our team

 Dr Jacob Bale - Veterinarian

Locally born and bred, Dr Jacob is  a recent graduate from the University of Queensland (UQ).

Jacob brings a fresh perspective and a comprehensive approach to veterinary care here at Brighton. While he thoroughly enjoys working with a diverse range of cases, his expertise and keen interests lie in dermatology, diagnostic imaging, and internal medicine.

Jacob feels particularly strongly about proactively addressing health issues before they become major concerns and is committed to providing exceptional care to your beloved pets.

When not caring for animals, you'll find Jacob at the beach, exploring new destinations, playing with his family dog, Luigi, and enjoying the magic of cinema and music.

Dr Miki Miljkovic - Veterinarian

​ Dr “Miki” Miodrag Miljkovic graduated in Belgrade, Serbia. He moved to New Zealand with his family and practiced in Auckland for 5 years before moving to Australia in 2022. Dr Miki is a huge animal lover and is very passionate about animal care. He enjoys getting to know his clients and their beloved pets. Outside of work Dr Miki loves spending time with his wife, two children, and his beautiful fur babies Rex the Labradoodle and Cici the cat. 

Dr Dion Woodbourne - Visiting Surgeon

Being born and raised in South Africa, Dion had the kind of introduction into a career in the care of animals that Australian trained vets only get to dream about. 

Dion completed his Veterinary degree and went on to work in large and small animal practices in South Africa, the UK, and NZ before settling on the Sunshine Coast with his young family.  Their home is a menagerie of creatures, with birds and dogs, and a blue tongue lizard, which Dion and his daughters reared after rescuing it from a roadside as an injured baby. Dion is an avid water sportsman; he has solo swum the English Channel and is now a keen kite boarder.

Dion is passionate about surgery, and in 2011, after rigorous written and oral examinations, he gained his Membership to the Australian College of Veterinary Surgeons, in Small Animal Surgery.

 Practice Manager

(Cert IV Veterinary Nurse)

Kat hails from an emergency and specialist background. She has 18 years of nursing experience and has brought her skills to the team at Brighton Veterinary Surgery as the new Practice Manager. 

"What Bernie created I will continue and keep her dream and goal alive."

Kat believes that every animal that comes into the clinic is to be treated like they were one of the staff's and ensures that only gold standard care and practice are performed on your fur babies.  She has a genuine interest in animal enrichment and behaviour, along with being a highly dedicated wildlife carer. 

At home Kat has an ark of animals which are her family.  The job never ends when she leaves our clinic.

 Veterinary Nurse

Taylah has recently relocated from Darwin to join the team at Brighton. She has been working in the animal industry and rescue for 9 years with RSPCA Darwin. She has always wanted to study nursing and now has finally made the jump and started that journey. 

Taylah often fosters neonates and has a collection of animals at home. She is owned by her 2 Great Danes, a feline friend & recently ducklings! 

Outside of work she is still surrounds herself with animals and can be found photographing pets in her home studio. 

 Veterinary Nurse

Kiara has always had a huge love for animals which encouraged her to start pursuing a career as a vet nurse. 

She started out working with the University of Queensland 2 years ago as an animal attendant completing her Certificate III in Companion Animal Services. Kiara is now en route to completing her Certificate lV in Vet Nursing with Brighton Veterinary Surgery who are dedicated to helping her grow her skills, knowledge and confidence everyday.

Kiara has 1 very spoilt only child Cavoodle at home as well as 3 sea monkeys. 

Outside of work she enjoys reading, catching up on quality time with her furbaby and watching the weird but wonderful sea monkeys grow. 

Reception/ Nurse Assistant

Toya is our first point of contact here in clinic.  Her bubbly yet nurturing personality makes her a wonderful part of our family.

Toya has worked across the animal industry from a retail assistant at a Produce Agency through to Pet Barn.  

She has, like all our staff, a family full of furbabies, who she will be found constantly chatting about.

Reception/ Nurse Assistant

Lachlan has had a keen interest in animals from a very young age being the son of Bernadette.

In July 2015 Lachlan started within Brighton Vets on a workplace traineeship through school.

Lachy has continued on at the clinic in a Reception and Nursing Assistant role. He enjoys welcoming all our wonderful patients into the clinic and can quite often be found cuddling them in reception.

Kennel Hand 

Makenzie is our wonderful Kennel Hand.  She is usually tucked away out the back, keeping the behind the scenes clean and stocked, as well as our patients comfortable.

Makenzie is currently in Year 10 at High School. She enjoys music, dance and has a keen interest in camping.

Casual Staff Co-Ordinator 

Occasional office manager (when the team seems to need help). She can't type or answer the phone but she is happy to lend an ear, or a tummy or a butt if someone needs to give a dog a pat. She's very serious about her duties! 

Casual Human Relations 

Beautiful Rubee is a rescue here at Brighton Veterinary Surgery, now living with our Practice Manager Kat.  

Rubee is head of our HR as she is always there for moral support, a lick, a pat or an ear with a gentle soft look to boot. When we all feel life is a bit cruddy, Rubee reminds us that we actually have it pretty darn good!

She is very social and is loving life.  Her favourite place is the beach, especially the off-leash area.