Dawn Platten is an experienced, qualified veterinary nurse. She trained at a small animal practice in London and qualified as a veterinary nurse (VN) in 1989.
Dawn’s passion for animals began at an early age and developed through keeping pet dogs, cats and guinea pigs. She bred both cats and dogs whilst studying at high school and trained her dogs to competition standard in both obedience and agility.
After qualifying as a veterinary nurse Dawn worked in a range of associated fields giving her good all round knowledge of the veterinary world.
Dawn Platten was head nurse at a practice in Southend-on-Sea before spending a year in Australia where she worked for a small animal practice in Melbourne as a locum nurse. On her return to the U.K, Dawn worked as a locum veterinary nurse for six months and was then employed by Battersea Dogs’ Home in London.
Battersea Dogs’ home is a large animal charity that rescues lost and unwanted dogs and cats, rehabilitates them in terms of health and behaviour and finds new homes for them. Dawn worked at the charity for 10 years as a senior nurse and gained great experience working with all types and temperaments of animals. Dawn was involved with setting up, teaching and running an agility display team, which performed at Crufts in 2000.
Dawn is the course manager at City and Islington College for the Diploma in Veterinary Nursing. She teaches theory in Veterinary Nursing and Animal Management at the college. She began teaching in 2000 and enjoys this work enormously. Dawn is a qualified teacher holding a Certificate in Education. She is also a qualified Assessor and Internal Verifier.
Dawn lives in West London with her husband David, who is a veterinary surgeon. They share their home with two children and a cat. They also keep chickens and quail in their garden.