One of our fine English vets, David was educated at the University of Nottingham (2015 BVM BVS Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery).  Whilst most of his time is spent caring for small animals, David enjoys helping out with the large animals, particularly around calving time.  He also enjoys playing golf badly, surfing and hiking.  With VetSouth since 2015, the appeal is in working for a company which really cares for employees well being and makes you feel valued.  

Fleur was raised on a sheep/beef farm in Stanley Brook in the Nelson district. After studying veterinary science at Massey, she moved south, beginning her career with Gore Vets in 1996.

Fleur now works predominantly from the Tapanui VetSouth branch, where her main interests are with sheep, beef, dairy and deer. She has become a well-known member of the West Otago Community.

Teach a man to fish...and he’ll go fishing. Which is what Joel likes to do when not working hard as a Veterinarian at our Gore clinic. From the mighty Whakatane and educated first at Waikato University (2006 BSc) and then Massey in Palmerston North (2011 BVSc), It’s the people, region and working with sheep and deer that keep Joel happy. As do his partner, Louise and their children Olivia and Georgia. Plus Matilda the cat and Tika the dog. Ambitions for the future? Well, maybe a spot more fishing and some moonlighting as a fishing guide.

Originally from Sydney, Sunita attended Massey University, where she met Hayden (now her husband and fellow shareholder at VetSouth) and gained her BVSc. A large animal vet, Sunita has been with VetSouth since the early days. The appeal (apart from Hayden being here) is in the great people, in a pretty area with no traffic. Outside of work is just as busy. There’s horse riding, show horses, painting, crocheting, baking, running and making things look pretty. There’s also the husband, 2 kids, 1 cat, 4 dogs, 5 horses, 1 yak, 1 deer, 1 goat...and a few more animals. Once all that is done and tended to? Then it’s time to complete a diploma in interior design. Phew.

Mark qualified from Glasgow in 1988, and spent the next seven years moving between intensive dairy practice in the North of England and climbing mountains. A stint in New Zealand convinced him that this was the best place to do both, so in 1995 he moved to the Waikato in the North Island.

In 1997 he moved South to head up the dairy side of Central Southland Vets in Winton. He became a director in 2001 by which time the practice had doubled in vet numbers and quadrupled in dairy farm numbers. In 2005 Winton and Gore vets joined to form VetSouth, in an attempt to create a well-resourced clinic environment with top clients that would attract and retain the best vets in the country.

In 2004 Mark gained his Masters in Epidemiology, and whilst still leading the dairy side of VetSouth, he now splits his time with heading the research group within VetSouth. His role is 50% clinical; 50% research; and 50% management…He is also an executive member of the Society of Dairy Cattle Vets in New Zealand; has a share in a 600 cow dairy farm; and at home runs 1800 sheep and 3 kids on 400 acres.

Creating VetSouth was all about elevating rural vet practice; the belief that just because we live a long way away from things farmers shouldn’t receive second rate veterinary services. To that end, VetSouth continues to develop and innovate and attempt to work with some of the best farmers in the country to add value.

He has climbed all over the world, including 4 expeditions to the Himalayas, and first ascents in South America and Antarctica. These trips formed a large part of his early travels and public presentations. Nowadays his travels are more concerned with presenting at conferences rather than climbing mountains.

Brendon was born and raised in Invercargill. He finished vet school in the mid 80’s and briefly worked in mixed practice in Invercargill before travelling overseas. After 3 years in the UK he travelled to the USA and completed a 3 year Equine Surgical Residency. After this he worked in horse practice in South Auckland and gained specialist registration with the Veterinary Council of NZ in Equine Surgery. He returned home to Southland in 1996 to become a partner in Southern Veterinary Centre along with Michael Brown. They built a purpose built horse hospital on the edge of the Invercargill Racecourse. A small animal side was soon added a year later and a substantial extension was completed in 2010. Southern Veterinary Centre became part of the VetSouth group in 2015.

The practice offers all manner of routine and specialist equine and dairy veterinary work and Brendon manages this side of the practice. Both his two daughters have safely flown the nest and his ideas of being able to do more hunting and fishing might come to fruition.

Penny was raised in Victoria, Australia on her families beef and cropping farm. After completing her studies at the University of Melbourne in December 2017, she has come to Southland to pursue her interest in farm animal production and small animal medicine. She enjoys ice skating and running and being a part of her local church's community - as well as helping out on her sheep farm!

Sarah graduated from Massey University in 2011 and joined the VetSouth team based in Winton as a small animal veterinarian. After a few years she and her husband Dan spent 2 years travelling on their O.E., which included spending some time working for vet clinics in Yorkshire, the Scottish Central Lowlands and Fife. Despite enjoying the UK they decided to come back to the VetSouth family and are now living in Balclutha with Sarah working from the Gore clinic. She has always had a preference for small animal work, and loves the challenge and variety that a rural clinic offers. Outside of work she enjoys exploring the outdoors, tramping and photography and spending time with her beautiful family.

Anna is from Rangiora up in North Canterbury and gained her Diploma of Rural Veterinary Technician at Telford. She has a very busy year as she takes spring off to go be an AI Technician, which is part of why she loves working for VetSouth as she is offered the flexibility required.

Emily studied at SIT Invercargill and gained a certificate in Rural Animal Technology. Hailing from the mighty Palmerston North, Emily joined our Tech team in 2020. She loves working in a team with like-minded people, as well as the work-life balance that VetSouth offers. She loves spending time in her garden and also with her animals.

Natalia joined the Tech team in the West originally as a fixed-term employee over Teatsealing in 2020. She has since joined the techies full time and is the Here for Good representative for the team. Natalia is originally from Southland and is an avid member of the local Young Farmers group. She is currently studying and enjoys the work-life balance that VetSouth offers.

Jennifer is originally from Tauranga, she made the excellent decision to move down to "sunny" Southland as she gained her qualification in Veterinary Nursing at SIT in 2019. Her bubbly smiling face is often seen in both our Winton and Invercargill clinics, she loves how each day is so different. She has a strong passion for nursing and enjoys helping her patients heal and getting back home as soon as possible.

After graduating with her Diploma in Veterinary Nursing from SIT, Jeni joined our practice in 2010. Jeni hails from Cheshire, England and has lived in New Zealand for 17 years. As a Vet Nurse, Jeni takes care of the small animal patients from when they are admitted, during surgery, and afterwards until ready to be discharged, as well as a wide range of other duties.
During her spare time Jeni enjoys badmington and trout fishing.

After moonlighting as a Tech over Dry Cow/Teatsealing time for a couple of years Donna has taken up a permanent position at VetSouth as the Customer Services Rep at the Clydevale clinic. She lives on a large block in Owaka and in her spare time enjoys competing on the rodeo circuit barrel racing her horse Maverick.

A Northern Southland local, Beks has a strong agricultural background and joined our Winton team in 2020 stepping into the farm delivery representative role. She loves getting out on-farm and seeing the clients in their natural habitat. Her job takes her all around Southland and she loves getting out there. When not touring Southland, she is busy on her own farm and raising a wonderful family in Athol.

Lis joined our team in 2019 and came to us from Omarama. She studied a Bachelor of Agricultural Science which combined with her farming experience, provides our West Retail team with some valuable knowledge. Lis loves working with farmers daily and helping them find the right products for their specific farm to improve their production. She loves her retail team and has been a positive burst of energy into the team that seems to do a little bit of everything. Lis loves spending time outdoors, with her horses and dogs making the most of Southland. Did you know she was a solo glider pilot at 17 years old?!

Born and bred from Invercargill, Jordan joined the Farm Services team in 2021 and is loving being part of a friendly team. When not at work, she loves getting outdoors with friends, family and her pets!

Cherie is a firm fixture of the Farm Services team and is the glue that holds the place together. She joined our team in 2020 and has been a major part of the company's transition into a new operating system. She studied social work at Otago University gaining a Bachelor's Degree. She enjoys working for VetSouth because the company is good at seeing where staff can progress - "its not just one thing, there are many different areas of the business that do completely different things." In her spare time, she enjoys reading comic books, spending time with her pets and playing video games!