Our History
The Alta Vista Animal Hospital was founded in 1958 by Dr. James Hutchison and Dr. Bernie Brennan at the corner of Bank St. and Alta Vista Drive in Ottawa. In 1986, Alta Vista Animal Hospital had outgrown its facilities and a new building (10,500 sq ft) was erected at 2616 Bank Street to meet the increasing demands placed on its services. Established in 1958, we have served the community for more than half a century. As a companion animal hospital, we offer veterinary services and routine veterinary care, such as vaccinations and preventative health-care programs.
Continual Evolution
The Alta Vista Animal Hospital facility has undergone a continual evolution.
We have expanded the Alta Vista facility at 2616 Bank Street to include the new Specialty/Referral building.
Growth & Expansion
At our facility, we are always growing our team and enhancing our capabilities.
Here are some of the highlights:
1960 |
Biochemical tests were done at area human hospitals and research facilities. Since then, we have been through at least 5 different types of laboratory equipment to the present Antech lab. |
1963 |
Dr. Elmer Janzen becomes the third Partner at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital. |
1967 |
Technicians did not exist formally, but we hired a Bachelor of Science technician named Joanne Shiletto. We later hired one of the first Veterinary Technicians from the course at Ridgetown College. |
1969 |
The practice grows as we double our floor space by renting adjacent space. |
1974-82 |
Drs. Tony Bernard, Berney Pukay and Dan Rodgers join the Partnership. |
1986 |
We open a new 10,500 square foot hospital at 2616 Bank Street in South Ottawa. |
1987 |
The age of specialization takes off at Alta Vista with the arrival of Dr. Nick Parker and his subsequent Board Certification in Surgery. He later joins the Partnership in 1993. |
1989 |
The pace of change continues and we add more veterinarians, receptionists, technicians and animal attendants. We computerize our entire office system. We do more renovations to add a second surgical theatre and set up our Internal Medicine area. |
1991 |
Dr. Tony Sekeres joins the Partnership as Dr. Hutchison retires. |
1994 |
Ophthalmologist Dr. Dave Tinsley joins the practice. |
1996 |
Dr. Nigel Gumley joins the Partnership as Dr. Brennan retires. |
1999 |
The expansion of specialization in veterinary medicine is reflected in our Internal Medicine practice with the addition of Cardiologist/ Internist Dr. Eric DeMadron. |
2001 |
Expanded hospital to 25,000 square feet with separate facilities for the Specialist and Emergency/ Critical Care groups. Drs. De Madron and Hilary Mellor join the Partnership as Dr. Bernard retires. |
2003 |
We welcome Dr. Lina Bravo to our Oncology/ Internal Medicine department. |
2004 |
We add a Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine (MRI) at our Alta Vista facility, enabling rapid, onsite imaging services to improve the diagnosis of spinal, brain and soft-tissue disease. Dr. Yvan Dumais joins our referral team in providing advanced dental procedures as a Board Certified Veterinary Dentist. |
2005 |
Our Bayview facility moves to an expanded and newly renovated location in the Hampton Park Plaza at the corner of Carling and Kirkwood, with Dr. Mellor as the managing Partner. |
2006 |
We welcome Dr. Julius Liptak to our Surgery department, with special emphasis on cancer surgery. We also welcome Dr. Tara Chapman to the Internal Medicine department. Dr. Arvo Artna joins the Partnership. |
2007 |
We replace our MRI with a CT (Computed Tomography) scanner. Dr. Tyler Dearden joins the Partnership as Dr. Sekeres retires. |
2008 |
Drs. Lara Jamieson and Graham Thatcher join the partnership as Dr. Bernie Pukay retires from the partnership. |