Meet the Team

I was born and raised on a game and livestock farm in the Eastern Province of South Africa. After the obligatory 5 1/2 years of student life at the University of Pretoria Onderstepoort Veterinary Faculty, I qualified in 1989.
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My next move was 15 months compulsory national service in the South African Defence Force. I spent 12 months of this working as a vet in a rural tribal area, providing a service to the local farmers and pet owners.

With that obligation completed, I returned to my hometown to work in a mixed practice for 9 months before deciding to have a 6 month working holiday in the UK.

As the saying goes, the rest is history…

I joined Heathfield Vets in 1991 and became a partner in 1998.

I am married to Rose-Ann and am the proud father of 2 daughters, Natalie & Jaime.

We have 2 family cats, Tommy and Peter, and after much badgering by Jaime, a recently acquired Springer Spaniel called Nala.

We also have a small flock of pet chickens, which produce fresh eggs for the larder.

In my spare time I enjoy cross-country jogging and I’m also a fair weather cyclist, though a full time profession and a young family don’t allow too much time for these.

Having said that, I recently achieved a long held ambition by spending a major part of 2016 on my bike, culminating in a 9 day cycle ride from Land’s End to John o’ Groats while raising funds for Chestnut Tree House.

I enjoy the variety of work that is encountered at the practice. However I do spend most of my day treating and operating on family pets.

I particularly enjoy, and am interested in, surgery and I also practice acupuncture.

Ian

Ian Killian – BVSc MRCVS

I qualified from vet school in South Africa in 1987 and then worked as a vet during my army service. My first job was in a city practice in Kempton Park. I knew I wanted to work in a mixed practice, so after 9 months we moved to the West Free State town of Bultfontein.

Here my work consisted mainly of dairy, beef, sheep herds and pet animals, with the odd bit of game work mixed in.

After four years I sold my practice to move to the Eastern Cape, to the town of Humansdorp. My main work was pet animals with a few dairy and beef herds to look after. Four years later my wife and I decided to move abroad.

My first UK job was in Sevenoaks where I worked for 18 months. An opportunity of practice ownership opened up in Essex and here, together with my business partners, we ran our surgery for 12 years. This is where I did numerous personal development courses in pursuit of my main interests, which included canine and feline medicine, abdominal and cardiac ultrasound, soft tissue surgery and oncology (both advanced surgery and chemotherapy treatments).

I was one of the students to complete the first UK based course in Endoscopy and Endosurgery and have gone on to obtain a postgraduate GP Certificate in Endoscopy and Endosurgery. This is a new and exciting field in veterinary science at present.

My wife Roulé and I have 2 daughters, who are currently at university.

Growing up my hobbies were all very doggie related where I did obedience and attack work training and some tracking trails with German Sheperds, Dobermanns and Border Collies. We have downsized our dog to a long-haired Chihuahua called Teddy.

I enjoy skiing in the winter and waterskiing in the summer.

Gerald Stam – BVSc MRCVS