The Future Vets Club has to revamped the Omnis Animalis into a casual and light-hearted yet educational and helpful blog! Our vision for this blog is to feature some inspiring individuals ranging from veterinarians, faculty, student veterinarians, and undergraduate students, to bring you fun and informative information that covers a wide range of topics, as well as keep you in the loop of any exciting events that happen over the year!
Please reach out to us via email (fvc@uoguelph.ca) or Instagram DM and let us know what you want to read about. Students are welcome to submit blog posts about any topic relating to your school journey, plans for the future, veterinary and animal experiences, or one of your own ideas, to get featured on the Omnis Animalis Blog!
Blog posts will be uploaded onto our website twice a month during the academic school year. We are all very eager to share this with you and hope you enjoy reading it throughout the school year!
November 27, 2023 — Fear-Free Practice: An Interview with Dr. Chung Yeen Mac on Fear Free Handling Above: The reception area at Mac Animal Clinic, Dr. Chung Yeen Mac's fear-free certified practice in Oakville, Ontario. Tell us about any experience with animals that inspired you to become a vet. I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything other than a vet. Once...
November 13, 2023 — Fostering Dreams of Wildlife Medicine: Sammi Luk's Journey to Vet School Through Wild Ontario Walking into freshman year orientation, every student is immediately bombarded with a seemingly endless stream of clubs, opportunities, and events. Whether you commit to just one or a dozen, there's always the sense of not knowing if you're missing out or preparing yourself "correctly" for vet...
November 1, 2023 — My Unexpected Journey to Bristol Vet School in England By Natasha Martin, MSc, BSc (Honours) I had a very uncommon path to vet school that had many twists, turns, and forks in the road. Now being a final year vet student at Bristol Vet School in England, I hope my story and crazy journey can shed light on how your...
September 18, 2023 — How Embracing New Opportunities Has Taken My Career In Unexpected Directions and Helped Me Discover My Purpose By Dr. Sara Ritzie, BScH DVM When I was little, I wasn't allowed to watch the Wizard of Oz because I would go into hysterics when the witch put Toto in the basket. I think this was an indication of the person I...
March 20, 2023 — Hi, everyone! My name is Cassidy Van Den Diepstraten, and I am a first-year student at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC). I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph, class of 2021. If you have ever considered applying to international veterinary schools, this post is for you! About Me I grew up in a small town in...
January 30, 2023 — Last month I traveled to Nepal to visit two dog rescue centres supported by Animal Experience International, an organization I co-founded 10 years ago. Dr. Joshi, the Nepali vet we work with, told me how the vet school in Nepal only teaches its students about agricultural species and nothing about small animal medicine. To work with dogs and cats, Dr....
January 12, 2023 — By Nina Atanackovic, Student Veterinarian, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Sciences Hi everyone! My name is Nina and I am a UofG graduate, class of 2021. I have wanted to be a veterinarian ever since I was little, and never had a back-up plan despite being aware of the difficult competition to attend OVC. So, if you have found...
November 14, 2022 — By Christina Mozzon, M.Sc., B.Sc., Student Veterinarian, OVC Class of 2024 Like any vet student, I loved animals ever since I was a little girl. From helping my grandparents raise their backyard chickens, to begging for a puppy (of course), I was always involved with anything animal-related. Little did I know that this passion of mine would soon become...
September 24, 2022 — By Jinelle Webb, DVM, MSc, DVSc, Diplomate ACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine) To Specialize or Not to Specialize? Thanks for tuning in to a discussion on specialization! I am a small animal internal medicine specialist. Although this specialization has turned out to be perfect for me, my path to this career was not always clear. Specialization is a...
April 22, 2022 — By Alison Whitey, Director of Advancement and Communications For the Love of Wildlife With the advent of spring comes a dramatic increase in the number of injured and orphaned animals being brought to Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. After all, wildlife is on the move once again. Aspen Valley has been caring for wildlife for almost 50...
January 12, 2022 — By Tula Sifling and Noam Einy Tula: I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve as one of your Co-Presidents this past year and a half alongside my wonderful Co-President, Noam Einy. It was amazing to work with the rest of the Future Vets Club executive to plan events, provide veterinary opportunities, and start...
April 28, 2021 — By Jaiden Gubbels Despite putting the world on hold, the COVID-19 pandemic provided me with moments to reflect and assess how to achieve my goal of working in the field of veterinary medicine. After volunteering and working at a local general practice veterinary clinic for ten years, the pandemic was the first time I had not been around animals...
March 29, 2021 — Hey everyone! My name is Natalie Pridham and I am a 3rd year undergraduate student studying Animal Biology at the University of Guelph. Similar to many people in my program, I have had a lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. My love for animals has been very strong for as long as I can remember. I grew up...
March 14, 2021 — Hi Future Vets! My name is Nadia, and I am a first year student in Biological Sciences. Last summer, I had the rare opportunity to work at a vet clinic during a global pandemic! Never in a million years would I have ever dreamt I would experience something as unexpected as this and I can’t wait to share my...
February 19, 2021 — If you are reading this post, you are probably wondering who I am and why my blog post title mentions reptiles. Well, I’ll introduce myself! Hey, my name’s Kris and I’m a phase 4 vet student at OVC. There are plenty of posts dedicated to getting into vet school, and though it’s an important aspect of my life, instead, I...
February 4, 2021 — Hello aspiring veterinarians! My name is Dr. Laurel Gale, DVM, and I graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in the Class of 2009. After graduation, I spent approximately 5 years working at two different companion animal practices in the GTA. In May of 2014, I joined the team at the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo and Stratford Perth (HSKWSP)...
January 24, 2021 — It was March of my graduating year. I was in the process of finishing up my undergraduate, final-year research thesis. When June came around, my family and I would gather for convocation. After four years of hard work, I would finally have that Honours BSc in my hands, and then… I didn’t know what came after that....
January 8, 2021 — Hello and thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to explore the world of mixed animal practice with me! My name is Dr. Robyn Thompson. I am a mixed animal practitioner and owning partner of the Walkerton Hanover Veterinary Clinic and Hanover Veterinary Hospital from the class of OVC 2012. My journey to veterinary medicine...
December 29, 2020 — Dr. Lauren DiPonio is a 2012 graduate from Massey University. Read on to discover more about her unique journey to become a vet! In the midst of uncertain times, you may actually have some TIME to reflect on why you aspire to become a veterinarian. For me, from the very first kindergarten placemat I brought home, I was going...
December 16, 2020 — Hello FVC, my name is Nathan Schachtschneider and I’m a second-year student at the OVC. If you’re reading this and wish to become a veterinarian but your path is seemingly taking you in another direction, here’s my roundabout journey. I hope it will be an encouragement to pursue your goals and dreams. I’ve had many interests and strengths,...
November 23, 2020 — Dr. Jackie Parr BScH, DVM, MSc, Dip ACVNBoard Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® When Bruno the chocolate lab was found after 27-days in the bottom of an abandoned well, Dr. Jackie Parr was one of the people he desperately needed. Re-feeding syndrome, muscle loss, dangerously fluctuating electrolyte levels and more were all part of a language Dr. Parr intimately understood. After...
November 11, 2020 — Hello FVC members and others considering a future in veterinary medicine! My name is Julia Stewart, and I am a 2018 OVC graduate (an Ivory Owl). My path to becoming a veterinarian began when I was young after the “what do you want to be when you grow up?” questions were asked. This was further nurtured by my interests...
October 26, 2020 — Editor's Note: Shruti Madhusudan is a 2020 graduate from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (R(D)SVS) in Edinburgh, Scotland. She completed her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Guelph in 2015 and was an active member of the Future Vets Club. She created the Omnis Animalis (then known as The Speculum) during the 2014/2015 academic school year....
October 12, 2020 — Akshaya Chandrashekar FVC Executive 2018-2020, OVC Class of 2024 What is Dilated Cardiomyopathy? Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition characterized by the enlargement of the cardiac chambers that debilitates the ability of the heart to pump blood. As the condition progresses, fluid collects in the lungs, and often leads to heart failure (Case, 2018). Certain breeds of dogs, particularly larger...
September 30, 2020 — If you’re considering studying veterinary medicine abroad, learn a bit more about the process from former OzTrekker and University of Queensland alumni, Reiko Yamazaki-Lai! Reiko reached out to OzTrekk in 2014, interested in pursuing her dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Reiko is now a practicing vet in Australia and OzTrekk could not be more proud of her. A big thank...
September 26, 2020 — Dear first-year me, You were told that “university is going to be the best years of your life,” a time for self-discovery and gaining independence, but what you weren’t told is that at some point a global pandemic would drastically change the way you do everything, including school. You’ll find yourself having to adapt to studying from home...
April 17, 2020 — I have always been obsessed with getting good grades because everyone says you need them in order to be successful. I have come to believe that just like in life, good grades aren’t about the end result but rather the journey taken to get there. In the case of school, the journey is the many hours spent studying. University teaches...
April 12, 2020 — Dear 2030 Dr. Keira, Right now, I hope that you’re loving your job as a veterinarian, and are improving the lives of animals and people every day. I, the 2020 Keira, thought I’d write you something to look back on in a few years to remember this stage of life. Right now, I’m 21 years old and...
March 29, 2020 — Dear FVC members & anyone else thinking of applying to vet school, My name is Amanda, and I am an OVC 2017 graduate. My journey to veterinary school began when I was 5 years old; I knew I wanted to be a vet and there was simply no other alternative. Being a Vancouver native, I decided I wanted to...
March 28, 2020 — It has been my pleasure to act as the Future Vets Club Co-President this year alongside my fellow Co-President, Matthew Vermey. I am currently completing the third year of my Bsc. in Animal Biology and aim to become a small animal veterinarian with a specialty in either emergency medicine or cardiology. I joined the FVC Executive team at...
February 12, 2020 — Hello Future Vets! My name is Dr. Shannon Finn, and I graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2018. The Future Vets Club is near and dear to my heart as I was on the executive for all 3 years of my undergrad at Guelph. I grew up in a small town in Ontario, between Stratford and Kitchener....
February 10, 2020 — Do I need to complete a specific undergrad program to apply to the OVC? There is no specific university or program you must take to apply, so you can take any undergrad program that interests you. Just keep in mind that you have to get all 8 prerequisite credits done, many of which are science-based courses. Also, once you...
January 13, 2020 — Note: This blog post is the first in a series of reflections by Canadian students studying at international schools. In the future, we hope to feature more individuals from international institutes and provide a platform for their ideas and thoughts to be expressed. This piece is not in affiliation with Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and is based solely on the...
November 26, 2019 — Dear First-Year Self, I know you are feeling stressed, nervous, excited, and a million other emotions that you cannot quite name. You have had an overload of information these past few weeks about your classes, life on campus, how to figure out Courselink and Webadvisor, and all the different “Mac” buildings. You have craved this independence for so...
November 4, 2019 — Hello Future Vets! Stressed out about course selection? Not sure which reviews to trust on Rate My Prof? Worry no more because I have some excellent recommendations coming your way. To give you a little information about myself, I am currently in Phase 1 of OVC (go Opal Otters!) and completed 3 years of the Biomedical Science major at...
September 17, 2019 — Hello everyone! I hope this note finds you well rested, ambitious and confident about achieving your career dreams. ...who am I kidding, right? Honestly, I don’t expect you to be feeling rested, ambitious or confident. It’s early September, classes just started, and you probably feel like the deadlines, exams and sheer volume of material are looking pretty ridiculous. I’ve been...
August 31, 2019 — Hey Future Vets! My name is Jodie and I am a second-year Animal Biology student. This is also my second year as an executive member of the Future Vets Club, and I am excited to say that I have taken over the role of Editor of the Omnis Animalis for this upcoming school year! I hope you have all...