About
James has spent his career focused on one thing: understanding and relieving pain in animals.
Pet Pain Relief is run by Dr James Hunt, a consultant in pain medicine and a Founding Fellow in Pain Management of the American College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.
Dr James Hunt
How he got here
James started in mixed practice, where he found himself more interested in analgesia and anaesthesia than in anything else on the day list. He took the RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Anaesthesia, carried on in first opinion practice for a while, then went back to university for a Master's and a PhD in pain medicine.
He worked as a clinical anaesthetist in multi-disciplinary referral hospitals, and still does part time. Chronic pain cases kept arriving, and they did not fit. Reading the notes, running the consultation and writing the report takes around four hours per patient, and no hospital rota has four hours in it.
Pet Pain Relief started at the end of 2020, seeing cases wherever there was room. The clinic in Dulverton opened in 2024, partly because some patients needed interventional treatment that could not be squeezed into someone else's theatre list, and partly because James's own dog needs regular treatment.
A depth of training in pain assessment and treatment that general practice is not structured to provide.
Qualifications and recognition
James is an RCVS and EBVS Specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law, the discipline he holds the diploma in. In pain medicine he works as a consultant, and is a Founding Fellow in Pain Management of the American College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.
BVetMed, MSc, PhD, CertVA, DipECAWBM(AWSEL) MRCVS
- Founding Fellow in Pain Management of the American College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia
- EBVS and RCVS Specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law
- PhD and MSc in pain
- European Diploma in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law
- RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Anaesthesia
- Co-author, with Kate White, of the chapter on chronic and osteoarthritic pain in the BSAVA Guide to Pain Management in Small Animal Practice (BSAVA, 2019)
- A full list of publications is on his Google Scholar profile
How we work
- We recommend options based on what is best for your pet, not what is most convenient or profitable.
- We are open about what we can and can't achieve.
- We use plain language, and questions are welcome at every stage.
- We work closely with your regular vet and keep them fully informed.
- If another specialist or referral centre is better placed to help, we will say so.
A quieter kind of appointment
Appointments run long and are deliberately spaced, so there is rarely more than one patient in the building. Examinations happen on a mat on the floor rather than on a table. It gives the animal time to relax, and it gives you time to say what you actually came to say.
You will also have James's direct email. There is nobody else to pass a question on to, which is a limitation and an advantage at the same time.
Not sure whether a pain consultation is the right next step?
Call and ask. If another specialist or referral centre is better placed to help, we will say so.
Clinic
41 High Street
Dulverton
Somerset TA22 9DW
Appointments
By appointment, generally Wednesday to Friday.