Vanessa Riley
I was born and raised in St. Thomas Ontario. I graduated high school and was accepted into St. Clair college for the Veterinary Technician program in 2016. I graduated in April 2018 and was able to meet all the requirements in order to receive my RVT status. Ever since I was a little kid, I have had a passion to work with animals and had hoped to one day be able to make my dream come true. Growing up and working with animals has been a very rewarding career path and I couldn’t imagine my life doing anything else.
I first started at the Elgin Animal Hospital as a high school co-op student in 2015. I immediately knew this is the career path I wanted to take. I started working a couple summers and some winter breaks and I was even able to do my college co-op placement here as well. I officially graduated from college in April 2018 and began working fulltime.
The area of Veterinary medicine that interests me the most would have to be Dentistry. I have always liked the hands-on aspect and being able to see the difference of a before and after a dental cleaning in a patient. The part I love most about my job is coming to work and not knowing what my day is going to be like. Some days are challenging, and some are rewarding like, being able to see the progress a patient you’ve been caring for is making. My favourite thing about the clinic is being able to come to work in a friendly, easy-going atmosphere and working alongside other people that are also passionate about their job and what they do.
My first pet was a little black Pomeranian named Domi. He lived to be 13 years old and was my best friend growing up. He was loved by everyone and as you can imagine he had a high tolerance for children. I currently have 5 cats and a 2-year-old French Bulldog named Frankie. My cats are, Kenny a 3-year-old Sphynx and Leo, a 3-year-old tabby who is blind and was adopted from Animal Aide. I also have a 5-year-old Scottish Fold named Manny. As well another 4-year-old tabby named Tony, that was rescued as a kitten, living under a garbage bin. Finally, I have a 2-year-old deaf kitten named Ivy, that was found as a stray at a very young age.
