Pictured: Muriel with her Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mrs Muriel Taylor started working at the company in 1950.

A veterinary receptionist at Pennard Vets, Mrs Muriel Taylor, has celebrated more than 70 years at the practice.

Joining Pennard Vets in 1950 aged 16, Muriel started her career as an office junior on a weekly wage of £1 10 shillings, and has been a part of the practice's development into multiple sites.

Beloved and respected by colleagues and clients alike, Muriel was presented with the British Veterinary Receptionist Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in a celebration with more than 100 Pennard Vet team members.

Discussing the celebration, director Andy Green said: “When Muriel retired in 2020, sadly lockdown rules denied us the chance for a proper celebration, so we are very pleased to have been able to celebrate together with such a fabulous party.”

Muriel spoke about her career: “When I started at Pennard Vets,  the practice cared for large animals including horses, sheep and cattle on the local farms, but we also had some more unusual clients!  

“A special highlight was fielding telephone calls from former Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, who lived at Chartwell country house, near Westerham, in Kent and employed the practice to look after the health of the black swans living on the estate’s lake!

“Two of the biggest changes I saw during my seven decades at the practice were the business giving up farm work to focus on small animal work as dogs and cats became a bigger part of our families, and the transition from my handwritten notes in ledgers to modern computer systems, but I have always embraced change and enjoyed learning new skills. 

“I miss everyone at Pennard Vets but will keep in touch and keep baking for them!”

Andy continued: “Few people in this country have achieved what Muriel has. Pennard Vets has been around for over 125 years and Muriel’s journey with us has encompassed a staggering 70 years of that, making her one of only a handful of people in the UK who have completed 70 years with a single employer!

“Muriel is ever-present, reliable, caring, dependable and she makes the best biscuits around!

“During the subsequent 70 years she was part of the growth in the practice from a single site to multiple sites. 

“She was also fantastic at embracing the latest technology as the practice went from handwritten ledgers, double entry bookkeeping and dealing with the terribly difficult to decipher handwritten notes of the vets, to digitalisation, computers, online systems, email, mobile phones and a host of other technological advances.

“Throughout the years her role changed dramatically, and she learned new skills, adapted, and moved with the times, demonstrating our core values of continuous improvement, client focus, compassion and clarity every step of the way.”

Image (C) Pennard Vets