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Our Careteam

Your pet’s emotional and physical well-being is prioritized with every visit. We put our patients first

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Krystle

Krystle

Practice Manager

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Krystle grew up on multiple acres in Bathurst, New Brunswick, where she developed a fascination with nature and wildlife early on. She can’t remember a time when there wasn’t a pet around her childhood home. For Krystle, coupling her innate customer service skills with her lifelong love for animals makes perfect sense—she gets to help both pets and those who care for them as Main West Animal Hospital’s Practice Manager!

After many years spent managing a private boating club, Krystle decided to look for work that felt more fulfilling and rewarding. That’s when she discovered an open position here at Main West Animal Hospital—she’s been a member of the clinic team since 2016 and hasn’t looked back since.

Krystle loves to learn new things every day within the world of animal medicine, and she especially likes putting a smile on visitors’ faces on a daily basis. For her, the hospital’s staff and clientele are truly members of the family!

Krystle’s interests outside of work include hiking, staying fit and living a healthy lifestyle (she’s even certified as a personal trainer!), writing and journaling, and spending time with her family. Krystle lives with her husband and her 4 boys, Hunter, Preston, Max and Jake as well as a one-eyed cat named Silly who was adopted from Main West Animal Hospital.

Christina

Christina

Clinic Supervisor

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Christina has always been a people person, and her inclination toward pets comes naturally. What better way to pair her love of animals with her nurturing instinct, she thought, than by helping pet owners in a veterinary clinic? Christina serves as one of Main West Animal Hospital’s Client Care Advocates.

Christina is from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and moved to Ontario in 2000. She previously worked as an Educational Assistant in the human healthcare field, caring for special-needs patients. In 2015, she made the decision to switch careers; that’s when she started looking for jobs in the veterinary world.

Christina was thrilled to join the Main West Animal Hospital family in January of 2016, and is particularly fond of the fast-paced clinic environment. Ultimately, she loves working alongside her talented coworkers to bring the highest-quality brand of veterinary medicine possible to the area’s pet owners.

Outside of work, Christina loves getting lost in a good book and spending quality time with her family at home. She and her husband have two wonderful children and also share their lives with a spunky dog named Molly.

Mariah

Mariah

Client Care Advocate

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Mariah grew up in Welland and spent hours in the great outdoors, searching for turtles, frogs, snakes, and other critters by the water. She’s harbored a passion for the earth’s creatures all her life, and it simply made sense to dedicate herself to improving the lives of animals. That’s why she decided to become a veterinary professional! Mariah currently studies at Guelph University and gets to gain hands-on experience in the veterinary field here at Balfour Animal Hospital.

Mariah is in her fourth year of animal biology studies at school, and plans on continuing on to veterinary school in the future. She began her animal-care career as a cooperative career placement student at Main West Animal Hospital, and transferred here to Balfour Animal Hospital a short time ago. She loves to interact one-on-one with the area’s pet owners and their adorable companions! Medically, Mariah likes internal medicine cases, and she’s also fond of dermatology work and the way it relates to her own dog’s atopic dermatitis struggles.

When time permits between her busy school and work schedules, Mariah enjoys snowboarding, skating, swimming, fishing, hiking, and camping. She also loves to dote on her own pets at home. Mariah has a Labrador Retriever, Duncan, who loves to cuddle when he’s not outside chasing squirrels; as well as a rambunctious kitten named Jarvis.

Lauren

Lauren

Registered Veterinary Technician

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Lauren grew up as an only child, and the family pets were her constant companions. Even at a young age, she knew that she would love to help as many of the earth’s creatures as she possibly could. For Lauren, no other choice of career made sense! She’s a Registered Veterinary Technician with the Balfour Animal Hospital family.

Originally from St. Catharines, Lauren began her veterinary journey at a pet clinic there when she was only 16 years old. Next, she headed to Technician school at Medaille College in Buffalo to earn her degree in veterinary technology. Lauren returned to the practice in St. Catherines as a Registered Veterinary Technician and would help pets there for the next 11 years!

When the time came for a change, Lauren was happy to join the Balfour Animal Hospital family in July of 2020. Her favourite part of her job is one-on-one hospital care and getting to see her hard work pay off in the form of a happier, healthier pet. She’s also fond of helping to educate clients on the best care for their animal companions.

At home, Lauren and her partner have a young daughter (already a huge animal-lover like her mother!) and also share their lives with several pets: a Shepherd named Oakley who can balance a treat on his nose; Willy the Labrador who loves everyone he meets; and a pair of cats named Oliver and Ameilia. When she’s not spending quality time with her family and pets, Lauren enjoys running and practicing yoga. She even hopes to become a certified yoga instructor in the future!

Jay

Jay

Veterinary Technician

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One of Jay’s childhood cats had an unfortunate encounter with a car, and needed prompt veterinary care. After watching the local veterinary team tend to her beloved pet and nurse him back to full health, Jay was awestruck—she knew that she wanted to spend her future helping animals in the exact same way! Now, she gets to do just that on a daily basis as a Registered Veterinary Technician.

Jay grew up on a dairy farm in the small town of Fenwick and attended St. Clair College in Windsor, graduating in 2004. She worked through high school and college at an emergency veterinary clinic, then started working at a small-animal practice in St. Catharines after graduating from college. Jay would help pets and their owners there for the next 11 years!

After traveling to Australia and working in the surgery department at a veterinary specialist center there (she got to work with kangaroos, wombats, and koala bears!), Jay returned to Canada and took some time off to raise her daughter. It wasn’t long before she decided to step back into the veterinary field—that’s when she joined the team here at Main West Animal Hospital. Jay especially loves providing one-on-one nursing care to her patients, and she never takes for granted the constant learning experience that her job offers.

Jay’s interests outside of animal care include traveling, nutrition and health, shopping, and curling up with her cats and a good book. She and her husband, Jake, have two wonderful children named Harper and Bennett, and the family shares their home with two feline friends: Dude, a chubby tabby who will do anything for food; and Bella, who loves to be held and will sit on her owners’ shoulders like a bird.

Keri

Keri

Veterinary Assistant

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For as long as she can remember, Keri has had a deep-seeded passion for helping animals. As a young child, she found an injured bird on the back porch. With the help of her mom, Keri nursed that little bird back to health before releasing her back into the wild. Then there was the time she befriended a stray cat at the age of 4. These experiences shaped Keri’s desire to one day work with animals professionally.

Before joining the Main West Animal Hospital team, Keri had been working in administration. She started feeling that pull toward the veterinary field and decided to officially change careers. Keri started with us in June of 2021 as a Veterinary Assistant. Professionally, Keri has a particular interest in x-ray technology. She finds being able to see what’s going on inside a patient’s body absolutely fascinating.

Currently, Keri does not have any pets of her own, but she is excited about adopting a dog someday in the near future. Her personal interests include singing, theatre, and running. She recently completed a half marathon and looks forward to challenging herself with more races (hopefully with a four-legged running partner to keep her company).

Jackie

Jackie

Veterinary Assistant

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When Jackie was in preschool, she begged her mother to let her get a puppy. Finally, at the age of nine, her mother gave in and brought home a wheaten terrier whom the family named ‘Frisbee’. Frisbee suffered from allergies and stomach issues, and Jackie remembers many trips to the vet and how fascinated she was with animal medicine. It came as no surprise that she would one day end up pursuing a career working with animals. Now, she can’t imagine doing anything else!

Jackie’s journey began with her other passion – horses. She received a diploma in equine care and management and went on to groom professionally for Olympic and Pan-Am game equestrian riders. After receiving her level 8 rider designation and coaching license with Equestrian Canada, Jackie became a full-time horse trainer and competed professionally for two years. A serious accident would ultimately change Jackie’s career trajectory, and she decided to focus on small animal care.

Jackie joined the Main West Animal Hospital team in January of 2023. Professionally, she has a special interest in radiography the and rehabilitation of animals with orthopaedic injuries. As a life-long sufferer of IBS herself, Jackie also has an interest in helping animals with gastrointestinal challenges. Being able to relate to their struggles and provide some much-needed relief is truly a special experience.

Outside of work, Jackie lives with her fiancé on a 1.5-acre piece of property. Their growing farm features a large vegetable garden and includes six chickens, four fish, and a Flemish giant X bunny named Asiago. Right up the road live Jackie’s horses, Cody and Classy. Cody won reserve champion at the first shoe Jackie competed in as a professional and showed up to the 3-foot hunters. Classy is an off the track thoroughbred that Jackie purchased in November 2021. In the span of eight months, Classy was competing in the 2-foot, 9-inch ring at Angelstone Tournaments.

Riley

Riley

Veterinary Assistant

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Riley has always been fascinated with animal behaviour – how they think and how they interact with humans – as well as with their biology – how their different systems work and how different animals develop. This interest in animals flourished a few years ago, when her family moved to a hobby farm, complete with chickens, rabbits, barn cats, and pigs. As a veterinary assistant, Riley is able to combine what she’s learned at home with what she’s learned on the job to deliver exceptional patient care.

Riley’s journey into the veterinary industry began right here at Balfour Animal Hospital, where she completed her high school co-op in 2022. When offered the option to stay, she jumped at the chance. Professionally, Riley appreciates the opportunity to get hands-on with the animals and continue to learn every day. She plans to attend University of Guelph – Ridgetown Campus to become a Registered Veterinary Technician.

Outside of work, Riley lives with her parents and younger brother. In addition to the residents of their hobby farm, Riley’s fur-family consists of a cuddle-loving Presa Canario named Lucy, who despite being 120 pounds, still thinks she’s a small puppy; and two cats: Smiddy and Neille – a mother/daughter duo who makes sure Lucy knows they’ve been around longer than she has and that they’re in charge of the barn.

When she’s not busy working or helping out with the animals at home, Riley enjoys singing, reading, and bouldering at the local gym. An avid horseback rider, Riley rode for her high school’s polo team, with whom she competed in the USPA interscholastic tournaments, won Prelims, and ultimately made it to Regionals.

Mikayla

Mikayla

Veterinary Assistant

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While Kayla has always had a passion for animals, she didn’t initially set out to work in the veterinary field. In fact, she actually just happened upon it when, as an experienced breeder, she brought a litter of German shepherd puppies into Balfour to be checked. When one of the pups ran behind the desk, the receptionist jokingly asked, “Are you dropping of a resume?” This got Kayla thinking, and the next thing you know, she was applying for a job. A couple of weeks later, she was hired, and the rest is history!

Kayla grew up surrounded by animals. Not only did her family own German shepherds and beef cows, but her grandparents also owned a dairy farm where Kayla would spend much of her time. As a child, she distinctly remembers helping the vets whenever they’d come out to the farm. Around this time, Kayla also began breeding rabbits, a hobby that would eventually turn into a career when she opened her own CKC registered German shepherd breeding business – something she still does on the side.

As a veterinary assistant here at Balfour Animal Hospital, Kayla enjoys assisting with surgical prep. She also enjoys interacting with clients – especially if it involves telling them good news. And, of course, who doesn’t love a puppy appointment?!?

At home, Kayla currently has three dogs of her own – not surprisingly, all of whom are German shepherds. Myra is a drama queen who despises nail trims. Zyla is loyal, loves to play, and has the propensity to destroy Kayla’s mother’s flowers. And then there is Bear – aptly named for weighing in at 100lbs at just 10 months old. Bear loves to play soccer and is perfectly content kicking the ball around all by himself.

In addition to breeding dogs, Kayla’s other hobbies include traveling (especially to Alberta), taking long drives along the lake, playing soccer, and playing volleyball. Her favourite hockey team is the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Victoria

Victoria

Veterinary Assistant

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Growing up in a family of five, with a house full of pets, it came as no surprise that Victoria would one day grow up to work with animals professionally. She fondly recalls the countless barn kittens she helped raise, and the pair of baby squirrels she and her mom nursed back to health and returned to the wild. It was an upbringing perfectly suited for a career in the veterinary field!

Victoria began working on a dairy farm at the age of 13. Her favorite thing was watching the vets when they came out to treat the animals. This inspired a high school co-op at Main West Animal Hospital, where she was hired as a veterinary assistant before moving over to Balfour. Professionally, Victoria enjoys surgery prep and the fact that every day is an opportunity to learn something new.

Outside of work, Victoria is fur-mom to two dogs (a border collie Aussie mix named Remy and a pointer mix named Riggs), two cats, and seven cows. Besides animals, her favorite pastimes include fishing, and listening to music.

Julia Nohara

Julia Nohara

Reception and Support Staff

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Julia is a local, small-town girl who grew up right around the corner from Balfour Animal Hospital. As a child, she always had a special connection with animals and as she got older, she also developed a love of helping people. As one of our amazing receptionists, Julia is thrilled to be able to combine two of her biggest passions: customer service and animals! Being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves is a true honor.

Julia’s career journey began in the service industry, bartending, serving, and customer support roles. She then obtained her Personal Training Certificate and ran her own business for a year and a half helping people train toward their goals, increase their energy, and improve their overall lives. After marrying her childhood friend, Paul, and starting a family, Julia took some time off to enjoy motherhood and embrace her new life. When it came time to re-enter the workforce, the opening at Balfour seemed like the perfect fit! She joined the team in December of 2022 and hasn’t looked back since!

Outside of the clinic, Julia resides in Fonthill with Paul and their daughter, Mia. Their fur family consists of two cats – Cali and Felix, and a thoroughbred named Hunter. Having ridden for over 20 years, Julia still competes locally, including a recent hunter/jumper horse show in which the team was named Reserve Champions. Julia also recently stepped out of her comfort zone to go fox hunting with Hunter. The excitement of galloping through fields, jumping over logs, and running through streams was such an incredible rush that she completely conquered her fear and genuinely enjoyed it.

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