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Dr Robert McLeod, D.V.M.
Medical Director
Dr McLeod's Bio
Dr Mcleod was born in Victoria, BC and grew up in Victoria, Ottawa, and Whitehorse. After completing high school at Spectrum Community School in Victoria, he attended UVic and UBC, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology. He became inspired to be a veterinarian while working on a dairy farm in Tsawwassen, BC and graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon in 1990.
Dr McLeod practiced medicine in Swift Current, SK and Comox, BC before he moved to Creston to join Dr Dave Perrin, who was the founder of Creston Veterinary Hospital, and who later retired to write the Country Vet Series. In Dr McLeod’s many years of practice, he’s developed a special interest in dairy medicine and orthopedic surgery.
Dr McLeod is an avid aviator! He uses this vehicle to bring veterinary care to remote clients and it also serves as an air ambulance. He volunteers his time with the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, CASARA, and plays hockey as a goaltender with the Creston Old Timers. Dr McLeod’s two children, Kathleen and Alexandra, both attend the University of Calgary and major in Education and Business respectively. He has 3 dogs: Zeke, the Lab Pointer (master of the ball flinger), Kona, the crazy Lab (mischief and mice hunting specialist), and Piper, the photogenic border collie. He also has 3 cats; Ruckus (so named because he made such a fuss when he strayed into the veterinary clinic) and two other 3-legged cats that take care of his hangar, Lucy and Elvis. These two are awesome mousers despite their handicaps!
Dr McLeod is passionate about making Creston Veterinary Hospital responsive to community needs. He has been committed to the Creston Valley since he first arrived in 1993, becoming co-owner in 1996 and noting that the community required a veterinarian who could handle all species. It requires a continuous veterinary emergency presence and he is proud that he has been able to offer that. Creston Veterinary Hospital has grown significantly over the years and now requires several veterinarians to lighten the load. He continues to mentor the younger veterinarians as a payback to the community and profession he loves.

Dr Aiyanna Hoogsteen, D.V.M.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Dr Hoogsteen's Bio
Dr Aiyanna Hoogsteen was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, where she knew from a young age that she wanted to become a veterinarian. She spent much of her spare time working at a dairy farm, horseback riding, and volunteering at local clinics. Aiyanna studied Animal Biology at the University of Guelph before being accepted into the Ontario Veterinary College in 2017.
During her studies, Aiyanna completed a 3-month placement in Kenya through Veterinarians Without Borders, where she traveled to local farms and taught smallholder dairy farmers about cow nutrition, disease prevention, and calf care. She also worked in the OVC Large Animal Hospital, caring for everything from horses to pigs to alpacas, which fostered her passion for equine medicine.
In 2020, Aiyanna first came to Creston to work as a student intern at Creston Veterinary Hospital. After four months, she had fallen in love with the valley, the community, and the clinic, so she is ecstatic to be back and starting her veterinary career at CVH!
Aiyanna loves the day-to-day variety that comes with working in a mixed animal practice and is eager to get to know the people and animals of Creston. She is especially interested in equine medicine, small animal surgery, and pain management. She is also a Fear Free Certified veterinarian and so strives to make every pet’s visit to the hospital as fun and stress-free as possible.
Aiyanna has three cats that stayed with her family in Ontario: Pumpkin, a sassy ginger tabby who is the queen of the house, and Mercury and Minerva, a brother-sister duo who are as cute as they are mischievous! While Aiyanna is sad not to have her kitties with her, she knows it won’t be long before she finds a fluffy companion to share her home with here as well!
When not at work, Aiyanna likes to spend time in the great outdoors – hiking, camping, paddle boarding, and kayaking. In the evenings, she can be found connecting with friends and family or curled up with a good book. Aiyanna is excited to become part of the community and looks forward to exploring Creston and the surrounding areas to enjoy all that BC has to offer!

Belinda B.
Assistant Practice Manager & Inventory Manager
Belinda's Bio
Over the years, she pursued further education and training in different aspects of the animal hospital to widen her knowledge of the practice as a whole. Her training expanded into reception, client care, canine rehabilitation and hydrotherapy, alternative modalities, nutrition, and weight management. Eventually, she became more involved with fundraising events, administrative duties, managerial/team leadership roles, and practice evaluation.
If asked what she thought was her greatest accomplishment in her career, it would have to be her participation in small animal rescue. Since early childhood, Belinda was known for bringing home all sorts of stray and injured animals. As an adult, she was able to contribute more to their care from lobbying the government to fostering and helping to find many happy, forever homes. Her children were raised to love and respect all animals and were also actively involved in helping to care for the menagerie of rescues over the years.
It wasn’t long after becoming a client at our hospital that Belinda soon found herself “back in the saddle”. Believing strongly in the human-animal bond, i t wasn’t long after becoming a client at our hospital that Belinda soon found herself “back in the saddle”. Belinda most enjoys following-up on the care of our patients by answering or directing any questions or concerns, working as a liaison for our busy doctors and technicians if needed.
Having limited experience with large animals, she is very excited to be learning about our beautiful valley’s large animal clientele as well. So much so, that she is now hoping to rescue a few goats and possibly a donkey or a Llama (or two)!
At last count, Belinda shares her home with 2 beautiful rescue dogs; DeDe, a rambunctious and snuggly Boxer mix and Todd, a mischievous Blue Heeler; 3 demanding senior cats, Mr. Biggs, Granny Smith, and Tabitha; one dog-loving, 3-legged cat named Vincent; one young plant-eating cat named Brady; 7 pet chickens; and 13 pet turkeys (yes, they all have names too!).

Amber F.
Office Assistant
Amber's Bio
Amber started her employment with the clinic in 2015 as a Call Centre Attendant, then moved from Creston for a year and upon her return, the clinic welcomed her back as an Office Assistant. Her tasks include billing, typing up SOP’s, and other important office errands and responsibilities. Ambers attention to detail, professionalism, and pleasant demeanour help our clinic run more efficiently.
Amber shares her home with her fiancé, Rory, his children part time, their rescue dog, Sally, and their rescue cat, Chloe. Amber also stays busy helping her brother and sister in law on their farm. Raising pigs and chickens for food, feeding and caring for goats and horses and learning the ways of farming and self-sustainability. She takes pleasure in hiking the many mountains we have in the area, walking her dog, Sally, scenic drives with no destination, creating recipes, and spending time with her family and friends.

Kate H.
Assistant Reception Team Leader
Kate's Bio
Kate began working as a Receptionist in 2011 and has grown in her role over the years, taking on many different responsibilities. From scheduling appointments to filling prescriptions, maintaining medical records, and relaying important information amongst the veterinary team, Kate is always attentive to our clients and pets needs.
At home, Kate has four dogs; Molly, 11, Bailey, 10, Abby, 8, and Sophie 6, and eight cats; Nugget, Cali, Annabelle, Lucy, Reggie, Gabby, Sylvester and Deck. Yes, Kate has what you might call a small zoo, but she has an extraordinarily big heart and finds it difficult to say “no” to animals in need. In her spare time, you can find Kate walking, hiking, and swimming throughout the valley, usually with her family in tow.

Kayla O.
Assistant Reception Team Leader
Kayla's Bio
Ever since Kayla can remember, the daily operations of a veterinary clinic have held fond memories for her. With her mother working alongside Dr. Keith Marling, she was fortunate enough to experience just how extraordinary the veterinary field is. With a keen willingness to learn, Kayla would help her mother with weekend kennel cleaning and after-hours patient care, and upon graduation from high school, Kayla took a position as a receptionist at the Kootenay Animal Clinic. This role helped her to build a strong foundation of customer service skills and allowed her to continue to serve the people and animals of the valley until the retirement of Dr. Marling in 2009.
Kayla joined the Creston Veterinary Hospital in November 2018 as one of our Call Centre Attendants and is now eagerly and skillfully transitioning to a position with our Reception team.
During her days off, Kayla enjoys time with her family, goes on pack walks with her friends, camps and boats on Kootenay Lake!

Marla D.
Receptionist
Marla's Bio
Marla has had many and varied jobs over the years, but common themes in all of them have been administration and efficiency and caring for people both at happy times in their lives and in the tough times. The Creston Veterinary Hospital has provided the perfect opportunity to combine each of these skills. Working in reception and the call center allows Marla to be the productive and organized person she naturally is. At the same time, working in the clinic offers the chance to celebrate new life and milestones with the clients and come alongside them in the difficult time of loss that inevitably comes to all pet owners.
Outside of work, Marla and Perc will be looking to find their forever home where they can host their family and friends, plant a garden full of fruit, veggies, and flowers, maybe get a few chickens, and explore God’s beautiful creation here in the valley. When winter comes, you’ll find Marla reading, knitting, playing piano, playing games, and hanging on the couch with Perc watching movies.

Rhonda K.
Receptionist
Rhonda's Bio
Rhonda grew up in the lower mainland and couldn’t wait to leave! After traveling the world, she finally settled to raise her daughter, Katie, in Nelson BC. Then came a man! After becoming an early empty-nester (Katie moved to London, UK), Rhonda moved to Creston to be with now husband Doug. Rhonda encouraged Doug (an avid dog-lover) to adopt two beautiful husky-labs, Moose and Gracie. Moose and Gracie are northern rescues, Moose from Yellowknife and Gracie from Kugluktuk Nunavut. While they may be husky crosses, in the 8 years since we got them, they’ve become wussy hearth-huskies. They’re very lovey-dovey!
Rhonda’s favourite inside activity is reading… everything. Especially crime novels, but peppered with literature and general fiction. Outside, she loves walking the dogs and sitting around a bonfire, gazing at the lovely mountain view from her house. Gardening is a favourite spring/summer activity. There are always far too many tomatoes to know what to do with!
After starting at the Clinic, Rhonda started sending pictures of cute puppies to Doug. While she knew a puppy was out of the question (our seniors would not stand for it), along came Cilla. Cilla is a 13-year-old Great Pyrenees who needed to be rescued. She is now the newest member of their family, much to the other beasts’ chagrin! Life is good!

Robyn B.
Receptionist
Robyn's Bio
Robyn started working at the clinic in July of 2021, after a career in retail management, and has two rescue kitties, Scruffy and Stripey.

Tara H., R.V.T.
Registered Veterinary Technologist
Tara's Bio
While working as an assistant, Tara began studying for her diploma in Animal Health Technology through the Thompson Rivers University Distance Education program. With the support from Dr. McLeod and her amazing coworkers, she received the hands-on experience necessary to graduate and became a Registered Veterinary Technician in 2010. Tara enjoys the fact that Creston Veterinary Hospital is a mixed animal practice because throughout the day her patients may be large or small, and as result, the years in practice have never been boring.
Outside of work, Tara enjoys many adventurous outdoor activities, exercising, and camping with family and friends. Tara shares her home with husband, Mark, son, Caelan, and their favourite fur-buddies, LadyBug, a Border Collie/Lab cross, Percy Blackstone, a black and white DSH cat, and their newest addition, Zeus, the Blue Heeler puppy.

Megan H.
Call Centre Attendant, Receptionist
Megan's Bio
Having been raised in Creston, Megan was keen to return to this beautiful valley. Her family has always taken in creatures in need, and while working at the veterinary hospital she fell in love with (and adopted) Cricket, the 3-legged, half-tail cat. She looks forward to helping you with your animal friends.

Carrie U., R.V.T.
Registered Veterinary Technologist
Carrie's Bio
It’s been difficult not to take home every stray animal that comes through the clinic and Carrie has shown great restraint; however, last year they adopted Reggie, a very loving Golden Retriever mix. As it turns out, good things come to those who wait, because he could not have been a more perfect fit for their family. Outside of work, Carrie enjoys a variety of sports which include hockey (go Jets!), slow pitch, golf, and a rekindled passion for rock climbing. Carrie looks forward to helping you and your fur-family very soon!

Katelyn B., R.V.T.
Registered Veterinary Technologist
Katelyn B.'s Bio
Katelyn graduated from Dalhousie University in April 2019 with a diploma in Veterinary Technology. She moved to Fort McMurray (fresh out of school), passed her national exams, and worked with a small animal practice for her initial 2.5 years of being an RVT. This is where she found her passion for treating non-ambulatory patients, as well as a burgeoning interest in animal rehabilitation.
Katelyn has called Creston Valley her home since November 2021 and has already fallen in love with the town and its people. She lives at home with her partner Guillaume, two stepchildren and two cats (Lucy and Kolby). In her spare time, she enjoys going for drives, walking dogs, exploring the town, playing with her cats and playing video games on her PS4. Having just left Fort McMurray she is also enjoying having a warm (in comparison) winter!

Alexandra H., R.V.T.
Registered Veterinary Technologist
Alexandra's Bio
Throughout the years, Alexandra has enjoyed learning about the dairy industry and spent many summers working as a farm-hand and milker at Mountain Valley Dairy, in addition to working at several fruit stands and farms throughout the valley. In 2018, she worked in Kamloops as a Parent Seed Summer Associate with BASF and Bayer Crop Science, gaining valuable work experience in the Canola industry. While Alexandra certainly enjoyed studying plant agriculture, she maintains that her passion is working with animals, particularly farm animals, and has since returned to her hometown of Creston to work with Creston Veterinary Hospital. Alex joined the team in November 2018 and is thoroughly enjoying her transition into the field of veterinary medicine.
A life-long learner, Alexandra has recently completed a certificate course in Agricultural Business Risk Management and is working towards becoming a veterinary technologist through Thompson Rivers University. The 3-year Animal Health Technology (AHT) distance program commences in January 2020 and will allow Alex to obtain the theoretical portion of her training by distance education while gaining clinical experience at Creston Veterinary Hospital.
In her spare time, Alex enjoys taking photos of our beautiful valley, playing with her dogs Orsa, the Maremma Sheepdog, and Charlie, the Collie cross, as well as working with her horses, Sterling, the Fjord, and Ariel and Cookie, both quarter horses. She continues to play recreational soccer and also works to expand her family farm business, Haygan Farms. She hopes that one day it will become fully self-sustainable, with a small Jersey herd, beef cattle, and chickens.

Kristi R.
Veterinary Assistant
Kristi's Bio

Laura J.
Veterinary Assistant
Laura's Bio
She has two grown married children and a lovely granddaughter, all of whom live in Saskatchewan.
She and her husband share their home with a five-year-old border collie mix, Katie.

Alexandra M.
Veterinary Assistant
Alexandra's Bio
Alexandra is a Veterinary Assistant in Creston, BC. She has lived in Creston, BC, all her life and is proud to call it her home. Alexandra graduated from Prince Charles Secondary School back in 2019 and has worked at the Creston District Community Complex for various jobs since 2014. Alexandra has taken multiple first aid courses to further her education to help others.
Animals have always added a special something to her everyday life. She has loved animals ever since she was little. She has the passion and love to make sure all animals are safe and taken care of, and ready to live happy and healthy lives. Alexandra is passionate about taking care of and helping everyone in need. She loves the emotions and personality that animals have and the comfort that animals bring her.
She has 2 older brothers, a twin sister, 2 loving parents, and 2 pets. A sassy, chaotic, and playful, red Siberian husky named Jersey, and a cuddly, dramatic grey cat named Rowdy(named after Toronto Blue Jays player Rowdy Tellez). Both Jersey and Rowdy are always very jealous of each other. In her free time, she likes to hang out with her family and friends, hike, hang out and cuddle with her pets, and she loves taking her puppy for walks and running around with her in any field. She loves all things sports, such as playing, coaching, and watching. She plays numerous sports such as hockey, soccer, competitive swimming, volleyball, and the occasional baseball/softball.

Sara B.
Veterinary Assistant
Sara's Bio
Sara was actively involved in 4H club. Her rabbit “Jelly Bean” won many blue ribbons and when she was 12 she raised and showed grand champion pig “Doc”.
In her early 20’s Sara relocated to Edmonton Alberta. Shortly after she began working at the Edmonton Humane Society as an animal adoption specialists and medical assistant. She found great joy in finding animals their “Forever Home” and working with animals that often came from difficult backgrounds.
In 2014 she left the Humane Society and moved to Creston to be closer to her parents and start her own family. She worked at several restaurants in the valley until she began working as an assistant at Creston Veterinary Hospital in 2021. She hopes to begin her schooling to become a Certified Veterinary Technician soon.
Sara also works part time for an innovative farming company called LOOP, based out of Dawson Creek that helps reduce food waste from grocery stores and repurposes it to animal feed and fertilizer.
In her free time Sara enjoys hiking and exploring the Kootenays with handsome Hank the Pitbull, and Staffordshire Terrier siblings Luna and Duke.

ADDRESS
Creston, BC V0B 1G0

HOURS
Tues: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wed: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thurs: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Fri: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sat - Sun: Closed

CONTACT
