Meet Our Team

Dr James Taylor

Senior Veterinarian and Director

We are excited to announce the addition of Dr James Taylor, Veterinary Director at BVH. James graduated in 2005 from Melbourne University and took on a role at RSPCA in Burwood where he developed a keen interest in orthopaedic surgery performing medial patella luxations and de-angelis cruciate repair surgeries training under his mentor Dr Andrew Vickery.

In 2008 James earned the Wotherspoon scholarship and completed a medicine course through Sydney University. Upon leaving RSPCA, he worked at various private practices in Melbourne before heading overseas in 2012 and settling in London where he joined the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. It is here that James honed his ultrasound  and medicine skills under RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Feline Medicine, Dr Jeremy Campbell, and underwent a 2-year internal medicine course through Improve International. James returned to Melbourne in 2016 and reunited with his former mentor Dr Elaine Ong at Box hill Veterinary Clinic where he became the lead surgical vet and ultrasonographer. During this time, James completed a distance education course in surgery through Sydney University as well as an advanced Orthopaedics TPLO course through VI in Brisbane. After extensive training  James is now performing TPLO surgery, the gold standard technique for cranial cruciate ligament repair in dogs and we are excited to be able to offer this to our patients.

In 2020, James was recruited to work for Insight MVD, a  specialist mobile imaging/medicine service where he has worked for the last 4 years travelling to clinics all over Melbourne performing ultrasound and offering medical advice on challenging cases. This is how we first met James in 2021 and are now thrilled to have him on board.

‘’I honestly never planned on running my own clinic. I have spent my career focusing on expanding my knowledge and skills and was incredibly fortunate enough to glue myself to far smarter mentors along the way who unselfishly passed on their knowledge to me. Dr Andrew Vickery, Jeremy Campbell, Elaine Ong and Clint Yudelman are fundamental to any small success I may have. Travelling to various clinics around Melbourne, meeting the various teams and enjoying the culture of different clinics, I became inspired to be a part of creating one on my own. In my early veterinary years I became disenchanted with how many patients had to be referred for challenging cases. It is now so satisfying being able to provide the full service from start to end. Every morning I wake up and am excited to go to work. I thoroughly enjoy meeting a client and patient and guiding them through the various diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and arrive at a successful outcome all at the same clinic without delay. I am blessed to enjoy my job as much as I do and feel honoured to be entrusted with the care of my clients’ beloved pets. ”

Dr Daphene Saw

Veterinarian

Daphene is  a 2017 Melbourne university graduate with exceptional skills and professionalism who never stops smiling. She has spent her time in emergency work as well as busy small animal clinics around Melbourne. She is passionate about preventative care, emergency medicine, feline medicine and surgery. Daphene is about to complete a post graduate certificate  in feline medicine which complements her interest in ultrasonography. Due to her variety of interests she loves working in a general practice as she gets to see a wide range of cases and no single day is the same. In her spare time she enjoys badminton, dancing, bouldering and spending time with her two cats Molly and Snape. Daphene grew up in Malaysia and is fluent in both English and Mandarin. Fun fact: James and Daphene worked together at their previous clinic and are excited to be working together again. 

Dr Janene Kirschner

Veterinarian

Janene started at BVH in July 2020. She previously owned Caulfield Veterinary Clinic for 29 years and sold to semi retire and enjoy her grandchildren.

She loves veterinary consults and surgery still, after more than 40 years of working.

Janene loves travel holidays and helping look after her 6 grandchildren. 

Fun fact: Janene was a GP advisory consultant at Melbourne University and taught James when he was at university.

Zoë

Practice Manager

Zoë started at BVH in July 2017 and is our full time veterinary nurse. She completed her BSc (Hons) degree in Zoology back home in the UK, and immigrated to Australia nearly 9 years ago. She has been working with animals for nearly 15 years in various capacities and parts of the world, including a research expedition to Madagascar studying Chameleons.

Zoë has a very cute one-eyed Pug named Joyce. A regular at the clinic, Joyce can be found helping at reception, but will disappear out the back for a snooze if she can get away with it.

Micaella Reyes

Registered Veterinary Nurse

Micaella joined us at the end of 2023 having spent 4 years working in private practice around Melbourne. She has achieved certifcate 4 in veterinary nursing and has an incredible work ethic nick-named road runner as she is constantly moving. Her bubbly personality is contagious and we are lucky to have as part of  our Brighton Vet family. She has a special interest in dentistry and anaesthesia. In her spare time she enjoys rock climbing and playing with her one eyed pug Rocky.

Jemma

Registered Veterinary Nurse

Jemma graduated from College Cork University, Ireland in 2020 and decided that her Arts degree wasn't enough so she went on to study Veterinary Nursing in St Johns Central College, graduating in 2021. She then worked in a busy small animal practice for 3 years before making the decision to move to Melbourne. She worked in emergency care before joining the team here in Brighton. Jemma has a keen interest in surgical nursing, particularly orthopaedics. In her free time Jemma enjoys playing hockey and bringing her beloved Bella and Harry for long runs off the lead. 

Tilly Kidd

Veterinary Nurse Assist