The Visiting Vet

03/15/2024

I’m so happy to introduce my good friends new mobile service (primarily horses but will be helping me with small animal stuff) which is especially good timing as I will be away the next 2 weeks so please contact Larch Vet Larch Veterinary Services

We proudly serve the North Okanagan. We look forward to seeing you and your pets!

02/14/2024

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m sending some love to the critically endangered but adorably coloured Pink (!) Iguana of the Galapagos. They were recently discovered and only number a few hundred. I wish I could have seen one but they are trying hard to protect them. A donation was sent to the Galapagos Conservancy

09/01/2023

For the 8th anniversary of me buying The Visiting Vet I wanted to highlight species a fitting species and I think the Tiger is, as most of my patients think they are tigers lol and I’ve definitely had to channel my inner tiger. Sadly they are Endangered and some subspecies are Critically Endangered. A donation was sent to Panthera a non-profit that works with a variety of cat species including tigers

06/27/2023

I will be away June 29- July 18. I’ll be attending the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association conference in Quebec City and am hoping to see these and other whales while out there as well as visiting family back east

06/01/2023

Did you know there are actually 2 species of hippo? The Pygmy Hippo is endangered with only 2-3000 left in a small area of West Africa. It is probably the coolest animal I’ve ever been lucky enough to touch (so slimy tho lol). A donation was sent to the Rainforest Trust to help them in establishing a new national park in Liberia to help protect them

04/01/2023

To properly celebrate April Fools and Easter, this month is the Long-beaked Echidna species as they are so unique and strange, being such primitive mammals that they actually lay eggs!! They are part of the Order Monotremes with Platypus but split almost 50 million years ago. They are critically endangered and native to New Guinea. A donation was sent to the Edge of Existence programme

03/02/2023

Did you know there are 40 different species of small wild cats? The Borneo Bay cat is one of the most endangered yet also the least known as only a few have been seen before. Research is critically needed so a donation to fund a camera trap was sent to the Borneo Nature Foundation

02/10/2023

Please consider donating to this very good cause, my friend runs this rescue in Kamloops and I’ve been trying to help but Vinnie needs eye surgery

02/01/2023

It is with a broken heart that I post today as the world lost a very sweet cat today, my baby Arrow who lost a short struggle with a very aggressive cancer. RIP Arrow Oct 31 2013-Feb 1 2023 you will always be a part of me, I will miss you and your independent quirky shy spirit for the rest of my life

01/03/2023

Happy New Year!! To bring in 2023 properly I thought the Sifaka would be a perfect species to highlight as they love to dance, all 9 species are endangered (8 critically) and are super cute. These primates are only found in Madagascar, a dream place to go. A donation was sent to the Lemur Conservation Foundation

12/25/2022

Merry Christmas!!! Wishing you and your fur family a wonderful holiday! Tapirs are both festive and amazing, they are one of the most ancient mammals having been gardeners of the jungle for 20 plus million years. I was lucky enough to see some in Peru but all 4 species are in decline, several endangered. A donation was sent to Re Wild, a conservation organization helping tapirs

10/06/2022

Hi everyone! I wanted to let you know that I will be away from Oct 14-November 22 hopefully seeing these and lots more animals as well as attending the WSAVA conference. I will be making local conservation donations during my travels so will post those and some my pictures when I return

09/01/2022

For the 7th anniversary of being The Visiting Vet I wanted to highlight one of my favourite species, the Golden Lion Tamarin. It’s classified as Endangered as despite lots of work bringing it from less than 200 individuals in the 1970s to over 2000 today it is still at risk of habitat loss (it lives in a tiny area of the remaining Atlantic forest in Brazil) and diseases such as yellow fever. A vaccination campaign is going on to protect it against yellow fever (over 1000 animals died over the past few years) so vets are helping these adorable primates to survive!! A donation has been made to Save the Golden Lion Tamarin. I’ve seen these in zoos but it is a life goal to see them in the wild, they are the cutest!!

08/02/2022

Did you know that many populations of Chinook salmon (including the Okanagan) are Endangered? Salmon are a keystone species so have a huge impact on so many species. A donation was made to the Pacific Salmon Foundation for their work with salmon watersheds

07/01/2022

Happy Canada 🇨🇦 Day!! We are very lucky to live in such a free and beautiful country but we do have endangered species that we need to better protect. The Mountain Caribou is classified as Endangered and is declining to less than 2000 individuals in fragmented small groups. They need old growth forest to survive as they live on lichen during the winter. A donation was made to Wildsight which is involved in research, protection and education of these unique Canadian animals (they are now extinct in the U.S. part of their former range)

06/06/2022

Did you know there are different subspecies of giraffes and that some are critically endangered? That all giraffes have been in a steady decline for decades? They are such a unique, amazing and iconic animal we can’t let them disappear! A donation was sent to the Giraffe Conservation Fund which is doing great work to try to help conserve them. June 21 is World Giraffe Day so show your love of giraffes

05/02/2022

For May I wanted to celebrate Orangutans as they are one of the best animal moms, taking care of each baby for 6-8 years and they are referred to as the gardeners of the forest. Unfortunately they are critically endangered so desperately need our help. A donation was made to The Orangutan Project

04/02/2022

Now that it’s Spring (yay!), I thought I’d highlight an amazing and unique species: the pink Amazon River Dolphin which is Endangered and facing increasing threats including pollution, dams and poaching. A donation was made to the Amazon River Dolphin Conservation Foundation. This species is definitely on my bucket list!

03/01/2022

Did you know that Pangolins are the most trafficked animal in the world? They are only mammals with scales and unfortunately there is a false belief that the scales are medicinal (in actuality they are the same substance as our finger nails). As a result the Asian species are endangered and critically endangered and the African species are suffering deep declines and becoming endangered. A donation has been made to the Pangolin Crisis Fund as hopefully we can help save these amazing unique animals as I would love to see one someday

02/07/2022

February is about family and love so fit perfectly with the endangered African Painted Dog with its extended family packs bringing up pups together. Only 700 packs are estimated to remain in isolated pockets in Africa as many were killed (with historical government support- another victim of colonialism). A donation was sent to Wildlife Conservation Network to support their work in Zimbabwe with Painted Dogs

01/01/2022

Happy New Year!! I’ve decided to try to make 2022 better by doing a monthly conservation donation. January is the Snow Leopard- cute, tough and wintery. The Snow Leopard Trust is doing important work to try to help them. I also highly recommend watching ‘Ghost in the Mountains’ on Netflix to learn more about them

12/25/2021

Merry Christmas!! I hope you and your family (furry or human) have a safe and enjoyable holiday. To celebrate my favourite Christmas animal, the penguin or more specifically the endangered African penguin, I wish to support 2 organizations that are helping them: SANCCOB (a rescue that I was lucky enough to volunteer at before vet school) and Saving Penguins which is helping by making nest boxes for breeding as the loss of their guano is one of the reasons for their 90% decline. 🐧🎄

09/01/2021

It’s hard to believe it’s been 6 years since I bought The Visiting Vet! It’s also hard to believe that I just recently heard of this critically endangered animal called the Saola (which was only discovered by scientists in 1992). They desperately need our awareness and help. I made a donation to the Saola Working Group to help save the Saola, hopefully you can too or at least share this amazing animal that is on the brink of extinction

Dr Steph Royston is a house call vet for dog and cat veterinary medicine. Compassionate, gentle care

07/28/2021

I will be away from August 1-15 trying to see these amazing animals and taking a much needed break

03/10/2021

I’m happy to welcome a new member of The Visiting Vet team and announce the well-deserved retirement of another after 5.5 years of hard work. Thank you to Watkin Motors Ford, Graphic Enterprises Ltd. and the Lumby Kal Tire. My Escape is looking for a nice retirement home, let me know if anyone is looking for a well-used but well-loved vehicle. My new (to me) Edge has some big tires to fill!!

02/19/2021

Very cool!

A wildlife photographer has shared a once-in-a-lifetime photo of what he believes is a "never before seen" yellow penguin. Belgian landscape and wildlife