 He enrolled in the new Dick Veterinary College in Edinburgh under William Dick in 1855.He qualified MRCVS in 1857, and set up a veterinary practice in Bradford, Yorkshire, England.In 1867 he returned to his alma mater in Edinburgh to become third principal of the Dick Veterinary College, replacing the brief principalship of Colonel James H. B. Hallen FRSE who was urgently called to India to address an outbreak of cattle plague.