New veterinarian a boost for animal care in the North Bay area
A veterinarian clinic in Callander, just outside of North Bay, is welcoming a new doctor to its team.
Dr. Haris Aziz arrived in Canada just more than a month ago and has joined the team at the Callander Animal Hospital. A native of Pakistan, Aziz said he came here for the quality of life.
"I chose Canada because it had a good quality of life, family life,” he said.
“People are nice, all those things. It was not an easy job to reach here, I had to work hard and get all the completed achievements."
What was just a one-doctor clinic, run by Dr. Neil Lawrence, now has three doctors, making things easier and allowing for more patients.
"There's a shortage of veterinarians all across North America,” Lawrence said.
“I've been advertising for over a year, looking for another vet. To bring someone new in with a different skill set, different work experiences, and different life experiences we share lots of tips and tricks on veterinarian medicine."
He said he’s already noticed the impact Aziz is making on the clinic.
"One of the things that we've already seen that he's provided to the practice is more cat medicine,” Lawrence said.
“He's dealt with a lot more cats overseas where we tend to see more dogs come into a vet in Canada. We had a ringworm case earlier this week. He's seen ringworm dozens of times whereas I've only seen it two or three times."
Aziz said there's still plenty to learn, and that being a veterinarian in Canada is much different than overseas.
"There is a huge difference in equipment and availability,” he said.
“The major difference from the clients is their attachment to their pets. There's a huge difference here -- they treat them like they're family. Work environment also, the skill set of the people here are higher."
His wife and son also came to the north with him. Aziz said working and living and Canada has been even better than expected and that he and his family are lucky to call Callander home.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.