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Meet the Team

At Roncesvalles Animal Hospital, our extensive veterinary team is ready to welcome you and your pets into our office with open arms and compassionate hearts. We are doting pet parents, just like you, and we understand the importance of making your furry friends feel safe, relaxed, and treated like family at all times. Our team has decades of experience handling cats and dogs of various sizes, ages, breeds, and temperaments, and we look forward to building a trusted bond with every pet who walks through our doors. We are committed to providing reliable services for your pet so they enjoy many more years of health and wagging tails by your side.

Read on to learn more about our compassionate team!

Hana Schwarz (Veterinarian)

Hana Schwarz

Veterinarian

Hana graduated as DVM from UNEFM School of Veterinary Medicine in Coro-Falcón state, Venezuela in 2007. She moved to Canada in 2010, and after intense training, received accreditation by the CVMA and the CVO in 2014.

In November 2018 Dr. Schwarz joined our team as an associate, and in 2020 she became clinic co-owner. Dr. Schwarz is an advocate of continuous education in different topics of small animal veterinary medicine, like internal medicine, diagnostics, ophthalmology, dentistry and dermatology to name a few.

In her spare time Dr. Schwarz enjoys being at home relaxing, watching television, going to the gym and enjoying quality time with family, her partner and also friends. Hana has currently one pet dog, his name is Kevin, you can read more about him below as he is the clinic’s “AmbassaDOG”

Dr. Schwarz habla Español y consultas están disponibles previa cita.

What do WE think of our Veterinarian, Hana?

Hana is our Venezuelan veterinarian with a quirky sense of humor and a passion for modern veterinary medicine. Have you ever heard her talk about IRIS? Ask anyone at the clinic if you want to know about it and we’ll book you a 2-hour time slot. Hana can be very vocal or very quiet, depending on what her brain is thinking about. Often, she will come up with a weird joke that only she understands and this is when you hear her giggle (so adorable).

If you have a camera out at RAH you will be sure to find Hana dressing up pets and herself to have a picture taken. Hana finds all the reasons to dress her patients up for different holidays and festivals: whether it’s for Halloween, with Santa for Christmas, for kisses on Valentine’s Day, or St. Patrick’s Day. If a Great Dane or another giant breed dog comes in to visit, she usually has us take pictures of her while around them, over them and even under them.  There are few things Hana loves more than big dogs. The only thing Hana can possibly do faster than take a picture is  post it to our social media.

Associate of the Year - Meaghan Worrall

Meaghan Worrall

Veterinarian

Meaghan grew up in Mississauga always having a dog by her side. She completed her bachelor’s in biomedical science, with a minor in nutrition at the University of Guelph. She then went on to graduate from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2016.

She lives with her partner, baby girl, and dog. Her dog’s name is Jackson, who she adopted while volunteering abroad in 2014.  When Meaghan’s not at work or reading about new treatments in veterinary medicine, she likes to go hiking, skating, playing hockey, and going on road trips with the family.

We are very proud of Meaghan for receiving the 2024 OVMA Associate of the Year award.

What do WE think of our Veterinarian, Meaghan?

Meaghan, or Dr. Letters, as Hana loves to call her, is charming, caring, and sweet to the tooth and bone, she is here to stay forever. Megs was with us for 3 seconds before she rapidly became the super glue that holds everything together. It is no surprise to anyone that she earned the trust and love of the staff by day 3 of her joining the clinic. Her most contagious word ever is “yeahhh.” This has gone viral with all the staff! We blame her husband for this!

Dr. Letters has the sweetest little voice for all dogs regardless of age or gender, and the deepest voice for all felines. If ever unhappy (not often at all), we can ALL recognize this as she will grunt like Marge Simpson would.

She is an awesome cook and foodie, loves the outdoors, and going for hikes. During the winter, she loves a good TV show and a glass of wine. She’s pretty much like any other regular human, even though I am not sure she is one as she is just too good to be from this earth!

Meaghan has the most adorable dog, his name is Jaxon, a rescue from Thailand, he has the softest armpits ever (Hana just loves those armpits to almost a creepy level).

Alana

Alana Kestelman

Veterinarian

Alana graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2007. The first five years of her career were spent working in a busy 24-hour veterinary emergency hospital in Ottawa where she saw it all – broken bones, wounds, toxicities, and more.

Since moving to Toronto, she has been practicing at a number of veterinary clinics, as a locum veterinarian. She has a special interest in senior pet care, behavior, nutrition, and she loves to empower pet owners with the knowledge to be the best pet-parents that they can be.

Alana loves spending time with her husband, their three kids, a rescue Doberman, and a senior kitty.

What do WE think of our Alana?

Alana is a wonderful super smart cookie, full of passion, emotions, interesting comments and has no problem telling you what is on her mind. She is an excellent talented veterinarian, super fun to be around, has 1001 stories of things she has done, and she is a real rock star. She is the type of person you would have loved to go to school with.
Alana does this thing with her finger and wrist (like a spin motion) when she is explaining stuff to clients, it’s the best! Now some of the staff have adopted her quirky wrist spin. We are so happy she is a part of our team.

Laura

Administrative Assistant

Laura has been a member of our team since 1991. She was a George Brown College RNA graduate and participates in continuous education seminars. She has a busy life with three older daughters, part-time managing with us, and a full-time job with Air Canada Cargo.

Laura loves spending time with her family and volunteering with different organizations, including heading up the blood donor clinic in our facility with the Canadian Animal Blood Bank. While at the clinic or at home, she is consistently assisting with the improvements or helping out a colleague.

She loves coming home to be greeted by her old man, Biscuit the Parson Jack Russel, and her two rescued cats Harlow and Mai.

What do WE think of our Administrative Assistant, Laura?

Once our Manager, now she is into numbers and keeping things in writing—we don’t know what we’d do without her! (actually, we do—the clinic would be a hot mess without her!) She is always making tea and steeping it for way too long, eventually forgetting about it and drinking it cold. She is consistently making sure everyone is comfortable and well-fed all of the time and also making sure every patient is seen in a timely manner.

Laura is ALWAYS aware of everything going on in the clinic, she hears everything ALL the time, even when she isn’t here! We have no idea how she does this… (we think Michelle secretly texts her).

Michelle

Registered Veterinary Technician

Michelle has been with us since 2013, however has been working in the veterinary field for years before. In August 2022, Michelle received her license as a Registered Veterinarian Technician. We are very proud of Michelle and all she has accomplished. She is a mother of a hyper dog named Meatball and 2 cats, Charlie Brown and Pazzo the Sphynx. Her interests are canine reproduction and nutrition.

What do WE think of our Registered Veterinary Technician, Michelle?

Michelle is our resident comedian—she always knows how to get a laugh out of us during the worst of times. She is never afraid to speak her mind, speaks up for others, and stands up for any four-legged furies that needs help and we love her for all of it! Michelle is our go-to dog whisperer and canine behavior guru. She also enjoys popping the bubble wrap that comes with glass products (Laura despises her doing this). Her special skills are barbequing and air frying anything.

Sue

Registered Veterinary Technician

Sue graduated from a 3 year veterinary technology program in 1987. Since then, she has worked at various small animal veterinary hospitals, and emergency and referral centers in Canada and the United States. Sue joined the Roncesvalles Animal Hospital team in May of 2023. With an interest in emergency medicine and helping critical patients in need. Sue is a proud mama of Kona and Aspen, 7-year-old domestic siblings and Kai, a Basenji Mix rescued from the SPCA. Sue enjoys an active healthy lifestyle being outdoors with her fur babies as well as kayaking, biking, hiking, and weight training.

What do WE think of our Registered Veterinary Technician, Sue?

Sue is great! A vet friend texted us a while back and asked us, hey do you need an RVT? I know one, she is great. Well…… she was not wrong. Sue has all the years of experience in many forms of practice from general to emergency care, she is smart and quiet and also quietly brilliant, which is my absolute favorite combination in anyone. She is a little corky too!

On a fitness scale of 1 to 10, Sue is a 14. She reminds me of my Physiology prof back home, prof by day and fitness instructor by night. One would say she is the speedy Gonzalez of the city’s west end, and I thought I was fast….. well I guess I have met my match!

Julia

Veterinary Assistant

Julia has been working in the veterinary field since 2020 after graduating as a Veterinary Assistant. She started with us in October 2021, and she is in her second year of college to become a Registered Veterinary Technician. After hours, she likes to spend time with Chapo, her super cuddly and hyperactive Azorian cattle dog, and her sassy queen of the house, Maryjane. Julia also loves to travel and hike and has been to Hawaii, Italy, Ecuador, and not slowing down with her journeys.

What do WE think of our Veterinary Assistant, Julia?

Julia is like Katie Perry; She’s a champion and you’re going to hear her MEOWWWWWW. Her war words when handling a patient are: none, she is either quiet or laughing. Julia is super loud when patients are not around, she has a lot of energy and really nothing stops her. She travels from Kipling and north far somewhere away to come here on a daily basis then travels the other way to go to school.

She loves her dog Chapo so much that allows him to wreck her car over and over, the life of a veterinary aficionado, I guess.

Sam

Veterinary Assistant

Sam has been working in the veterinary field since 2015 after graduating from a veterinary assisting program. She joined the Roncesvalles team in November of 2023.

Through her many years as an assistant, Sam has had the pleasure of working in a multitude of environments. She has spent years working in emergency/ICU departments, research facilities, and family vet practices all over Toronto.

When not at work you can find Sam out on an adventure on her bike, playing some sort of instrument, playing nerdy games with friends, or taking photos of squirrels. After a long day, Sam goes home to her fiancée; Jess, and 3 fur babies (Kenai, Tanner, and Sunny) whom she loves dearly.

What do we think of our Veterinary Assistant, Sam?

Sam is an interesting one, she is pretty much a younger version of Hana, talks a lot, is often correct, and loves animals. She is eager to jump in and help out and always wants to do something.

Sam is corky, fast-minded, and fun to be around. Full of pep and energy, she makes me a little jelly. Especially when I am sitting under my heated blanket and I can hear her doing stuff, I used to have that level of energy once upon a time.

Mae

Veterinary Assistant

Mae has always had a love and passion for caring for animals. She started working with animals professionally at the age of 16 and made her way to the veterinary field 4 years ago. Outside of veterinary medicine Mae has a pet photography business; She loves capturing special moments of the lives of furry friends.

Mae has 3 dogs who are the loves of her life. Mayhem, a 10 year old Catahoula Leopard Dog. Brie, a 9 year old Boxer/Labrador/American Bulldog mix and Riot a 5 year old Cattle dog mix.

What do we think of our Veterinary Assistant, Mae?

Mae is great person, with an upbeat energy and an artistic eye for photography.
Mae is wicked fast, very smart, competent and corky. She wears her hair bright red, although she is not Elektra, she does have electrifying tattoos and ear tunnels.
Mae is fluent in sarcasm and is also opinionated, every time she finds out that we add to her bio she becomes even more sarcastic.

Jenny

Client Care Specialist

Jenny started working with us in February 2023 and has been working in the veterinary industry for only 2 years. She instantly fell in love with the field and loves working with animals. Being a fur mom herself, she is always ready to help other pet parents with whatever they need! She is ecstatic to be a member of the Roncesvalles Animal Hospital team! Outside of work she has a busy lifestyle running her own business, going to the gym and playing with her three fur babies at home! She has two feisty chihuahuas named Yuki and Chico and a Frenchie named Celine! Safe to say she’s a busy girl who loves her doggy’s!

What do we think of our Client Care Specialist, Jenny?

What an enigma this one is, hard worker to the tooth and bone, huge personality, huge keenness for hot pot (I witnessed it) and ketchup. Something tells me it is cheaper to dress her than to feed her… I also found out that she is a gym fanatic and somehow enjoys it! I am starting to consider the possibility that she is a member of DC comics or Marvel (AKA: alien), Jenny is a machine; she just does not stop all day long and always with a smile on her face.

Marcela

Client Care Specialist

Marcela started working with us in February 2022. She has spent the last few years in customer service and is ready to learn something new. Marcela has such a great passion for helping animals and is always eager to learn new things. She loves coming into work and seeing all the furry faces that pop in.

When she’s not at work she’s at home taking care of her own mini zoo! She has a dog named Luna, a cat Loki, two Senegal parrots, and a cat fish! And I think she just acquired another dog.

What do we think of our Client Care Specialist, Marcela?

Marcela or Chela is just a wonderful person, sweet, caring, pretends to be quiet… but… she is not! If quiet, it’s only because she is writing a ton of notes. Sai thinks she is a professional writer, but not the kind you think.. no señor, que va!. She has a huge heart and recently opened her home to a stranded puppy. Perhaps you have already met Raine at the clinic, she needed shelter and in no time, Marcela snatched her up and said SHE’S MINE.

A brown and white dog at the veterinarian's office

Kevin

Clinic Ambassadog

As the younger fur-child of Dr. Schwarz, Kevin was welcomed into our clinic family shortly after his arrival in Canada from Texas in May 2020. Though timid at first, Kevin quickly developed a strong bond with his new parents and older brother, Homer. As an Anatolian Shepherd Mix, it’s no surprise that Kevin is extremely protective of his flock (aka sheeple) and very, very smart. Ask Kevin about pet insurance #emesis– see our instagram for more details on Kevin’s mouse ingestion adventure.

What do WE think of our Ambassadog Kevin?

Kevin is a sweet, introverted boy with a big personality (once you get to know him.) He has a small circle of trust and a big heart, especially when food is involved.
Kevin’s war words when handling staff are: ” Gurrrrrr” DO NOT TOUCHESSSS ME! but geeeevesss me the treaaattts.

Kevin’s likes: Puzzles, other dogs, visits to Cherry Beach, going to the trailer, walkies, snacks, playtime with moms, coffee time with moms, snuggle time with moms, sleeping on his moms, and chasing squirrels and kibble topped with chimmkens.

Kevin’s dislikes: Gridlock, trucks, surprise parties

Our veterinary diagnosis is: Social anxiety (agoraphobia) with hyper attachment AKA: velcro dog

If Kevin was a human he would likely be: The slightly awkward, shy, academic boy next door who loves his friends. Like Leonard of “Big Bang Theory”.