Vets To Go

🐾 Meet | Geoffrey: From Stubborn Dreamer to Empowering the Next Generation. 🐾

When Geoffrey was younger, his parents told him that becoming a vet was incredibly difficult and that maybe he should think of something else. But if you tell Geoffrey he can’t do something, he’s going to do his best to prove you wrong. "I’m stubborn," he admits. "That helped motivate me to get into vet school."

That same determination, combined with a deep love for family (including his stubborn childhood sheepdog, Bandit, and his deeply missed cat, Cytokine) is what shapes how he approaches veterinary medicine today. For Geoffrey, the bond we share with our pets is profound. "It makes us even more human. I mean, the bond I’ve had with my cats, I would do anything for them. Same as my wife. Same as my daughter. That is family."

But shortly after becoming a vet, Geoffrey realized his true calling wasn't just treating animals in the exam room. It was supporting the people holding the stethoscopes. "I thought I would rather have an impact on a huge team to improve pet care, rather than doing it one pet at a time," he shares. "My job now is to take care of the pets, yes, but it’s also to take care of everybody I am working with."

This passion is exactly what drives his work expanding the VCA Canada Academy Mentorship Program into Quebec and Vet et Nous, alongside his colleague Florence.

The mentorship program is a six-month initiative designed to introduce new veterinary graduates to the daily realities of practice, challenging them within the safety net of a supportive team. Geoffrey gets to watch that transformation firsthand: "You take young inexperienced doctors and in 6 months you get more confident and mature professionals who have all the support, tools and resources they need and can use for years to come. After taking this program they either know the answer, or they know who to ask."

Building a program like this takes an immense commitment from the organization and a lot of teamwork, but for Geoffrey, seeing the impact on selfless staff members makes every ounce of effort worth it.

His advice to the next generation of vets stepping into the industry? "As hockey coaches say, 'short-term pain for long-term gain.' So yes, it may be a lot of work, but ask me? Be stubborn, stick with it, and you'll be so glad you did."