The Animal Eye Care Team

Veterinarian

Dr Robin Stanley BVSc Hons MANZCVSc (Surgery) FANZCVSc (Ophthalmology)

Robin is an honours graduate of the University of Melbourne in 1984. He is a Member (small animal surgery 1988) and Fellow (ophthalmology 1990) of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists. He was a clinical consultant & visiting senior lecturer at the school of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne for many years and is a tutor for the Centre for Veterinary Education, University of Sydney. Robin has lectured throughout Australia, and also in New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Sweden, England, South Africa and the United States.

Robin's pets include: Blue an Australian Shepherd and two rescue cats - Cleo and Harry

Veterinarian

Heather graduated with honours from the University of Minnesota in 1999. She then focused on her equine interest through an internship in Large Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph Canada. During her residency in Large Animal Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota, she developed a keen interest in equine ophthalmology that lead to her Master’s degree in comparative ophthalmology with an emphasis in factors influencing the development of uveitis in the Appaloosa horse. This then lead to a residency in Comparative Ophthalmology in Chicago. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.

Prior to relocating to Australia, Heather practiced veterinary ophthalmology for 13 years with Eye Care for Animals in multiple locations in the United States.  While with Eye Care for Animals, she served as chairperson of their residency training program and is currently on the examination committee for the American Board of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ABVO).  Her practice here in Melbourne will be limited to Veterinary Ophthalmology utilizing her medicine background as it applies to the more complex cases of ophthalmic manifestations of systemic disease

Heather has a gorgeous Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Piper who didn’t complain about the trip from Minnesota or her stay in Australian quarantine.  She enjoys travel and hiking with her partner Brian and of course Piper.

Veterinarian

Jane returned to study as a mature aged student and completed her degree of Veterinarian Science with Honours at the University of Melbourne in 2011. Prior to that Jane was head of Target Validation within the Department of Primary Industries where she researched milk components and milk production in dairy cattle and wallabies. She is also an honours graduate in Science from the University of Melbourne and has a PhD in Biochemistry and Genomics. In 2016 Jane completed the William Magrane Basic Science Course in Veterinary and Comparative Ophthalmology at North Carolina State University.

In 2018 Jane was invited by the University of Sydney to lead a four week course in Veterinary Ophthalmology for new and recent graduates. She was voted the best tutor of 2018 and then invited to speak at their “Recent Graduate Survival Skills” conference in Sydney later that year.

Jane is a Professional Interest Practitioner in Veterinary Ophthalmology.

Jane's pets include two cheeky rescue cats – Cleo and Harry as well as the beautiful Blue, an Australian Sheppard.

VeterinarIAN

MARNIE FORD, PhD, DVM, DACVO, graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2000 after completing a Bachelors in Zoology at the University of British Columbia and a PhD in Physiology at Monash University in Australia. Following a rotating small animal internship at the University of Minnesota in 2001, Dr. Ford achieved diplomate status from the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists in 2006 following an ophthalmology residency at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Her research interests focused on retinal function and toxicological retinal degeneration.

Following her residency, Dr. Ford moved back to Vancouver and opened an ophthalmology specialty practice. In 2013 she left the brick and mortar practice to provide mobile medical and surgical ophthalmologic care to patients in the lower mainland of BC, Vancouver Island, and the Interior of BC.  Dr. Ford is excited to return to Melbourne to not only continue ophthalmology practice, but also to pursue teaching, and to continue with her hobbies that include riding horses, volunteering, and making lace.

Veterinarian

Dr Matt Sanders BVSc Hons MANZCVSc (Surgery

Matt graduated with honours from the University of Melbourne in 2003. Since graduation he dedicated himself to general practice both in Australia and in the United Kingdom. He completed the Distance Education Course in Ophthalmology from the University of Sydney in 2006 and has maintained a keen special interest in ophthalmology ever since. Whilst working in London he regularly visited several of England’s leading veterinary eye clinics. Matt joined the team at Animal Eye Care in 2016 and is training to become an eye specialist. He became a member of the ANZCVS in Small Animal Surgery by examination in 2017.

As part of his ophthalmology residency at Animal Eye Care he has completed externships at SASH in Sydney and at the Royal Vet College in London.

Matt has an Irish Setter named Connie, and 2 cats - Mog and Slinky Malinki.

Veterinary Nurse

Nicole has been a veterinary nurse for over 10 years working in small animal and mixed animal practices. She is originally from a small down in New Zealand but moved here 6 years ago with her daughter. When asked what she enjoyed most about working at Animal Eye Care she said “I enjoy all the new skills I am learning and the knowledge I am gaining form this unique aspect of veterinary medicine. Watching patients regain their vision is certainly a highlight.”

Veterinary Nurse

Mari began working with us here at Animal Eye Care since January 2016. She has been working in clinics for 7 years and completed her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2015.

She grew up with a large number of different animals with her dad being a vet and developed a passion for animal care at a young age. She has special interests in ophthalmology, feline behaviour and avian medicine. Mari is also a freelance Artist, Designer and Animator in her spare time.

She has two wonderful cats at home, one Burmese named Sid Licious and one pure white Domestic Short Hair named Snee Whee who was born deaf but that doesn’t slow her down!

She particularly enjoys surgery here at Animal Eye Care and how happy patients are when they can see their owners after surgery.

Veterinary Nurse

Michelle has been Veterinary Nursing for over 10 years in General Practice, Emergency Critical Care and also running her own puppy pre-school. Michelle completed her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2010. Before coming to work part-time at Animal Eye Care she took 12 months off to become a mum and look after her son, James.

Michelle shares her cosy home with her husband, son and newest edition to the family Grace her daughter. She also has a very cheeky Galah named Ruby and two loving dogs (Indy the Cavalier and Tiny the Chihuahua). Along with an interest in Animal Ophthalmology, she also has a special interest in Bird medicine and behaviour. What Michelle enjoys most about working at Animal Eye Care is the dynamic team she works alongside and the ongoing knowledge she is gaining from learning more about animal ophthalmology which she has never really got the chance to when in general practice.

Veterinary Nurse

Danijela joined the Animal Eye Care team in 2016. She started working as a veterinary nurse during high school work experience and is still loving working as part of a veterinary team more than 15 years on. Prior to joining the team she worked as practice manager in a small animal clinic where she developed a special interest in surgical nursing and dentistry. Currently, Danijela has taken a keen interest into cataracts. Danijela says restoring vision is such a great feeling, it can make a huge difference in quality of life for a patient.

Danijela also has a strong love for the German Shepherd breed and has even competed in numerous shows with her boys Rocky and Dino. These days though Danijela finds herself running after her daughter rather than in the ring.

Veterinary Nurse

Stephanie moved to Australia in 2018 after working as a veterinarian in her homeland of Brazil for several years. She worked as a vet nurse in an emergency clinic here in Australia before joining the Animal Eye Care team in early 2020. Steph especially enjoys being involved in cataract surgery cases and seeing how dedicated the clientele is to their beloved pets.
When she isn’t working hard at the clinic Steph really loves getting into a good television series at home. There has a chubby Jack Russell x back in Brazil called Popcorn that has Stephanie’s heart.

VETERINARY NURSE

Megan became a veterinary nurse in 2015 after studying sociology and anthropology then deciding that it wasn’t quite for her. She completed her associate degree in veterinary nursing in 2016 and has worked in a number of different clinics since then. Megan joined Animal Eye Care in January 2020 and loves being a part of our team.
Her favourite thing about working at Animal Eye Care is getting to meet the array of clients and patients who come from all over the state (and sometimes even interstate!) to get help from us. Having two family Jack Russells (Archie and Holly) and always growing up with the breed, Megan has a soft spot for terriers - so do be prepared to get a lot of attention from her when you bring in yours! She is also a proud cat-mum to Pretzel and Cookie.
Outside of work Megan enjoys building LEGO, snowboarding in the winter and fussing over her furry family members all year round.

VETERINARY NURSE

Esther has been a veterinary Nurse since 2014 working in small animal practice. Esther started at Animal Eye Care in October 2019. She enjoys working with a professional and experienced team with ample support. She has found her niche in the Veterinary Nursing world, since starting at Animal Eye Care.  Due to the amount of interesting cases and knowledge she gains each day in a field so specialised, she’s here to stay.
When asked what she enjoys most about Animal Eye Care she replied “As I think everyone else has said, it’s definitely Cataract Surgery. Being able to experience and be involved in patient regaining their vision, is a gift that keeps on giving”. In her spare time Esther likes to watch Korean Drama and taking her two dogs, a Shih Tzu x (Kiki) and a Shetland Sheep dog (Yuki) for a walk.