As told to Craille Maguire Gillies
What would you like your career and the vet business to become?
To practice excellent medicine – and the burden is on me to continue to learn and improve – and have all pet owners willing and able to do what is best for their pet. I hope that pet insurance will someday be more accessible to every pet owner – perhaps even required. Maybe writing this article will propel me in a direction that enables me to get more involved in public education. I used to think that becoming a lawyer would have been a better way to make a broader and bigger impact on the lives of animals.
You’ve written about some alternatives to the traditional small animal veterinary practice. What ways have you found to become involved in animal advocacy?
I took a course at the University of Alberta called the “Philosophy of Humans and Animals.” It was fascinating and it made a big impact on me. We watched videos of military experiments using g-forces on chimps, saw gorillas signing (doing sign language) to teachers that they hadn’t seen in decades. I cried in class every day. Eight years ago I protested circuses that use exotic animals by standing outside Rexall Place, in Edmonton, in a tiger costume that was supplied by PETA. I also went to Guatemala as a volunteer vet.
Are there career changes that might be a solution to the internal conflicts you’ve faced?
Maybe to specialize, though that does nothing to help animals that don’t get proper care. Or work with a non-profit group like Rural Area Veterinary Services. Basically, I hope someday to have a bigger voice than I do now.
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