Michael is the owner of Hurlstone Park Veterinary Hospital and has worked here continuously since the 1980s. He enjoys all aspects of veterinary practice and has a lot of experience and expertise in surgery and medicine. Michael has a special interest in animal acupuncture and has treated a vast number of patients over the past 20 years, offering another option for most muscular-skeletal conditions including arthritis, degenerative joint disease etc. On days off he is usually involved in the teaching and workplace assessment of student veterinary nurses in the Sydney metropolitan area. Michael was also a honorary committee member of the NSW Canine Research Foundation for twenty years, including eight years as vice president. He is an Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Committee Member and he is the 2017 NSW AVA president.

Michael’s outside interests include rugby, surfing, skiing, squash, and of course his animals. He has a delightful Great Dane named Elsa who can barely fit in his car! His favourite animal will always be Louisa, a Border Collie cross who went from being a deserted pup to Michaels great companion for sixteen wonderful years.

Kate graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in 2013. She enjoys consulting, working on medical cases and behavioural medicine. She worked for several years at the RSPCA and remains passionate about animal welfare and rescue. Prior to studying veterinary science, Kate was a corporate lawyer (but don’t hold that against her!). She loves to ride horses, visit the beach and run in her free time. She shares her home with a very noisy tuxedo cat called Billie-Jean, a fiery fluffball called Amy Winehouse and an incredibly sweet but very nervous rescue Great Dane X called Archer (oh, and her husband and two small human children as well).

Ben has worked at Hurlstone Park on a part time basis since 1997. He regularly consults on Mondays. Ben enjoys performing surgery and has an interest in orthopaedics. Ben has travelled extensively overseas through Europe, Africa and the Middle East where he was working as a vet.  Ben has Holly (full name: “Holy Moly Supa Holly”) who he describes as the most astounding Burmese cat he has ever known.

He has an interest in education and works at TAFE, teaching veterinary nurses the skills and knowledge required for their qualifications. Ben is a keen golfer and tries to play the guitar when he has time.

Yvonne has an interest in small animal medicine and is looking forward to complete a one-year distance education on medicine in 2022. She believes that client education is important in establishing and maintaining the human-animal bond that benefits the wellbeing of both.

Yvonne has three cheeky rescue cats at home: Luna the tabby that loves to push things off the ledge, and the ginger brothers that take turn to cause mischief, Jelly and Bean.

Lou has been working here since 1985. She has had the occasional time off to have three children and work as a registered human nurse. Lou’s children love coming in to help with all the animals. She has a large menagerie of animals – Rosie the Labrador, April the cat who was adopted as a stray, Koonama the budgie, Tyler the Jack Russell Terrier and two horses Argo and Piefer. For Lou the best part of working here is seeing pets regularly and getting to know them and their owners.

Sweetlana has completed Certificate II in Animal Studies, Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services and Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing at Bankstown TAFE, and she has been working at Hurlstone Park since 2011. Sweetlana shares her home with her Maltese Shihtzu dog named “Jessie” who often comes to work. Jessie seems really sweet but can be protective of her favourite chair! Sweetlana has been working with animals since 2006. Her main interests are surgical nursing and intensive care. In her spare time she enjoys catching up with friends and having a laugh.

Rachel first started working at Hurlstone Park Vet in 2019 and is currently studying Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. Rachel has a few pets including a Major Mitchell Cockatoo named “Charlie” and a beautiful little Cavoodle named Holly. You will see Rachel around the clinic with her fire red hair. Her favourite part about working at Hurlstone Park Vet is making a difference to the lives on sick/injured animals.

Erica has been bringing her little dog Julia to Hurlstone Park Vet for a few years now and started working here in 2020. Erica completed Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing at Bankstown Tafe in 2021 and has always wanted to work with animals since she was a little girl. Erica especially loves working with dogs and birds and has a soft spot for elephants. Her favourite part of working at Hurlstone Park Vet is everyone working together like one big family.

An avid lover and advocate for animals, Sam has extensive experience in both handling and caring for all sorts of animals. Sam completed certificate II in Animal Studies and Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing at Bankstown TAFE and began working with us here at Hurlstone Park in 2020. Before joining our team, Sam was an Animal Attendant at the RSPCA Yagoona shelter. While working at the RSPCA, Sam fell in love with a 5 year old toy poodle named ‘Captain’ who she adopted the day he was available. She also has a 5 year old black cat named ‘Meowsy’ who she adopted when he was 8 weeks. They’re best friends.

During her free time, you will often find her on the basketball courts or rock climbing walls getting a good workout in.

Her hobbies include finding new cafes and restaurants because she is a huge foodie.

We will always remember our beautiful clinic cat, Nummy. You may have noticed him walking through the consult rooms or sitting on our reception desk. Prior to moving in to Hurlstone Park Vet, Nummy lived with Nurse Louise’s mother, Fay. He was rescued as a kitten and had been mistreated but luckily Fay took him under her wing. He lived 5 happy years here at Hurlstone Park Vet and sadly passed away shy of turning 20 years old in 2020. We miss him terribly but he will never be forgotten