7th November 2011

States of Guernsey hired its first independent vet

The States of Guernsey hired its first full-time vet in 2011. The successful candidate, David Chamberlain, had already worked as a vet on Guernsey since 1987. After a successful career that included an invention and a buy-out he was appointed to the part-time role on 7 November.

A varied career

After studying at the Royal Veterinary College, Chamberlain spent 21 years working as a general practitioner at Isabel Vets. Meanwhile, in the late 1990s, he came up with the idea of using the identifying microchip placed in most cats’ necks as a virtual key. It worked rather like the remote keys used to lock and unlock cars. Chamberlain had spotted that as the chip could be read wirelessly for identification purposes, that positive identifier could be used to unlock a catflap.

Thus, he invented PetPorte and, in the process, patented the microchip controlled flap. Production began on Guernsey and ran to 10,000 units a month, according to an interview in Official Vet Magazine.

Radio Systems Corporation later bought the intellectual property associated with the automated flap. It took on Chamberlain as a consultant.