About Stride

Stride Small Animal Surgery was founded by Will Hodge. I was one those vets who from a young age didn't want to do anything else, graduating from Bristol University in 2000. The surgery bug got me in my first job, a mixed practice in Wiltshire. I vividly remember being called in as an emergency on a Sunday afternoon for a Flat Coat Retriever that had been hit by a car. The incident occurred in a village I had to pass through to get into work and on my route in I saw the offending vehicle and feared the worst for the retriever - with the bonnet caved in as if it had hit a tree. But we know our patients are tough. A chest drain to sort the pneumothorax, and then a few days later a plate on his fractured tibia and he was running around a few months later.
In 2003 I moved to SE London for a girl and the experience of working in a large Hospital practice. I started my RCVS CertSAS, then in 2009 moved to West Berkshire to be the lead surgeon at a Veterinary Hospital, now with a wife (the same girl) and the first of my two daughters. I passed my RCVS CertSAS in 2010, and continued driving the practice forward. Whilst continuing being a general practitioner and all the fun and challenges that brings, I introduced osteotomies for cranial cruciate ligament disease, arthroscopy, upper airway surgery and thoracic surgery. I became a RCVS Advanced Practitioner when this was created, and Clinical Director in 2014.

I moved locally to another large Hospital in West Berkshire in 2018, again first opinion vet work but sharing the major surgical duties with a colleague including external referrals. I was one of 4 Clinical Directors, my role including practice standards and audit alongside general practice management.
With over 20 years of experience of advanced surgery, general practitioner veterinary and running a practice I acutely understand the challenges that clients and practices face when choosing the best option for the patient. Clear communication with both the case vet and client is critical so the patient gets the optimal care.
I come from teaching family and love to educate future generations, and am proud of the certificate and diploma holders that I have nudged along their path over the years.

I am a past member of the Association of Veterinary Soft Tissue Surgeons (AVSTS) and a current active member of the British Veterinary Orthopaedic Association (BVOA).

Aside from being a vet my major passion is hockey. I have been a member at Marlborough HC since 2000, aside from my London hiatus. I still play, am Chairman of the Club, and coach juniors on Sunday mornings. My two teenage daughters have caught the bug and both play and coach. When I'm not playing hockey I love to go trail running and biking. And amazingly I still have a beautiful and tolerant wife!