People
DR. ROBIN ZELESCO
VETERINARY SURGEON
BVSc (Hons)
I have dreamed of being a Vet since the age of 6 and was fortunate enough to fulfill this life-long ambition when I graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1985. Though I studied many animal species throughout my Uni years, I always knew that I would eventually work in a small animal practice as I loved dogs and cats. I never cared if they were young or old, large or small, really aggressive or friendly. If they were sick, I just wanted to help them.
I commenced at the Preston Veterinary Clinic and Hospital in 1986 and became the Principal Vet in 1990.
I enjoy all aspects of my profession including consulting, medical case ‘work-ups’ as a team and all types of surgery. Surgery is a very important part of a Vet’s daily work as we are entrusted with client’s loved pets and we take this responsibility very seriously. State of the art equipment now at our disposal allows my colleagues and I to provide a greater range of surgical procedures. I have a particular interest in knee reconstructions, soft tissue surgery (especially gastrointestinal surgery and cancer removal) and all forms of endoscopy.
Providing emergency advice and support ‘after hours’ is also very satisfying. Over the many years that I have offered this service, I have found that clients genuinely appreciate being able to speak to the Vet who, in most cases, knows them and their pet personally.
Like young children, pets are totally dependent on us and in return I feel they give us unconditional love. The “Human-Pet bond” that is often talked about is exactly that—LOVE. It’s all that matters!
Veterinary Surgeons
I’m fortunate to be assisted by four experienced and dedicated Vets. They are all highly skilled and enjoy working together as a team to help the pets in their care. Building up relationships with clients and their pets over years, forms an important bond and provides continuation of care.
DR RUTH CUMMING
BVSc
Ruth hails from Warrnambool Victoria and grew up with a strong passion for all types of animals. She had chickens,rabbits, guinea pigs, lambs, calves dogs and even a miniature pony as a child! Being a Veterinary Surgeon was therefore a logical profession for Ruth to choose and she graduated as a Vet from Melbourne Uni in 2009.
After graduation Ruth then worked in Ballarat then in a few different Small Animal clinics around Metropolitan Melbourne. She also worked as a teacher at Victoria University teaching Vet Nursing and Animal Technology subjects.
Ruth started working at the Preston Vet Clinic in 2014 and she has developed special interests in Surgery, Opthalmology , Pathology and Cytology. Ruth has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Veterinary Science so we often have stimulating discussions about the latest treatment protocols with her. She is an excellent Surgeon and has a very gentle, caring manner.
DR EILISH O’SHEA
BVSc
Eilish grew up in Werribee, Victoria, and from an early age showed a passion for taking in and caring for pets – especially kittens. Little did she know that many years later, she would be graduating from the University of Melbourne Veterinary School also located in Werribee. She graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 2009 in the same class as her friend, Dr Ruth Cumming, who also works at Preston Vet Clinic.
Eilish commenced her veterinary career in a mixed practice (seeing both companion animals and livestock). She has also worked in small animal practices in Galway, Ireland as well as London. She enjoys all aspects of general practice, especially feline medicine. Eilish has a vast amount of experience both in surgery and consulting so that most conditions are well within her expertise.
When not at work, Eilish enjoys going to concerts and music festivals and hanging out with her cat Teddy. Clients warm to Eilish’s Irish charm and friendly, empathetic nature. The clinic is very fortunate to have her on our Veterinary team.
DR SNEHA BASU
BVSc DVM
Sneha graduated as a Veterinarian from the University of Melbourne in 2022 and joined the Preston Vet clinic in 2024. Originally from the UAE, her enthusiasm and affection for animals began from childhood, culminating in an interest in veterinary medicine during her school years and eventually leading her to achieve her goal at university.
Now working in her dream career, she loves using her skills to provide the best patient and client care for pets and their parents respectively, and thrives on routine surgical procedures. Sneha loves kitten and puppy health and helping educate first-time owners to do their best by their fur babies. She also enjoys the occasional rabbit consult, striving to make these sessions as stress free as possible for both the bunnies and their human parents.
During her spare time, Sneha enjoys reading, catching up with her friends, cooking, and exploring Melbourne’s best exhibitions.
Sneha is a welcome addition to our Veterinary team and has shown herself to be hardworking and dedicated.
DR ISABELLA XU
BVSc DVM
Nursing Staff
We have numerous Nurses on the staff including the lovely Melinda who first worked for the clinic in the early 1990’s. We are also fortunate to have both Mana, a Japanese trained Veterinarian, Xuefei a Chinese trained Veterinarian and Mia, a first year Veterinary student, working for us as Vet Nurses. From our Head Vet Nurse, Wendy, who has been with us since 2004, to our newest Vet Nurse, Ruby, who commenced with us in 2024, they all share the common trait of a genuine love of animals. Whilst their formal qualifications are important, no Nurse is employed at the Preston Veterinary Clinic solely on this basis. All our Nurses and support staff are extremely empathetic and have a natural rapport with animals. I am always pleased when I observe them quietly cuddling the boarding cats or giving the surgical patients a gentle pat and loving attention to help them through their recovery.
WENDY
Head Vet Nurse & Animal Behaviourist
Our Head Nurse, Wendy, has decades of nursing experience and joined the Preston Vet team over 20 years ago. She trains and supervises our trainee nurses, is the witty person behind our Facebook posts and assists with the day to day running of the practice. She especially enjoys assisting clients in the care of their fur kids through education. Wendy is a qualified Animal behaviourist and trainer and brings this special skill set to the team in minimising patient stress in the clinic, in home training and running our fabulous puppy classes on Sunday mornings.
MELINDA
Senior Vet Nurse
Our Senior Vet Nurse Melinda is a fully qualified and experienced Vet Nurse and often the welcoming face at Reception. A problem solver and a quiet achiever, Mel gets along well with everyone. She has a natural rapport with animals and brings calmness and diplomacy to any situation.
Melinda excels in customer service and in triaging patient care. She is a great support to the team and someone who can be relied upon to go the extra mile to help.
MANA
Vet Nurse
Mana comes from Osaka, Japan and is currently working for us as a Vet Nurse. She attained her Japanese Veterinary Licence from Kitasato University, Aomori Japan in 2022. Mana provides invaluable support to the entire team, using her skills to care for the hospital patients and assist all Vets with surgery and diagnostics.
Mana takes great pride in her work and has quickly endeared herself to all with her kind, sweet and helpful nature.
NINA
Vet Nurse
Nina is a fully qualified Vet Nurse who joined the clinic in 2024. Prior to becoming a nurse, Nina completed a 3 month pastry course at Gastronomicom Culinary School, France. She also has a Bachelor of Professional Communications. Nina’s role includes training and supervising our many placement students. With her sweet and accommodating nature, she has quickly assimilated into the team and is greatly relied upon by all the Vets. Outside of the clinic, Nina enjoys running as well as spending time at the beach.
XUEFEI
Vet Nurse
Xuefei is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Veterinary Nursing at Latrobe University & Melbourne Polytechnic. In China she is a qualified Veterinarian and has 10 years of experience working in small animal hospitals. Her background and experience has strengthened her medical knowledge base, allowing her to provide support to the Vets here with diagnostics, anaesthetic monitoring and laboratory techniques. Her broad range of skills and experience equips her to provide comprehensive care and support. Xuefei takes enormous pride in her work and is always keen to discuss interesting cases and to share knowledge and tips with her colleagues. Indeed her enthusiasm and deep interest in the many facets of veterinary science is contagious. We are extremely fortunate to have such a talented and passionate co-worker – especially one as happy and entertaining as Xuefei.
ALANNAH
Vet Nurse
Alannah started as a Christmas casual commuting from Geelong. However, she loves the team and working at our busy clinic so much that she is soon re-locating to Melbourne to become a full time employee. Alannah is a worker-bee who started work as soon as she could and has held down multiple jobs whilst studying. She is a huge cat lover and has two much-loved cats of her own. Her love of cats resulted in her taking on a voluntary position at the Geelong Animal Welfare Society in the lost cats ward. This inspired her to pursue animal studies as a career and she is now a fully qualified Vet nurse. When not working at the clinic, Alannah enjoys going to the gym and travelling. We are indeed lucky to have Alannah on the team.
RUBY
Vet Nurse
Kindness and animals go hand in hand as it does with our lovely Vet nurse Ruby. Many times she has gone above and beyond the call of duty to reach out to a client in their moment of need – sometimes not even knowing that it has been noticed by others. She shows her kindness everyday at work in what she does for the patients, as well as the considerate way she interacts with all of her co-workers. She is an extremely humble, supportive and compassionate nurse and highly regarded by all.
GEORGIA
Vet Nurse
Anyone who meets Georgia immediately senses her highly empathetic and caring nature. Before coming to work at our clinic, Georgia worked as an animal attendant at a kennel and cattery as well as for the police dog squad. Her deep love of animals inspired her to follow her passion and take up Vet nursing. She is an extremely kind and supportive person who takes pride in her job and cares for each animal as if it were her own. Georgia is indeed a friend to all and an asset to our clinic.
MARIA
Vet Nurse
Our Vet Nurse Maria, is known for her hard working, down-to-earth qualities. She is not afraid to roll up her sleeves to do whatever is required for a patient in need. She has a genuine love of animals and is highly regarded by the team for her practical, common sense approach. Maria is much loved by all and some nurses even ask to change shifts just to work with her. Indeed Maria is highly personable and clients love her just as much as we do.
MIA
1st Year Veterinary student
Mia is a 1st Year Veterinary student at Melbourne University and has worked for us as a Vet Nurse for many years. She is able to combine her theory and practical knowledge to assist with hospital patients and help Vets with diagnostics and surgery. She is a valuable member of the team.
Administrative Staff
RAELENE ZELESCO
Raelene has been our Practice Manager since 1998. She looks after staff matters and administration and generally keeps things “ticking over”. She has been very involved in the development and look of the new Clinic as well as the co-ordination of this Website. With Raelene looking after the practice management side of things I am able to devote myself 100% to the medical side of the Practice which is great.
IN MEMORY OF “SURG” THE SURGERY CAT
Our beautiful clinic cat, Surg, sadly passed away in 2009. He was 19 years and 8 months
old. As it says on his plaque (under his favourite fig tree at the back of the carpark ) –
“he was loved dearly for nearly 20 years”. Surg was a special little boy with a mischievous
nature and he is missed by staff and clients alike.
Acknowledgements and Thanks
First of all, thank you for taking the time to view our website and learn about the services we offer.
The Preston Veterinary Clinic and Hospital was established in 1952 by Dr Douglas Brown who graduated from the very first class of the University of Queensland, Faculty of Veterinary Science. This Clinic was one of the first established in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne. Dr Brown went into partnership with Dr Raymond James whose early career in the United Kingdom was in the “James Herriot“ era, and together they were instrumental in growing the Practice over the next 40 years. I was privileged to have worked under these two fine mentors who were indeed pioneers in their field.
I would like to thank all the Veterinary Staff, past and present, who have worked at the Preston Clinic during the time that I’ve been here. The Veterinarians and Nursing Staff have always brought fresh ideas and new skills to the Practice but their most important attribute, by far, is genuine concern and compassion they display towards the pets in their care. This has never gone unnoticed by me.
The Practice has had numerous “facelifts” over the years and I’m very grateful and indebted to the people of the Northern Suburbs for their continued support (especially during construction phases!) and feel humbled by their loyalty. The new hospital incorporates some design features and equipment suggested over many years by hospital staff, visiting Specialist Veterinarians and clients and their contributions are appreciated.
Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank all the wonderful pets that I have been privileged to treat and care for over the years.
