ANIMALS have always been an important part of the New Forest.
The area is famous for the free-roaming ponies, cows and donkeys that graze the landscape, preventing it from turning into an overgrown wilderness.
Its ancient woods and large areas of open heathland are also popular with dog walkers and horse riders.
Now one of the busiest and best-known veterinary practices in the district has embarked on its centenary year.
Seadown Veterinary Group has been treating all creatures great and small since 1923 - the year King Tutankhamun's long-lost tomb was discovered in Egypt.
The practice was originally based in a shed behind the home of one of its founders.
But it soon started to leave its humble beginnings behind and now boasts a state-of-the-art animal hospital at Hythe, plus two smaller branches at Totton and Lymington.
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In the early days, drugs were often ineffective and many conditions were incurable.
Vets also had to cope without the everyday diagnostic tools their present-day counterparts take for granted, including X-rays, ultrasound, and blood tests.
Bob Bentley was a Seadown vet for almost 40 years.
He said: "We have always been a close veterinary practice that operates like a family, with local practitioners, specialists and staff who are passionate about Seadown and our patients.
"Everyone treats every patient as if it were their own."
Referring to the practice's centenary, senior equine vet Laura Trigg added: "It means the world to us at Seadown to be celebrating such an amazing milestone.
"We're incredibly grateful to all the staff, patients and clients who have supported the practice throughout the years.
"It's a huge honour to serve the New Forest people and animal communities, and to be a part of the fascinating historical traditions and age-old forest ways."
Laura said Seadown's clients over the decades had included several generations of the same families.
"In addition, some of our vets and nurses were children when they first encountered the practice. Then they became adults, trained with us and now work here.
"It's a particularly special veterinary practice with a precious and unique heritage."
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Seadown is used by organisations and institutions across the district, including the New Forest Show and the area’s annual point-to-point. It also supports an animal rescue unit run by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service.
"Many an hour spent in bogs and ditches," said vet Gillies Moffat.
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