A new addition!

It's a good news/bad news kind of post...

In brief, we are so sad to report that Dr. Lauren Di Ponio is leaving us as of June 2023. She is moving to Ontario to be with family at this key time for her young family! While we are sad to see her go, we value family highly at Sooke Vet and understand. We, of course, wish her well on her adventure. If anyone's wondering, Dr Deborah Lambert will be taking back over the clinic 100% with the help of the new manager Kayla, so no worries about that!

Now for the good news: We got incredibly lucky and snagged us an amazing new vet! Meet Dr. Michelle Lareau! We asked her to introduce herself here! She'll be starting in May 2023.

Hello Sooke Veterinary Hospital clients!

My name is Michelle Lareau and I am thrilled to be joining the Sooke Vet hospital team as an Associate Veterinarian. Having moved to Sooke from Victoria in 2021, Sooke is definitely home, and I am very excited to have the opportunity to meet more of the people of Sooke, as well as the members of their animal family. 

After first volunteering with, then working for the Regina Humane Society, I realized that I wanted helping animals to be my full time job, so I decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. I graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011 and moved to beautiful BC shortly afterwards. I have worked primarily in general practice, with some emergency experience in my first 5 years of practice. I have a huge soft spot for geriatric pets (an old grey face melts my heart every time), and a passion for stress free handling and internal medicine. In 2020 I completed the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society program, and will soon be offering veterinary acupuncture services to Sooke and the surrounding area. It has been extremely rewarding to practice this complementary modality alongside Western medicine, particularly with my patients who are geriatric and/or having mobility issues.

My intention is to listen carefully to and communicate clearly with every client, so that we can create a health plan, together, for your pet that works best for everybody. 

Outside of work I enjoy spending time near the ocean or Sooke River, camping, traveling, live music, working in my yard, with my house plants, or on crocheting and macrame projects. 
My animal family includes my handsome Basset hound Jake (always up for either adventure or a nap), and my recently adopted 12 year old cat Olive (very small, entirely toothless, but full of strong opinions). 
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Having known Dr. DiPonio for years, I am very much looking forward to working with her once again (though too briefly), and getting to know her Sooke Vet Hospital family.