Meet Our Team

Mark Sayer

Practice Owner

I graduated from Sydney University in 1983. After working in clinics around Sydney, I moved to Wagga and opened Berry Street Veterinary Hospital and Junee Vet Clinic. During the next 18 years, I and a small handful of dedicated nurses worked the two practices, including making weekly visits to outlying towns in order to see animals far away from vet hospitals.

I now work at our numerous vet hospitals now, Kooringal Vet Hospital, Junee Vet Hospital, Federation Vet Hospital, Henty Veterinary rooms, Cooper St Veterinary Hospital in Cootamundra and Griffith Vet Hospital.

I have 2 dogs and 4 cats in the family as well as 7 beautiful children. You will often see me in the practice with 'Monkey' my Pomeranian X, who travels all over the Riverina visiting the practices. In my spare time I enjoy refereeing the real football (soccer) and am qualified to referee the A-League, I’m just too old and not fit enough. LOL.  

I have completed Veterinary Chiropractic training in Germany and have recently developed my surgical and medical skills with marsupials with a strong following of loyal clients who travel from all over Australia to visit me. I’m in the process of finishing my MBA and Masters of Marketing at Deakin University.

I absolutely love flying as I have my pilots licence and enjoy the freedom of travel it brings.

Jaimie Sayer

Veterinary Nurse

My name is Jaimie Sayer and I am one of the nurses at Kooringal Veterinary Hospital. I have continued nursing alongside our brilliant team for 16 years with my partner Mark. Together, I am extremely proud of the work we all achieve.

I am a busy wife, mother of 7 beautiful children and nurse. I am an avid softball player in my minimal spare time. My passion in the field of the veterinary industry is the treatment of Australian wildlife, in particular, Eastern Grey Kangaroos. I frequently visit my babies at a wildlife sanctuary in Victoria where they still come up for hugs and to show off their own kids!

Lisa

Practice Manager

I'm Lisa, the Practice Manager at Kooringal and Junee Veterinary Hospitals. I am also the Operations Manager for our group of practices in Wagga, Junee, Griffith and Corowa.

I started working for Mark while I was at high school in the '90s and left in 2000 to embark on a few new adventures and to start a family. In 2008 I returned in the role of the veterinary nurse and shortly after to the position I am in now.

I have always been drawn in by animals and how each pet I have had is unique in how they think, feel and behave around people. My 2 dogs, 2 cats and 2 horses are always happy to see me and make me feel special especially on days when I am feeling down and out.

I have chosen to work in this field so I can give back to people by helping pet owners keep their pets happy and healthy as long as they possibly can. This means that they can have the same loving relationships with their pets as I have with mine. I stand by our vision by dedicating my career to "enriching your life through the joy of pets".

Gina

Veterinarian

I’ve recently graduated in veterinary science and was lucky enough to find a job as a vet in one of the happiest work environments I know! I have grown up on a sheep and cattle farm in Northern NSW and moved to Wagga for university and apparently loved it so much I’ve stayed. And I don’t have any plans to move on just yet!

I am really interested in diagnostics and surgery, but I do enjoy large animal work since it’s what I grew up with.

I like to spend my time pestering my dog, Archie, giving him way too much attention and generally experiencing what life has to offer!

My life motto is probably ‘be the person your dog thinks you are’

Kiri Westphalen

Veterinarian

I graduated from Murdoch University in Perth. Since 2014 I have been working with Mark and a year later, I bought a small farm so that I could follow my other passion (vetting being the first); goats! After 3 kidding seasons, I have 115 beautiful Angora Goats and still rising. I’ve attended the World Buiatrics Conference in Cairns in 2014 to learn the latest on production animals with speakers from all over the world. Now I can better attend all our fantastic, farming clients. I am also Ovine Brucellosis Accredited, an APAV Vet and Hendra Virus Vaccine Accredited. In 2018, I returned to university to start my Masters Research Degree on, you guessed it, GOATS!

But the roots of my practice is my work with our canine, feline and avian friends. I especially love seeing birds. I’ve completed additional training in Avian Medicine so I’d love to see your feathered family, from chickens through to emus!

Sharlet Rose John

Veterinarian

I graduated from the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala, India in 1997. After working as a Government Veterinarian with Department of Animal Husbandry (which is the Indian version of the Department of Primary Industries) for 12 years, I moved to Australia with my family in 2010. I cleared the National Veterinary Exam with the Australasian Veterinary Board Councils (AVBC) in 2013. Since then I have been working with Mark at Kooringal Vets.

I love working with animals particularly Australian natives. These are so different from the natives of India where my patients included several elephants! I find it satisfying doing work for rescue groups and animal shelters and watching homeless animals leave to new loving homes. My particularly veterinary interest is pathology; I’m even contemplating going back to university to learn more about analysing pathological materials and diagnosing diseases through laboratory results.

I like to spend my free time with my family which includes my husband, two beautiful daughters and our retriever puppy Lassie. My other passion includes cooking, gardening, classical Indian dance and watching any show that makes me laugh.

Paula

Veterinary Nurse

Hi there, my name is Paula and I've worked with KVH as a Vet Nurse since mid-2014. I started as work experience for a Vet Nursing course I was studying but decided to have a baby with my hubby Franky. Before that, I worked at the RSPCA in Sydney as an animal attendant for 7 years.

I have always had animals at home since I was a child and have always wanted to work with them. Some days I think I understand them better than I understand people! My little dogs Elvis and Monster and my cats Roger and Kaitlyn might disagree with this though.

My greatest love is Freddy Mercury and I'm a mad Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles fan... Viva La Beaver!!! When I'm not listening to Queen or shouting at the footy, I'm always busy caring for my baby boy, Charlie....... though, I'm rather fond of sleep too...!

Rhys Fox

Veterinary Nurse

I’m a vet nurse here at Kooringal Veterinary Hospital and I have been working here for 8 years. I started out in the rescue centre at Berry Street when I was 14 and I slowly worked my way up from there. I am now known as the cat and dog whisperer since all our nervous patients are soon putty in my hands. Somehow, I survive as the only male nurse here probably because what works on the patients works on my colleagues too!

At home, I have 2 dogs and a cat that keep me quite busy. When I’m not at work I’m usually found road-tripping, going on spontaneous adventures and the occasional camping trip around the Riverina.  

I help animals because I love to see the joy on everyone’s faces when their furry companions are feeling better and on their way home.

Martika Harland

Veterinary Nurse

My qualifications include Cert IV Veterinary Nursing and Cert II Animal Studies.

I’ve been working with Kooringal Veterinary clinic for 9 years, in between having my three kids. I grew up on my parent’s dairy farm and I’ve always had a love for animals. I also have been running a puppy preschool class each week for the past four years.

I love working with animals since it is so rewarding. Creating a rapport with clients and their pets is an amazing job. The animals I meet are such interesting and loving creatures that they make the busy days joyful and exciting. Working with animals is where I am meant to be.

When I’m not at work, I’m a busy wife and mum of three beautiful kids. I LOVE to sew and also enjoy reading. I have two pets of my own; a cat named Flash and dog named Jibby.

Joan McFarlane

Client Relations

I began working at Berry Street Vets in 2011 after several years as an Animal Management Ranger for the Weddin Shire Council and Wagga Wagga City Council. I also have a Certificate in Animal Studies.

I love working with animals as you get to meet lots of different people. It’s rewarding when you make a difference in a difficult situation for pet owners. I also enjoy seeing clients leave with happy healthy pets and have come to love many of our fur clients.

Out of work I love to garden, watch the latest tv series, swim and play board games with my grandkids. I have a flock of 13 with several grand fur babies attached so they keep me occupied!

I own 1 dog at home and 1 cat who owns me.

Renai

Groomer

Hi, my name’s Renai. I am the dog groomer at KVH and have worked with the team for a little over a year. I have always loved animals and wanted a career that would allow me to spend time with them. After having 3 children, I decided it was time to stop settling for a job that got me by and pursue something that would make me happy. So, I completed my Diploma of dog grooming in August 2017 and have never looked back!
I enjoy helping dogs (and the occasional cat) look and feel the best they can. I especially enjoy the challenge of working with young or nervous dogs and helping build their confidence. My spare time is occupied by my 3 daughters, 3 dogs and 2 cats, but I also read a lot of historical fiction novels.