The Granville Island Veterinary Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Ivanova

We were blessed to have Ivanova choose us as a location for her practicum while completing her diploma in Veterinary Hospital Assistance. With her delightful smile and amazing capacity for learning we invited her to join our team before she could even finish her practicum. Born in Mexico, Ivanova moved to Canada when she was 13 and also lived in France and Scotland. Ivanova can speak Spanish and French fluently and loves to moonlight as a passionate photographer. A self-proclaimed dog lover, Iva hopes to travel to Africa, a continent she adores, and work in a reserve, climb Mount Kilimanjaro, and help the community. Ivanova also has a diploma in Hospitality Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree. Happily married to a Scotsman with a sexy accent, Iva enjoys her free time working out, reading and taking more photos than she knows what to do with.

Smilja

Smilja Jelec is one of our hospital's crown jewels! If Smilja isn't hugging a nervous puppy or comforting a cat recovering from surgery, she's making sure we're eating all our vegetables. Smilja was born in Doboj, Bosnia and lived in Germany for six years before moving to Canada in 1998 - bringing along her Guinea Pig, Gogo! Smilja has survived another job where she worked 7 days a week for 4 years, has survived 29 years of marriage to her doting husband, Mirko, and is currently surviving "Duke", her 3-year-old Bichon Frise. She and Mirko also have a very handsome kitty named "Edgar". Smilja is one of our most talented at helping very nervous kitties feel better while they're in the hospital. If your cat has had to stay with us, she likely has spent more than a few minutes cuddled up on Smilja's lap. She truly has a compassionate heart and it's easy to see why we all call her "Momma".

Ruby

Ruby is currently studying to achieve a BSc at UBC. She considers herself lucky to have found a job where she can be exposed to many different cases, where every animal has left a part of them with her in some way. She is also grateful to be encouraged by the amazing support system that is the people at GIVH. Eventually, Ruby would like to get into veterinary medicine, but is taking things one step at a time. Besides school and work, Ruby enjoys trail riding, snowboarding, and hugging laundry fresh from the dryer.

Ward Nurses