Our Team

Dr. Kevin Foster

BVSc (Hons) MVS

Kevin is passionate about caring for cats, dogs, small animals, reptiles and their people. He is delighted to be part of Vets on Parker: a genuine family practice. Kevin trained as a veterinary surgeon at the University of Melbourne and graduated with honours. He has recently completed a postgraduate certificate and masters degree in small animal medicine and surgery.

Kevin worked for several years in Sydney at a busy small animal clinic and emergency veterinary hospital before moving back to Melbourne in 2010. Kevin became the principal vet at Vets on Parker in early 2011.

He thoroughly enjoys looking after the family pets of Templestowe and enjoys participating in community life. Kevin has an Airedale Terrier named Macy and looks after his family’s Cavalier King Charles Spaniels on a regular basis.

Dr Kevin hosts Pets Practice with Dr Kevin and is series vet for Animal Extra. He’s appeared on The Project, Ten News and Light FM as well as in the Herald Sun and Leader Newspapers.

Dr. Sarah Thorpe

BVSc MVS

Sarah is passionate about providing outstanding patient care and supporting our clients through the fun and challenges of pet ownership. Graduating from The University of Melbourne in 2010, Sarah joined the Vets on Parker team in 2012 and completed a Masters in Veterinary Studies (Small Animal Practice) in 2017. With a keen interest in medicine Sarah enjoys managing chronic and complex medical conditions, in particular the care of geriatric patients and supporting her clients in how to best care for their elderly pets.

Sarah’s love of cats is evident as she calmly and confidently cares for her feline patients, making them feel at ease whilst at the clinic. She has played an instrumental role in the veterinary care of hundreds of rescue cats, working closely with Maneki Neko Cat Rescue. At home Sarah enjoys spending time with her young active family and her two cheeky rescue cats Gerald and Kelly. Gerald has given Sarah personal experience in managing diabetes as he has been treated successfully with dietary management and insulin since his diagnosis in 2018.

Dr. Kassy Sainsbury

BVSc

Kassy joined the Vets on Parker team in 2018 and has over 15 years’ experience as a veterinarian. Kassy’s clients enjoy her honest and down to earth approach. She has a particular interest in the mental health of her patients and in dermatology. Born and bred locally, Kassy graduated from Sydney University and has spent time working around Australia, in the UK and in Dubai.

Dr. Erica Chan

BSc DVM

Erica is originally from Eltham and remembers driving past Vets on Parker regularly when growing up. She is therefore super excited to have come full circle and joined the fantastic team at Vets on Parker.  She holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Melbourne, and looks forward to providing high quality veterinary care to all local families and their pets.

Erica loves being active and spending time outdoors – a passion shared by Ralph, her Rhodesian Ridgeback X Cattle Dog. She also loves coffee and good food, and wishes Ralph had better ‘café manners’ so that he could share this passion with her too.

Dr. Cindy Lo

BVSc(Hons)

Cindy has a special interest in surgery, and has completed further studies with the University of Sydney to advance her surgical skills. She enjoys the life changing aspect seen after a successful surgical procedure. It absolutely
warms her heart when she sees her patients regain their normal behavior!

Cindy not only is fluent in English, she is also fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin as she was born in Hong Kong. She welcomes clients to communicate with her in any of these 3 languages in consultations.

Cindy is hoping to adopt a Mini Dachshund in the near future.

Dr. Nicola Tse

After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 2020, Nicola joined the Vets on Parker team. She has always grown up with pets and has acquired a strong passion in caring for animals. Nicola finds it particularly rewarding to manage complex medical cases as she finds it so heartwarming to see her patients feel better. She is dedicated to providing high quality care for our clients and their pets. Outside of work Nicola enjoys travelling, exploring new cafes and spending time with her friends and family. She lives with an energetic Cavalier mix dog called Mochi, and a talkative domestic shorthair cat called Pumpkin.

Dr Sanchi Aggarwal

Sanchi joined our team in 2020. As a pet owner herself, she understands the joy an animal can bring to our lives. She looks forward to caring for our animal community while also providing owners with support through the highs and lows of pet ownership.

Dr Tori Ip

Tori graduated from Murdoch University in 2018 and has been working in primary care practice in Melbourne since. She is passionate about providing the best care for pets.

Tori is fascinated by all aspects of general practice, with a keen interest in small animal surgery, diagnostic imaging, and feline medicine. She is constantly keeping up with new advancements and putting evidence-based medicine into practice via learning from varies education platforms. She is currently working toward her Postgraduate Certificate (small animal surgery) and General Practitioner Certificate in International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies.

Tori grew up in Hong Kong and speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin. She always welcomes clients to have a chat with her in those languages.

Outside of work Tori loves backpacking, running, cycling with her partner (who is also a vet) and her adventurous cat called Cheeto.

Danielle Cowburn

She started her nursing career at a busy 24 hour emergency clinic where she was exposed to many interesting and exciting cases. Danielle volunteers with Wildlife Victoria as a rescue and transport officer and has done extensive volunteer work overseas with the street dogs in Nepal and Peru. Danielle is a foster carer and is currently looking after a beautiful 7 year old bull terrier.

Joanne Amos

Joanne hails from a small country town called Sea Lake where she grew up surrounded by a large range of animals. After completing her Bachelor in Animal and Veterinary Biosciences she joined the team at Vets on Parker in 2010. She enjoys the constant learning experience that working in the Veterinary industry gives her, and watching how innovated changes to medicine benefit our patients and clients alike. When not at work Joanne is kept busy as a director at Maneki Neko Cat Rescue, a non for profit cat rescue organization that came about by a conversation in our own waiting room! Often referred to as our crazy cat lady Joanne can usually be seen with a carrier of kitten bottle babies in tow.

Emily Roberts

Emily grew up local to the area in Eltham. After working with the community, she decided on a career change and to follow her life long passion that she has for animals both big and small. She is keen to see where this new adventure will take her and the opportunities it may lead to. Emily’s first rescue is her dog Mondo, an energetic boy who is a bit of everything. Since then she has surrounded herself with rescue animals, adding Aster the beaglier to the family and hand raising 2 lambs Daisy and Poppy, who are now 2 very spoilt sheep and 2 Alpacas Lenni and Carl. Emily loves spending her weekends with all her fur family on their property in Mansfield.

Liz Whyte

Vet nursing is a relatively new career for Liz. Working in the veterinary industry was always a dream, but after completing her Science Degree,
Liz devoted her time to looking after special needs kids and having children of her own.

Going back to study Cert IV in Veterinary Nursing was definitely worthwhile, as Liz knows she is now in her favourite job! She enjoys meeting all the gorgeous patients that come into the clinic and loves helping them live their best lives.

When not at work, Liz enjoys pottering around her garden, trying to find new places to add more native plants, or decide which veggies to attempt to grow. She also enjoys going for walks with her family, which includes 2 border collies, Reggie and Lilah.

Kath Apostolopoulos

Kath began her career in the animal industry at a young age by pet sitting for family and friends. She graduated with a Certificate II in Animal Studies in 2018 and continued her studies completing her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2020. Kath currently has a cat called Clio but hopes to one day expand her fur family to include a variety of animals.

Natalie Logan

Natalie has always been an animal lover and is absolutely rapt to be a part of the Vets on Parker team as one of our Cattery Attendants. She is passionate about health and medical science (both human and animal) and has previously completed a Bachelor of Paramedicine. She is super keen to return to studying this year and begin working towards completing the Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. She is particularly interested in animal behaviour, rehabilitation, and complementary therapies. Natalie currently owns two rescue dogs, Neo and Narla, and an ex-racehorse named Vinnie. She also has three fur-nieces: Socks and Riley (dogs) and Piper (cat). Outside of work, she enjoys horse riding, reading, binging Netflix and Reformer Pilates.

Lachlan Milne

Lachlan has always had a love of and interest in animals since growing up with them as members of his family. He is keen to put his knowledge from his previous study relating to animals and the environment to use at Vets on Parker.

Kim Miller

Kim is a self proclaimed crazy cat lady. She has worked with cats in boarding and animal rescue for over 15 years. She especially loves cat behaviour and rehabilitation which is a huge part of animal rescue. With a background in nursing and pathology she has decided that animal care is where she belongs. She has her own cats, snake and lizard. In her own time she loves time with her family, gardening and trips up to her home town of Rutherglen.

Cassandra De La Parra

Cassandra is a lifelong animal lover with a passion for providing the best possible care for all furry animals. She graduated in 2019 with a Bachelors of Animal & Veterinary Bioscience majoring in Zoology from La Trobe University. Cass started her journey working with retired racehorses and now, after joining the Vets on Parker team in 2022, Cassandra is excited to follow her passion and expand her knowledge whilst studying a Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. With a love for all sighthounds, Cass hopes to adopt an ex-racer greyhound in the near future!

Sami Ceravolo

Sami has always had a passion for animals ever since she was young. Growing up around dogs was a big part of her childhood and made her fall in love with the animal industry. Sami attended Templestowe College, which has a wide variety of animals for students to work with, and where she made up her mind about her future career. While at school she completed her Cert II in Animal studies and first joined us at Vets on Parker for work experience in 2022.

Sami is currently an enthusiastic member of our cattery attendant team and loves pampering all of the cats that board with us.  In 2024 she started her Cert IV in Veterinary Nursing and looks forward to progressing in her career as a Veterinary Nurse.

Vicky Smith

Vicky is one of our bright and bubbly Receptionists. Holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Management and Welfare, she is a passionate animal lover and has been working in different animal health and welfare industries for over 20 years.

Vicky enjoys working closely with our furry patients; however she finds the most rewarding part of her role is helping and greeting everyone that comes into our clinic. She loves meeting and interacting with all of our lovely owners and their pets, helping to reassure them and ensuring they are happy. Vicky aspires to make everyone’s day a little better, whether you are furry or not.

Alicia Woodman

Alicia is passionate about caring for animals and the environment. She grew up surrounded by cats, dogs, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits and fish, and has been utterly obsessed since. She is currently completing her Certificate II in Animal Care, and plans to progress her career further into the animal care industry. At home, Alicia has a rabbit called Harley who is extremely destructive but a well pampered ball of fluff.

Lou Hutton

Lou grew up surrounded by animals and has never stopped loving them in all shapes and sizes. With a grandfather who used to bring home stray cats and a mother who writes about the human-animal connection it was inevitable that Lou would end up with a lifelong passion for animal care.

She has 14 years of experience in animal related industries, with 10 of those years working as a vet nurse. When she’s not working at Vets on Parker she’s deeply invested in animal care, working at a pet shop where she can make use of her extensive knowledge of pet products.

Outside of work you will either find her with her beloved cat Rocky purring on her knee or out running with boisterous dog Daisy (training for yet another marathon)

Elsie Redman

Originally from Ocean Grove, Elsie grew up surrounded by all kinds of animals. Elsie enjoys travelling across Australia to see native animals in their natural habitat, from meeting koalas to swimming with humpback whales. After completing her studies Elsie hopes to be fortunate enough to travel the globe to help orphaned animals or those fighting extinction. Elsie joined our receptionist team in 2024 and looks forward to getting to know all of our wonderful clients and their pets.

Jada Taylor

With her love for animals, Jada is delighted to be a part of the Vets on Parker team as a Cattery Attendant. Currently studying at the University of Melbourne for her Bachelor of Science, Jada is excited to learn more about animal care and the veterinary industry as she hopes to major in Veterinary Bioscience. At home, she has two dogs: Lola the Beaglier and Charlie the Jack Russell Terrier, who never fail to make her laugh and serve as a constant reminder of why she adores animals. Outside of work, Jada enjoys hiking and crochet, as well as pursuing her interests in wildlife conservation.

Hol Elsholz

Hol has spent the last twenty years living and working in Australia and overseas as an editor and administrator, and after settling in Melbourne is now pursuing Animal Studies. She is currently employed at Vets on Parker as a Cattery Attendant and hopes to pursue a career in Veterinary Nursing.  Hol has two beautiful young Cocker Spaniel x Cavaliers, Lockie and Ivy, and is looking forward to where this career will take them.

Dr Kate Luk

BVSc

Kate grew up in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne but completed her vet degree at The University of Sydney in 2016. She worked for several years in a busy inner western Sydney clinic before finally returning home at the end of 2020. She joined the Vets in Melbourne team in 2021 after a locuming stint at Vets in Endeavour Hills, where she realised how well she fit in with the team!

Kate enjoys all aspects of small animal general practice, including medicine and surgery. She prides herself on being thorough and gentle with all of her patients and loves all animals big and small.

Outside of work Kate enjoys going out to eat, hiking, cuddling her cat Bee and taking her second cat Billy for a walk. You can find her dividing her time between Vets on Parker and Vets in Endeavour Hills each week.