Our Philosophy
Our philosophy is simple. To build relationships with families that enhance their pets lives through professional, quality and caring healthcare. To be the voice for all pets.
Our team is committed to providing quality care for your pet. We understand the important role your pet plays in your family and we aim to treat all pets as our own and to treat our clients the way we would want to be treated.
Our History
In the early 1990s, Albury Veterinary Hospital was a single, stand-alone veterinary hospital with vets and nurses attending to large and small animals. There was an opportunity to purchase another veterinary hospital in Wodonga on Beechworth Road. This was done and was called Beechworth Road Veterinary Hospital. It was the smaller of the two hospitals. Dr John Paton worked in Albury and Dr Peter Lee in Wodonga.
During the mid-1990s, the partners of Albury Veterinary Hospital (Drs John Paton and Peter Lee) were looking for a change in the identity and the nature of the Veterinary Hospital. It was felt there was an increasing change in the attitude of more and more clients.
This change was from “it’s just a dog” or “it’s just a cat” to a recognition of the importance of these pets to households, and that they form part of the family. It was, for this reason, there was a change of name to Family Vet Centre.
We felt the name better reflected the style of Hospital we wished to be involved with and the philosophy we believed was important. The name was partly a reflection of the older personal relationship of the family doctor, and partly a recognition of our pets within our families. We wished to be available and approachable by our clients with their concerns regarding their pets.
Family Vet Centre grew and expanded over the years and required more and more staff to handle the workload. Essential to this expansion was the emphasis of the practices on client service, as well as staff professional and personal development. An external personnel consultant was engaged to help the partners with the selection and training of the staff. This enabled staff employment to be focused where the Family Vet Centre was developing.
In January 2008, Dr John Paton retired and Dr Justin Clancy entered the partnership. At the same time, Wodonga Animal Hospital was brought under the Family Vet Centre umbrella and the clients from there were moved to Beechworth Road, Wodonga. This enabled the development on the Thomas Mitchell Drive site into a new, purpose-built hospital that we see today. The site also includes a new and expanded boarding Facility for dogs and cats.
Our People
Each person on our team contributes significantly to the professionalism & care of Family Vet Centre.
We are committed to training and ongoing veterinary education, and this coupled with a wealth of experience, ensures that our clients & patients receive the benefit of up-to-date and best-practice veterinary medicine
Veterinarians
An experienced group of vets leads to many ideas being circulated through the group as well as a sharing of information – this brings a new dimension to learning and allows different perspectives to be applied to problems.
We recognize the importance of seeing your own vet – Please do not hesitate to ask to see your vet when you make your appointment.
Nurses
Our nurses and support staff play a crucial role in the care of your pet. As a whole the nursing group are well accomplished, and individually each nurse brings different skills to the table. Rather than having receptionists, all nurses rotate through reception duties. This is a deliberate policy, as we want the people out the front with the clients to be well experienced with what happens in the hospital – the people out the front aren’t just receptionists but are well-qualified nurses.