Georgian College Veterinary Hospital (GCVH), at the college’s Orillia Campus, offers a range of veterinary services to the community. These services include spay and neuter procedures, dental cleanings and radiographs, animal adoption and even hosting a canine blood donor clinic when needed.
While the community accesses services for their pets, the Veterinary Technician and Veterinary Assistant students receive valuable hands-on learning with real life cases.
Community Access to Services
The community can access the services provided by GCVH by emailing: [email protected].
Spay and Neuter Services
The spay and neuter services include pre-operative bloodwork with the student, supervised by a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT). The anesthesia is supported by the students, with the guiding supervision of several RVTs and the veterinarian.
The veterinarian performs the surgery, but the students are involved in all steps along the way – straight through to the patient recovery. There is also the option for patients to be microchipped while they are undergoing their procedure. These services help control the pet population and provide essential medical care to pets in Simcoe County. These services are available from January to April, and June to August.
Dental Services
GCVH's dental suite is equipped with digital dental x-ray technology, and the students are taught a progressive approach to dental care and health in companion animals.
The Veterinary Technician students are guided by an RVT and veterinarian as they provide a full dental cleaning from start to finish. The cleaning is completed under anesthetic, and includes the dental exam charting of the teeth, and cleaning and polishing of the teeth.
Georgian College Animal Adoptions Club
The Georgian College Animal Adoptions Club is actively engaged in finding new homes for animals that are brought to GCVH from animal shelters and rescue organizations. It has seen high success rates in adopting the animals into the community, with rates as high as 95 per cent for dogs and cats and 100 per cent for pet rats.
Students play an important role in this process by assisting with animal enrichment, socialization, and photography and writing for the adoption profiles. The club helps match animals with potential adopters and ensures that the animals are healthy, vaccinated, dewormed and microchipped before adoption.
Clinic Registered Veterinary Technician Nicole Shellswell says “The Veterinary Technician students see the animals get adopted into their forever homes. They are involved right from the moment the animals arrive at the GCVH up until the day they leave. As well, lots of the students end up adopting themselves.”
Bryan Hunt is the Dean, Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation at Georgian College. He is also the happy owner of Finnegan, a four-year-old Beagle he adopted through the GCVH.
Hunt says, “Finnegan is a male beagle who was rescued, and I adopted him during the pandemic. He is gentle, hilarious and a little weird, and one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
“My experience in adopting him was so great. The college took care of his neutering as well as his teeth cleaning and all his vaccinations. They communicated thoroughly with me through the process and were just great to work with. Given my experience with Finnegan, I strongly support adopting animals and rescue animals.”
Benefits of the Adoptions Club
Shellswell says, “The Animal Adoptions Club benefits both students and the local community. Students gain valuable hands-on experience in animal care, adoption processes, and communication skills which prepare them for careers in the veterinary field.”
She adds that the community benefits by having access to affordable veterinary services, adopting pets through a reputable source and engaging with the College's efforts to find homes for animals in need.
Canine Blood Donor Clinic
GCVH also hosts canine blood donor clinics when needed. The collected blood is used to support emergency clinics in the area during times of crisis. This service not only benefits the emergency clinics but also allows community members to participate in donating blood for dogs in need.
Hands-on Learning for Students
Both the Veterinary Assistant and Veterinary Technician programs offer hands-on learning opportunities for students. They are involved in various aspects of patient care, from pre-operative preparations to surgery, anesthesia monitoring, post-operative care and more.
Under the guidance of experienced staff, students gain practical experience in all stages of patient care, enhancing their skills and knowledge in a real-world clinical setting.
Connect with GCVH
“Follow us on social media to stay up to date on great content about the animals we currently have housed at GCVH as well as success stories from past adopters and their new companions. ” says Shellswell.
Follow GCVH’s Facebook (@GeorgianCollegeAnimalAdoptions) and Instagram (georgiancollegeanimaladoptions) pages to see all the available shelter and rescue animals along with their profiles.
Potential adopters are welcome to connect with the Adoptions Club to request a visit with the animal before making a final decision. The animals will be spayed/neutered unless health reasons cause surgeries to be postponed. The shelter and rescue animals are microchipped as well as fully vaccinated and dewormed.
Learn more about veterinary studies
Interested in a career as a veterinary assistant or technician? Learn about Georgian’s veterinary programs offered at the Orillia Campus. Go to GeorgianCollege.ca/HWS.