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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.

Jason

Jason

Clinic Supervisor

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For as long as he can remember, Jason has been obsessed with animals. His childhood dog, Frosty, only deepened his love and passion for the world of animal care. When the opportunity arose for him to help animals in need as a member of the veterinary field, he knew that he couldn’t miss his chance. Jason couldn’t be happier with his choice—he’s now a member of Balfour Animal Hospital’s talented team of veterinary professionals!

Jason is from Welland and joined the hospital family in April of 2019. As a lifelong fan of medical science, he’s particularly passionate about the various treatments that the clinic offers patients, and he loves to keep learning new things on a daily basis. Jason’s favorite part of every shift, though, is getting to meet loving pet owners and their animal companions. Fostering those bonds one-on-one is especially rewarding for him.

Jason’s main interest outside of veterinary medicine is music. He’s played guitar for almost two decades, and has toured all over North America—Jason has even recorded in the same studios as major acts like Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers! At home, he and his fiancé live with two cats: Gus Gus, named after the mouse in Cinderella, and Geddy Lee, named for the singer of the band Rush.

Jessica

Jessica

Client Care Advocate

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Jessica knew that she was meant to help animals ever since she was a little girl. She’s always had a soft spot in her heart for them, and her passion simply never let up. Caring for the earth’s creatures is Jessica’s true calling! She’s a member of Balfour Animal Hospital’s talented front-desk team and has plans for becoming a veterinarian herself in the future.

Jessica was born in Poland and came to Canada with her family when she was young. She grew up in the St. Catharines area and has been here ever since! Jessica plans on going back to school in the near future to study veterinary medicine and wanted to gain some real-world experience in the animal-care field in the meantime. That’s when she signed up here at Balfour Animal Hospital—she’s been a member of the hospital family since June of 2019.

Outside of work, Jessica’s interests include gardening, snowboarding, reading, working on cars with her fiancé, and spending quality time with her own pets at home. She lives with Bella, a Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix that has been with Jessica since she was a puppy, a Pomeranian/Poodle mix named Koda, and Tucker the Golden Retriever. Jessica also cares for two horses, Sam and Spanky, a pair of gerbils who go by Tunnel and Troy, and five barn cats: Mama Midnight, Oreo, Griffen, Shivy, and Pistachio.

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.

Katie

Katie

Veterinary Technician

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Katie has always felt happy and confident around animals. Why not advocate every day for their health and wellness, she thought, by working hands-on with pets as a veterinary professional? Katie never looked back—she’s now a Registered Veterinary Technician!

Katie grew up on a seven-acre hobby farm in Dunnville, Ontario, where she spent time around all sorts of animals ever since her earliest days. After completing a high-school cooperative career placement course at a veterinary clinic in Port Colborne, she headed to Ridgetown College in 2015. Katie graduated in April of 2017, joined the Main West Animal Hospital family that May, and passed her registering examination in August of 2017 to become a Registered Veterinary Technician.

Medically, Katie enjoys assisting by taking X-rays, drawing blood samples and studying them in the lab, and helping to keep nervous animals still. She’s also been learning a lot about animal rehabilitation, and loves to work with pets who have undergone orthopedic surgery. Most of all, Katie loves to meet a wide variety of pets and animal owners every single day!

Aside from her interests in the world of veterinary care, Katie likes horseback riding, archery, road trips, hiking, and playing baseball and volleyball. At home, she and her family live with two dogs, Lily and Whiskey; a cat named Daisy; and a pair of horses who go by Chex and Cookie.

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).

Sloppy Kisses

23,458

Sloppy Kisses

Bellies Rubbed

19,389

Bellies Rubbed

Treats Given

27,193

Treats Given