Dr Debbie Thorne
BVSc (Hons)
Dr Deb graduated from the University of Queensland in 1995. Since then, she has worked in mixed practice in both Queensland and New South Wales, with a five year hiatus to run her family dairy farm. In her ‘spare time’, Deb spends time with her dogs Dot, Wilson and Hariat on her beef cattle properties in Maleny and Jandowae.
Dr Lauren McGrath
BVSc (Hons)
Dr Lauren graduated from the University of Queensland in 2011 and has been working at Maleny Vet Services since 2013. Lauren enjoys all areas of mixed practice but has a particular interest in surgery and equine medicine. Lauren has three horses – Dusty, Smitten and Prince, her playful dog Percy and a delightful tribe of chickens, geese and ducks. Whilst she has a small herd of cows, there is no doubt that Margo is her favourite – having raised her from an orphaned calf.
Dr Hailee Byles
BVSc
Dr Hailee graduated from James Cook University in Townsville in 2017 and has been with us at Maleny Vet Services since 2019. While Hailee is our go-to vet for large animals, she also loves her small animal medicine. Hailee has a daughter, Lilly and a staffy named Jimmy as well as some budgies and chickens. She comes from Whyalla in South Australia, but much prefers the Queensland weather!
Dr Bec Wasmund-Loughnan BVSc
Dr Bec graduated from James Cook University in 2021 and has been working in the Maleny Vet Services team since January 2022. She loves helping all critters, large and small but has a passion for equine medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys taking her cheeky border collie Bowie to the beach, endurance riding and camping under the stars.
Dr Sophie Denham
BVSc
Dr Sophie graduated James Cook University in 2022 and started at Maleny Vet Services in 2023. Sophie is loving the mixed animal practice! Sophie has a boxer called Clyde, she enjoys outdoors, beach walks and exploring the beautiful region around Maleny and the Sunshine Coast.
Dr Liz Potter
BVSc (Hons)
Dr Mitchell May
BVSc (Hons)
Caitie Davis
Debra Haupt
Deb has been with Maleny Vet Services since 2002 and has a Certificate II in Veterinary Nursing. She REALLY enjoys assisting in canine caesarean sections, nursing medical patients in hospital, training junior staff and work experience students – where her love for her job is infectious! Deb is otherwise kept busy with her horses Ned, Maverick and Abbey, her cats Tiddles, Ranga and Missy and her scallywag dog Nuckey.
Erin Vinall
Erin grew up in Maleny and has been a part of the Maleny Vet Services team since 2020. Erin has always wanted to work with animals, and she is currently studied to complete her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. Erin loves calvings and all the dogs that come to visit. She has two cheeky dogs, Ricky and Kara who are both Kelpie X and enjoys taking them to the dam for swims. Erin loves to hang out with family and friends in her spare time.
Gemma Keir
Gemma graduated from UQ in 2012 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology and began working at Maleny Vet Services in 2013. Gemma is married to Boyd and they have two sons, Jack and Hughie. Gemma’s pets include dogs Dozer, Boss, Tully and Bluey, a cat Millie, Harry the horse, chickens and Bowie the lorikeet. Gemma loves assisting with caesareans and working on behaviour with owners. Gemma’s hobbies include horse riding, dog walking, looking after her animals and spending time with Boyd, Jack and Hughie.
Grace Mallet
Grace has her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing, however you will usually find her friendly smile in reception. Grace married in April 2023 and she and her hubby have three fat cats named Purtato, Peanut and Big Boy Remington. When she’s not at Maleny Vet Services, Grace spends all her time cleaning-up cat fur and spending time with her hubby and baby girl!
Kate Meager
Nurse Manager
Kate joined Maleny Vet Services in 2007 and completed her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2012. She was born in Maleny and lives on a farm on Conondale. She two Kelpies Arrow and Archer and some naughty horses – Bill, Ray and Bundy. She particularly enjoys getting outside with the large animal patients, especially beef cows and horses.
Lucy Diplock
Sophie Sharry
Tayla Inglis
Tayla started her career veterinary nursing as a trainee in 2017, while still in high school (grade 10). She completed both a Certificate III and Certificate IV and became officially qualified in 2021. Tayla went out west to a rural mixed practice clinic and loved her time there, especially the largey and equine side of nursing. She has a horse named Loxton (who she spoils and spend all her time with), plus a Bull Arab named Chippy and a German Shepherd named Bronco (who she also spoils and spends all her time with!). Tayla loves going camping a lot, as well as spending lots of time with family and friends.
Kate Basset
Kate was a groomer in the hinterland area for four years, and had been in the industry for a total of more than 15 years before joining Maleny Vet Services in 2023. In her spare time she’s a mum to a toddler and loves to get outdoors. Kate loves hitting the parks and beaches with her Jack Russell Terrier Dougal, and even loves camping when she gets a chance.
Jordan Pedersen
Reception
Jordan, who likes to be called JP, joined our Reception team in 2024, bringing with her 25 years in the HR and admin people field. Her passion for all animals big and small, finds her in the perfect place and she couldn’t be happier. In her spare time, JP enjoys spending time with her fur-babies Jughead Jones and Muggles, goldfish Fushie and Turtles Turts and Turtlie 2.
Amanda Fea
Practice Manager
Amanda has lived in Maleny since 2011, joining the MVS team in February 2022. As Practice Manager, Amanda reckons she landed the best job in town, working with the most amazing humans and being involved with the best care for all the gorgeous animals. She and her husband have a Kelpie called Rippa, two cats Elsie and Murray (inherited from her son) cattle and chickens. Her hobbies include camping, reading, skiing with family and friends and the odd champagne.
Edwina Kelly
Business Manager
Edwina graduated from UQ with a Bachelor of Journalism and Communications in 2000. She worked in the not-for-profit sector for 10 years before going solo to work with small and medium-sized businesses who don’t traditionally have the resources to compete with the ‘big end of town’. She joined Maleny Vet Services as Business Manager in 2018 to combine her love of animals (in particular Coco, her lab) with her passion for advocating small businesses.
Kim O’Rourke
Clinic Assistant
Kim has been a member of the team at Maleny Vet Services since 2017. After finishing her schooling in Maleny, Kim went on to study animal husbandry at UQ, beef production in Emerald and equine veterinary nursing in NSW. Before relocating back to Maleny, Kim worked as an equine veterinary nurse at the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Melbourne. In her spare time Kim enjoys going on camping adventures, trail riding with her quarter horse Chevy or just chilling at home napping with her terrier Pixie and cat Alexis.