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.