Dr Jessica Farrow

Veterinarian & Practice Owner

Jessica moved to the area with her partner Dave, two young daughters and her dog called Penny for a short period.  They loved Horsham and the friendly people so much they decided to stay.  Jessica recently purchased the clinic with Lauren.

Jessica received her Bachelor of Veterinary Science at Melbourne university in 2007.  Initially working in a mixed practice with all types of animals large and small but more recently focusing on small animal medicine and surgery.  Work interests include radiography, ultrasonography and critical care.  She would like to pursue more options in physiotherapy and rehab.

Jessica enjoys exploring new places, camping, 4 wheel driving, sports, horse riding and a good book.

Lauren Monaghan

Practice Owner/Manager

Originally from Brim, Lauren is our proud Practice Manager who recently purchased the clinic with Jessica. Lauren is dedicated to building a unique veterinary clinic full of engaged, positive, fun-loving team members empowered to follow their passion in providing the best for all pets and their humans.  Lauren has just begun her third year of business leadership with the Lincoln Institute.

Lauren enjoys playing netball, doing fun runs, catching up with friends (especially for winery/platter days), reading and exploring the outdoors.   When she is home with her husband and sons, she enjoys hanging out with her cat Nimbles and pug pack Lacey, Chokito, Betsy and Darla.

Dr Samantha Stephens

Veterinarian

Sam, originally from Echuca, graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from the University of Melbourne in 2013.  She worked at Your Family Vet as a locum in 2014 before taking a full time position in North Eastern Victoria.  Having experienced a very busy mixed practice, Sam has returned to the Wimmera to concentrate on small animals and has a special interest in orthopaedic surgery and feline medicine.

When she's not at work, Sam enjoys riding bikes with her husband Tom, spending quality time with her daughters; Isabelle and Eloise. As well as playing the with family cat, Rosie. 

Sam is currently on maternity leave after the arrival of her 3rd child, Harrison.

Dr Jess Bammann

Veterinarian

Jess is originally from a cattle and hay farm in SA. She moved to Horsham three years ago after graduating from The University of Adelaide with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. 

She enjoys being a vet and getting to travel to other clinics in VIC and the NT to do locum work (when possible). However, due to recent changes and a good working relationship with Lauren and Jessica, she decided to return to Your Family Vet. 

Jess has particular interests in emergency medicine, surgery and dentistry. She hopes to one day do some work in aboriginal communities to help promote animal welfare. 

Jess and her partner, Ben, have three dogs. A naughty Cattle dog (Ned), a big friendly Staghound (Ace) and a speedy whippet (Indi). On her days off, she enjoys walking her dogs and drinking coffee. 

Dr Beth McGennisken

Veterinarian

Beth is a true local, returning to the family farm and sharing her time with us.  Beth is a fantastic animal advocate, having completed many positions offering her veterinary expertise all over the world.  Beth has worked the majority of her career doing locum veterinary work in numerous places, allowing for her love of travelling, and many volunteer placements, allowing for her desire to give back.

Beth enjoys varying her projects and is always researching anything she can to improve the wellbeing of all creatures great and small.  At home Beth has two rescue dogs and a small mob of pet sheep.

Cassie Dunlop

Veterinary Nurse

Cassie, with a farming background from Rupanyup, has loved being around animals her whole life.
She came to us in 2018 as a trainee nurse and has since become qualified and moved to Geelong.
However, due to recent changes here at YFV, she couldn’t help but join the team again!

She still works casually as a vet nurse at Geelong Animal Emergency where she loves the fast-pace environment and nursing critical patients. Cassie is also studying a Bachelor of Science at Deakin University with hopes to one day become a veterinarian and continue advancing through this industry.

In her spare time, Cassie likes to cuddle as many dogs as possible, hang out with friends and play
netball.

Maddy Heard

Veterinary Nurse

Maddy is a local girl and has been a part of the team in a veterinary nursing role for years. As an experienced nurse Maddy has become an integral part of our team, teaching new nurses all that is included in fulfilling the role of a Veterinary Nurse.  Maddy's nursing skills include consult, medical and surgical nursing, dental scaling and polishing, placing catheters/IV fluids, collecting samples and running in house testing, cytology and many more! 

Maddy has a great passion for Staffies and currently owns two, Sasha and Amarni.  She really enjoys taking them on walks and exploring the great outdoors along with hanging out with friends and socialising. 

Maddy is currently on maternity leave after the arrival of her first child.

David Legg

Veterinary Nurse

Born on a dairy farm, David has been working with animals of all kinds from a very early age. Qualified and trained in both small and large animal nursing, David moved to the area in 2020 from South Coast NSW to join our growing team and has shown his value. He is enjoying exploring The Grampians and surroundings. 

In his spare time David enjoys curling up with his cat Saffron and a good book.

Imogen Yates

Veterinary Nurse

Imogen moved to Horsham to join our team in March 2021 and fast became such a valuable Veterinary Nurse.  Sharing her knowledge, ideas and experience we are grateful to have her!  Imogen runs our pet weight loss program and enjoys helping our clients to establish optimal pet health. 

In her spare time, Imogen loves heading home to help out on the farm.

Sarah Brady

Veterinary Nurse

Sarah moved to Horsham after cementing her position with us as a Junior Veterinary Nurse in January and has begun her studies to become a qualified Veterinary Nurse.  Sarah is an extremely fast learner and has proven herself to be a very valuable part of the team, especially with her fun-loving antics and clever surprise drawings.

Sarah has a keen interest in animals great and small and is particularly good at wrangling sheep at her family property. Sarah became a nurse as a way to better her skills and learn how to care for the animals that she loves the most. 

On her days off, Sarah enjoys a cheeky wine with her pals and spending time with her little whippet, Joey. 

Ellen Dodds

Trainee Veterinary Nurse

Ellen grew up on a vineyard in Mildura and after year 12 moved to Ballarat to study at university before transferring to TAFE to study Vet Nursing. She has always wanted to work with animals and is very excited to be working with us and our clients! 

Ellen has settled in really well to our team and we are looking forward to helping her down her path of vet nursing. 

At home, Ellen has a border collie named Tess and a cat named Dangerous. 

Amber Sleep

Trainee Veterinary Nurse

Amber grew up in Horsham and has always had a passion and endless love for all animals, which led her here to YFV! She finished school in 2020 and was accepted straight into the animal care industry elsewhere, before starting with us at the end of 2021. 

Amber is currently studying to become a qualified veterinary nurse, although once finished, plans to continue to further her education within the industry. She has become a great asset to our team, and we are impressed with how much she advances every day. 

In her free time, Amber enjoys spending time with her own pets, having a swim in the river and helping out her family on the farm. 

Sheridan Baker

Customer Service

Sheridan joined our team as a Trainee Customer Service Assistant on a part time basis in March while she was completing her university studies.  Sheridan enjoys seeing all of the different pets who come through our door and has a huge love for cats!

When she isn't working at Your Family Vet she is at home working as a part-time digital artist, taking on projects from clients all over the world.  She loves live-streaming her work each night on Twitch to teach others about the different areas of digital art.  Sheridan hopes to one day become a Veterinary Nurse or work as a Concept Artist at a large gaming studio!

Maddy Wills

Customer Service

Originally from Melbourne, Maddy completed a psychology degree before deciding to chase her dreams to become a vet. From there, she completed science studies, volunteering roles at the RSPCA and pet-sitting in order to gain entry into Veterinary Medicine in Sydney. Maddy recently relocated to Murtoa to be closer to her family and has transferred to Adelaide University to complete her studies. We are very lucky that she still has time to spare to be an amazing receptionist and gain experience as part of our Customer Service team. 

Maddy is cat-obsessed and loves nothing more than her ragdoll Meeka, little black rescue Maisy, and newest addition Cleo - a special black kitten from CatNap Kitten Rescue. 

Hayley Smith

Customer Service

Hayley has a strong passion for working with animals and hopes to become a qualified vet nurse in the future. For now, she has joined our reception team and has absolutely hit the ground running!

Outside of work, she likes to spend time riding her horses, catching up with friends and hanging out with her dogs. 

We are very happy to have her as part of our team, and know that she will only kick goals as she makes her journey through this industry!

Laetitia Schier

Kennel Hand

Laetitia strives to be a Veterinarian when she finishes school and is working 2 days a week after school with us as a Kennel Hand.  Stepping straight into the role with no fuss, we have no doubt she will achieve anything she puts her mind to!

Laetitia has grown up around dogs as her parents breed and show Siberian Huskies, which has led herself to develop a huge passion for dogs and dog training. Laetitia currently owns a Siberian husky (Ruby) and a Dobermann (Riley), who she spends most of her weekends with, either training or attending dog shows. When not with the dogs Laetitia enjoys hanging out with friends and going shopping.

Ruby Spasic

Kennel Hand

Ruby has been working with us after school 2 days a week and is a wonderful part of our team! She has a can do attitude and her work ethic is amazing! Ruby is working towards becoming a Veterinary Nurse after finishing school. She loves to spend time with her animals in amongst running her own business, Ruby's Clay Earrings, consisting of handmade clay earrings which you will find on Instagram as well as at local markets.

Briney Wright

Kennel Hand

Briney works as one of our fabulous Kennel Hands after school.  Briney wants to be a Veterinary Nurse when she finishes school and we have no doubt she will certainly be a fantastic one!  After recently completing work experience with us, Briney was offered the position as she fitted straight into our team.

On the weekends, Briney loves to go camping with friends and family.  She also enjoys clay shooting and going out to the farm helping her pop, including driving the header for him at harvest time.  During the week, when it is sunny days, Briney loves to take her dogs, Indi and Shelby, for a walk along the river and catch up with friends.

Penny Stemp

Financial Administrator

Penny has been part of the team right from the start, managing all things financial within the business.  Penny graduated with a Diploma of Accounting from Ballarat University and moved to Horsham with her family many years ago for a tree change. 

Penny's interests are her human family, husband Brendan and now grown up children Bec and Harry, and her extended fur family all being lucky rescues.  Penny was an integral volunteer with Horsham PAWS for many years, including spending time as the President of the association, and now has established her own rescue Catnap Kitten Rescue! 

As well as having her own luxurious boarding facility for cats, Catnap, quite simply she adores cats!  If she manages to find some free time she also enjoys reading and patchwork.