Our Story

From a small suburban vet clinic

Our story starts with two emergency vets working daytime/night-time splits at a suburban animal emergency centre on the South-side of Brisbane. There was never a dull moment. Irreverence, banter, and tough working conditions forged a lifelong friendship and what would eventually become the first Animal Emergency Service team.

Co-Founders Rob Webster and Simon Lemin continually tried to outdo each other, and that sense of competition has never left. Both independent and headstrong, working for a group of vets who wanted someone to ‘mind’ their after-hours cases would never be enough. In 2005 they purchased the practice from their employers and founded Animal Emergency Service.

Drs Rob Webster and Simon Lemin, Co-founders of an emergency animal hospital
Animal Emergency Service vet holding cat, at our animal emergency hospital

Setting the standard of Australian vet care

Simon and Rob set out on a mission to seek the highest possible level of emergency and critical care. This took them knocking on the door of Professor Steve Haskins, one of the founding fathers of the discipline of emergency and critical care. Professor Haskins had already created the home of the most exceptional critical care in the world – the veterinary ICU at the University of California at Davis.

Realising Australia had a long way to go before the standard of vet care rivalled their American contemporaries, they brought back leading veterinary experts. These experts helped the team to refine the practice and set the benchmark. Professor Haskins agreed to act as supervisor for Rob, Simon, and their colleagues as they studied to achieve specialist qualifications in emergency medicine and critical care.

The intellectual and professional influence of Prof Haskins forever transformed Animal Emergency Service. From the suburban animal emergency centre it was, to become the centre of training, excellence, and professional development in Australia.

To today

Today, over 600 veterinary professionals (vets, nurses, client care specialists, and business support teams) make up the Animal Emergency Australia group. We are 12 hospital teams, an education group, and a support services group. Together, we are united to saving the lives of critical patients, and continually raising the bar of the discipline of emergency and critical care.

Our shared passions

  • Providing the best outcomes for all pets, with world-class facilities and emergency veterinary medicine
  • Giving you a 5-star experience in our hospitals in what is a stressful and worrisome time
  • Continually supporting our veterinary team to have access to the equipment and training they need to save pets’ lives