I first started hanging around at Stabler and Howlett during my school holidays back in 1978, and it didn’t take me long to get hooked. For the next nine years I spent a lot of time with my uncle, Dr Bruce Howlett Senior, taking care of injured cats and dogs. I also got the chance to fly out bush with Dr Graham Stabler to help look after cattle and horses.
After graduating with a Veterinary Science Degree from the University of Queensland in 1992, I started my working life in mixed practice in the beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland, where I was lucky enough to meet my future wife Kerri.
After two years we moved south, all the way to Scottsdale in Tasmania, where I worked in equine and intensive dairy practice.
As a young cattle vet, I learned a great deal working in the dairy industry, with rarely a dull moment.
In the calving season for instance, I’d commonly attend 4-6 difficult calvings each day (or night!), and perform 4 or more caesarean sections each week.
Kerri and I soon returned to the warmth of Queensland, establishing our own mixed practice at Maleny, in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. There we looked after a wide variety of animals, including cats, dogs, horses and cattle. In 2004, we decided to sell our practice and move to Mackay, where I joined the Stabler and Howlett team.
I really enjoy our amazing horse and cattle practice, with equine reproduction being of particular interest. We get to breed some of the best mares in the country to the best stallions in the world – we’ve made some wonderful foals!