Mike was born on NewYear's Eve, 1977. He grew up and went to school in Sydney, and studied Vet Science at Sydney University, qualifying in 2001.
After graduation, he moved to work in rural mixed practice in Young, NSW, and has worked in mixed practice ever since, including a stint in Windsor, England, working on the Queen's corgis.
Just after he married Myolene in 2006, Mike came to work a short locum stint at the Baron St Vet Surgery. He loved the region, the practice and working with George so much he decided to make it home. He joined George as a partner in the business in 2007, and now is the sole director and owner of the business.
His four children Zara, Quinn, Raphael and Josephine have all been born since his move to the Monaro and the family now makes its home on the banks of the Snowy River near Dalgety.
Mike completed his specialisation in Veterinary Acupuncture in 2008, when he ranked first in the graduating class of 80 vets from around Australia and South East Asia. He has also studied Veterinary Chinese Herbal Medicine and use of Essential Oils to extend his alternatives to regular allopathic medicine in your pets.
He enjoys the constant and head-spinning variety that being a vet in rural mixed practice brings. He is passionate about natural medicine, the role of diet in good health, and enjoys the challenge of running a small business on top of it all. His aims are to do still more study in natural medicine, as well as to continue to drive Snowy Vets' evolution as a practice of excellence.
In his (seemingly sparse) spare time, Mike loves to spend time with his family and friends, play and watch sport, read, and spend time in the great outdoors, and in his wine cellar. He looks forward to travelling to see more of Australia and the world when time allows. The Mesley household buzzes with Schnauzer Cross Gryffin, RSPCA rescue cat Kingsley, horses Alfie and Willie as well as a rotating circus of poddy lambs, rehabilitating wildlife and other patients and guests.
Colin Taylor BVSc(Qld)
Colin grew up and went to school in south eastern Queensland, before he completed a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from The University of Queensland in 1994.
Since then he has worked in a variety of Veterinary Practices in Queensland, London, New South Wales and in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, in both small animal and mixed practices.
Colin married Judy in 2000 and moved to Western Australia. Both their children, William and Molly, were born in the Kimberley.
Colin came to Snowy Vets from Broome as he and Judy were looking to move their young family east to be nearer to the extended family and enjoy the rural lifestyle. Snowy Vets offered an opportunity to move to a beautiful part of the country in a well-managed mixed practice.
Colin's specialty lies in surgery. He enjoys challenging himself with cases requiring complex orthopaedic or soft tissue surgical intervention. We often call upon him to perform cruciate ligament repair, fracture repair and complicated thoracic and abdominal surgery. Colin really enjoys the most challenging and diverse cases, which rural mixed practice seems to bring him surprisingly regularly.
In his spare time, Colin is a dedicated family man, a prodigious handy man and a strong contributor to his community.
Colin is the devoted owner of Yilimbirri Unggud (Unggud for short), a young but rapidly growing Stimson's Python that accompanied them from the Kimberley.
Serena Sabourin BVSc
Serena is originally from coastal Queensland and loves the sun almost as much as she loves the snow, snowboarding and mountains! After completing her degree at the University of Queensland, she lived and worked in tropical Queensland before making the four day journey with her horses, cats and dog in tow to join us here in the Snowy Mountains.
Horses are a huge passion for Serena, and have always been a part of her life either riding and competing or just as paddock ornaments! She currently has three horses, two retired and living a life of luxury and one young mare who is lucky she is so sweet!
Equine veterinary work is of special interest to Serena and she loves getting out on properties to see her equine patients. Her particular focus is on creating trust and building a relationship with horse owners to better support them in keeping their horses healthy. She enjoys the variety that mixed practice brings and thinks that a day that starts with a puppy vaccination, a surgery or two and then ends with a horse consultation and a calving sounds perfect!
She is almost always accompanied by her golden Labrador shadow Miele who joins her in enjoying all that the Monaro area has to offer including hiking, paddle boarding and social sports (she makes a good doggie cheer leader).
Kai Goyen BVSc
Where did you grow up? When I was a small child we travelled around Australia in a caravan, we lived in Darwin and Hobart and many places in between. I was born in a small country town near Armidale and when we finished travelling I spent the rest of my school years here.
What do you love most about being a Veterinarian? My favourite part of being a vet is building a bond with people and their pets and being able to help them in whatever situation comes our way. My favourite things to do as a vet would be surgery, opthalmology and of course cuddles with my cute furry friends.
Do you have pets? I have 2 dogs (Shippy and Woody), a cat (Boo) and 2 Warmblood horses. I used to compete frequently in dressage previously but have not had the opportunity to recently, I am hoping to get back into riding with my young horse when I move to Cooma.
What do you like to do in your spare time? In my spare time I really love to get outdoors and active! I enjoy hiking, rock climbing, skiing, horse riding and canyoning etc. I also love to curl up with a good book or a movie.
What is your favourite thing to eat? My favourite food is definitely chocolate, I am 100% a chocoholic and love anything chocolate flavoured!
If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why? If I could get on a plane tomorrow I would definitely go and see Machu Picchu or the Egyptian/Mayan pyramids. I find the history fascinating and it is inspiring to see the scale of these monuments considering the limited technology they had available at the time.
