Dr. Dan Rodgers, DVM
General Care
Contact Information
drodgers@avah.on.ca
Phone number: 613 731 6851
Personal Bio
Dr. Rodgers grew up in Barrie, Ontario with 3 brothers and a sister. The family always had pets but when he expressed an interest in veterinary medicine his parents bought him his own yellow lab who accompanied him around the streets of Barrie in the early morning as he delivered the Globe and Mail. Dan raised two litters of orphaned baby raccoons with much help from his mother. He also spent two summers working with wildlife, one summer studying white tail deer and another summer studying lemmings in the NWT.
He considered a job as a wildlife veterinarian but realized that there were few jobs and so became a companion animal veterinarian. Dr. Rodgers always knew that his calling was to work with animals where he could return their unconditional love. He feels very fortunate to love what he does and to still look forward to going to work. Dr. Rodgers enjoys working with the great clients and staff at the hospital and receives a lot of satisfaction helping to support and enhance the special relationships between pets and their owners.
Dr. Rodgers lives in Ottawa with his wife of 34 years Cathy and his three children Amy, Luc and Sarah. Cathy is a retired nurse who loves animals as much as Dan does. All three kids worked at the hospital over the years and Amy is now a human anesthesiologist, Sarah a teacher and Luc works for OC Transpo and Bank of America. Dan also happily shares his house with Ty, a miniature poodle and Lucy a Siamese cat. In his free time, he enjoys golf, gardening, running, skiing and the wonderful city of Ottawa.
Dr. Rodgers graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) in 1977. Even in 1977 AVAH had an outstanding reputation across Canada and so he applied for the job, with about 20 other applicants. He was accepted and thought that he would go to Ottawa for several years and gain some valuable experience and then go back to Barrie, Ontario to practice. He stayed and he is glad that he did. He is very proud to carry on the special legacy of the hospital.
He became a partner in 1982 and was director of the General Practice for several years before becoming CEO from 2008-2011.
For the first 10 years that Dr. Rodgers worked at AVAH there were no specialists and so he was exposed and developed expertise in surgery, medicine and emergency medicine. Now that there are specialists in these areas he concentrates on providing outstanding service and care in the general practice. He enjoys surgery and dentistry and is always thinking about what the hospital can do to improve the experience for our clients and their pets.
Past History:
- President of the Ottawa Academy of Veterinary Medicine
- Several years on the executive of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association
- Member of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association
- Member of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association
- Board of Directors (Vice President) of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre
