Dr Caroline is our resident medical genius, and owns the clinic along with Dr Lewis. Her parents, Dr Richard & Dr Suzanne Wood, have been local GPs with a family-run medical practice at Narrabeen for the past 30 years, so she knows the local area very well. Going straight into uni after high school, she worked as a veterinary nurse at Pittwater Animal Hospital & occasionally at CPVH throughout her veterinary medicine studies until she graduated from the University of Sydney in 2011. She initially spent three years working at a busy veterinary hospital in Castle Hill before returning to her beloved Northern Beaches at CPVH in late 2014. It didn’t take her long to realise that Lewis’ surgical skills complemented her medical and practice management abilities, and so their brilliant business partnership was formed in 2015. Caroline is the ultimate crazy cat lady at heart, and has raised and re-homed a plethora of orphaned kittens since embarking upon her veterinary career, including her own two cats, Susan and the slightly neurotic Benjamin (who believes he is actually a bunny, thanks to his best lop-eared mates, Pillow and Annabelle). Caroline’s other great passion is cooking, and apart from the frequent amazing cakes she brings in to the clinic she has also gotten the entire staff list addicted to her homemade chilli jam. Caroline and her husband Jas have recently welcomed their first child, Lily, in to the world so she is currently working on a part-time basis.

Dr Lewis is our resident surgeon, as well as co-owner of CPVH. His father, Dr Tony Hunt, owned Figtree Veterinary Clinic in Lane Cove for many years, so veterinary medicine &practice management flows strongly through his veins. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2007 and spent the next six months working in the Gold Coast prior to accepting a Surgical Internship in Melbourne. Following his internship he spent three years locuming around the UK, before settling into a small animal practice in London, coincidentally owned by another Australian! He returned to Sydney in 2013, with a wide range of medical and surgical experience under his belt, to work in both emergency medicine and general practice before joining CPVH in 2014. When Caroline and Lewis met that year they soon realised that they complemented one another perfectly as business partners, and so took over the hospital together in late 2015. Lewis has also recently starred as one of the new Bondi Vets in Bondi Vet: Coast to Coast on Channel 9. In his (infrequent) spare time, Lewis can be found speeding around on a mountain bike or playing with his mischievous cat Boston.

Dr Ellen grew up near the Northern Beaches, in Mosman, and has always aspired to living in the area. After graduating from the University of Sydney in 2013 (with Dr Nandita!) she moved to Canberra with her husband (also a vet!) and has spent the past six years working in a busy small animal practice there, minus a one-year hiatus to work in the UK and travel around Europe. Whilst living & working in our nation’s capital she fostered her interest in internal medicine, and discovered a love for performing ultrasounds, which she brought over to us when she joined our team in 2019.

When she is not at the hospital, Ellen can be found curled up reading on the couch with her ever-faithful cats, Colin and Arthur, and her loyal rescue Pug Cross, Topsy. Ellen also loves netball and yoga, and is looking forward to a time again soon when she can keep exploring the world.

Dr Felicia joined our team in early 2020. She studied Veterinary Medicine at the University of Sydney, with Dr Caroline and Dr Alex, and graduated in 2012 after spending an additional year on a research project on stress levels in sealions at Taronga Zoo. She then spent a few years working for the pet division at Blackmores in research and product development before diving straight into clinical practice at a busy vet on the North Shore. She has a special interest in internal medicine and is currently completing a Distance Education course on working through complex medical cases through the University of Sydney.

Dr Felicia loves nurturing the strong bond between pets & their owners and has a particular soft spot for greyhounds, as she has her own ex-racing greyhound from GAP called Nala. She also has a mischievous 10yr old rescue cat called Cooper, and a husband, John. When not at work Fel relaxes by riding an off-the-track thoroughbred called Bobby, bush walking with Nala, reading, knitting, and cooking.

Eloise is our very beloved Practice Manager, who keeps us all in line (including Butternut, no easy task!) and ensures everything at CPVH runs smoothly. She started her practice management career in the human sector many years ago, but in more recent years decided to make the change into the veterinary world and has never looked back, as she loves being part of a compassionate and motivated team of individuals who share her love for animals.

Eloise and her family made the Northern Beaches their home in 2010, after emigrating from the UK. She shares her home with her husband and two lovely daughters, as well as their canine best friend, Willow the Schnauzer, and two mischievous indoor rabbits, Flynn & Oakey. When not at CPVH or running around between after-school activities, you’ll find Eloise in the kitchen cooking for her family & friends, or going on numerous walks, as sitting still doesn’t come naturally!

Kate is our only full time Veterinary Nurse, so you would be forgiven for thinking she lives at the hospital! She fulfilled her lifelong dream of finding a career working with animals in 2017 by completing her Certificate in Veterinary Nursing, but remained at TAFE for another year to study Zoo Keeping – an indication of her passion for the industry. Having worked at a couple of other clinics before joining our team, Kate brought a wealth of knowledge and skills with her.

Kate is a seasoned traveller, having already visited Europe, New Zealand, America, Canada, Caribbean and the UK, and she hopes to continue her global explorations in the years to come. Her home has been a regular menagerie in the past, having owned fish, rabbits, and dogs, and she currently shares it with two gorgeous Golden Retrievers.

Elyse joined the hospital as a casual nurse in 2017, and has since become an integral part of the team at CPVH. She graduated as a Veterinary Nurse in 2012, and worked at a number of veterinary clinics gaining invaluable experience before having her beautiful daughter Indi. Once a mother, she decided that some stability was in order, so she settled with her young family in Collaroy and has been with us at CPVH ever since. Since then, her common sense and ability to keep her head in a crisis has made her an invaluable part of the team, and we couldn’t imagine life without her!

Elyse has lived on the Northern Beaches her whole life, and, like any true local, adores her time at the beach. She shares her home with Lachlan, her husband whom she married in the wedding of her dreams in 2017, Indi, and their gentle giant, Marlo, an American Staffy Cross. Elyse is currently on maternity leave for the birth of her second daughter, and will return to work with us in early 2021.

Elise is our longest-standing Veterinary Nurse, who graduated from Veterinary Nursing in 2013. She then spent 18 months working at CPVH before being enticed away by a job at a large veterinary hospital in Brisbane, where her husband was working at the time. Whilst up north, she realised just how much she missed the team at CPVH, so as soon as she could she returned to her beloved Northern Beaches and took up the position of Head Nurse in 2016.

At the end of 2016 Elise married her childhood sweetheart in the beach-themed wedding of her dreams, featuring Pickles the pug, her original furbaby. Since then she & her husband have expanded their family with a daughter, Cooper, a son, Hunter, and a spaniel called Loki. Elise is currently on maternity leave taking care of her new son and will return to work with us in early 2021.

Where would we be without the daily antics and cuddles of our beloved resident cat? Butternut, our young tortoiseshell cat, is always on hand to offer up hugs and affection, put dogs in their place, judge us from her perch above the consult rooms, and donate blood when we need to perform a blood transfusion on a hospital patient. On a perpetual diet, she is much larger than we would like (or like to admit), but at least we know when her tummy is full the bags of prescription food on our shelves are safe, as she has been known (on more than one occasion) to slash open a bag and help herself. Whilst her stomach might not agree with much prescription dog food, at least our clients are happy & very understanding when a Butternut-discount needs to be applied for packaging damage!

For more photos of Butternut and our patients, please check out our Instagram feed or Facebook page!