Leanne has been employed in the animal industry for approximately 20 years, working as an Animal Attendant, Veterinary Nurse and Teacher during this time. After working with Hall Veterinary Surgery and then the Canberra Cat Vet branch for many years, Leanne returned to us in 2020 which felt like coming home!
Leanne has successfully completed a Diploma of Applied Science in Animal Technology, Advanced Certificate in Veterinary Nursing and more recently completed a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. The whole team benefits greatly from Leanne’s wealth of knowledge and love for teaching/training.
Leanne finds caring for hospitalized patients to be one of the most rewarding parts of her role as a veterinary nurse. She derives a lot of satisfaction from ensuring that their needs are met and that they receive lots of love and attention during their stay.
Outside of work, Leanne is a keen traveller. She has participated in volunteer work abroad and truly values the opportunity to give back and grow.
Leanne’s pets include the creatively named: Lolly May Arlene (dog), Macey Karen Annable Jean (cat) and Lady Linda Rhonda Magnolia Bun Bun (rabbit).
Matilda joined the team as a kennel hand in early 2019 and has since commenced her studies towards her Cert IV in Veterinary Nursing. She loved being in the environment of the surgery which just deepened her love for animals. For as long as she can remember she had always wanted to be surrounded by animals wherever possible, so it was a dream come true when her family moved to a small property where she now has an array of animals. She enjoys spending her spare time with her dachshund Pipsqueak, kelpie Bindi, two miniature horses, llama, two cockatoos and bearded dragon as well as many ducks, chooks and geese. She also enjoys her volunteer work with WildCare NSW to hand raise orphaned joey kangaroos and then releasing them back into the wild. This is the same reason why she loves working at HVS, seeing the difference that is made to our clients and their pets.
Talia joined our team in early 2020, leaving her career of 6 years as a beauty therapist. She is very passionate about great customer service and believes looking after people and animals in their time of need to be her calling.
She is a proud mum of two ginger cats, Cisco and Gunther. Cisco was a rescue from RSPCA and Gunther was brought into our Amaroo clinic as a stray and was instantly accepted into Talia’s family. She also has a “soul sister”, Maggie (Margaret when she’s in trouble), a staffy who is obsessed with pats and has the most gorgeous smile!
In her spare time Talia can be found cooking, painting, building, playing board/video games, going for walks, doing puzzles, watching tv and of course cuddling her pets!
Jess joined Hall Vet Surgery in 2018 as a junior Kennel Hand, an integral role in ensuring the surgery runs smoothly, especially on busy days. Even as a young girl Jess had dreamed of working with animals and now having had a taste of working in a veterinary Practice, this confirmed her passion even further. Jess impressed us all with her pro-activity and her can-do attitude and was soon offered a position as a Trainee Veterinary Nurse. Jess began studying her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2019 and has loved every second so far! The early starts aren’t so bad as Jess has her own personal alarm clock in the form of a cat called Lulu. Lulu sits on her every morning and taps her with her paws until she’s awake to let her know its brekky time. Jess also has a love bird called Nugget who was named before the family knew if she was a female or male bird. Jess in enjoying spending time in our Hospital Nurse role learning lots from her teammates about taking care of hospitalised patients and is also very excited to learn more about surgical procedures and emergency and critical care nursing in the future.
After 10 years in the industry between general practice & emergency nursing, Emma joined the team at Hall & Amaroo in 2021. Although Emma doesn’t currently have any pets of her own, she does have a large army of indoor plants she enjoys caring for! Emma loves getting her daily dose of animal cuddles at work and describes the team as a supportive family. Outside of work, Emma is a qualified beauty therapist, a self confessed clean freak and loves to spend her spare time cooking up a storm.
Meet our receptionist Kelly, who loves her tropical fish! As well as an array of guppies, Kelly has a rescue dog, Lucy the kelpie cross and four rescue cats. Kelly is familiar with dogs who have a bit of attitude, having grown up with a Maltese Cross name Kuzko, who had more than her share of sass.
After returning home to Leeton for a year, Mikaela re-joined our nursing team in 2021 and was definitely excited to be back! Here at the Hall Vet you’ll often find her in the lab as she has a keen interest in the pathology side of vet nursing. Mikaela feels lucky to say that she honestly loves her job and enjoys going to work every day! Outside of work Mikaela loves travelling home to the farm to spend time with her family. Mikaela’s Staffy ‘Pippa’ is always ecstatic to see her when she gets home and even her lazy Johnson Bulldog ‘Boston’ will excitedly greet her at the door. Although she does occasionally get homesick, Mikaela says that the team at Hall Vet have become her Canberra family and looking after your animals gives her the animal fix she needs.
Sara is our quiet achiever who is unflappable in the stress of surgery, she just gets things done – and done properly.
Sara’s first pet was a black cat called Demon who actually belonged to her babysitter but after deciding he liked Sara a whole lot more, Demon changed addresses.
The next pet looking for a home was Big Bob. Bob was a stray cat brought into Hall Vets un-microchipped with no identification. A health check revealed Bob had FIV so could not be adopted. With very little persuasion Bob went home to live with Sara, her partner Aaron and her son Murphy.
2016 saw another four legged fury friend join the family, Earl the Pug x Chihuahua who makes up for his lack of size with his huge personality.
Sara is studying Pet Nutrition and runs our ‘Belly Busters’ weight control program for pets.
Brianna has loved animals for as long as she can remember.
She has a dog named Parker who is a Labrador x and is named after one of her favourite superheroes Peter Parker from her love of Marvel. Parker is obsessed with water and has a weird quirk when it comes to her food, if it smells good she would rather wear it as perfume than food so will roll in it.
Brianna always dreamed of being a mermaid or marine biologist due to her love for the ocean and bigger love for sharks. She has a favourite shark called the “Epaulette” which is a species of carpet shark and can actually walk on land! She is a certified diver, loves to snorkel and the next thing she wants to tick off her list is becoming a free diver.
In her spare time, you can find Brianna hanging out with Parker, watching countless documentaries and movies on sharks or shopping online for more shark/beach inspired stuff to fill her home with.
Keely originally started working for us out the front on the reception desk flanking her Mum (Debbie) who was our Head Receptionist at the time. Her love of animals saw her slowly spending more and more time out the back with the Nurses.
Keely has always had an interest in animals and at a young age dreamed of being a marine biologist. Keely has since swum with sharks and looks forward to Shark Week each year.
Outside of work you can find Keely with her family at their cabin at Barlings Beach, along with her love for sharks comes her love for the beach and the ocean, she would spend all day in the water if she could.
Rusty the Cocker Spaniel adores Keely and the rest of her family.
Sarah completed her human nursing qualification over 12 years ago and within one week of graduating, was offered a position as a veterinary nurse by her own veterinarian! Animals had always been a passion of Sarah’s so when this opportunity came up, she knew she had to take the leap. 12 years and another nursing qualification later, Sarah is still so thankful that she made the decision to move from human to veterinary nursing where she truly feels content. This transition was also responsible for introducing her to the love of her life, her fur baby Winslow! Winslow is a Maltese x Shih Tzu who was only 12 weeks old when he was dropped off to the vet as a stray after being found on a university campus nearby. Sarah was smitten with him instantly and after no one came forward to collect him in the weeks after, she made the decision to formally adopt him and the pair have been inseparable since!
Sarah finds great satisfaction in providing compassionate care to our anxious patients and is passionate about going above and beyond to gain their trust and make them feel as comfortable as possible. Sarah has a special interest in animal behaviour and training which is what led her to Hall Vet Surgery, she is looking forward to learning as much as she can from Dr Helen and Nurse Pauline in this field.
April was the child that – despite being told ‘no’ on every previous occasion – still insisted on asking her Mum for a dog on her birthday and Christmas each and every year. She volunteered to look after all of her neighbours pets any time would go away and when a local doggy day care centre opened up, she began volunteering there too. Once she turned 18 her mum finally caved, and so along came Alfie the Pug x Jack Russell Terrier who has been by April’s side ever since.
April’s career at Hall Vet Surgery started in 2014 when she joined the team as a casual receptionist, keen to grow her knowledge and play an important role in helping clients care for their animals. In 2016 April began managing the clinic Facebook page and within 3 years was running 4 social media platforms, two blogs and all of the in house marketing needs of two clinics. During this time April was also promoted to Head Receptionist, passionate about leading her team to deliver exceptional customer care at all times. April’s proudest achievement to date was being named a runner up for the Lincoln Institute Best Team Leader in Australia award in 2019, but the thing that brings her the most joy is helping our clients and their pets everyday.
Ella is always ready to get stuck in and does so with a smile! Ella has a love for anything PUG! Her Pug x Jack Russell, Morgan has her own wardrobe filled entirely with pink attire. Also at home is the rescue dog Ted, a Poodle x that Ella’s parents just couldn’t say no to and Ella’s own crazy collection of distilled creatures. Between her roles at Hall Vet and Vets at Amaroo, Ella also somehow manages to find the time to represent Australia in Women’s Baseball, compete in dancing competitions and be an avid traveller, all this while building her own home. Ella makes everything she does look easy and fun. With her happy disposition and incredible skill and knowledge she is just the kind of person to be fantastic veterinary nurse.
Sarah has a Bachelor degree of Equine Science and is currently studying a Certificate IV of Veterinary Nursing with the help of all staff at Hall Vet Surgery.
Sarah has come to us from working in equine and bovine reproduction. Sarah is passionate about dog training and lives on a large farm north of Albury with her partner, their six dogs, two horses and cat. Sarah commutes to Canberra each week, as she wants to start her small animal nursing career in a clinic as passionate about dog behaviour and training as she is! She brings with her each week her rescue dog Freddie Mercury with whom she does obedience training and hopes to turn him into a Delta dog so he can bring joy and love to many others. Fred sometimes helps out in the clinic too with Behaviour Specialist Nurse Pauline for her one on one consults or adolescent classes.
Maddy started at Hall Vet as a receptionist and took to it effortlessly. She has also assisted running puppy classes and is in charge of social activities for Hall Vet staff.
Home life for Maddy has always revolved around animals. Currently she has Chester a ShihTzu x which was her 9th birthday present, Chester’s best bud and rescue dog Benny the maltese/ShihTzu x, Marley the very photogenic ragdoll cat and Marley’s shadow, Doug the mystery cat. Doug was a 1 of the 6 kittens in the litter hand raised here at Hall Vet in early 2016.
Maddy spent 6 weeks exploring Europe in 2015 then welcomed 2016 by spending a week in Bali, and is already planning her next adventure.
Lizzie is studying Veterinary Nursing through Open Colleges with the help of the staff at HVS. She is very passionate about all animals! Other then studying, in her spare time you will find her on the farm doing sheep work, riding horses, at rodeos and taking her two Labradors Daisy and Dora for runs through the reserves near her home. Lizzie is excited to further her career in animal studies.
Janet is our practice manager who makes things happen with an absolute minimum of fuss.
Janet is originally from Fife in Scotland and immigrated to Australia back in 1987. She has 3 beautiful grown up girls, 2 gorgeous grandchildren, a ragdoll cat named Dexter and a grand-doggie Odi the adorable Border Collie.
Like many vet nurses, being around animals is what Janet had always wanted to do, so when a trainee vet nurse position came up she jumped at the opportunity. Although Janet had three young children and was working two jobs while studying her vet nursing certificate, she rose to the occasion and became head nurse, and went on to work another 11 years at that practice.
It’s this ability to multitask that makes Janet the perfect practice manager.
Pauline is a graphic designer turned dog trainer and aren’t we ever so grateful for the change of industry.
Pauline brings an abundance of knowledge to the team; she has worked with the RSPCA for the past 10 years training the most challenging pets of them all, with compassion, unwavering patience and dedication.
Pauline gained her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2015 to add to her impressive list of qualifications, and what a caring, genuine and empathetic nurse she has become.
Pauline runs our Puppy and Adolescent training classes and also offers one-on-one training classes for the dogs that need individualised training.
Meg grew up on a farm in a small country town called Harden, about 1.5 hours from Canberra. Not being an animal lover simply wasn’t a choice, as she spent her whole childhood being raised around them. The love she developed for her cows, sheep, horses, dogs and everything in between led her straight into the Veterinary Technology degree at CSU In Wagga, and ultimately into a career in the veterinary industry. As part of her studies, Meg completed a placement at Hall Vet Surgery in 2018. She enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having her so she immediately began working with us during her uni holidays, and hasn’t left ever since! In Meg’s spare time she likes to accumulate horses (Cleo, Archiee, Scotty, Billy, Willis and Henry) with her sidekicks Tigga (Cattle Dog x), Beans & Maisy (Kelpies) and Billy Ray (DSH), spending as much time with them on the farm as possible. Meg is thankful to be a part of the Hall family & for the amazing opportunity to work in what she sees to be one of the best clinics around.
Holly made the move from Sydney to Canberra in 2020 and is very much enjoying the change of scenery and being closer to the countryside. She lives with her partner and her fur baby Bj.
Bj is one very loved staffy and he is the centre of her universe, he has more outfits than most humans!
Holly previously worked at the RSPCA in Sydney before joining us at Hall Vet Surgery and Vets at Amaroo. She has a strong interest in animal rescue, fostering and rehabilitation. In her down time, you’ll find Holly tending to her indoor houseplants, camping and generally being close to nature.
That theme of always wanting to work with animals recurs when talking with Paige; she has always known that this is the job for her.
As a child she saw the movie ‘Beethoven’ and wanted a Beagle. She begged her parents endlessly until finally they decided the requests had gone on long enough to be more than a passing fad, Missy the Beagle then joined the family.
Danielle loved animals growing up and knew they would always be a big part of her life, so it made complete sense when she chose a career in veterinary nursing. Danielle completed her certificate IV in 2020, but has had 8 years learning the ins and outs of the animal industry. She joined our team in early 2021 and loves being able to share that special bond between owners and their pets. Danielle also loves being able to work with such a compassionate team. Outside of work Danielle has a rottweiler named Maui and enjoys spending time with her family.
Our support staff love meeting your pets and hearing their special stories. Our nurses have a Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing as a minimum qualification with many of our staff having Diplomas in Vet Nursing or other specialisations such as Nutrition, Emergency and Critical Care, Animal Behaviour and Veterinary Technology qualifications.
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