Greencross Vet Hospital at the University of Melbourne

Dr Liam Donaldson

B.App.Sc (Hons), BVSc, MVS (Hons), MVSc (Hons), MANZCVS (ECC), DACVECC. Clinical Director and Specialist in Emergency and Critical Care

Dr Liam completed his undergraduate veterinary degree in veterinary science in 2013 at James Cook University before undertaking a small animal rotating internship at Queensland Veterinary Specialists in 2014. It was during his rotating internship that he developed a passion for Emergency and Critical Care. This led him to a residency in Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Melbourne throughout 2016 – 2018. While undertaking the residency, he also completed dual master’s degrees in Veterinary Science (MVSc) and Veterinary Studies (MVS). It was also while at the University of Melbourne that he published a thesis looking at the immunomodulatory effects of lidocaine in dogs undergoing abdominal surgery.

Dr Liam sat and passed his specialist exams in emergency and critical care in Washington DC in September 2019 (DACVECC). Since passing his specialist exams, Dr Liam has returned to private practice. He has recently commenced training in haemodialysis through UC Davis, with the goals of furthering his theoretical understanding of dialysis. Dr Liam hopes this may lead to the establishment of a dialysis program in Melbourne, given the wide-ranging potential indications of haemodialysis and plasma aphersis in our critically ill patients.

In his spare time, Dr Liam enjoys going to the gym, or hitting up the bars of Melbourne with his beloved and overly spoilt Cavoodle, Charlie.

Dr Robert Menzies

BVSc, DAVDC, DEVDC

Dr Robert Menzies is a registered specialist in veterinary dentistry and comes from western Victoria. He is a board-certified Diplomate of the American and European Veterinary Dental Colleges (Dipl.AVDC, Dipl.EVDC). From 2009-2012 he was a resident in dentistry and oral surgery at the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary hospital. Prior to specialising he worked in mixed, equine and small animal practices in Victoria, NSW, UK, China and USA. Since becoming a Diplomate, he and his wife moved to Europe where he worked at the University of Helsinki veterinary school, the University of Veterinary Medicine – Vienna, and in private practice in Norway. Rob returned to Australia with his family at the beginning of the pandemic and established ANIDOS, a practice specialising in dentistry and oral surgery for animals, serving regional Victoria, NSW and South Australia and now Melbourne.

Dr Claire Cannon

BVSc(hons) DACVIM (Oncology) Oncologist

Dr Claire Cannon graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2003 and spent several years in general practice in Australia and the United Kingdom before deciding to specialise. During her specialist internship, she worked as a Veterinary Oncologist for the first time and realised that there are always options for animals with cancer, ranging from surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, to palliative or comfort care, and she decided that oncology was the career path for her.

Claire moved to the United States in 2009 to undertake a residency in Veterinary Oncology at the University of Minnesota. She became board certified in 2013 and went on to undertake additional training in research. She has been on faculty at the University of Minnesota, University of Tennessee, and the University of Melbourne. She has authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and textbook chapters, and presented her research at several international conferences and has an ongoing interest in clinical research, having coordinated and participated in several clinical trials of new therapies in dogs and cats with cancer.

Claire is passionate about providing excellent care to all animals with cancer, and their owners, with a focus on maintaining the best quality of life possible for her patients. 

Dr Hannah Lobegeier

(BVSc, MANZCVS) Medicine Registrar

Dr Hannah graduated from the University of QLD in 2010, with first class honours. She worked in mixed general practice initially, then completed an extended internship in Internal Medicine at QLD Veterinary Specialists. She was awarded her Membership in Small Animal Internal Medicine from the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in 2015. After several more years in general practice, she decided to pursue her goal of becoming a specialist.

Dr Hannah completed her residency training program in Small Animal Medicine at Brisbane Veterinary Specialist Centre in April 2021 and is preparing to sit specialist examinations in the coming years. Hannah has a particular interest in gastroenterology immune-mediated disease and urinary tract disease, and has always been drawn to the discipline of Internal Medicine because of a love for solving complex problems. Her professional pathway has required an often challenging balance of career, family life, and study. This means she brings an empathetic and practical approach to her problem-solving. She has a focus on achieving excellent quality of life for her patients, and loves geriatric medicine. Outside of work and study, she spends her time with her family, including two young sons, and lots of sporting activities to keep everybody busy! 

Dr Thierry Beths

Anesthesia DVM, Cert VA, CVA, CVPP, MRCVS, MSc (Dist) Clinical Pain Management, PhD

Associate/Prof Thierry Beths joined U-Vet Hospital of the University of Melbourne (UoM) in February 2012 working in the Anaesthesia and Analgesia department. He did a residency in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia at the University of Glasgow (UK) from 1997-2000. In 2008, he obtained from the same University a PhD on developing a Target Controlled Infusion (TCI) system for propofol in dogs.

He has a strong interest in animal welfare and pain management. He is the chair of one the UoM Melbourne Animal Ethic committee (since 2016) and a Cat A member (since 2014) for the Wildlife Small Industry AEC (Agriculture Victoria). He is an active member (since 2018) of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (Agriculture Victoria).

He has a certification (CVA) in Veterinary Acupuncture from the Chi Institute and China National Society of TCVM Florida (USA) and a certification (CVPP) of Veterinary Pain Practitioner from the International Veterinary Association of Pain Management (IVAPM). In 2020 he graduated from the University of Edinburgh (UK) with a MSc (Dist) in Clinical Pain Management. He recently started training in Canine Rehabilitation through the University of Tennessee (USA) and hope to graduate as a Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner (CCRP) by the end of 2024.

Dr Tesh Smalle

BSc, BVSc (Hons), MMedVet (Small animal surgery), MANZCVS (Small animal surgery), Graduate Certificate in Clinical Teaching - Staff Surgeon

Tesh graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science from the University of Pretoria in 2009. After volunteering as a veterinarian in India, she returned to South Africa where she completed a residency training program in small animal surgery at the University of Pretoria. She was awarded a Masters of Veterinary Medicine in Small Animal Surgery in 2017 and is registered as a veterinary specialist in small animal surgery with the South African Veterinary Council. 

In 2017, she relocated to Australia, with her husband and fur-child, to pursue her passion for clinical teaching of veterinary students.  After some time in sunny Queensland, working with the final year veterinary students at UQ-VETS small animal hospital, they made the move to Victoria.  Tesh joined the University of Melbourne as a Lecturer in the U-Vet animal hospital small animal surgery service in 2018. During this time, she offered referral level services in small animal surgery to the surrounding community whilst working with final year veterinary students on their clinical rotations.  Tesh has conducted research, published and lectured in the fields of laryngeal paralysis and gall bladder disease in dogs.  She has a particularly keen interest in intricate soft tissue surgery and loves the puzzle of reconstructive skin surgery. She also has an interest in minimally invasive surgical techniques such as laparoscopy and thoracoscopy. She understands that surgical treatment can be stressful for owners and is passionate about helping them (and their fur-child) through this time.  She has worked in referral level veterinary practice for more than 10 years.

When not in theatre, Tesh enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, and goofing around with her 2 fur-children, Hershey and Melindros. 

Dr Samantha Gilbert

BVSc BSc - Neurology Registrar

Sam graduated from James Cook University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science, following the completion of a Bachelor of Science with Majors in Biology and Marine Biology from the University of Sydney. She then worked as a general practitioner in Cairns for two years before completing a rotating internship at SASH (Small Animal Specialist Hospital) in Sydney. Sam then moved to the United Kingdom and completed a Neurology specific internship followed by a residency in Neurology at Cave Veterinary Specialists. Sam finished her residency in June 2023, and worked between Wear Referrals and Dick White Referrals in the United Kingdom before moving back to Australia to join Greencross Veterinary Hospital at the start of 2024. Sam has an interest in idiopathic epilepsy management and has published in this area. Outside of work, Sam has a miniature-dachshund that takes up a lot of her time, and likes to go paddleboarding.