Our Team

Veterinary Surgeons

Dr Paul Sammartino BVSc (Hons), BSc

Paul holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Hons) and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne. He is the owner and principal veterinary surgeon at Maroondah Veterinary Clinic.

Paul spent many days of his childhood on his grandparents’ rural property near Wangaratta in Northern Victoria. Paul believes that this early exposure to farm life gave him his love of animals and fostered his life-long desire to work with them.  

Paul began his career at Bundoora Veterinary Clinic and Hospital, a large general veterinary practice, specialist referral centre and emergency hospital in Melbourne’s north. Here, Paul was exposed to a wide range of cases and was able to learn from experienced general veterinary practitioners and well-respected specialist surgeons and physicians. Paul then spent time in the UK where he worked in a busy small-animal clinic on the outskirts of London.  After returning to Melbourne, Paul gained further experience in small-animal medicine and surgery in veterinary practices in Kew East, Eltham and Vermont. In 2005, Paul joined RSPCA Victoria in Burwood as the Principal Veterinary Surgeon (Medicine), where he co-supervised a team of more than 20 veterinary surgeons and later took on the role of acting head of the RSPCA Victoria Veterinary Clinic. Paul purchased Maroondah Veterinary Clinic in 2006, taking over from Dr Denis Oliver who had owned and run the clinic since 1972. 

Paul has had an extensive collection of much-loved animals throughout his life. He is currently bossed around by Poppy and Pippa (a mismatched pair of rescue dogs) and José the cat.

Dr Shelley Matheson BVSc (Hons)

Shelley holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (Hons) from the University of Melbourne. 

Shelley has extensive experience in veterinary medicine and surgery and emergency medicine. She has been a valued member of Maroondah Veterinary Clinic for many years and we are incredibly fortunate to have such an extraordinary veterinarian as part of our team.

Shelley is a fitness fanatic and an outdoors adventure lover. She takes on challenges that leave the rest of us in awe. 

Dr Sara Orpin DVm, BA IB

Sara holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of Arts (Integrative Biology) from the University of California, Berkeley in the United States.

Sara joined us as a graduate veterinary surgeon in early 2020 and quickly became a very valued member of the team during a tumultuous year. Before becoming a vet, Sara worked as a zookeeper, which gave her excellent training for wrangling excitable puppies. She is passionate about providing committed, quality veterinary care to all of her patients, whether they are dogs, cats, ‘pocket pets’ or wildlife.

On her days off, Sara enjoys reading, camping and painting. She is currently working on the challenge of keeping her paints free of cat hair.

Veterinary Nurses

alanda

Claire

Charlotte

emily

emma

Jasmine

Kate

Kaylene

laura

Sam

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