Dr. Sarah Armstrong

Veterinarian, Medical Director

Dr. Sarah is originally from Toronto, ON and was one of those kids who always wanted to be a veterinarian. She grew up with two cats, Alley Balley and Fuzzy, and a beagle named Bentley. She was also an avid horseback rider for over 15 years.

Dr. Sarah completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Guelph in Biomedical Sciences in 2003, and graduated from the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at the Ontario Veterinary College in 2007.

After practicing in Ontario for 2 years in general practice, Dr. Sarah moved to Vancouver in 2009, where she has worked for the Vancouver Animal Emergency and Referral Centre for the last 10 years. She has also been a vet-on-call for various local family veterinary practices.

Dr. Sarah served as president of the Society for British Columbia Veterinarians (SBCV) for 3 years, and is presently an active board member. The SBCV is the provincial veterinary association which advocates for and supports BC veterinarians.

In her spare time she enjoys running with her English Setter, Oscar, and reading a good book with her cat, Todd.

Dr. Elspeth Longridge

Veterinarian

Dr. Elly graduated from Ross University with honours in 2014. She was originally born and raised in Vancouver, and upon graduation she was thrilled to be able to return to her home city. Dr. Elly has worked at a few local family veterinary practices around Vancouver.

Dr. Elly joined the team in January 2021, and has been a great fit with the team. Her veterinary interests include wellness visits, dermatology, dentistry, and surgery.

Her current interests include horses, hiking, and a new interest in exotic plant collection.

Dr. Jessica Gu

Veterinarian

Dr. Jessica is originally from Toronto and grew up with a beloved guinea pig, two budgies, and a Siberian husky. She studied animal biology at the University of Guelph and then attended the Ontario Veterinary College, graduating in 2017.

Dr. Jessica completed a year-long small animal rotating internship at VCA 404 Veterinary Emergency and Referral Hospital. Following that, she moved out west to BC with her husband and two pets. She worked as an emergency veterinarian at a nearby emergency and referral hospital for 3 years before switching to general practice.

Dr. Jessica's interests include hiking, kayaking, pottery (she's starting her own home studio!), painting, volunteering with seniors, gardening and reading. She speaks English and Mandarin. She currently has two kitties: Mabel the lovable weirdo, and Moss, the rambunctious tripod.

Dr. Emily Munčs

Veterinarian

Originally from Montreal, Dr Emily graduated from the Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire of the Université de Montréal in 2016. After graduation, she completed a one year rotating internship at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vétérinaire of the Université de Montréal.

Dr Emily moved to Toronto and worked in emergency for 3 years. Following that, she moved to Vancouver with her husband, and worked another 2 years in emergency before switching to general practice.

Dr Emily is a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and in her spare time, she enjoys travelling, running, reading, pottery, hiking and spending time with her family, her sweet cat Kiki and adorable dog Piña.

Rhian Laidlaw

Clinic Manager

Rhian moved from Australia to Vancouver back in 2009 and considers Canada very much home now. Having worked in wild, exotic, and companion animal veterinary care over the last 10 years, Rhian has an affinity for animals of all shapes and sizes - happy to cuddle everything from pythons or beavers to a golden retriever. 

Rhian has two rescue dogs at home named after sci-fi legends - Chewbacca and Trinity. 

Ashleigh McDougall

Clinic Manager - Maternity Leave

Ashleigh grew up in Scarborough, just outside Toronto, ON. She always had dogs while growing up, and while on a break from university one summer brought home two cats. Ashleigh attended the University of Guelph and received a Bachelor of Science in Zoology, before moving to the West Coast in 2009.

Ashleigh started out as a receptionist at a local emergency veterinary clinic, before moving into management. She has experience working in a variety of clinics, from single veterinarian clinics to bustling multi-doctor practices.

Ashleigh and Dr. Sarah have worked together since 2009. Her interests are feline-friendly handling and client education.

Ashleigh lives in East Van with her husband, her daughter, and her cat - Licorice. Ashleigh is currently on maternity leave.

Amanda

Assistant Manager, Client Care Specialist

Amanda was born and raised in Vancouver. Since the age of 3, she has always been determined that she would work with animals (the proof is in crayon).

Amanda has been working in small animal practice since 2007, and has worked at a feline-only practice for many of those years.

She has had canine (basset hound and poodle), feline, rodent, lizard, toad and snake family members in the past, and currently has two lovely cats: Hobo (DSH) and Callie (Tonkinese).

In her spare time when Amanda is not at home playing with her cats, reading or painting, she likes to travel the Tri-Cities on her bicycle, and explore the outdoors.

Frankie

Registered Veterinary Technician, Medical Team Lead

Frankie graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in 2012. After working & volunteering in several wildlife rehabilitation centres and for the SPCA, she decided she wanted to progress her animal care skills further.

Frankie went back to school and graduated as a Registered Veterinary Technician in 2016. She worked in general practice for a year, then at a veterinary dental specialty clinic for 2 ½ years.

On the weekends, Frankie can be found in the mountains – either skiing, hiking, mountain biking or camping – or on the sofa with her 19 year old cat, Sadie.

Sarah

Registered Veterinary Technician

Sarah has been in the field since 2016 and comes with an abundance of experience in small/exotic animal medicine. She graduated as a Veterinary Technician in 2019 and spent her years after graduation in an animal emergency hospital.

Sarah is our nursing care specialist. She is always there to provide comfort, support, and a cozy bed to ensure our patients feel warm and safe during their stay. Her favourite method is carrying around our post-op patients in a baby Bjorn! She loves to see animals come back excited to see the team, so she makes every experience a positive one.

Sarah has a dog of her own named Lucca, who is an English Springer Spaniel that she loves dearly. She has a deep love for this breed, as she has had them her entire life.

On her days off, you can find Sarah doing yoga, hiking our local mountains or watching a cheesy reality TV show. Among her many other talents, she is also an amateur sailor.

Johnny

Registered Veterinary Technician

Johnny has been in the field since 2019 and graduated from the Douglas College Veterinary Technician program in 2021. After completing his final practicum with us, he decided to stick around permanently!

Johnny is our in-house laboratory specialist. You can always find him in our lab, running samples, looking through the microscope or performing maintenance on our machines.

When Johnny is not at work, he enjoys a good book, climbing, and gaming. He also has a pet of his own named Lunch, who is a fun-loving guinea pig.

Alison

Registered Veterinary Technician

Alison has been in the veterinary field since 2009, when she volunteered at vet clinics, pet stores, and animal shelters on weekends outside of school. Since she was a child, she always knew she wanted to work with animals. After graduating as a Registered Veterinary Technician, she found preventative care in small animal medicine to be most rewarding for her. She has a passion for pet nutrition especially.

Outside of work, Alison enjoys hanging out with friends, gaming, watching shows, reading, and drawing.

Melina

Registered Veterinary Technician

Melina successfully graduated from Douglas College Veterinary Technology program in 2012. She started working in the veterinary industry in 2007 with an interest in Emergency medicine. From 2007-2018 Melina worked in an emergency veterinary hospital. After taking some time to start a family, Melina returned to work at Olympic Village Veterinary clinic on a part-time basis. She enjoys all of the animal snuggles, but finds client care and education particularly rewarding. 

Karla

Registered Veterinary Technician

Karla has been living in the lower mainland since she was 2 years old. Originally interested in a degree in environmental sciences, it was the love for her family dogs that inspired her to obtain a Veterinary Office Assistant degree in 2012 and then a Registered Veterinary Technician degree in 2016. Since graduating from vet tech school she has acquired experience in general practice, emergency medicine, and specialty departments such as neurology, surgery, and internal medicine.

Karla is very excited to be working for the wonderful team of Olympic Village Vet Clinic. She is looking forward to using the best quality practice of medicine from the wide variety of experience she has gained over the years.  

In her free time, Karla is very passionate about road and trail running, creating art, hiking, camping, smiling, being in the sun and enjoying the great outdoors!

Lizzie

Registered Veterinary Technician

Bio coming soon!

Cindy

Veterinary Technician Assistant

Cindy graduated from the Veterinary Technician Assistant program at Granville College in 2021 and has been in the industry for the past two years. She has always had animals in her family growing up, but it wasn't until she finally got her first dog, Benji, that she knew her calling was working with them!

Her little family now includes two more kitties, Luna and Kimbo. She is also passionate about having a fear free approach towards veterinary medicine and loves petting and giving treats to all the patients coming into the hospital.

In her downtime, Cindy loves to play video games, read, and watch true crime documentaries.

Aila

Veterinary Technician Assistant

Aila was born and raised in Vancouver. She’s been surrounded by animals her whole life and has had many pets. Currently Aila has a dog named Maisie, a cat named Tuesday, a snake named Breuf and a horse named Bob. In the past, she has even had pet rats and fish.

Aila has spent all of childhood and continues to spend many hours at the barns in Southlands. She grew up riding many horses and competing in show jumping events. 

Aila has always known that she wanted her career to be animal related and since she was a kid has wanted to be a veterinarian. After graduating high school in 2023, she took a gap and wanted to work and volunteer with as many animals and vets as possible. 

When Aila is not working or at the barn with her horse Bob she loves spending time outdoors and going on hikes, going on drives or watching F1, hanging out with friends, going skiing during the winter, or working towards her goal of traveling the world. 

Carol

Veterinary Technician Assistant

Carol is originally from Taiwan, and she moved to Vancouver in the summer of 2022. Taking care of animals has always been her passion. Therefore, she decided to come here to study and graduated from the Veterinary Assistant Program at the end of 2023. She’s now working at our clinic and a doggy daycare nearby.

Carol enjoys using the positive reinforcement on approaching and training dogs. She aims to create a stress-free atmosphere for the patients by always
remaining calm and gentle.

During her free time, she likes listening to music and singing, window shopping to follow up the fashion trends, taking care of her plants, and going out for walks to discover new places.

Lauren

Veterinary Technician Assistant

Lauren was born and raised in Victoria BC on Vancouver Island, and has always had a strong passion for animal welfare. After years of traveling and volunteering with both domestic and wild animals, she decided to go back to school in order to professionally enter the field of animal care. 

Lauren is so proud to have completed the VOAC program at Douglas College in early 2024, and is honored to be a part of the amazing OVVC team! Working with animals has been something she's always known she was meant to do, and is so excited to be doing what she loves as her career. 

Outside of work, her other passions are cruising on her bike, being out in nature, getting crafty and puttering in the garden, especially to grow food! 

Shian

Veterinary Technician Assistant

Shian was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. Since her childhood she has had a fondness for animals.

Shian graduated from a medical administration background; however her interest in animals led her to enroll in the veterinary assistant program.

Since 2008, Shian has worked in veterinary emergency medicine. She now has the desire to work in a small animal practice. 

In her spare time, Shian is a freelance photographer.

Joey

Veterinary Technician Assistant

Joey was born and raised on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Growing up alongside animals, working in the veterinary field and advocating for creatures of all kinds has always been his passion.
Joey has a spunky Australian Shepherd named Hermes, and can be found trick training around the dog parks of Vancouver.
In his downtime, Joey enjoys indulging himself in cozy games.

Khuan

Veterinary Technician Assistant

Khuan is originally from Thailand, but raised in Vancouver with her beloved hamster, French fry. She has always had a passion for animals and strives for a fear free zone. In the clinic, you can often find Khuan greeting and cuddling animals, so they can have a happy experience at the clinic!

Khuan is an Applied Animal Biology major at UBC and hopes to become a veterinarian. She hopes to adopt a dog or cat, but for now, she currently has 3 little aquatic frogs to keep her company! In her downtime, she loves painting, playing volleyball and spikeball.

Kristy

Client Care Specialist Team Lead

Kristy has been working in the veterinary field for over 7 years, recognizing and honouring the strong connection between animals and their humans. She graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science in 2013. She first started her veterinary career in a busy downtown practice in Toronto, ON, moving on to graduate as a Veterinary Technician in 2019. She moved to Vancouver in 2020, where she instantly fell in love with the city and the mountains. She has been with the OVVC team since May 2021.

Kristy is highly committed to cultivating courageous and empathetic leadership skills, and shares in OVVC's vision of fostering an inclusive workspace for women of all identities to feel supported, mentored and empowered.

Rachel

Client Care Specialist

Rachel was born and raised in Vancouver. During her childhood, she dreamed of having a dog or a frog but her parents got her a guinea pig instead! Whiskers lived up to the ripe old age of 8.

Rachel is a Political Science major at UBC and hopes to become a lawyer. Although her major has nothing to do with the veterinary industry, she had been a dog handler for three years before moving on to work at Olympic Village Vet.

Rachel has a Formosan Mountain Dog mix named Nikka (after the Japanese whisky). Rachel believes in force-free training and positive reinforcement. Nikka would not have overcome her fears if it weren't for those methods!

During the week, you can find Rachel on an outrigger boat, paddling up and down False Creek or at McDonald Beach Dog Park!

Rachel F.

Client Care Specialist

Rachel was born in Manchester, UK and moved to Vancouver in summer 2022. 

Rachel always loved animals growing up, and has had pet hamsters, guinea pigs and cats, and would love a dog in the future. 

Rachel studied Events Management in the UK, but since she started working at Olympic Village Vet she now  wants to pursue a career within the vet industry. 

In her spare time, Rachel enjoys exploring Vancouver and all that it has to offer. 

Janice

Client Care Specialist

Janice was born and raised in Hong Kong, and recently moved to Vancouver in the summer of 2023. She has always wanted a pet (and already has names in mind!). She enjoys travelling to visit zoos and aquariums around the world, and she even flew a falcon once in a rescue centre in Prague.Her other interests include reading, hiking and going to museums.

Nisha

Client Care Specialist

Nisha is originally from Mumbai, India. She came to Vancouver, Canada in 2018 to pursue a degree in Kinesiology, which she now has completed, hooray! Nisha's first love is and always will be animals. She had a couple of dogs growing up, who will be her forever bestfriends <3 

Nisha has been madly in love with animals since before she even learnt to crawl, and that is what essentially pushed her to kickstart a career in the veterinary field. Nisha wants to help and support all animals in any way she can, whenever she can. On a usual day, she is always looking at animal videos or  eyeing a cute animal across the street. In her social circle, Nisha is known as the friend who never misses an opportunity to take a BEAMING selfie with an animal.

Nisha's other interests include: Singing, dancing, drawing, and making delicious Indian food. 

Nisha is looking forward to meeting your lovely pets at our clinic here!

Charlie

Client Care Specialist

Bio coming soon!