Adrian Arnold qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Cambridge University in 1964. Having served as an assistant in general practices in Dunstable and Woking he set up his own veterinary practice in Crawley in 1968. Having created a four-man, two-centre practice the family decided to move to Colchester in Essex where he set up another new practice in 1987. Throughout this time he became a freelance journalist writing for both the local and veterinary press. In 1989 he became one of the first vets in the country to computerise his veterinary records and computing has remained a hobby ever since.

His other hobbies included light aircraft flying,digital photography, reading and travelling to meet friends and relatives in Europe, America, Africa and Asia.

Adrian and his wife, Jen, who still sits as a magistrate, have three children and four grandchildren while they enjoy his retirement in a small village in the Stour valley.