Our Team

Dr Helen Robinson

BVSc (Melb), MSusAg(Syd)

Helen Robinson has been working as a country vet for over 30 years. After graduating from the University of Melbourne, she was determined to leave the city so she could pursue her interests in farm animal medicine and enjoy the country life. She started her veterinary career in a sheep and beef cattle practice in Kingston SE, in South Australia. Keen to see more of Australia, she then moved to north Queensland, doing locum work in coastal and outback veterinary clinics, before settling in Sarina, south of Mackay. Tropical veterinary medicine provided many new challenges in her work with both cattle and pets.

In 1996, Helen embarked on her most exciting and satisfying challenge, travelling to Guatemala with Australian Volunteers International, where she spent two years training Guatemalan villagers, mostly indigenous Mayan women and men, in the care of their chickens and pigs and other livestock. While there, she wrote six manuals in Spanish to illustrate her training classes.

Upon her return to Australia, Dr Robinson settled back in Tallangatta in Northeast Victoria, working in a mixed and dairy practice, followed by several years of locum work around southern Australia.  While working at the Beechworth Vet Clinic, then owned by Ovens and Kiewa Veterinary Services, Helen recognised the great potential for developing a business in such a beautiful part of Victoria. She purchased the Beechworth practice in November 2011, established Indigo Veterinary Services and has nurtured the clinic into a busy full time practice.

When not at work, Helen enjoys mostly outdoors pursuits including bushwalking, cycling, gardening, orienteering, and the slightly obscure sport of Rogaining, a long distance cross country navigation sport. She is a graduate of the Alpine Valleys Community Leadership Program and has stood as a candidate for Victorian and Federal parliament on several occasions. Helen is actively involved in the Beechworth Urban Landcare and Sustainability Group, as well as the Veterinarians for Climate Action.

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Dr Chris Loiterton

BAVB (Melb), DVM (Melb)

Chris grew up in Cootamundra, NSW and always knew he wanted to be a vet. After watching the first Jurassic Park as a child, he made it his mission to become a dinosaur vet, unfortunately this dream was squashed upon realizing that he was 65 million years too late. Not deterred, he pursued a career in Veterinary medicine anyway. After a combined 7 years in an undergraduate and graduate degree to get his qualification, Chris graduated in December 2023 with 140 of his colleagues. Chris started his first position as a newly graduated vet in Beechworth, VIC in January 2024 after having done several weeks of placement with Helen in the team in the previous year and finding that he loved the community and the patients he would be seeing on a daily basis.

Chris has always loved Beechworth and surrounds, even getting married in the town during his undergraduate degree. He’s keen to work with a variety of animals from household pets to those that won’t necessarily fit inside the house. Being an avid traveler, he has aspirations to work overseas at some point in the future, but that is still a ways off at this stage.

In his spare time Chris is an avid reader and enjoys going to the gym, afterwards, once he’s had the 30 minute internal argument about the fact he will definitely enjoy it and dragging himself there. He’s always enjoyed hiking and is almost halfway to achieving his goal of performing 10 skydives.

Chris hopes to continue developing his skills as a veterinarian and become skilled in many areas within the field.

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Ruth Webb

Veterinary Nurse, Cert IV

Ruth has been at Indigo Veterinary Services since 2012 and is a certified Veterinary Nurse.

When she's not working at the vet clinic she is caring for her young daughters, Amber and Morgan with her husband Pete, and her menagerie of pets, which includes 2 dogs, chooks, a Guinea pig, 4 different bird species, 1 horse and a miniature pony.

Ruth also enjoys dog grooming when time allows between caring for the family and building a new home in Barnawartha.

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Kylie Heiner

Veterinary Nurse, Cert IV

Kylie has been in the veterinary industry for 14 years and is a certified Veterinary Nurse. Kylie lives her Husband Darrel in Dederang and together have had 3 children and 2 beautiful grandchildren.

While Kylie is not in the clinic she is doting after her grandchildren and is currently training for a half marathon.

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Grace Way

Veterinary Nurse

Grace is currently a Trainee Nurse at Indigo Veterinary Services. She completed her Certificate III in Companion Animal Services in 2022 and is excited to undertake her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing.

She lives with her partner Andrew and their beloved German Shepherd called Max. Grace has always loved the country life in North East Victoria and calls Whorouly home.

When Grace isn’t at the clinic you will find her at the Whorouly Football Netball Club playing the sport she loves which is netball. Her other hobbies include any water boating activities such as wake surfing, wake boarding and enjoys going camping with her partner and our friends.

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Renae Walsh

Veterinary Nurse

Renae initially started at the clinic with placement and has now joined the team as a qualified vet nurse. She is soon to complete a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology. Renae is a Yackandandah local, where she has an ever-growing collection of animals including her horse, Grace.

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Shannon Knoth

Veterinary Nurse

Shannon completed her Certificate IV in Veterinary nursing in 2020. She loves cats and has a “naughty tortie” at home who loves cuddles. Shannon loves to garden, crochet and keep up with her favourite TV series.

Shannon returned to Indigo Vets in April 2024 after taking a short break to pursue other professional opportunities. She still has her two lively cats, Sora and Gypsy, and her Jack Russel Terrier, Eddie.

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Sharon Kurrle

Kennel Hand/Cleaner

Sharon is a Beechworth local who enjoys helping the community to care for their pets.

Sharon currently has a cat called Turbo. Animals have always been an important part of Sharon's life. She has had horses, dogs, cats, fish and many others throughout her life.

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Debbie McConnell

Receptionist

Originally from the South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne Debbie moved to the North East 20 years ago. She raised two children here and owns and runs a property with beef cattle and horses.

Debbie is passionate about all animals and customer service, with a focus on encouraging a workplace culture that values professional excellence, teamwork, personal development and mental health and wellbeing.

Debbie is mum to several horses and cows, 2 donkeys and 2 very spoilt dogs.

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