We care about your bestie
You can trust our experienced team
Meet our team
You can expect a friendly and knowledgeable team to take care of your best friend. We lead with experience, knowledge, and passion for all our animals- it’s what makes us different from other vet clinics!
Health checks are also a great opportunity to ask us about questions or concerns you have. Book a health check for your pet with one of our vets.
Sam Lackenby
Veterinarian (Bachelor of Veterinary Science)
Sam grew up on a sheep/cattle/wheat farm in Gulargambone, NSW. She graduated from Sydney University in 1995 and went to work in Deniliquin, NSW for 2 years as a mixed practice vet and then travelled and worked overseas for another 2 years. On her return she has worked in Sydney and various practices gaining invaluable small animal experience.
Her passions are solving the illnesses that trouble our pets and working out the best possible way to make them better. Sam enjoys surgery, medicine, dentistry, behaviour, oncology and skin diseases in particular but is comfortable dealing with all the variable cases that vets have to deal with.
In her spare time she is chasing after 4 daughters (with her husband Scott) who love their sport and outdoor activities. She also has 1 labrador; Ted and a cat called Theo who make her family complete!
Markus Mander
Veterinarian (Bachelor of Veterinary Science)
Markus graduated from the University of Pretoria Vet School in 1996 and spent the next 5 yearrs gaining a vast amount of veterinary experience working in small animal practices in England. Markus moved to Australia in 2001 and completed a postgraduate study in Small Animal Medicine.
His interests include complex medical cases, soft tissue and orthopaediac surgery. His main surgical passion lies in knee surgery-both cruciate ligament rupture and luxation surgeries.
Markus lives in Kellyville with his wife and 2 children and plays an active role in the local community. His hobbies outside of work include travel, cycling, running, kite surfing and scuba diving.
Regina Li
Veterinarian (Bachelor of Veterinary Science)
Regina is a highly dedicated veterinarian who has a strong interest in small animal medicine and surgery. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 2016 and has since worked in multiple hospitals to enhance her skills in this chosen craft. She is multi-lingual and can attend to consultations in English, Cantonese or Mandarin.
In her spare time, she loves to scuba dive, travel and explore what the world has to offer and most of all, attending to her two cats who she personally adopted as rescue cats from work.
Laura Kerrison
Veterinarian (Bachelor of Veterinary Biology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)
Laura graduated from the University of Sydney in 2020 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Biology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, she worked as a mixed practice veterinarian for a few years, working with many different species including cows, horses and alpacas.
Laura enjoys working with all animals, and especially loves rabbits! In her spare time, Laura enjoys going for walks, playing netball, and trying new food!
Angela Nguyen
Veterinarian (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)
Anj was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. She moved to Sydney in 2016 for studies and graduated from the University of Sydney in 2021 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Biology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Anj is also Fear-Free certified and applies this method with her patients to achieve a better and less stressful experience for your pets.
In her spare time, Anj spends time with her mini foxie, Burt, but also enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee and eating yummy food.
Dr Claire Fu
Veterinarian (Bachelor of Veterinary Science)
Although born and raised in Sydney, Claire studied at James Cook University in Townsville and graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 2020. She moved to Brisbane for another 2 years after graduating to enjoy sunny Queensland where she practiced in a small animal clinic.
She has since returned back home to Sydney with her dog, cat and snake. She enjoys getting outdoors, staying active, and loves to travel. Claire has always wanted to be a veterinarian and has volunteered across 10 years at RSPCA, vet clinics, zoos, and a raptor rescue and rehabilitation.
She has a keen interest in all kinds of surgery, and is also working towards becoming an exotics veterinarian.
Hollie McAlpine
Registered Veterinary Nurse (Certificate IV Vet Nursing and Advanced Small Animal Nursing)
Hollie grew up loving animals and surrounded by deers, horses, rabbits, dog & birds. She has been a veterinary nurse since 2005 and has completed certificate 4 in veterinary nursing and Advanced Small Animal Nursing.
Hollie developed meningitis at 14 months old and as a result is hearing impaired. However, this has not stopped her passion working with animals.
She enjoys monitoring surgical cases and making sure they are getting the best care possible.
Hollie is married with 2 young children. After she had her first daughter she rescued a stray cat named Spike. Hollie enjoys spending time with her family & friends, outdoor activities, baking & travelling.
Cindy Talbot
Senior Vet Nurse (Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing)
Cindy has been vet nursing for 28 years of which 13 years of her career has been at Pendle Hill Vet. Her passion is birds, especially parrots. She has 2 lorikeets called Ricky and Keet along with 2 cats, 4 chickens, a turtle and a pond full of fish. Cindy has spent a substantial part of her life involved in wildlife rescuing which has spanned 15 years. She has cared for sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife such as birds, possums, gliders, lizards and kangaroos. She has also caught and relocated pythons, red-bellied and brown snakes!
Cindy has enjoyed getting to know and become close to the clients over her many years at Pendle Hill vets and looks forward in helping them for many more years to come!
Melissa Ellis
Registered Veterinary Nurse (Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing)
Mel has worked at Pendle Hill for the past 13 years. She started working with animals when she became a kennel attendant in 2003 and then commenced her studies at Tafe. Mel has 3 lovely children and a husband who help her to care for her 3 dogs; Winnie, Elver and Ranger.
She also spends her spare time helping at the local pound and at her childrens’ school particularly the P&C committee. Her hobbies are football and swimming.
Mel loves her job and working in all aspects of the hospital and could not imagine doing anything else!!
Victoria (Torrie) Langford
Registered Veterinary Nurse (Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing)
Torrie started working at Pendle Hill Vets in June, 2018. She found her love and passion for animals once she started studying her certificate 2 in Animal Studies at the RSPCA in 2017.
Torrie’s hobbies include spending time with her nieces and nephews and caring for her 4 dogs: Maddie, Missy, Buddha and Bessie. She also has a rabbit called Jimmy and a bearded dragon whose name is Malaki.
She loves her job at Pendle Hill Vets and always strives to ensure the client and animal gets the best care that they need!
Sarah Facey
Trainee Veterinary Nurse (Certificate III in Captive Animal Health)
Sarah is from Sydney Australia and is studying her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. She has a particular interest in native Australian wildlife. She completed her Certificate III in Captive Animal Health whilst completeing her placements.
In her spare time she enjoys musical theatre and spending time with her rescure dog, Finn
Alison Louise
Veterinary Nurse
I have completed my certificate 4 Vet nursing through Tafe and enjoy doing short courses to further my education. I have been working as a veterinary nurse for 6 years and started grooming dogs 12 months ago.I love getting to handle and work with all types of animals, big and small. I have a great love for anything outdoors and spend most of my time down at the river or hiking through the bush. Sitting next to a campfire curled up with Bear the Blue Cattle dog or watching movies with my three cats, Leela, Snow and Pea.I also have two galahs, Dobby and Bugsy who often enjoy coming for bushwalks with me.
Katharine Babatzanis
Registered Veterinary Nurse (Certificate IV Vet Nursing)
Katharine started working with Pendle Hills Vets in 2022 and had been working as a Veterinary Nurse for 5 years prior.
She started her career in the animal industry in 2007 working at a dog daycare centre while studying her Dog Training and Behaviour Certification. She then moved on to work at a cattery and animal shelter helping to adopt out animals, creating behaviour modification plans and providing advice to clients. Katharine loves learning and is currently studying a Bachelor in Veterinary Technology at Charles Sturt University.
Whilst in the hospital Katharine enjoys assisting with surgery and has a particular affinity for her feline patients (making sure they are relaxed and comfortable whilst in hospital). She also loves helping to educate clients through her Puppy Preschool and Kitten Kindy classes.
When not working, Katharine enjoys cycling, exploring new places, and spending time with her four cats (Lucky, Bobby, Matilda and Miss Honey); all of whom found their way to her
Chloe Park
Registered Veterinary Nurse (Certificate IV Vet Nursing)
Chloe joined Pendle Hill Veterinary Hospital in February, 2022 and is loving everything about it! She is currently studying certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing at TAFE
She also has a WIRES RICC certificate and a Puppy Preschool Training Certificate. Chloe is interested in the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife, animal behaviour/ psychology, neonatal care, monitoring surgeries and emergency situations in the veterinary field. Her hobbies are volunteering at animal shelters and fostering kittens. Chloe enjoys going to dog parks / dog beaches with her two dogs and spending time with family and friends.
Layne
Practice Manager
Started her veterinary nursing career in 2001, where she worked for 19 years at a practice as their head nurse. This is where she met Dr Sam, before leaving to try her hand at managing a GP team in a busy specialist veterinary hospital for 5 years. She and Dr Sam had stayed in touch so she was thrilled to be invited to join the team at Pendle Hill as their Practice Manager in 2023.
Layne’s love for animals developed from an early age spending all her school holidays at a large family farm helping with sheep, cattle, pigs, horses their 6 dogs and numerous cats. Her own family have always had a posse of 3-4 rescue dogs at any one time.
Layne enjoys helping people to achieve the best out of their role and ensuring clients and patients have the best possible experience when they visit.
Layne really enjoy’s inventory and putting systems in place to make things run more effectively.
When not at work Layne is busy wrangling a toddler and a baby, as well as 2 stepchildren and helping with her family’s burger shops.