Meet the team
Dr. Cassandra Nelson
A bloody good scone cook, a sewing enthusiast, mum-Mum-MUM (they never say it once, right?), librarian, lousy gardener and even worse mechanic! I tend to wear a lot of hats, but my heart and soul belongs to Veterinary Science.
I am a bush kid at heart who grew up surrounded by any animal you can think of. “Flick” will always be my favourite, the lamb who rode the motorbike, who I tried valiantly to teach to sit, who loved to push me over as a 40kg wether to eat the stash of treats I had in my pocket, and the reason I have a passion for sheep.
I was the kid who always asked questions, and wanted to learn everything - handy, when you want to be a vet - I graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2011 (showing my age a little). Since then I have been in busy mixed clinics all over QLD; some large, small, private, corporate, and even a stint in a major teaching hospital (UQ Vets) as an Emergency & Critical Care veterinarian.
But I have always been drawn home to the bush. Mum & Dad reside on a cattle, sheep & goat property east of Richmond, but alas I fell in love with Longreach on a holiday a few years back. It felt like coming home; intriguing since finding out that my Dad's parents actually owned the old dairy at Cramsie Park once upon a time.
I truly love animals and agriculture, and I’m passionate about improving our veterinary industry, one local vet owned practice at a time.
Dr. Kate Callaghan
I like the occasional bull ride, good food, fresh water swimming, campdrafting, shoeing horses (very slowly). I don’t like the heat which is a little bit of an inconvenience when you have made Longreach your home.
Writing a bio is hard so ill keep it short and sweet.
I grew up in FNQ, surrounded by working dogs, cattle you could ride, and horses that you couldn’t bloody catch.
I’m a 2019 graduate who has an interest in production animals, horses and small animal surgery and medicine. As a result, I have worked majority in mixed practice and completed an Equine Specialists Internship at Townsville Veterinary Clinic – and I can’t wait to bring this knowledge back to the region.
I worked on a station for a season in the NT, which was amazing. I loved cattle work, riding horses, mustering and hanging out with really good mates. But I missed dentals, preg testing, cat castrates and those weird medical cases.
I felt drawn back to country practice as I love the opportunity of being able to care and perform surgeries that are needed when a referral clinic isn’t an option. Our postcode should not dictate the level of care available to those of us that call regional Australia home.
From punching bums to checking gums, call us on 0429 957 538.