MEET YOUR VETERINARY CARE TEAM

Dr. Karen Allen

Dr. Allen graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon in 1995, after completing a Zoology degree at University of Alberta and Bamfield Marine Station. She has been working in the veterinary industry in Canada for over twenty five years in private practice and as the National Medical Director for VetStrategy, and each day she is still awed by the resilience and tenacity of her patients and the compassion and dedication of her clients.

Dr. Allen is grateful for every opportunity to build relationships with her clients and their families and is dedicated to educating pet owners and offering veterinary care that is tailored to each individual pet and their family.

Her goal is to enrich the lives of both the animals and the people in her community by offering volunteer programs, kids veterinary camps, educational seminars and of course by offering veterinary care to companion animals, farm pets, stray animals, surrendered animals and wildlife.

Veterinary medicine has been an amazing journey for Dr. Allen, which has brought her a tremendous amount of joy, and she is enjoying continuing her career close to home with her family, friends and neighbours close by.

Ashley Ouellette, RVT

We love hiring local people to staff our practice and Ashley was the perfect fit for us! She grew up on an acreage in the Ardrossan area and has always wanted to work with animals. This led her to look into the veterinary world.

She took the Animal Health Program at NAIT and graduated in 2008. She began working at Park Veterinary Clinic while still in school in 2007 and continued there after graduation. There she gained experience working with dogs, cats and small exotic pets. In 2016 she took a break from work to start her own family.

She now lives on a small acreage with her family, their dogs and a few cats. Ashley missed working with animals and has recently started working part time at Hastings Lake Animal Hospital to help us out on surgery days and Saturdays.

She looks forward to getting back into the veterinary world and helping everyone with all their pet’s needs! Ashley is our go to girl for some of our toughest customers - yes, you know who you are my four-legged red flagged friends!

Ashley's calm, unflappable demeanour allows her to very successfully work with some of our trickiest dogs who would otherwise be difficult for us to care for.

Trina Broen, RVT

Trina is another local girl and in fact, she and her partner live just a stone's throw from the clinic. She started with us in the summer of 2020 - in the midst of the pandemic which took a lot of courage to change jobs during that period. Trina has a tiny little Chihuahua and a great big German Shepherd!

Trina works full time so she's the friendly caring voice you hear checking up on your pets after their visit with us. Trina is enjoying learning about all our farm pet species that we work with and has fully embraced the culture of our practice. We hope she stays with us a long, long time!

Now we just have to get her and Brandon to move to a farm so we can get her going with goats and chickens.... :)

Trista Kadatz, RVT

Trista is joining us with many years of experience as an RVT, having started her career in 2003. Trista is our Monday RVT with Trina and has a wealth of experience with most species but is especially fond of her bunnies! She raises sheep, fancy chickens and pet bunnies on their farm.

Throw in a few horses, a Great Dane, a Schnauzer and some Devon Rex cats and Trista has a full compliment of critters to keep her busy. Trista was born and raised locally and now she and her husband are raising their children in our community. Before she joined our practice she volunteered every year with our Ministik Farm Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic - so we always knew we loved her!

She's a great fit for our practice and has amazing clinical skills as a technician. You can always tell when Trista is on shift because things get placed in high spots where the rest of us mortals can't reach!

Nikky Naslund, RVT

Nikky joined us in March 2024 with four years of experience in companion animal and mixed animal practise already under her belt.  She also grew up in the area, on a beef and grain farm just south of Ryley. This is where she developed her love for all animals, both small and large!

She graduated from Lakeland college in March, 2020 and began working in practice shortly after. Through some years of experience Nikky has found the most rewarding aspect of her job is to be able to witness and

aid in the special bonds between owners and their pets. Nikky hopes to take over her family farm in the near future and continue to care for animals both in the clinic and on the farm.

Abigail Crandall, RVT

Abi graduated from the Animal Health Technologist program at Lakeland College in the Spring of 2024, and has been working as a student AHT for the past 2 years. Growing up on an acreage outside of Sherwood Park has fostered her love for animals tall to small! In the clinic she always has a soft spot for cattle dogs and all farm critters. She has spent many years at her local horse barn enjoying jumping, dressage and time spent in a western saddle. In her spare time she enjoys making memories in the riding arena, attending rodeos, hunting in the fall, skiing and camping. She can also be found at the farm riding along in tractors of all kinds and assisting with the cattle during calving and branding, locally in the Ministik Community!

Miranda Oliver, RVT

Miranda started volunteering with WildNorth in 2016 and quickly realized that is what she wanted to do with her life, so packed up and moved to BC and enrolled in Selkirk College to upgrade all the prerequisites courses. Moved home when she got into the VMA program at NAIT and Graduated with Honours in 2021. Worked as a VMA for 1 year at Park Vet gaining experience with small animals and exotics. Then went back to NAIT into the AHT program and has been working as a Vet Tech student for 2 years, she recently Graduated with Honours this summer of 2024.

Miranda has 3 cats Lola, Loki and Ivy, 3 Hermit Crabs, and her soul dog Jackson who is Chocolate lab x Mastiff. Her Fiance Jordan and her are currently planning to move to an acreage to start a hobby farm with even more rescue pets!

Still volunteering with WildNorth and working at another clinic with exotics, Miranda truly loves learning about all shapes and sizes of any animal and loves nothing more than being an advocate for them and building relationships with their lovely caring owners.

Her goals are to never stop learning and to treat every patient as if it was one of her own.

Tina Dauvin, RVT 

Tina is a farm girl from Manitoba, she graduated from Lakeland College, Vermillion in 2002 and has been living in this area ever since. She comes to us with 20 plus years in the veterinary industry. Tina has worked with many furry friends and spent some time working with some not so furry exotic species…..goats are definitely her favourite!!

Outside of work her family and grandkids keep life busy and interesting. Gardening from May to October keeps her grounded and sane….dreaming about and planning the garden during the long cold winter keeps her hopeful and optimistic.

Breanne, RVT

Hi, my name is Breanne, and I'm excited to be the newest Registered Veterinary Technician at Hastings Lake Animal Hospital! My passion for animals started at a young age while growing up on an acreage near Gibbons and spending lots of time at my grandparents' farm in Thorhild, where I was surrounded by cows, horses, dogs, and cats. Those early experiences inspired me to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.

I began my veterinary career in 2016 as a kennel attendant and worked my way up to a technician assistant before achieving my goal of becoming a Registered Veterinary Technician.

Along the way, I've gained valuable hands-on experience and a deep appreciation for the care and dedication that goes into helping animals live healthy, happy lives. I'm especially passionate about providing compassionate care and building trusting relationships with both pets and their families.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time outdoors, being with my husband and our whippet, Jupiter, and making memories with family and friends.

Nova-Leigh Van Engelen, Veterinary Medical Assistant

Nova-Leigh volunteered at the clinic in 2019, in 2020 she attended Lakeland College in Vermillion where she completed and received her Veterinary Medical Assistant Certificate. Nova complements the clinic as a multi asker who helps with front end reception and with assisting in the care of animals.

She has three dogs Huckleberry who is a handsome senior Dalmatian, Holly a schnauzer cross who was a rescue from Mexico and Finn her newest member who is a Yorkshire Terrier. She has a love for all animals except she prefers to keep her distance from spiders.

As Nova-Leigh always has an interest in animals of all kinds, currently she is researching and setting up an enclosure to purchase a Crested Gecko in the near future.

Tylaire, Veterinary Medical Assistant

Tylaire graduated from NAIT in spring of 2023 where she received her Veterinary Medical Assistant Certificate. She grew up with a variety of animals on an acreage west of Edmonton and has always had a big heart for animals of all sizes.

Tylaire began volunteering at local kennels and doing homeless feeds at a very young age which she then soon realized she not only loved helping animals but had a passion for helping people too.

Tylaire thrives to make a positive impact in the land of all animals! She has said for a long time that she aims to be the voice for those who don't have one, some of her best qualities are her compassion, empathy and her desire to treat every animal like her own.

 Tylaire's goal is to become a Registered Veterinary Technician in the near future so she can continue to provide the happiest, healthiest lives for her pets and to motivate others to do the same.

Outside of work a perfect weekend would consist of spending time with her family, friends, boyfriend, and her Pomeranian Willow-Bee (also known as her pride & joy) at the lake.

Valerie Reid

Valerie started volunteering at the clinic in 2022 and this confirmed the decision that working in veterinary medicine was the right path for her! Currently she attends the University of Alberta and is working towards a Bachelor of Science in Animal Health. She began working Saturdays in February of 2024 and has been absolutely enjoying it.

With summers off of school she has also been helping out with the kids camp, which has been very exciting so far. One day she hopes to be an exotic vet. She has a deep compassion for all animals but she is especially fond of rabbits, rodents, reptiles and other interesting critters.

Pictured with her is Cookie, her 3-month old Rex bunny whom she loves to pieces! Valerie loves coming into the clinic and getting to learn and experience all sorts of new and exciting things.

Amelia, Kids Camp Counsellor

Amelia is a University of Alberta student joining us for the summer at the clinic. One of her duties this summer is to be our designated Kids Camp Counsellor - her other duties are cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. LOL! She is super excited about doing this since she was an avid Kids Camper for many years! 

Amelia shares her life with a senior rescue Pug named Andy who has many behavioural and health issues but he's living his best life with her, as well as a senior rescue cat named Splatz who has feline leukemia, and her horses D'Art, Casino and Ruby. 

Amelia is thinking about a career in either pediatrics or veterinary medicine - she is undecided as of yet - so Kids Camp Counsellor is the perfect fit for her.