Pictured: Alex Davies, one of the three finalists.

The judges selected the finalists from nearly 100 applicants. 

The finalists for the 2021 Young Vet of the Year have been announced by the BVA.

Aimed at early-career veterinary surgeons, the award celebrates those who have made a difference within their community or within the profession. 

The finalists are as follows:

Sarah Krumrie, who has been nominated in recognition of her dedication to tackling mental health issues in veterinary students, and her work supporting new graduates from the University of Glasgow. 

Sarah initiated a series of new graduate mental health meetings, and identified positive changes for the university to make in supporting students and recent graduates after a classmate took his own life in 2019. 

She is currently working as a resident on veterinary public health and a trainee clinician in veterinary infectious diseases, and is studying for a Masters in Veterinary Medicine (MVM). 

Alex Davies has been nominated for his dedication in supporting students who are considering joining the veterinary profession.

He has developed and delivered several educational projects for students in his role at Vet Mentor, including his highly praised and free-to-access virtual veterinary work experience programme, which saw over 1,000 students viewing real veterinary professionals interacting with clients and animals. 

In driving the growth of Vet Mentor, Alex has provided opportunities for other veterinary professionals to inspire future vets. 

Finally, Sarah Penturn has been nominated for her commitment to dog welfare, upskilling both herself and the veterinary community to benefit the dog-owner-clinician relationship. 

Sarah has been employed at Dogs Trust since 2017 as a veterinary behaviourist, and delivers professional development training on behavioural medicine for rehoming centre staff and the wider profession, educating veterinary professionals to become more behaviourally aware, understanding underlying causes and treatment options for behaviour patients.

She is also responsible for the psychopharmacological needs of dogs across Dogs Trust's 22 rehoming centres, alongside conducting behaviour consultations for dogs after adoption. 

BVA president Justine Shotton commented on the finalists: “It has been an immense pleasure to learn about the nominees for this year’s award, and the standard of nominations has been incredibly high.

“These three finalists have demonstrated determination to succeed and improve animal welfare and the desire and commitment to not only create a high achieving career for themselves, but to inspire and support the vets of the future to reach their potential as well.

“Congratulations to all three finalists; it is going to be very difficult to pick a winner.”

All three finalists receive a free ticket to the London Vet Show, where the winner will be announced at the BVA Gala Dinner. The winner will receive £1,000 prize money and a mentoring and engagement opportunity with Zoetis.