The Team

​All of our staff members are highly trained, experienced and exceedingly empathetic so that we can address your pets' needs while doing our best to reassure them with a loving touch and genuine compassion. Our practice philosophy is to treat each patient as if it were our own beloved companion, and our passion is to prevent suffering through education, preventive care, and the evaluation of all options.

​Please contact us or call 905-727-7379 to speak to one of our caring and compassionate staff.

​Abbotsford Animal Hospital - Caring for Pets for People in York Region, Aurora, Newmarket, King City, Richmond Hill and the GTA.

Doctors

Dr. Mark Cole

Dr. Cole is the founding Vet of Abbotsford Animal Hospital, with special interest in orthopedic surgery, laser surgery, and endoscopy.

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Dr. Jory Bocknek

Dr. Bocknek joined Abbotsford in 1994 and became a partner in 1996. Special interests include ophthalmology, ultrasound, behaviour, and physical rehabilitation.

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Dr. Derek Clark
​Managing DVM

Dr. Clark joined Abbotsford in 2000, becoming a partner in 2003. He has special interest in cancer treatment, internal medicine, and pain management.

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Dr. Youssef Sherif

Technicians

Annette

​Annette is the Head Registered Veterinary Technician and our Certified Canine Massage Therapist. She was the first Canadian awarded Petplans 2016 Vet Tech of the Year Award of North America.
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Since starting in the fall of 2000, Annette has been an essential member of Abbotsford Animal Hospital. She obtained her Honours Science Bachelors degree from the University of Waterloo and graduated in 2002 from Seneca College as a Registered Veterinary Technician. 

One of the aspects that Annette values most is the interactions she has with clients and their furry family members. She is known for her calming influence in stressful situations as well as her excellent ability at handling difficult circumstances with consideration and empathy. She truly enjoys working with the compassionate and fun Abbotsford team.

​Annette’s special interest in physical rehabilitation and massage therapy helps in achieving optimal health for her patients.

Charleen

Charleen is the Lead Customer Care Specialist and also works as a veterinary technician at Abbotsford Animal Hospital. She joined the Abbotsford team in 2005 and has been an important part of the team ever since.

Her genuine love and compassion for animals encourages her to continuously strive to perfect skillful, professional patient care.

​When she is not working, she enjoys hiking with her German Shepherd, Lacey.

Brittany

Brittany has been a member of the the customer care team at Abbotsford Animal Hospital since 2015. Starting in January 2018, she began her training as a Veterinary Technician Assistant. She loves working with animals and has a special interest in wildlife and conservation. She hopes to one day attend Guelph University and further her studies.

When Brittany is not working, she likes spending time on the beach at her cottage on Georgian Bay with her two Rottweilers Holly and Sofie and curling up in front of a movie with her cats Ruby and Draco, and rats Finn and Jake.

Renee

Renee graduated as a Veterinary Technician from Northern College in 2017.

She spent the next two summers rehabilitating various wildlife in Nova Scotia before joining our team in June of 2020. Renee has love for all animals, big and small. She has a special interest in behaviour and training.

​In her spare time she enjoys spending time at her family cottage with her dog Jasper, hiking, kickboxing and horseback riding. 

Vanessa

Vanessa joined our team with 12 years of experience in the veterinary field. She spent half of her career in emergency medicine and has even dabbled in pet insurance.

​When she is not at work she can be found taking indoor skydiving lessons. She also loves to spend time cuddling her cats: Moxie, Trouble and Maximus.

Customer Care

Tanya

Tanya has been an important member of the Abbotsford customer care team since 2010. She loves the hustle and bustle of the environment, working with such fantastic people and of course loves working with all the adorable fur babies!

At home, Tanya has in her life 4 children, 3 cats, 2 dogs, 1 rat and her husband. When she is not here working, she is at home cooking, cleaning, or driving children around to their various extracurricular activities.

Gloria

​Gloria has come to the Abbotsford customer care team with over 8 years of experience working at a 24 hour Veterinary Emergency Hospital. Over that time she had developed a passion for helping patients in need and educating owners on Preventive Veterinary Care.

After moving to Holland Landing in June 2017, she searched for a clinic with exceptional medical care and a team who truly cares for their patients; she was happy to find that here at Abbotsford.

Gloria enjoys Fundraising in the hospital and loves sharing stories and photos on the Abbotsford Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. She looks forward to the many wonderful Fundraisers and events she is planning here at the Hospital and getting to know our community better.

​At home, Gloria has a full house with her dog, 3 cats, 2 snakes, her partner and his daughter. With her busy household, she loves curling up on the couch with a colouring book while watching cheesy TV dramas and kids movies.

Megan

​​Megan has worked as part of the animal care team at Abbotsford since March, 2017. Early 2019 she also became a part of the customer care team. She previously worked at a local groomer and has always had a love for animals and taking care of them. She truly loves her job.

Megan has lived in Aurora her whole life. Megan has a small family with her husband and daughter and her 3 dogs.

Katelyn

​​Katelyn joined Abbotsford Animal Hospital in September 2019 as part of the Customer Care Team. Prior to working at Abbotsford she took an office administration program which she graduated with honours from Georgian College. She also spent 4 years working at a horse stable through high school and college, which she still works at every other weekend when she is not at Abbotsford.

Katelyn's love for animals of all sizes brought her to working at Abbotsford, where she can use her office skills and still help all the wonderful animals and owners. At home she has a brown tabby cat named Cider, a hedgehog named Ozzie, and an extended family including 3 dogs, 2 rats, and a horse. In her spare time she enjoys drawing, hiking, exploring new places, and spending time with her family, friends, and cuddling with her spike and fur babies.

Ashley

Animal Care

Shanna

Shanna started at Abbotsford Animal Hospital in 2006. She is very involved with the husbandry and welfare of the patients. She has always had a love for animals.

She shares a busy home with 3 children and her husband Brian. In her spare time she enjoys reading and likes to go on long walks with her Belgian shepherd Ky, Mastiff cross Bogey and her Shih tzu Odie.

Kristyn

Kristyn has been part of the animal care team since October, 2012. She was raised in Aurora her whole life . Since being a small child she has always had an amazing passion and love for animals. That extended to working and taking care of them into her adult life.
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She lives with her loving fiancé Shaun and her beautiful yet frisky cat Dusty. She hopes in the future to expand her fur family and get Dusty a friend.

Alex

Alex joined the Animal Care team in November 2018, just after moving to the area. He's always had a love for animals, often being the neighborhood dog watcher growing up. Alex is interested in becoming a vet tech and is hoping to use the knowledge he gains from working here to pursue that interest.

​When he is not at work, Alex enjoys taking his rescue cat Lyra for walks or drives. They also often curl up together to watch movies or play games. For now its just the two of them but one day Alex hopes to get Lyra a canine companion.

Grooming

Pia

Pia is our resident full time groomer. She moved to Canada 15 years ago from Sweden. She first lived in Vancouver and in 2003 made the move to Ontario. Her grooming career started in 2005 when she became a grooming assistant in North York. In 2008 she joined the Abbotsford family and has been changing the looks of our patients one haircut at a time.

Besides a passion for dogs she loves to travel and enjoys good food, fine wine and spending time with her husband Garry, her dog Kimba and her friends.

Management

Elspeth

Elspeth is the face you rarely see. Born and raised in Scotland, Elspeth immigrated to Canada in her teens and worked in the finance and accounting field prior to coming to Abbotsford Animal Hospital in 2000.

Elspeth has two sons and two granddaughters and shares her home with two cats, Jackson and Trouble. In her spare time she is very active with the Royal Canadian Legion, enjoys playing darts, cross stitching, and reading.

Darcy

Darcy is our unofficial office assistant. He makes sure that our patients are greeted and thoroughly introduced to the 2nd floor of our hospital. He also does security patrol and makes sure no food goes unchecked and uneaten.

​When Darcy is not on duty you will find him lying in his favorite bed in the office with our office manager Elspeth or making sure he is giving his loving company to our staff. He also loves to spend time on treat scavenger hunts set up by our technicians.