Caulfield Veterinary Clinic

Dr Janene Kirschner

Experience: Janene graduated from the University of Melbourne Veterinary School in 1975 and she's been a practice owner for 30 years. She started Caulfield Veterinary Clinic in 1990 after operating a clinic in Strathmore for 13 years.

Best part of the job: Seeing her clients' families develop and grow. Children of families that have been coming to Janene with their pets for years have grown up to be adults who bring their own pets to the clinic. It's a great privilege to be part of people's lives in the local community.

Post Graduate qualifications: Janene successfully completed a post graduate certificate in Surgery and Cardiography. She's been honoured with being made a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne Veterinary School.

In 2005 she undertook the challenging role of being "Practitioner in Residence" at the vet school - an important role that facilitates students' transition from university to the world of vet practice.

Janene regularly has vet students visiting her practice as part of the University's learning programme.

Family: Janene is married with 3 beautiful daughters.

An important part of her family is Mooshi the cat - now 13 years old and completely spoilt. (Janene's then 13 year old daughter had found her in a drain when she was very young and the family adopted her straight away).

Being a Caulfield local... means having great clients who look after their pets well.

Dr Rachel Svirskis

Hello everyone! I am very excited to have joined the team here at Caulfield Vet Clinic. I have taken over from Mandy, who has returned to her hometown of Adelaide.

I graduated with honours from the University of Melbourne in 2005. Prior to joining Janene at Caulfield Vet Clinic I worked in a busy small animal clinic in Werribee and Ashburton for 18 months. Ever since watching Disney's 'Dumbo' as a little girl my dream was to look after animals. It is very exciting when a dream becomes reality and I could not think of any other profession that I would rather have. I enjoy all aspects of veterinary medicine but in particular, small animal internal medicine. I am hoping to do a post graduate course in this area in the future to extend my knowledge.

I have a naughty little Kelpie cross named Jedda who I adore! I rescued her from the RSPCA when she was 8 weeks old. She is almost 2 years old now and is slowly starting to settle down!

Other than animals, travel is my other passion. Prior to commencing employment here I traveled for 3 months in India and Nepal. I undertook some volunteer work in Sikkim, far north east India, participating in a street dog anti-rabies and desexing program to help reduce the stray dog population. It was an extremely challenging and rewarding experience! Afterwards, I spent time in Nepal where I completed the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp treks before returning to Southern India to relax on the beautiful beaches!

I look forward to getting to know you and your pets.