Nursing Team

Jennifer Nicholson RVN

Our head nurse Jennifer started working at Crossriggs in 2012 as a student Veterinary Nurse when she began training at the Barony College in Dumfries. In November 2014 she qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse and has been part of the Crossriggs team ever since. In 2020 Jennifer completed her BSc honours top up degree in Veterinary Nursing.

In her spare time, Jennifer competes in agility with her dogs and enjoys travelling around Scotland to compete.

Jennifer is a trained clinical supervisor for Barony College and has trained several student nurses at Crossriggs, including Ceara and Shonagh.

Lyndsey Ciarcia RVN

Lyndsey joined the Crossriggs team at the end of 2025, but has been working in a vet clinic since 1995. She qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2002 from Edinburgh’s Telford College and then completed a City and Guilds qualification in Veterinary Nursing of Exotics and Wildlife in 2006.

Lyndsey keeps chickens, ducks and racing pigeons and has a border collie called Asha.

In her spare time she loves arts and crafts, and makes dog collars and leads.  She is also studying part time for a degree in Fine Arts and teaches yoga classes on her days off.

Her favourite holidays are spent on Arran or travelling Italy and she can speak Italian.

Sarah Higgins RVN

Sarah joined our nursing team in January 2025 following a move to the south of Scotland.
Originally from Yorkshire, Sarah qualified as an RVN in 1999. She left the profession in 2004 to work in various roles within the NHS and has recently completed a period of supervised practice accredited by the RCVS to restore her RVN qualification.
Sarah’s hobbies include walking her dog Yani and looking after her small herd of Galloway cattle.

Eilidh Crawford

Eilidh joined the team at the start of 2024 having recently completed an animal care course at SRUC Barony Campus. Eilidh has also volunteered at Fossilfields Training Centre and has experience of caring for all sorts of different animals, from dogs to ducks! Eilidh enjoys supporting our nurses with their daily tasks.

Tracey Brydon-Brown

Tracey now splits her time between our reception team and our nursing team. She successfully completed her Animal Nursing Assistant qualification via the College of Animal Welfare in July 2025 and now works two days as a nursing assistant and three days on our reception desk.