Zoological Medicine
Director
Burgess Rabbit Vet of the Year 2020
Sophie decided at the tender age of 4 to become an “animal doctor”; she just wanted to work with animals and nothing could stop her. At 5 years old she had a pair of gerbils, and by 7, her first dog. At 12 years old, she had read up for several months on various reptiles and decided on her first (of many) bearded dragon. In 2008, Sophie graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, and after a period of travel within Australia, including working in the wildlife hospital at Australia Zoo, she settled in her first job at a small animal practice in Newport, South Wales. Her gift to herself for graduating was her first panther chameleon named Neptune.
At just 4 weeks graduated, Sophie was undertaking internal tortoise surgery and successfully completed her first ovariectomy and bladder stone removal in a spur thigh tortoise. In 2010 Sophie completed a General Practitioners certificate in Exotic Animal Practice and so, in 2011, Sophie moved to her second practice in order to increase her exotic work load. In 2013, Sophie felt that her love for exotics was so strong that she joined forces with the dark side and became part of Origin Vets. Sophie hasn’t looked back since, and in 2016 she completed her Post Graduate certificate in Exotic Animals achieving the status of Advanced Practitioner in Zoological Medicine.
Sophie founded Origin Vets Clinic in 2020 in order to provide a professional Veterinary service for rabbits, small mammals and exotic pets in the Cardiff and surrounding area.
Sophie has a passion for welfare and education for both clients and the veterinary profession. Sophie has held many CPD (continued professional development) days for veterinary professionals all over the world. She is also heavily involved with the teaching veterinary students from the veterinary universities across the UK and Europe
Sophie is particularly fond of rabbits, and has three rescue Lionheads herself. She also has a rescue Lhasa Apso cross named Amber, and a rescue ragdoll cat called Teddy. What about the more exotic pets you say? Well after many successful years of breeding Bearded Dragons and several species of chameleons and geckos, Sophie at the time of writing has just 1 rescue Bearded Dragon called Lily, 1 rescue Horsfield tortoise called Squirt Darwin Junior, 2 gargoyle geckos called Quazi and Esme, 2 elegant geckos called Ellie and Elsa, a western hognose named piglet, a winter white hamster called Evee and a Discus fish tank.
Even when she is not working with animals, Sophie loves to spend her time with them. She spends many weekends mountain walking with Amber and enjoying wildlife photography with several of her photos exhibited in two galleries in South Wales.
