Staff

Veterinarians

Dr. Trudy Seidel

Dr Trudy was born and grew up on farms in the south east of SA and echunga before moving to the Adelaide Hills during early primary school. She has loved animals since birth, always the emotional child who couldnt cope with animals being hurt or injured and always surrounded by a menagerie of cats, birds, possums and bats. Dr Trudy graduated from the University of Queensland in 1996 and has worked at the Para Hills Vet Clinic since. She has a special interest in small animal medicine and surgery, having completed an external Post graduate foundation course in surgery. She has attended many conferences both in Australia and overseas to keep her knowledge up to date. Dr Trudy is a member of the Australian Veterinary Association and the Australian Association of avian veterinarians. Away from work Trudy's time is occupied with her young twin boys, as well as her 4 pet cats - "Mickey", "Minnie", "flicky" and "kicki", pet dog- "Jack", cockatoo "chico" and the chickens. Dr Trudy has been a long term advocate of animal rights and welfare, being a member of Animal Liberation and a vegetarian since childhood. In the past she has helped campaign against Battery hens and against the intensive pork and poultry industries (hence her beautiful ex-battery hens in her backyard).

Dr Cathy was born in England where she spent her early childhood before moving to the warmer climate of Adelaide. She feels her love of animals is genetic- she saw the same love in both her parents and can already see it coming out in her two young daughters. Dr Cathy has many qualifications. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science at Adelaide university in 1999, going on to achieve honours at Flinders University. She then went into Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland where she also graduated with honours. Initially Cathy worked in Alice Springs for a few years before travelling to England and working in private practice where she learnt and honed her skills in treating rabbits, and other small rodents, as well as working for the government with the foot and mouth outbreak of the nineties. We were lucky enough to have Cathy join us in November 2002. At the clinic Cathy has a special interest in Surgery, including both orthopaedics and general surgery, as well as dentistry. Recently she has completed an acupuncture course giving her membership to the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society. Away from work Cathy loves many of the domestic activities such as cooking, sewing, reading, and watching movies. Her favourite times are spent with her husband and two daughters. Cathy is raising Zed, a young black cat who enjoys going on school visits and visiting children.

Dr Tess was born and raised in Brisbane and graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 2001 with first class honours. Tess' first job was in Kerang (rural Victoria) where she worked with both small and large animals. From here she travelled to England where she worked as a locum for 2 years while seeing the sights of the UK and travelling around Europe. In England many people keep small rodents and rabbits as pets which allowed her to develop and hone her skills in treating these unique pets. She is one of the few vets in Adelaide who confidently desexes both male and female rabbits on a daily basis. Her professional interests include surgery, rabbit medicine and puppy and kitten care. She is a member of the Post Graduate foundation of University of Sydney Veterinary Science, and works closely with Rabbit Rescue and the clinics cat adoption program. When not at work Tess enjoys all sorts of sports such as wakeboarding, volleyball, skiing, fishing and boating as well as spending time with her friends. Tess is married to a podiatrist and has a Border Collie cross called Jasper who is obsessive about ball chasing and loves her walks.

Dr. Jo Elliott

Dr. Jo Elliott is the newest vet to join the family, she started with us in April 2011. Dr. Elliott graduated from the University of Queensland in 1998 and has worked in England, Greece and Australia. She has studied acupuncture and has a special interest in small animal medicine, exotic pets and wildlife. Dr. Elliott has a wide range of knowledge when it comes to all different types of animals. This makes her a very valuable part of our family and very useful in many different situations. At home Dr. Elliott and her fiancé are kept busy with their beautiful young boy, Noah, their dog “Millie” and cat “Leah”. 

Dr. Jae Ho Chung

Dr Jae is our newest vet, having graduated in December 2006 from the University of Queensland. Jae is up to date with many of the latest developments in veterinary medicine and surgery. He has been with the clinic since February 2007, Jae has had an interesting life- being born and raised in South Korea then moving to Brisbane as a teenager. Even as a child in Korea, Jae always had dogs, budgies and fish surrounding him. This has continued in Australia with cats adding to the menagerie. Jae has a soft spot for strays, being the one to look after stray kittens at home on weekends, and even during university adopting an abandoned 4 week old kitten ( Lexie still lives with his parents in Brisbane). Jae's professional interests include small animal surgery and diagnostic imaging. When he is not at work Jae likes reading, listening to music, sports (he plays baseball) and hanging out with his bestfriend, Novah a Heeler X. Jae is an accomplished piano player (a great way to reduce stress we hear). Jae's family are still in Brisbane and his extended family and many friends are still in Korea so we know that travel is on the agenda for him. Jae is bilingual, speaking fluent Korean as well as English.

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Practice Manager

Kate Finney

Kate was born and spent her childhood around the southern suburbs of Adelaide where the entire family loved nature and animals and Kate grew up with an appreciation for all animals. Early in life Kate thought Billy, the family dog who shared her pram, protected her pram, and even shared his meaty bites with her, was her big brother. Kate has got many qualifications, having studied tourism and Applied science before settling on a career in Veterinary Nursing and completing her certificate four in veterinary nursing. She initially worked at another northern suburbs vet clinic for 5 years before coming to us 8 years ago. A few years ago Kate worked her way up to Veterinary Nurse manager and in 2006 to Practice manager where she excels in managing staff and keeping the clinic running smoothly. Away from work Kate enjoys just relaxing and watching movies in her PJ's. She also is a very talented artist and enjoys painting and doing arts and crafts. Her 4 adopted cats (all strays via the clinic!), her dog "Holly" and her bird "Wilma" keep her busy with animals when not at the clinic. Kate and her husband also have two beautiful young girls.

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Nurses

Denise Renner

Denise was born a local girl, growing up in Elizabeth and Burton where she always had animals around. She remembers training a much loved budgie to drink off a spoon with its beak. After completing high school work experience at a vet clinic, Denise knew it was the perfect job for her and immediately got a job in a vet clinic when she left school. Denise completed on the job training as well as studying for her certificate in Veterinary nursing at TAFE. Denise is now one of our fully qualified veterinary nurses. Denise followed her nursing interests to victoria where she worked as a vet nurse before returning to Adelaide to start her family. Denise enjoys the challenges of veterinary nursing, and is particularly good at assessing and nursing of the more complex cases. She has two children whom she adores, both of whom also have inherited her love of animals and science. Denise plays district cricket and coaches a junior cricket team as well as playing basketball. Denise has been a vet nurse for 16 years, 10 of which have been at Para Hills Vet Clinic and still loves her job as if it were her first day! At home denise has a dog called Eric.

Nikita is our main full time nurse and a star of the apprenticeship nursing program. Nikita started with us in 2006 while still at school and concurrently studied for her Veterinary nursing certificate. Since graduating high school she has become a full time nurse at the clinic and has taken on many various responsibilities within the clinic. Professionally Nikita has a special interest in surgical nursing and animal dentistry. Nikita is involved in a program called 'Pet Peps'. This is a program designed to educate young children about caring for animals. Nikita was born in Port Augusta but has grown up both on country farms and in suburban Adelaide and has had her passion for animals since she could walk and talk. Nikita adopted a little 11 year old, maltese x terrier, 'Tamii' in 2009. Which she now reffers to as her 'little girl'. When not at work Nikita enjoys an acitve lifestyle going to the gym, camping or relaxing catching up with friends and family.

Jill Whitehead

Jill was born in Adelaide and grew up with her parents breeding Samoyeds. From here she moved to Darwin where she did her training and over the next 16 years worked her way up to the position of head nurse and then practice manager. Since moving back to Adelaide Jill is working part time while she raises her two beautiful daughters and spends time with her family, including her two pet dogs and fish. Jill organises and runs the puppy preschools at Para Hills Vet Clinic and also has an interest in general behavioural problems. Jills passion for her nursing shows through in all her work and she is constantly amazed at how different working in South Australia is compared to Darwin.

Alicia Mattner

Alicia has now completed her certificate II in Animal Studies at TAFE and is entering into her full certificate IV in veterinary nursing. Prior to working here she has worked many part time retail jobs that have allowed to develop good customer service skills. She is a valued part of our clinic and has much potential to grow in the indistry, she is very confident and good at what she puts her mind to. Alicia has always loved animals and can still remember having a pet cat that she used to carry around in her lego box. On weekends Alicia enjoys spending time with friends and travelling up the river. At home she has 3 cats and a Labrador and a bird.

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