After having completed a degree in Anthropology at McGill University, and after having worked in Montreal as a Macintosh computer graphics catch-all -girl for a couple of years (and tree-planted each summer, throughout), I decided to go to Concordia University to get those pesky prerequisites necessary for application to vet school. I was feeling a little mature sitting there in Physics 101, so on that first day in class, I sat down next to an older (sorry!) looking classmate, my now friend, writer, soul mate, Elyse Gasco. A few life changes later, and to everyone’s surprise I moved in with her family (Allan, husband, and 2 year old Kira) while Elyse and I continued to struggle through calculus, genetics and organic chemistry. I am still known as the girl from physics.
Skip ahead many years, my friend, mentor, and colleague Allan Gilmour (husband to Elyse), of The Animal Health Clinic, started up a beautiful, funky little clinic in the heart of an excellent neighborhood of restaurants. That was his plan, to expand his lunch menu options and work and eat occasionally at the new, smaller satellite and second location, of the Animal Health Clinic, on Mont Royal Avenue. This was back in 2003 (March to be precise). Now, with a degree in veterinary medicine, I got the job.
On day 1, without a sign out there to hang our hat on, without any visibility, me and the multi-tasked Helen (receptionist, assistant, technician) sat patiently for our first walk-in. It could be anybody’s guess as to who we were, down those stairs inside. But slowly, our first patient came in, then the second (probably the next day) and the clinic got its slow start.
The exterior of the clinic went through various heaves and problems as the facade was re-stoned and was covered by a large plastic bag (really!). Word of mouth slowly spread and owners with their pets came through the plastic, (really!). And, at one point, even our front stairs were missing (a good 5 feet worth of vertical hinderance). They were replaced later that day (or the next few) and somehow a cat or two, maybe even a dog and certainly many understanding and patient clients continued to make the leap downward (and then back up to street level), regardless of access. It was all a little ridiculous and wonderful.
In 2005, (May to be precise) Allan called one day to announce that his lunch plan was not working for him and that he would be selling the clinic. My heart defribillated for a few seconds and after hanging up, it seemed inevitable that I would have to consider going solo, flying on my own with this little clinic.
Midnight sessions getting to know Excel spreadsheet and several business plans later, Scotiabank (yes I would do a commercial for them) lent me the funds to buy the clinic, which I promptly renamed Clinique Vétérinaire Plateau Mont Royal. A little long in retrospect, cumbersome as a handle ultimately, but Vet Plateau was born!
My life as a vet has since become enriched with the task of small business owner. It has been, and continues to be a daily learning experience (style, language, politics, fierce and thoughtful minds, budgets, reality, expectations, ethics...). And it has been a wonderful ride. The clinic has gone through several transformations and much growth. Throughout, I could fairly say that we have adopted out 100 animals, been with our many patients through tough times, and experienced daily wonder and surprise. We are a great team and it has been a pleasure getting to know our neighbours and community so well. Many blogs to follow about who we are now, and what we do an a daily basis. But a little context was necessary, no? That was 2005, we are now 2011 and we have a lot of wonderful and interesting stories to tell about what happens here at the clinic, so stay tuned...
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 1:29PM 
The Pussy Patrol is Danette MacKay, Leni Parker, and Zoi Kilakos, 3 gals who love critters. We began in 2007 with our first rescue Theo. From 2007 til today we have rescued around 20 cats. Most of our cats are from the streets. We provide street kitties with shelters and food until we're able to rescue them. We rescue one cat at a time, and with the amazing support and help of Dr. Judith Weissmann's clinic and all the lovely people who work there , we provide the necessary care for each cat to help them heal from their time on the street. That involves spaying and neutering when necessary, dental care, vaccines, and sometimes intensive vet care for many months. They then go into foster care, or are fostered by us at The Arterie boutique which is owned and run by Danette MacKay. At The Arterie we're able to have each kitty adopted out to loving, forever homes. We take our time, find the right matches, and have the adoptive parents sign a contract. This connects us with the adopted kitty and their parents for life. Once a year we hold a Pussy Patrol Party to raise funds for our organization. The very, very wealthy local, professional theatre community comes out in full force to the event to support us. We have an auction and tarot readings to help raise money. The Pussy Patrol exists because we believe that you can make a difference one kitty at a time. It's an extremely humbling job, and we do it out of love and respect for animals; or as Danette says "We are in service to the critters". It's our duty.