To our valued clients,

Back in September 2022, we had announced that Dr. McLaren will be taking an extended leave of absence to treat her lung cancer. We are so very happy to be delivering a much more positive message today.

Dr. McLaren would like to happily announce that after six months, she will be making a gradual return to work starting in April 2023. Although her diagnosis means that she will never be cured, her treatment is going well, and her doctor agrees that she can start making a return to her life as a veterinarian.

To help ease her back into the day-to-day operations of caring for all her furry patients, she will be working a temporarily shortened schedule, addressing the backlog of surgeries first. As she gradually acclimates to the physical demands of being a veterinarian, she will increase her presence and availability at the clinic, eventually returning to her regular full-time schedule and taking appointments.

We know you are happy to have Dr. McLaren back at the clinic (we are too!), but we ask that you remain patient with our team a little while longer while she builds up her strength. Her schedule/availability will be increased as her physical capacity improves, and as her positive test results remain consistent. For this reason, there is no set timeframe for when she will start taking appointments in addition to the surgeries.

She is happy to get back to work, to see all her patients (and their people of course!), give lots of treats and pets to all the fur babies, and help them as they need it.

P.S. See below for a personal message from Dr. McLaren!

A Message from Dr. McLaren

This experience has been a mixture of emotions, but it has also been very humbling and has left me feeling blessed to have so many in the community rooting for me. To everyone that reached out – by email, by letter or with a card, etc., I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart. An extra special thank you to those that offered any help I may need, from car rides to the hospital, to home cooked meals, etc. I’m very lucky to have a good, strong support system, with my husband, both my family and my in-laws living in Ottawa (and most in Orleans) to help me. So, although I didn’t require any extra assistance, knowing the help was there if I needed it was very comforting. Through all of this, I truly have felt blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people. To those who lost a loved pet during my absence – I’m sad I couldn’t be there for you, I’m sad I wasn’t able to say goodbye in person, and just know I’m very sorry for your loss. I would also like to thank everyone that shared stories of their own personal battles – this has helped me stay positive and stay strong.

Every card and letter that I’ve received has a place on my shelf of positivity that I see every day to help me stay strong (pictured below).