Meet the Team

Dr Donna Pyke

Job Title: Practice Owner

Qualification: BVSc (Hons), MACVSc (small animal surgery), IVAS (acupuncture) – Co-owner of Burke Road Vet Clinic & Hospital

Donna is a Melbourne University graduate. Donna has completed extensive post graduate study in Small Animal Surgery in the UK and Australia, Emergency Medicine and Surgery and Radiology. She has her membership in small animal surgery. Donna is also an Academic Fellow of the University of Melbourne so you will see vet students coming through the clinic to learn. Donna is also qualified to perform acupuncture in animals.

Donna is kept busy outside of work with her husband Chris, two daughters Molly and Lucy,3 dogs Harley , Elfie and Ava, 3 cats, & her horses.

Donna consults on Monday afternoons  & Thursdays until 4 , and performs surgeries on Monday

Dr Tina Missen

Job Title: Practice Owner

Qualification: BVSc – Co-owner of Burke Road Vet Clinic & Hospital

Tina is also a Melbourne University graduate. She has a special interest in animal eye diseases (ophthalmology), dentistry and soft tissue surgery. Tina has a Labradoodle called Charlie Brown, and a cat called Maui Jim.

Tina consults on Tuesday evening and Wednesdays , and performs surgery on Tuesdays.

Dr Fiona Turner

Job Title: Veterinarian

Qualification: BVSc

Fiona has been working with small animals since graduating from Veterinary Science at the University of Melbourne in 2006, and went straight into small animal practice and has never turned back.

She enjoys all aspects of small animal practice and has a passion for providing quality care for people and their pets.

In her spare time, Fiona enjoys her family time with her husband Nick and gorgeous children Angus and Bella. She keeps herself fit by horse riding, swimming, bike riding and running. She also cares for Lenno, a cheeky Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who snores like a human!

Fiona consults Mondays and some Saturdays.

Dr Rebecca Falconer

Job Title: Veterinarian

Qualification: BVSc

Rebecca came to Burke Road Veterinary Clinic in July 2015 having graduated from Murdoch University in Perth in 2009. Since graduating, she has worked in small animal practices in Western Australia, Canada, the UK and a brief stint volunteering in the Caribbean! Rebecca has enjoyed the challenges of emergency work, however began to miss getting to know her clients and their pets on an ongoing basis. Now, Rebecca really enjoys working out the best treatment plan, and the following through that comes with being a primary care veterinarian.

Outside of work, Rebecca enjoys horse riding, skiing, scuba diving and travelling the world. Rebecca has fostered and re homed retired racing greyhounds and now that she has settled in Melbourne, adopted her Mindy (pictured above), her cheeky Domestic Short Hair! She also has a chihuahua called Margarita .

Rebecca Consults on Wednesday evenings, Friday mornings and shares Saturdays. She performs surgery on Wednesday. 

Dr Sebastian Willitts

Job Title: Veterinarian

Qualification: DVM, BVetbiosc, Bsc (Biochem), Ba (Languages)

Sebastian is a Melbourne University 2018 graduate with a background in Biochemistry and language studies.
He has an interest in surgery and anaesthesia as well as providing routine health care for all our lovely patients.
When not at the clinic Sebastian enjoys spending time at home with his partner and their beautiful newborn baby girl.
In terms of pets Sebastian cares for two oodle crosses and they keep him fit by dragging him along on hikes and runs throughout Melbourne.

Dr Melania Bennetts 

Job Title: Veterinarian (Parental Leave)

Qualification: PGDipAnimScMgt, DVM

Melania is a University of Melbourne graduate having completed a Bachelor in Science along with a postgraduate research year and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. Melania enjoys all aspects of the veterinary field and has a strong passion for surgery. Over the years, Melania has had many great animal encounters including taking blood from a shark, to being bitten by a camel; Melania’s journey has certainly been a memorable one!

When Melania is not a work she enjoys the outdoors, being active and spending time with her cheeky adopted cat Hugo who has learnt to play fetch! She also enjoys good food and takes great pleasure in cooking for family and friends. To add to her culinary experiments in the kitchen, she recently started testing her limited gardening skills to try and grow an edible garden (fingers crossed it survives).

Mel is on parental leave until early 2021! We wish her all the best with her growing family!

Karlena Proctor

Job Title: Head Veterinary Nurse

Karlena started her career with animals specialising in marsupial teeth through her Zoology degree at Monash Uni, however decided she wanted to help animals with a more hands-on approach. Consequently, Karlena switched career paths to veterinary nursing, and completed her Certificate IV through Box Hill Tafe.

Karlena has a special passion for animal behaviour, aspiring to compete in agility trials, herding and tracking with her young dog Scout (pictured here), a smooth coated collie. With her interest and training in behaviour, Karlena runs the Burke Road Vet Clinic Puppy Pre-School.

In her free time, Karlena can be found cruising around Melbourne in her ’67 classic Volkswagen Beetle!

Carmen Corso

Job Title: Veterinary Nurse

Carmen has been working as a Veterinary Nurse since 2002, having completed her studies through Box Hill Tafe in Melbourne. She has specialised in emergency and critical care nursing, and has been a great addition to Burke Road Vet Clinic since late 2010.

Carmen has a a young Blue Healer named Bobby, and a Bengal cat called Jumunji. In her spare time Carmen enjoys spending time with her husband Ben and her beautiful children Isabella & Xavier.

Jamie Bolton

Job Title: Veterinary Nurse

Jamie joined our Camberwell crew in April 2017 having just arrived in Melbourne from New Zealand. Jamie has been working as a Veterinary Nurse since 2013 after completing her Certificate of Veterinary Nursing at CPIT in Christchurch. She is loving exploring Melbourne and working at Burke Road Veterinary Clinic & Hospital.

Before becoming a Vet Nurse, Jamie was a personal trainer, and is very passionate about health & wellness, and enjoys exercising in the gym, outdoors and also playing hockey.

With her heart of gold, Jamie adopted a senior Jack Russell Terrier mix earlier in 2017, Digger, who has special needs. She has started nursing him back to health, and he now has a new lease on life!  

Kezia Alexandria

Job Title: Licenced Veterinary Technician

Coming to us from the US, Kezia is a very experienced, qualified nurse, or as they are called in the US, Licenced Veterinary Technician. Kezia has a special interest in dental hygiene, and had an adorable Chihuahua at home named Sachi.

Nicola Brown

Job Title: Veterinary Nurse

Nicola joined the Burke Road Vet Clinic team in January 2019 after obtaining her bachelor degree in Zoology at Latrobe University. She then completed her Certificate III in Veterinary Nursing, wanting a more hands-on approach in animal care. She previously worked with horses in both racing and breeding before moving into the small animal field 2 years ago. Nicola is extremely passionate about animal welfare and owns 2 rescue cats named Bessie & Ed along with her 5 chickens!

In her spare time, Nicola loves camping, scuba diving, horse riding and socialising with her friends.