About Us
Our staff provide community-based expert care to your beloved pets with empathy & integrity.
Established for over 40 years, we are a community-based vet and pet boarding facility with a primary focus on providing compassionate expert care to your beloved pets. We are passionate about providing the best care for your pets with up-to-date knowledge and facilities. Our empathetic and understanding approach along with the ultimate goal of ensuring that each pet has a stress-free vet visit gives you the reassurance that your pet is treated with love and respect. The majority of our team live locally so our knowledge of the geographical area is extensive and we are proud to be part of the local pet community. We have a spacious outdoor cat & dog boarding facility that is run by veterinary staff to ensure your pet has a safe and happy stay.
Vets
Dr Prue Honson
Hospital Director & Principal VeterinarianDr Prue Honson graduated from Sydney University and began her career as a vet at North Shore Veterinary Specialist Centre where she gained an array of knowledge in general practice, emergency and specialist veterinary medicine.
More about Prue
More about Prue
Dr Philippa Taylor
Senior VeterinarianPhilippa graduated from Sydney University in 2010 and has been working in small animal practice in Sydney ever since. Like Prue, the call of a local job was very appealing so she joined the team in 2018 to be closer to home and her family.
More about Philippa
More about Philippa
Dr David Lee
Senior VeterinarianAfter graduating with a Bachelor of Veterinary science with first class honours from the University of Sydney in 2003, he started full time work at the RSPCA in Yagoona, gaining a large exposure to a vast array of different cases, and animals great and small, before joining the team at Sylvania Veterinary Hospital in March 2005.
More about David
More about David
Dr Melissa Bridges
Associate VeterinarianMel joined the team in 2019 full time. After graduating from University of Sydney with First Class Honours Mel has worked in a variety of small animal hospitals around Sydney gaining a broad range of experience in emergency medicine, general medicine and surgery.
More about Melissa
More about Melissa
Nurses
Nikki Menner
Head NurseNikki is our Lead Veterinary Nurse, and has been at Thornleigh Veterinary Hospital since 2010. She has completed her certificate IV in veterinary nursing, and the hospital continues to benefit from her experience and knowledge.
More about Nikki
More about Nikki
Kristy Fleming
Senior NurseKristy is one of our experienced vet nurses and has been at Thornleigh Veterinary Hospital since 2011. She completed her veterinary nursing certificate IV in early 2009, having known from the age of 6 that she always wanted to work with animals.
More about Kristy
More about Kristy
Susan Galea
Junior NurseSusan is another one of our keen nurses. She is currently studying her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing with Open Colleges.
More about Susan
More about Susan
Lexie Hunter
Junior NurseLexie joined the Thornleigh Veterinary Hospital in 2018. She is currently a student at the University of Sydney studying Animal and Veterinary Bioscience, hoping to transfer into post-graduate Veterinary Medicine to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a vet.
More about Lexie
More about Lexie
Support staff
Tania Samia
Animal AttendantTania joined the team in 2018 as our superstar animal attendant. She has a special interest in animal enrichment and thoroughly enjoys getting to know every animal that comes to Thornleigh Veterinary Hospital.
More about Tania
More about Tania
Kirstie Blain
ReceptionistKirstie is our animal-loving, cat-crazy super receptionist. Kirstie had already met all of the TVH team (and some of our patients!) as she has been the co-ordinator for our Pet Santa Paws Photos for a few years. We thought she was such a good coordinator we hired her and she started part time with us in October 2020.
More about Kirstie
More about Kirstie
Isela Stead
ReceptionistIsela (Issy) was a Qantas International Flight Attendant for 8 years before leaving to become the mother of two boys. After listening to the Wiggles for what seemed like an eternity, Isela decided it was time to jump back into the work force working first in retail then medical reception.
More about Isela
More about Isela
Community & Sponsorships
The team at Thornleigh Vet are passionate about getting involved with the local community and are involved in a number of community education, sponsorship and local events.
Pets in the Park
Thornleigh Vet Hospital are proud supporters of this nation-wide charity that is dedicated to caring for animals owned by people struggling with homelessness. The hospital frequently performs procedures on these pets and helps to raise money via a donation box in our reception and via our Santa Photo Day whereby all proceeds go to this fantastic charity.
Thornleigh Thunders Football Club
We are proud sponsors of the Thornleigh Thunders again in 2020 and look forward to attending games and supporting our local team.
Local school support
We love sponsoring, contributing or helping out our local schools including the 2018 Thornleigh West Public School Colour Run and the 2019 Pennant Hills Public School Fete. We frequently work with Before/after school cares to do hospital tours or vet talks on pet safety.
Pennant Hills Junior Demons AFL Club
We are proud sponsors of the Penno demons in 2020 and look forward to attending games and supporting our local team.
Community Talks
At Thornleigh Vets, we consider our role as much more than a team that providers health care in a hospital; We believe that good health is also dependent upon good relationships, and that positive relationships between animals and the people with whom they interact, requires education and ongoing support. That’s why we get out amongst our community and help in the following ways:
School Talks
1,242 dog attacks were reported to NSW councils in the first quarter of 2019, 95 were incidents involving children, and half sustained serious injuries. 77% of bites are from a dog owned by a victim’s family or a friend. Let’s reduce this number to zero by educating children about the safest way to interact with dogs. It starts with our specially designed presentations for school kids.
Pet First Aid
Would you know what to do in an emergency involving your pet, or how to provide first aid? Minutes can be crucial if your pet is sick or injured, which is why we’re offering first aid courses to pet owners. Participants receive a pet first aid kit, a detailed first aid manual and tuition by Hospital Director Dr Prue, and Head Nurse Nikki, in a small group setting.
Community Talks
The team at Thornleigh Vets is available to present to schools and community groups on a variety of subjects, such as dog park etiquette, how to interact safely with dogs, choosing the right boarding facility, pet ownership and choosing pets, pets in strata title properties, and more. Sessions are conducted free of charge as a community service.
Looking for local support?
Contact our Hospital Director, Dr Prue Honson on prue.honson@thornleighvet.com.au.