Our Staff
He was born in England and moved to Australia with his family in 1969. David grew up in Glen Waverley & went to school at Mount View primary school & then Glen Waverley High School. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1986 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science with honours.
David has worked his entire career in large, veterinary practices in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne, more specifically Brandon Park Veterinary Hospital & the Monash Veterinary Clinic. The large case load at these practices has enabled David to build extensive experience as a small animal general practitioner. Although David enjoys all aspects of small animal veterinary practice, his areas of expertise & passion include surgery, lameness diagnosis, oncology & reproduction.
David thoroughly enjoys the relationships he has built with many long term clients and their pets at the Forest Hill Veterinary Hospital. It is these relationships & the immense satisfaction that comes with helping to improve the quality of life of his patients that he loves most about being a vet!
When David is not at the practice his spare time is fully occupied with his family – his wife Deirdre & his three children, James, Thomas & Ruby.
His passions outside of veterinary practice are surfing, fishing, scuba diving & cheering on the Richmond Tigers!
After working at the RSPCA for 13 years, he wanted to join a smaller more family orientated veterinary hospital so that he could develop closer patient and client relationships.
Leslie was born in East London, a small coastal city in South Africa and graduated in 1988 from Pretoria University with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree. After graduating he completed 2 years of conscripted army service where he served as a veterinarian looking after military horses and dogs. He started in small animal private practice for a couple of years before going back to University to complete an honors degree in wildlife management. After a few locum opportunities to take care of birds and wildlife Leslie started working at the Johannesburg Zoo full-time, where he remained until the family made the decision to emigrate to Australia.
After arriving in Australia Leslie started work at the RSPCA, where he settled in to small animal veterinary practice and became acutely aware of animal welfare issues that still, unfortunately, persist in our society.
Leslie’s leisure time is mostly spent with the family. He enjoys bird-watching in the great outdoors, gardening, sailing, kayaking and fishing.
After working in New Plymouth for 6 months, he owned a mixed animal veterinary practice in Napier for 9 years before moving to Auckland where he spent most of his working life as a partner in a companion animal practice. By pure coincidence this called is Forrest Hill Vet Clinic.
His special interests include surgery & ultrasound.
He has been involved in & acted as a trustee of a dog rescue trust for many years.
Outside of work, his family is a big part of his life and he is an avid runner, cyclist, hiker, traveller & amateur chef. He has a 5-yr old Minature Schnauzer named Elisa, who he loves dearly.
Dr Mike has been part of our team since October 2021 & has been a wonderful addition to our team at Forest Hill Vets.
Upon graduation, Juliana completed a year of rotating internship at Veterinary Specialist Services in Brisbane. After that, she worked at numerous small animal practices in Victoria. Juliana has a keen interest in surgery and acupuncture. She enjoys all aspects of general practice and loves being a vet to advocate for the well-being of pets.
Juliana was born in Singapore and moved to Australia in 2003. She retired as a Singapore National triathlete after being accepted into veterinary school. During here leisure time, Juliana is busy with her family – her husband Eugene and two young children, Celine & Danny. She also enjoys doing crossfit and baking.
We’re very lucky to have her here at Forest Hill Vets.
She has also completed a Wildlife Treatment and Care course through Taronga Zoo. Emily is passionate about the care of our Native Fauna and in her spare time volunteers with a wildlife shelter helping to care for various species including wombats, kangaroos, birds and possums.
Emily is extremely organised and thorough, and has become an integral member of the nursing team here at FHVH.
Emily has a very cheeky Golden Retriever named ‘Kirby’. Emily helped to deliver Kirby and her litter mates and has watched her grow from the day she was born.
Emily enjoys walking Kirby in her spare time or watching a movie with a nice cup of tea!
Tammy works part-time through the week, which suits her busy family life which involves running around after her two gorgeous daughters, husband and menagerie of pets. She has been a part of our team since 2013. With her wealth of experience and knowledge you are in good hands when Tammy is looking after you!
Tammy is pictured here with her Blue point Ragdoll named Tommy (R.I.P.). Tammy also has Badger the Staffy whom she helped deliver via C-Section! Additionally, Tammy has three rescue cats, Dotti, Little Kit and Mouse, along with two rabbits Delilah and Choccy.
Tammy is another passionate Collingwood supporter and we won’t hold that against her! Tammy always goes that extra mile for you and your pet and we are very lucky to have her as part of our team.
Tanya became a fully qualified veterinary nurse in 2012 .
Tanya grew up with a huge variety of pets including dogs, cats, fish, turkeys, chickens, ducks, cockatiels, budgies, rabbits, blue tongue lizards & bearded dragons.
Tanya would bring home any orphan she could find often sneaking them into school so she could feed them through the day.
Tanya has an incredibly mischievous Pugalier called Mia who has an extensive medical history including nostril surgery, patella surgery, exploratory laparotomy surgery to remove an ingested collar (her own!), bee stings just to name a few! Mia is an all round excitable, accident prone 100 miles an hour kind of dog! Never a dull moment with Mia!
Tanya also has a blue eyed, white cat named Bowie who is completely deaf & loves trying to keep up with Mia. He is a very chilled character and is extremely affectionate. He does tend to have a loud voice like a lot of deaf cats do as they cannot hear themselves.
Tanya’s most memorable experiences have been at the Elephant nature park in Chiang Mai Thailand where she has volunteered twice. The park rescues abused and neglected elephants from all over Thailand. The park has a volunteer program where participants are involved in feeding, bathing & cleaning up after the elephants whilst learning about their husbandry & behaviour.
Tanya’s perfect holiday includes a Pina Colada, a beach & plenty of sunshine!
Tanya has two beautiful boys, Zaiden and Mason.
At home she has her special boy, Henry the Miniature Poodle as well as Maisie, a cheeky tabby and white Domestic Short Hair that she hand raised at FHVH from 3 weeks old. Maisie is the sister of Donna’s Panda! Maisie is a little accident prone and consequently has a slightly shorter than normal tail! She managed to somehow get it caught in a closing door – ouch!
Cassie is very passionate about the rights of all animals big and small and is always trying to be a voice for the animals. Before starting here at the Hospital, Cassie volunteered at the Australian Animal Protection Society in Keysborough.
Outside of work, Cassie enjoys practicing yoga, reading, paddle-boarding and travelling when she can!
Hannah is the newest member of our wonderful nursing team joining us in August 2023. Hannah has 6 years of nursing experience working in speciality & general practice. She has a wealth of knowledge & an infectious laugh.
Before coming to work at Forest Hill Vets, Hannah worked in a greyhound specialised practice, and it’s safe to say, she has a soft spot for the breed.
Hannah is a huge advocate for our native wildlife, volunteering at a shelter in Emerald in her spare time. She looks after joeys, baby wombats as well as a variety of avian species.
She also enjoys yoga & the outdoors. At home, she is surrounded by her adorable cats – Charlie, Cleo & Zeke, who came into Hannah’s life as a foster and never left.
Welcome Hannah!
Outside of work, she enjoys watching her kids play sport, walking Hank & baking.
Your pets are in good hands with Jenny as she will look after them, like she does us, like family.
She has a cheeky staffi at home, Hank who is the king of the house and much loved by the whole family.
Sally does amazing dog grooms! She can help your pooch with anything from a bath and tidy up to a breed specific clip. Not only do her dogs look beautiful after a groom but they also smell great. Sally is more than happy to have chat with you when you drop off your pup with regards to how you would like them groomed and any other specific requirements. She has groomed all breeds of dogs big & small and is also happy to groom cats. Sally’s grooms are booked on the hour so your dog doesn’t have to sit waiting before or after their groom. If you have any questions about grooming or would like to chat to Sally about your needs please don’t hesitate to give us a call.
In her spare time Sally loves to keep fit and active! She rides her bike in long distance events and even participates in European cycle events that run over 4 days.
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Our highly regarded veterinary hospital has been established for 35 years and we pride ourselves on providing our clients and their pets with the very best veterinary experience to be found.
The Forest Hill Veterinary Clinic, as it was originally called, was founded in 1975 and operated for many years as a single vet practice. The clinic was purchased by Dr David Margary in 1995. In 2008 the small clinic underwent extensive modernisation and extension works to transform it into the state of the art veterinary hospital it is today. Our updated facility has enabled us to provide better services for our existing clients in a comfortable modern setting and to cater for the needs of our expanding practice well into the future.
We have a dedicated team of 4 veterinarians, 10 veterinary nurses and a groomer that are constantly striving to provide the best care for you and your best friend.
The veterinary practice follows a simple philosophy; that we will go that extra mile for our clients and their best friends. Our clients are our friends! Together we will work towards enabling your fur buddies to live long and healthy lives!
We are all animal lovers and understand the fantastic bond that develops between a pet and its owner. It is an absolute privilege to be a part of this relationship.
We are always happy to help solve your pet related problems. You can call and speak to our veterinarians and veterinary nurses at any time.
Come and give us a try. You won’t be disappointed!
