The ‘write’ side of Rory! TV vet talks about his debut book

TV vet Rory Cowlam was just four years old when his decision about what he wanted to do in his professional life was sealed.

“I grew up in the Cotswalds, surrounded by animals,” says the 28-year-old star of CBBC’s ‘The Pets Factor’ in his clipped, enthusiastic, south London accent.”

“Then we got my first dog when I was four-years-old; she was a Great Dane called Lulu, and she was everything I’d ever hoped for in a dog.

“She was perfect, and ever since then I’ve wanted to be a vet.”

And so the practising veterinary surgeon and social media influencer moved to London, where he studied at and graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in 2015.

I ask him if he wasn’t put off by the lengthy study period, the intensity of the work, and the long working hours, but he says that whilst these factors “obviously weren’t the most appealing”, he never even wavered.

He was completely sold on the idea of being a vet – and a true success he has made of the career too.

“As I outline in my book, when I first had to go into surgery, the blood and the guts got me a little, but other than that, it’s been plain sailing.”

It’s just recently that Rory has added the title of published author to his collection of achievements.

‘The Secret Life of a Vet’ is his debut offering, and gives an honest and emotive account of his career and daily life to date.

In it, he also goes into detail about his own personal battles with dyslexia and an intention tremor, and how he has pushed through these to success in not only the veterinary world, but also that of broadcast and media as well.

He may be young, but he’s a clearly a man who isn’t afraid of hard work, and putting in the hours to secure his path to success.

“When I qualified, my first job was in a 24-hour animal hospital in Kent, and I worked shifts doing emergency work.

“It really is a sink or swim style of job and I loved every moment of it. It was tough and the hours were long, I was very young, but I wouldn’t have changed it. It was brilliant.”

When it came to making a decision about what to specialise in, Rory admits he was torn as to whether he wanted to go down the farm animal route, or work in small animal practice.

“They were my two loves,but I think what pulled me away from the idea of farm animal practice – and I loved farm animals and being with farmers, they are just wonderful human beings – was the idea that it was very mathematically based. There is a statistical side to it, involving milk yields and TB testing, and whilst I love maths, I wanted to focus more on the really hands-on stuff.”

Today Rory is based at The Neighbourhood Vet practice in East Dulwich, London, and has been nominated for Vet of the Year 2018 and 2019 at the Animal Star Awards.

He’s also an ambassador of the charity Streetvet, as well as a keen supporter of the RSPCA, Dogstrust, Cats Protection League and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

His career in broadcast continues to flourish; ‘The Pet Factor’ is now on its eighth series, and Rory is also a regular on shows such as ITV’s ‘Lorraine’, BBC’s ‘Blue Peter’, CBBC HQ, and BBC Breakfast and Sky News.

I ask him if his TV breakthrough was by accident or design, and he admits it was a bit of both.

“I was definitely lucky,” he admits. “I think that vets in general do shy away from the camera, but I was probably one of ones that didn’t, and therefore I was lucky in that I was in a position to avail of a career in TV.

“I love it, and I get a real kick out of it, and having the opportunity to spread such awareness about good animal welfare and help to educate the public is an honour really.”

So he’s a people person, as much as an animal one then, it’s fair to say?

“I think as a vet you have to be; people forget that we deal with the general public as well,” he says thoughtfully.

The importance of mental health – particularly amongst young men in their 20s, like Rory – is something that also motivated him to write his book; he’s keen to help encourage people to open up, talk, and seek help freely when it comes to this issue.

“It’s something that really needs to be talked about and brought to people’s attention,” he says.

A runner himself, Rory counts a healthy lifestyle, including eating nutritious food and exercising regularly, as his best remedy against falling victim to the kinds of ordinary daily stresses and strains that can often sap the emotional energy of a person.

“For me, it’s always been exercise and food. If I stop exercising, and I stop eating well, then I know that I’m going to start struggling.

“Quite often, when I’m feeling a bit low, I’ll look back and say, yeah, all I’ve done is drink beer and eat pizza, and not really done much else, and obviously that’s not going to be good for anyone.”

l ‘The Secret Life of a Vet’ by Rory Cowlam (@rorythevet) is available at Amazon and all good book stores.