Philip Sacks

(BSc, BVSc, BVSc(Hons), MRCVSc, MANZCSc (Bird Medicine))

I am a passionate caring veterinarian - experienced in dog, cat and bird veterinary work.

My Expertise :

  • Working actively in the Medical core in the Army  - treating active combat horses and working dogs.
  • Post graduate training in dog and cat medicine at an academic teaching hospital at Onderstepoort in  South Africa and received a BVSc honors degree for it.
  • Have worked in an animal referral dental clinic for 6 years.  Dr Johan Joubert And Dr Phil Sacks Set up a referral veterinary Dental Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.  It was the only Veterinary dental Centre in the country  at the time.  
  • Have done Post graduate training in avian medicine and surgery and am a member by examination of the Australian & New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists . I am an Avian Vet or Bird Vet or Chicken vet. 
  • I love working with birds and an empathetic and gentle with the avian patients i treat (- possibly not as gentle with Turkeys over 15 kg !)
  • Am a honorary  Senior Fellow of Melbourne University veterinary teaching hospital and am involved in student teaching
  • Have been an external examiner for veterinary students in their final exams for Surgery, Medicine, and Parasitology.. .
  • Have taught at veterinary teaching hospitals in both South Africa and Australia.
  • Have trained under a bird specialist vet, worked with an avain specialist vet for 14 years.

All this enables me and our staff to offer you, the pet owner and  carer, reliable, expert advice and treatments  based on years of experience in both in academia and in private practice in dog cat and bird veterinary cases. 

Please feel free to contact the clinic for an appointment and read our website for further useful information

Phil  has obtained A.Q.I.S. accreditation, so if you are planning to take your pet overseas, he is a  qualified AQIS veterinarian to answer your queries and help prepare for departure.


Dr. Shereni Joshi

Veterinarian (BVSc)

Dr Shereni qualified in 2002 from the University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort. She spent over a year in the UK working as a small animal veterinarian. She then returned to South Africa where she worked at the SPCA and did some work at the Pretoria Zoo. In Pretoria, she opened a companion animal private practice where she was involved in many welfare organizations assisting with sterilization campaigns, and treatment of rescue and feral animals. She has completed a course in companion animal behaviour.

Her involvement included community projects which included both human and animal welfare. She ran Pet Care Camps and had discussions at schools where the focus was on educating children and the community regarding pet care. This encouraged children to volunteer at animal welfare groups and shelters.

Some of her highlights in working as a vet were treating wild animals at the zoo and exotic animal treatment are some of the many exciting opportunities presented in the veterinary field. She is now learning about avian medicine which is fascinating.

She has been with our team full-time for a while now, so many clients are already familiar with her work.

Behind the scenes, her surgical skills have helped many of our most complicated avian clients.  Some of you may have seen Molly the galah on our Youtube channel and Shereni's ability to intricately stitch up the most difficult wounds saved his life and many more.

Shereni and her family share their life with an overly energetic kitten and guinea pig.  Her animal family is growing since moving to Melbourne though, so we're fairly certain this very short list will be out of date before we know it.  (We know a few birds that are desperately trying to adopt her!)

 


Mel Vincent

Practice Manager (Practice Manager/Bird Behaviourist & Trainer)

Mel chose to behaviourally focus on birds more than 15 years ago. With clients across the globe, she is easily one of the most experienced and knowledgeable bird trainers out there. Mel runs her own bird behavioural company Works For Birds and is well-known for her blogs and collaborative work with the international bird training company Birdtricks.com.

Having studied psychology at Melbourne University, she has always had an interest in behaviour.  Her animal behaviour journey started many years ago when she took skateboarding classes with her dog (the dog was more coordinated than Mel).

Having been very active in wildlife rescue work since a very young age, Mel changed her career direction after the Black Saturday Bush Fires.  It was while studying Animal Veterinary Biosciences at La Trobe that Mel realised she had a real passion and talent for animal behavioural work.

If you ask Mel what the most worthwhile qualification she has ever undertaken (and there a lot of them) she says hands down Susan Friedman's Professional LLA course tied the science of psychology together with animal training better than any other course she has seen.

An active member of the IAABC, ASZK and ATA communities, Mel is well-connected in the behavioural industry.

She is frequently sought after for public speaking and group training sessions.  A published writer, she has written regular columns for numerous magazines and newspapers.  She has written blogs for multiple websites, particularly focusing on her specialty of birds.  You may have seen her being interviewed in news articles on tv and has been called as an expert in multiple court cases.

Putting all that aside, Mel doesn't just stick to the behavioural side of things.  Competent with avian medicine, you will find her supervising anaesthetics and performing all normal veterinary nursing duties.

Mel hasn't always focused on the veterinary industry.  She has held managment positions in many large companies and has qualifications in both retail and general management.

As a practice manager, she has been instrumental in building the current clinical team.  She jokes that Dr Phil should never have left her alone with his credit card because she has a terrible habit of buying an infinite number of bird toys and has effectively converted reception into a high turnover pet store.  So much so that the clinic now runs an online pet store that specialises in bird safe bird toys!  It turns out that the rest of our staff are also obsessed with spoiling pets.

Mel maintains a close relationship with multiiple animal rescue organisations.  She fosters an ever-changing collection of animals until they are ready for adoption.  Mel is always heavily involved in organising various charity events.

At the clinic, when she's not performing management or nursing duties she's seeing clients.  Mel has a very large behavioural client base and sees clients both in person and virtually.  You can book to see her by calling the clinic or through our online booking system.

Mel's specialty includes working with some of the most difficult behavioural clients.  She has an unrivalled success rate when it comes to turning around plucking and self-mutilating behaviours.  If your bird is biting, screaming, overly hormonal or just needs general training - Mel Vincent is the expert you need.  She runs parrot school, chicken school, harness training and recall flight classes at the clinic.

If you want to keep up with what Mel is currently up to, or read some of her most recent blogposts, check out her business website worksforbirds.com.au you can also follow her business page on facebook or instagram.


Eithan Giles

Head Nurse (Certificate II in Animal Studies)

Eithan Giles joined our team in November 2020 as a fully qualified veterinary nurse.
Eithan found his way to vet nursing while sitting in our waiting room with his sick cockatiel Zelda. He decided to become a vet nurse while waiting for his appointment because he was inspired to look after animals.

These days, Eithan is our senior nurse and plays a significant role in the management team. He’s also very well known as our “tech guy”. When we break a computer (or want a new one), he’s the one we bug. As we’ve recently had a significant software upgrade, Eithan’s work is never-ending and no question is too stupid.

Eithan’s real strength though is in his ability to monitor anaesthetics in addition to all round nursing duties. He is very well-experienced with most breeds of animals, so it’s hard to surprise him with something different.

Our student nurses have come to rely on Eithan for training and it’s something we’ve learned to trust him for. He actively gets his students involved in every aspect of clinic life and word has spread that students aren’t just stuck cleaning during their placement shifts. Eithan is the reason we have a placement waiting list.

Eithan has completed his Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing and is always looking into extension studies.

Eithan really should have a warning label stuck to his back (sometimes nurses get to the stickers and he actually does). If he ever asks you to open a small wooden box, run away.

Eithan lives with his 4 cockatiels, 2 conures, quaker and 2 dogs. Watch this space he’s likely to end up with a galah as he has a soft spot for them.

When Eithan is not at the clinic, he’s often pet-sitting. We’re never entirely sure where he’s living, but it’s ok, he still shows up.

Outside of the clinic, Eithan competes in paintball. He enjoys gaming. He’s the one that gets us lost on dog walks.

"Let’s turn left guys. We’re not going to die on a mountain full of leeches."

 

Areas of Expertise:

  • Veterinary Nursing
  • Student Manager
  • Warehouse Manager
  • IT expert


Dr. Ruth Barrett

Veterinarian (BVSc (Hons) MACVSc (Avian Medicine)MACVSc (Wildlife Health))

Ruth has been a valuable part-time member of our veterinary team for 5 years. As well as avian medicine, she is experienced in dog, cat, rabbit and guinea pig clinical practice and surgery.

She is particularly fond of cockatiels and has three at home.
In her spare time, Ruth likes to take her kids on outings to nature parks and the zoo. Both her children want to be vets when they grow up and they love to visit the clinic to see the quakers and eat the biscuits from the staff kitchen.


Pat Macwhirter (no longer works here)

(BVSc(Hons), MA, PhD,MANZCVSc (Canine Medicine), FANZCVSc (Bird Medicine))

Pat Macwhirter is An avian specialist and   the founder of Burwood Bird and Animal Hospital . 

Under Dr Pat the clinic was accredited  as a training Centre for future bird specialist veterinarians.

Pat is no longer working with Us  at Burwood bird and Animal Hospital


Georgina

Veterinary Nurse

Georgie joined our team at the start of 2016. She is currently completing her Veterinary Nurse Cert IV at Box Hill TAFE. Georgie lives with her kitten Mickey and her quaker parrot Alfalfa who were both brought to the clinic as rescue animals. After completing her Cert IV Georgie plans to pursue further studies in the veterinary field.


Kim Hastie

(Certificate 3, Animal Technology, Diploma of Ecotourism)

 

Kim is the bubbly voice on the phone who joined our team in 2012 after completing her studies in Animal Technology and travelling the world. Prior to working at Burwood Bird and Animal Hospital Kim did volunteer work at Melbourne Zoo, with Wildlife Victoria and with the RSPCA. She loves working with birds and other pets and has two Kelpies, Mia and Abby. In another life Kim is completing her Advanced Diploma in Yoga Teaching and the inner energy and calmness that comes with this training are great assets in helping our patients and their owners.


Michelle Sutherland

Veterinarian (BVM&S BSc (Hons) MRCVS MANZCVS (Avian Health))

Michelle no works here (no longer works here)

In 2016  -  Resident at Bird Vet Melbourne -  studying to becoming an Avian  veterinary specialist. in Bird medicine and surgery.  The bird specialist degree is through the Australian College of veterinary Science.

Dr Michelle No longer works at Bird Vet Melbourne.


Pet Export vet

Veterinarian (Aqis accreditation)

 Dr Phil is a pet export veterinarin accredited by AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) to prepare animals for export.

Dr Phil  is AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) accredited vet.

If you are planning on traveling overseas with your pet, our export  vet  can help with tests and treatments that may be required for the country you are traveling to.

 


  
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