Dave comes from rural NW Iowa, where he grew up working on his family’s dairy farm. This experience fostered an interest in ag business and production animal medicine which he actively pursues today. These areas of interest led him to attain leadership roles in 4H, showing cows at the World Dairy Expo, and completing various research projects while studying at Dordt College.

Dave graduated from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, with honours, in May 2011 and has been working at the Abbotsford Veterinary Clinic since. His focus is on production animal medicine, particularly dairy medicine, dairy reproductive management, large animal surgery, and the welfare of animals through AVC’s animal health and well-being initiatives. He enjoys working in beautiful BC and serving the large animal clients of Canada.

Dave enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring the countryside in his free time with his wife Heidi and their two young kids Nora and Cole.

Kayla was born and raised in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Growing up in an area that heavily relied on agriculture and seeing the importance of animals to an individual’s livelihood is what first sparked Kayla’s interest in food production veterinary medicine. Prior to veterinary school, Kayla completed a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology at Lebanon Valley College where she also spent as much time as she could shadowing the dairy veterinarian down the road.

Due to her interests in dairy medicine, Kayla decided to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison for veterinary school. During her time in Madison, Kayla volunteered each year at World Dairy Expo and worked at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Kayla graduated with her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in May 2021 and joined Abbotsford Veterinary Clinic shortly afterwards. Her professional interests include dairy reproduction, herd data analysis, preventative medicine, and calf health programs utilizing ultrasound for diagnosis of subclinical pneumonia in pre-weaning calves.

When not working with cows, you can find Kayla either outdoors or spending time with her cat, Mocha, who she adopted after spaying in veterinary school. Kayla’s favorite activities include backpacking, hiking, hammocking with a good book, and having a competitive game night.

Michael comes to us from New Brunswick where he grew up on a mixed beef, sheep and produce farm. It was his early exposure to animals and farming that led him to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Michael was active in his 4-H club showing beef cows and sheep, and thoroughly enjoyed public speaking.

Michael graduated from another AVC (Atlantic Veterinary College) on PEI in 2014 and then spent six weeks at Cornell University participating in the Summer Dairy Institute. He started at the Abbotsford Veterinary Clinic in the fall of 2014. He has followed in the footsteps of Dr. Rich and has pursued embryo transfer as a specialty. He received his CETA certification in 2019 for conventional and IVF embryo production, allowing him to export embryos internationally. Michael’s other professional interests include reproductive management, calf health, employee training and client communication.

Outside of work, Michael and his wife, Jessica, stay busy with their three young children. In their spare time they enjoy doing anything outdoors. Although his scorecard has plenty of room for improvement, Michael loves to golf and enjoys getting out when possible.

James grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Northern Ireland. Working on the farm sparked a strong interest in Holstein genetics and showing. He spent many summers clipping cows for shows and attending Holstein club events. His experience in these areas led him to pursue a career as a production animal veterinarian where he has developed a keen interest in preventative herd health, data analysis and milking performance optimization.

James graduated from the University of Glasgow,  School of Veterinary Medicine in 2014. He went on to work as a mixed animal veterinarian in the North of England for a year, and then focused on dairy practice in Cheshire (England) for 3 years before coming to Abbotsford Veterinary Clinic.

James moved to Abbotsford with his wife, Ainsley, who is also a veterinarian and is from Edmonton. Outside of work he enjoys hiking and watching rugby. He is keen to explore as much of what natural BC has to offer as possible, and is excited to serve our dairy clients and their herds.

Growing up in Western Michigan, Jared’s first interest in production animal medicine came from working on a neighbor’s dairy farm. He started off feeding calves and milking cows later becoming involved in fieldwork and equipment maintenance.

Jared attended Michigan State University obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science as well during this time, met his wife ~ Lauren. His continued interest of dairy saw him working on two additional farms during his University days graduating in May 2017 as a DVM with emphasis in dairy medicine. Jared also has a strong interest in reproduction, embryo transfer and in-vitro fertilization which will be a strong asset for our clients of Abbotsford Veterinary Clinic.

During his free time, Jared enjoys hiking and camping with his wife Lauren, the family dog Faith and opportunities to be outdoors hanging out with friends and family. While he will miss hunting Michigan deer in the fall with his dad and brother, Jared is excited to explore the hunting and fishing opportunities that BC offers.

Lauren was born and raised in Southwest Michigan where her parents owned a blueberry farm. She was active in 4-H, which was a strong influence for her to become a veterinarian. She received her undergraduate degree in Animal Science at Michigan State University in 2012 and subsequently her DVM in 2017. She came to work at Abbotsford Veterinary Clinic shortly thereafter, with her husband Jared.

Lauren services a range of food animals including dairy and beef, small ruminants, and poultry. She particularly enjoys creating opportunities to improve cattle health and welfare in production settings, and working with replacement calves and heifers to maximize their potential. She attends New Life CRC in Abbotsford. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, camping, traveling, cooking, reading, and reluctantly ice fishing with Jared and their English Setter, Faith.

Maral is our poultry specialist and consultant at AVC since 2018. Born and raised in Iran, Maral brings a fresh and new outlook on flock care and production. She is passionate about clinical research and development in the poultry field, and has accumulated over 14 years of experience in that sector. She loves tea, nature, and travel.

Maral has earned a DVM and a DVSc/PhD in Avian medicine from the University of Tehran; and carried out extensive research on antimicrobial resistance in Denmark as part of her PhD project. Eager for more, she moved to Winnipeg in 2014 and did a year of research on gut microbiology, and obtained a Masters in Poultry Nutrition from the University of Manitoba.

Maral enjoys connecting with chicken and turkey producers in the Fraser Valley and works together towards superior flock care and welfare management.

The embryology lab is where all embryos go for evaluation and processing.

Embryologists specialize in evaluating embryos and oocytes for viability and preparing embryos for transfer or freezing. In addition, we provide embryo biopsy for sex determination and embryo splitting.

Our team of Embryologists, Christine, Paula and Roxy, are committed to excellence in the delivery of consistent and reliable results. Our team is export certified permitting export qualified embryo storage and facilitating our ability to ship embryos around the world on behalf of our clients.

Our embryo export/import department is co-managed by Denise McQuillin and Lorene Barnum.

Together, Denise and Lorene have over 20 years experience handling bovine genetics. Denise and Lorene were both raised on dairy farms helping out on a daily basis. Denise was a 4-H Youth Leader and worked at Holstein Canada for several years. Lorene has extensive experience in showing and clipping.

We offer full service delivery direct to your customer or are happy to work with an alternate exporter to ensure your embryos arrive in a safe, timely and cost-effective manner.