Adele graduated from Massey in 2016. She orginated from Rotorua but spent most of her childhood in Rarotonga. Adele enjoys both sheep and dairy work but also helps out with small animals when needed. She loves everything involving outdoors, including tennis, soccer, netball and horse riding!

David graduated from the University of Nottingham in July 2015 and immediately packed his bags and headed out to start his career over here in New Zealand.
He has a keen interest in all aspects of mixed practice and has even spent time working with zoo and aquatic animals.
Away from work David lives to travel and he cannot wait to begin exploring this region of the world.

Erin graduated from the University of Melbourne before making the move down to Southland in January 2014. Although her main focus is dairy, she also enjoys working with sheep, deer and small animals. On the weekend, she enjoys tramping, rock climbing and skiing.

Hayden joined VetSouth Ltd in October 2006. A native Southlander, Hayden has been working as a veterinarian in the Southland region since graduating in 2005. His non-vet interests include hunting, fly fishing, rugby and golf.

Keryn has worked as a vet in Samoa and North Queensland as well as New Zealand. After working in the tropics she moved to Southland in 2010 to experience the other end of the spectrum. Although mostly working with dairy cattle, she also does a bit of small animal and sheep work. She and her husband Max have two children.

Lisa joined VetSouth Ltd in January 2011 after finishing her Vet degree at Massey in 2010. Her family is originally from the Otago and Southland area, but she was born in Wellington. Lisa especially enjoys working with production animals, with dairy, deer and sheep work of particular interest. She also spends some of her time in the small animal department. Outside of work Lisa enjoys hunting, shooting small game, running, biking and tramping.

Liv is a companion animal vet who Qualified at Bristol University in 2001 and worked in the UK for 8 years before moving to NZ with her husband and 2 border collies. She worked in Greymouth for 15 months before moving to Otago to do locum work for Vetlife. In 2012 she moved to Southland and initially worked for CVS, then for Vetco before joining the PetSouth team end of September 2015. On her spare time she enjoys DIY, gardening and travelling.

Neil is a shareholder at the Winton clinic. His main interest is in dairy cows, in particular fertility (he is an In-calf trained advisor), trace elements and herd health. Neil was born and bred in Northumberland in the north of England, and qualified as a vet from Edinburgh University in 1988. After spending 14 years in mixed practice in the UK, he moved to Winton with his young family in 2002.

Neil is married to Nikki and they have 3 sons. He enjoys most sports (especially rugby!!) but more as a spectator than a participator these days. He does still do a wee bit of tramping, mountain biking and has recently become a keen gym goer- needing to do something to maintain his honed physique! Always keen for a cider, he can be found at most clinic social events. Look out for his “COW DR” Toyota Prado when driving around Southland.

Australian born with an Indian mum and Kiwi dad, Sunita came to VetSouth as a new graduate in 2005.

Since arriving she has worked with all sorts of animals but has a very strong interest in dairy practice. She does a bit of horse work in between her cow work and loves getting out and about seeing clients. She has quite a menagerie of animals which seems to be growing all the time. In her spare time Sunita enjoys horse riding,  travelling to hot countries and the odd bit of gardening.

Sunita is married to Hayden and has a 2 year old daughter who is more than likely going to become a vet as well!

Skye hails from Kangaroo Island, Australia where she grew up on sheep and beef farm. Early childhood dreams of becoming a vet (hairdresser a close second) came true when she graduated from University of Melbourne in 2004.

Since then, Skye’s had a liquorice allsorts career, working in dairy practice in Warrnambool (Australia), speying (lots of!) dogs in Samoa, working alongside animal health agencies in Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste on biosecurity projects, and with indigenous communities in northern Australia on exotic disease surveillance.

Outside of work, Skye’s achievements include growing three humans, completing a Masters in Veterinary Public Health Management (through the University of Sydney), and gaining membership to the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in epidemiology.

Skye made the big move across the ditch with her young family in early 2017 to join VetSouth’s research team.

In her little spare time, Skye enjoys getting outside in the famous Southland weather, drinking wine, prancercising and drinking wine.

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.

Bianca was raised on a sheep farm in Waimahaka (Southland). She attended Southland Girls High School, boarding at Enwood Hostel. Her love of animals and working outdoors led her to pursue a career as a veterinarian. After five years study in Palmerston North, where she met her now husband, she graduated in the top 5% of her class and returned to Southland to practice as a mixed animal veterinarian. She started with Gore Vets in January 2006.

Gore Vets then became VetSouth Ltd later in 2006 after the amalgamation with Central Southland Vets. With the continued expansion of the dairy sector in Southland her role has become predominantly dairy focused, but she still enjoys the odd small animal and sheep and beef call. She has a special interest in dairy herd reproduction and BVD management. Bianca became a shareholder at VetSouth Ltd in 2011.

Cecilia grew up on a sheep & beef farm in Waipara, North Canterbury before moving to Christchurch. She spent a few years overseas working as a physiotherapist before realising that veterinary science was where her true passion lay. She graduated from Massey in December 2016 and enjoys working with both production & companion animals. Outside of work Cece likes to get out into the hills for tramping, skiing, enjoying the Southland views and is very much enjoying getting back to her rural roots.

After leaving Massey in 2007 Claire worked as a mixed vet in southern Southland until joining the VetSouth production animal team in 2014. She hails from Te Anau and now calls Glenham home. When she’s not working she might be found on the hockey turf or being taken for a run by her dog

Hugh is a Massey University Veterinary Science graduate from 1979. At first he worked in North Canterbury for two years , did small animal work in the USA for one year and travelled for a year before moving to Gore in 1984 . Although starting in a mixed practice role he soon moved to solely small animal work. Hugh has a special interest in veterinary surgery , especially orthopaedics, in which field he continues to enjoy the demanding case load of companion animal pets and working dogs presented to the clinic. Hugh is a Director and the senior small animal veterinarian in VetSouth, he strives to ensure that the SA Department staff are well resourced, trained and equipped to develop the professional skills and diligence needed to provide a high standard of care to the companion animal patients.

Penny was raised in Victoria, Australia being involved in the family 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 is looking forward to taking up tramping in the near future.

Maternity Leave

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 is excited to be starting a family in December 2017.

Mandy is originally from Central Otago and was brought up on a sheep and beef farm in Tarras. She has worked on a cattle station in Australia and on a dairy farm in Southland. Mandy started at VetSouth in March 2014.

When not working she loves getting outdoors and catching up with friends and family.

Brittany is originally from Southland where she has grown up on several dairy farms. She enjoys the rural industry especially diary, and getting outdoors. In her spare time she loves getting together with friends and also helping her parents on the farm.

Tiarna is from Southland where she grew up around sheep and beef farms. She started work at VetSouth as a Vet Tech in January 2014 after completing her Diploma in Veterinary Nursing through SIT in 2013.

When not working Tiarna enjoys getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

Gina joined our vet nursing team in early 2012. Gina was our resident foster carer until one of her foster kids “Saphire” a black lab, rottweiler cross stole her heart.

Kim started at VetSouth in June 2014 after studying veterinary nursing at S.I.T. Kim enjoys nursing the hospital patients, and has a special interest in the farm dogs. Out of work Kim enjoys competing with her own heading dog, Fergie, in the obedience show ring.

Dale is originally from Tokonui, then Invercargill before finally moving to Gore. She is married with two teenagers and a few furry housemates. Dale started initially with VetSouth in the shop team and has recently moved into the small animal clinic while studying for her Vet Nursing Diploma at Otago Polytechnic. Dale also spends one day a week working from the Tapanui clinic.

Shbourne grew up in Gore and attended Menzies college in Wyndham, she then studied in Invercargill at SIT to become a vet nurse. Shbourne worked at Northern Southland Veterinary Services for 4 years before joining the team at VetSouth. Shbourne and her partner Phillip have 4 fur babies. Dogs, Buddy & Doofy and cats Clifford & Cheryl.

Shbourne enjoys playing sport and hanging with friends and family in her spare time.

(on maternity leave)

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 new 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.

Jeanette graduated from the Scottish Agricultural College in 2002 with a degree in Agriculture and then worked as a soil fertility consultant throughout the UK until she decided to take the plunge and travel to New Zealand. Jeanette fell in love with South Otago and has never left! She was born and bred into a large sheep, beef and arable farming operation in the north of England, and has spent many years working on farms both in the UK and South Otago. In Jeanette’s spare time her two children and her dog keep her very busy, and she loves to bake and cook. When time allows she also loves camping, the beach and disappearing into the Catlins!

Rochelle joined the Vetsouth team in October 2014. Mainly customer services at Invercargill you may also catch her every now and then at our Winton branch. Rochelle has a diploma in veterinary nursing from S.I.T. Small animals are her passion and she loves having a chat and getting to know all the clients and their pets. In her spare time Rochelle enjoys reading, spending time with her daughter and many pets.

Sarah started working for VetSouth at the end of August 2012. She lives on a sheep/beef farm with her husband Kevin, not far from the Tapanui Clinic. She has two children, Dean who is an apprentice diesel mechanic in Mosgiel and Kaitlyn who is a student at Blue Mountain College.

Steph is originally from the Waikato but came down to Invercargill to study the Diploma of Veterinary Nursing and has been working at VetSouth since 2011. Steph enjoys running the Puppy Pre School programme and has several pets on the weight loss programme offered at VetSouth. In her spare time she relief milks cows and enjoys walking her dog.

Dave MacKenzie was brought up on a small lifestyle block and has always had a strong passion for animals and farming. He has worked on various farms in Southland and South Otago and completed a mustering season in the ‘Kimberlys’ in Western Australia. The last 2 ½ years David has worked for Advance Agriculture Ltd as their store man. His hobbies include fishing, duck shooting, fire brigade, young farmers, friends and family and of course a good ole BBQ and a few beers. David is looking forward to meeting new clients and catching up with the old ones.

 

On Farm Sales Rep

Jim has been with VetSouth for 23years, he is the all round handy man with a great knowledge of all products and clients. All ways there to lend a hand Jim enjoys spending time with his family and is religious golf player.

Corina is really enjoying being back in Gore where she was born and breed. She has spent the last 12 years living in Heriot, West Otago with her husband Jason and their son Reuben who is 12. Corina has been working on a casual basis mainly involving sheep and beef farming around Heriot. They have recently purchased their own 40 acres handy to Gore.

Cameron has recently joined the retail sector, and has a background in hospitality. His spare time is spent outdoors, hunting with the Eastern Southland Hunt Club.

Julia graduated from Lincoln University in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) in Animal Science. She has spent the last 2 years working in the United Kingdom and has now settled in Southland. She is originally from a sheep and beef farm in Cave, South Canterbury.

Born in Scotland where she lived till the age of four, Joanne then grew up in South Africa and during that time spent 7 years working for the Department of Veterinary Services in KwaZulu Natal as an administrator, before immigrating to New Zealand in 2007. Since then she has worked in various roles including Recruitment, Contract administration and Office manager for a Drilling Company. Joanne has three teenage children and enjoys tramping, reading and spending time with family and friends.

Narendra Varma joins VetSouth Ltd as an IT Technical support, based in Winton. Narendra and his wife moved to Invercargill from India so she can undertake tertiary studies at SIT. Prior to leaving India, he had 10 Years’ experience working in a help desk capacity at GcomSupport (Mumbai). In Narendra’s spare time he likes to go to the gym to work out.

Born and raised in Heddon Bush, Ben is a local who has returned to Southland after gaining accounting experience by studying and practicing first in Dunedin and then for three years in Australia. He now lives in Winton and enjoys Cricket, Card Games and playing the Saxophone.