Simcoe Animal Hospital is honoured to receive the award for 
The Best Veterinary Clinic in Norfolk for 2020 by The Quality Business Awards!

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Tracey Gardiner, DVM 

​Dr. Gardiner was born in Cainsville, ON, the third and last child of Raymond Gardiner, a milkman, starting when the horses pulled the wagons and Norma Gardiner (nee Lundy) a Bell telephone operator, back when she could dial "0" and ask to speak to her mom.
 After graduating from Waterford High School, she then attended McMaster University and earned a Biochemistry degree.  Using this, she worked in the quality control department at Gourmet Baker.  After the plant closed, she worked a number of different jobs and eventually ended up at Maple Leaf Poultry in the sales and marketing department.  Eventually she realized that wasn't the long term career choice for her, so after cashing in her RRSPs and re-mortgaging her home, off to the Ontario Veterinary College she went.  Best decision she ever made.
 After graduating in 2000, she worked at Colborne Veterinary Clinic.  Working for someone else can sometimes be tricky, so eventually she went out on her own as a locum.  While filling in for Dr. Robert White (Bob) at Simcoe Animal Hospital she realized that she had found her destiny.  The papers were signed, and on April 1st, 2003 she became the proud owner of Simcoe Animal Hospital and has been here ever since.
 Dr. Gardiner also has a love affair with Jaguar cars and is currently restoring a 1974 E-Type.  Her hobbies include traveling and photography. She likes the Eagles, Feetwood Mac, John Wayne, action films, and murder mysteries.

Susan Kennedy, DVM

​Dr. Susan Kennedy graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1991, after completing a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Western Ontario in 1986.
Her two cats, Sox and Sandler, graciously allow Sue, her husband and children to share their home in Brantford on the condition that she provides cleaning and feeding services for them that meet their high standards.
The world's most wonderful dog, Bonnie also lives with them.  Being a Golden Retriever, she only needs love, attention and treats to be happy.
Dr. Kennedy has worked at Simcoe Animal Hospital since 2005.

Stephanie Lancashire, DVM

​Dr. Lancashire always wanted to become a veterinarian.  In 2003, she graduated from the Animal Biology Program at the University of Guelph and in 2007 she graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College from the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program. Initially, Dr. Lancashire began her career as a mixed animal veterinarian until 2009 when she started working at Simcoe Animal Hospital to focus on the medical and surgical care of companion animals.  When Dr. Lancashire is not in the office, she loves spending time with family, friends, and enjoying the great outdoors.

Andrea Aliaga-Leyton, BSc, DVM, MSc

Dr. Aliaga-Leyton was born in Chile. She is the first of four children. Raised in a big family, where gatherings happened every weekend with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
As a child she was always rescuing animals and trying to convince her parents that they should have more pets.  Given her passion for all animals and a curiosity in medicine, she decided to study veterinary medicine.
After graduating as a DVM, she practiced in Chile at a small animal clinic for more than three years.  She came to Canada in 2005 to pursue more studies and in 2008 graduated from The University of Guelph, OVC, with  a Masters of Science in Population Medicine.
She fell in love with Canada and decided to make it her home.
Dr. Aliaga-Leyton took some time off, to raise her only  daughter, while running a home daycare and volunteering for different organizations in the Region of Waterloo. Once her daughter started school, she decided it was time to return to the veterinarian world.
Dr. Aliaga-Leyton validated her DVM degree in North America and graduated from the VSTEP program at The University of Guelph in 2017. After successfully completing all requirements, she started working as a locum for several clinics. With her passion for community service and volunteering she worked for a non-profit low-income clinic. She enjoyed treating the great variety of daily cases, and making a difference for the animals in her care and their families. While performing as a locum at Simcoe Animal Hospital, an opportunity arose for her to join the team full time. She is thrilled to begin this new adventure, grow further as a veterinarian, and to continue helping families and pets in the community.
When she is not at the clinic, Dr. Aliaga-Leyton loves spending time with her daughter, dogs Frosty and Buddy and cat Bonnie. She also enjoys trying to keep up with her daughter's video and board game skills. Her other favourite pastimes include knitting, crocheting, hiking, swimming, camping, biking, jogging, and traveling to see family. She especially enjoys gathering with friends and spending time with her partner.

Memoriam - Dr. Christopher Crombie

​Dr. Crombie will be greatly missed by all of us and everyone who knew him. He was an outstanding person with a great love for animals, and thirst for knowledge. We could always count on him for a helping hand, a piece of advice or a shoulder to lean on. Each week that we had the great honour of seeing Dr. Crombie brought with it pictures of his beloved family, tales to learn from and many smiles. Our world, and the world in general, has lost an incredible man. There are no words to truly describe the impact Dr. Crombie had on patients, clients and staff. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

Alanna, Practice Manager

​Alanna joined Simcoe Animal Hospital in 2008.  While her original background was in equine management and the customer service industry, she has always had a passion for companion animals.
She was thrilled to join us as one of our client care representatives and has now become a part of our management team. Alanna enjoys spending time at home with her family, brushing her horses or reading a good book.

Meghen, Inventory Manager

​Meghen received her Veterinary Office Administration Certificate from Ridgetown College in 2003.  After doing a co-op placement here, she was hired on as an animal care attendant in the summer of 2003.  She has done many jobs over the years, including veterinary assistant and receptionist.  Meghen was promoted to our Management team in 2015.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading and being outside. She lives in the area with her husband, daughter, son and multiple fur babies.

Laura, Registered Veterinary Technician

​Laura graduated from Ridgetown College in 2008 with a diploma in Veterianary Technology and became a registered veterinary technican in 2009. She joined our team in February 2015.  She enjoys working with exotic animals, especially reptiles, and in her spare time she likes cooking, gardening, snowboarding and rollerblading.

Kelsey, Registered Veterinary Technician

​Though Kelsey now works in the Norfolk County area, she was originally raised in the Elgin County region. She has had all different types of pets throughout the duration of her life, ranging from hamsters, fish, rabbits, cats and a dog. Currently she owns 2 cats - Meeko, who has been her pride and joy since she was pocket sized, and Atticus, whom she recently adopted from SAH. She adopted her dog, Nika, from Ridgetown College's animal colony in 2011 and she has been working hard to keep up with her training and teaching good manners.
Being around so many different species of animals over the course of her life has constantly driven her desire to work in the veterinary medical field and she is finally exactly where she wants to be. She graduated from the Veterinary Technician Program at Algonquin College in the spring of 2015 and became registered in the summer of 2015.
In her spare time, when she is not working, playing or talking about animals, she enjoys cooking, being around her friends, spending time with family, relaxing with either a good book or a movie, or experimenting with nail polish.

Lysa, Registered Veterinary Technician

​Lysa Wilson graduated from the Veterinary Technician Program at Seneca College in 2005. She has had a varied career as an RVT which includes teaching in the Veterinary Technician Program at Ridgetown College, to working as a manager out in British Columbia. Lysa enjoys client education and especially first puppy and kitten visits! She shares her home with her husband, Adam their dog Earl, 3 cats and beautiful daughter Edith.

Tracy, Client Care Representative

​Tracy joined the Simcoe Animal Hospital team in January 2008 as a veterinary assistant, animal care attendant and client care representative.
Labelled as the "Crazy Cat Lady" at her previous clinic in Niagara, she was ecstatic to find that she wasn't alone here in Norfolk County. Many other people, including other members of the Simcoe Animal Hospital team, also had multiple cats (and other pets) that they shared their homes and hearts with - a trait to truly be admired.
Tracy's passion for helping animals also includes understanding their behaviour. "Our pets have just as many feelings as we do, the key is to be aware of what they are trying to tell you." She believes that it is imperative for clients to understand more then just their pets basic needs and helps to educate them so they can both live happily every after.
In her spare time, Tracy loves spending time with her family and friends.  She also likes reading, photography and taking long walks. She shares her home and her heart with her "Crazy Cat Guy," Glen, and their four amazing fur kids. "Seeing their adorable faces greet me at the the door after a long day at work, always brings a smile to my face."

Martha, Client Care Representative

​You may see Martha working in various areas of the clinic as a veterinary assistant, animal care assistant and client care representative.  She first joined our team as a co-op student in 2005 and returned for the summers while away at university.  She has been with us on a full time basis since April 2011.
Martha graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology and a Master of Science in Animal Welfare and Behaviour.  Martha's passion lies in improving animal welfare and public education.
In her spare time, Martha enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading books, baking, and cuddling her furry kids, Sir Wheezleton, Sundae, Goonie and Theia.

Tifani, Client Care Representative

Tifani started working at Simcoe Animal Hospital back in March of 2019. Tifani has multiple roles here and she loves to see all the animals and will welcome them with open arms and of course treats.

Alicia, Animal Care Assistant

Alicia started working at Simcoe Animal Hospital July 2016 after graduating from the University of Waterloo with a Honours Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a psychology minor. Unsure where to take her education next, she took a year off school to explore different career options. With her lifelong passion for animals, she joined the team at Simcoe Animal Hospital to familiarize herself further in the veterinary field. 
After difficult and careful consideration, Alicia decided to further her education at University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry and Vision Science. Alicia will be graduating in 2021 with a Doctor of Optometry degree, but she still plans to continue working with the fantastic team at Simcoe Animal Hospital in the mean time as her passion for animals will always remain. 
In her spare time, Alicia enjoys spending time with her endearing family of fur babies, which includes six cats and one dog. She enjoys going to the gym, snowboarding and playing volleyball, but she also likes to relax with a good TV show, movie, or a long walk.

Steffani, Animal Care Assistant 

​Steffani started her career in veterinary medicine under the direction of Dr. White many years ago. She is thrilled to be back at Simcoe Animal Hospital once again. She has always had a special interest in animal behaviour and has had the opportunity to study with some of the world's leading edge Behaviourists. Steffani has also enjoyed grooming over the years. However medicine has always been her passion and even at a very young age knew she wanted a career in the Veterinary field. 
Steffani lives on a small farm with her husband and the youngest 2 of her 4 children. They have several animals of all sizes that she has acquired over the years. Including horses, dogs and cats. She also has 2 grandchildren that she adores spending time with. In her spare time you would probably find Steffani at the dance studio, hockey arena or riding horses with friends.