Dr. Danielle Day Dr. Day joined the team in May, 2011 after having graduated from the DVM program at the University of Guelph. Since then, Dr. Day has been a lead veterinarian at the clinic and in the spring of 2017, Dr. Day jumped at the opportunity to lead the Doncaster team. She has since been working as the Medical Director of the Doncaster Animal Clinic.
She has a strong passion for surgery and keeps up to-date with the newest and most recent advancements in veterinary medicine and surgery through continuing education. In 2011, Dr. Day completed the top continuing education course in dental surgery. She also has a special interest in cardiology, dermatology and preventative medicine and participates in annual conferences and is an advocate of the fear-free approach.
The importance of the human-animal bond is the foundation of Dr. Day's practice philosophy, which enables her to practice and maintain the highest standard of veterinary medical care. Her passion extends to our client families and she insures understanding and knowledge translation through fostering communication in a warm and friendly manner. Very simply, Dr. Day absolutely loves caring for your furry family member.
When Dr. Day can't be found at Doncaster, she is spending time with her husband, Hrvoje, and two children, Luka and Arwyn. Dr. Day's family also includes her sheltie, Kammy, her Jack-Chi, Khyber, and 2 black cats, Tristan and Tauriel. When she has a spare moment she also greatly enjoys family trips to the cottage, running and reading. Medical Director & Veterinarian Dr. Sapna Malwal Dr. Sapna Malwal was born and raised in Montréal. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at St. Lawrence University, and then completed her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, she went on to complete a one year internship in small animal medicine at North Carolina State University before moving to British Columbia to work full time at an emergency/specialty hospital, She moved to Toronto 5 years ago to be closer to her family.
Dr. Malwal strongly believes in compassionate care for all animals and prides herself on keeping up with the latest veterinary CE and research. She has a special interest in internal medicine, pain management/hospice care, emerging diseases, and holistic medicine. In 2012, she completed a one year course in veterinary acupuncture with the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society. Outside of veterinary medicine she enjoys reading mysteries, swimming, yoga, and traveling. She has lived and worked in Kenya, Malaysia, Thailand and Costa Rica, and has visited 6 continents (she hopes to add Antarctica to the list one day!). She lives in Toronto with her husband Eric and an orange tabby cat named Mango. Dr. Lauren Brownell Graduated in 2008 from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and has since been working in small animal medicine, joining our team in August of 2015. She is happy to be working with a team devoted to offering the current gold standard in veterinary medicine. She has a special interest in behaviour and preventative medicine. Outside of work, Dr. Brownell enjoys time spent with her husband, Kyle, and daughters, Joscelyn and Olyvia, here in Thornhill as well as up at their farm where they grow wild and organic foods. The whole family loves to participate in dog related activities such as, obedience, conformation, carting, and skijoring, just to name a few. Currently, they share their home with a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (Vern), a Leonberger (Larry), a Ragdoll cat (Tia), an Eclectus parrot (Ivan), a cockatiel (Luna), and a variety of saltwater fish. Veterinarian Morgan Morgan joined the Doncaster team in August of 2013. She graduated from the Veterinary Technician program at Georgian College in October of 2011. She enjoys providing quality care to our furry friends who can't always tell us what is wrong. She has recently moved into the role of Technical Manager but will always practice as a technician as that is where her passion is. She currently has no pet's at home but hopes to adopt soon. Registered Veterinary Technician Alyson Alyson has been a part of the Doncaster Animal Clinic team since January 2015. She studied the Veterinary Technician program at Seneca College and graduated in 2013. For as long as she could remember she wanted to work with animals and when she learned about the veterinary technician profession, she new it was the job for her! She loves being able to help pets feel better and also enjoys the more technical side of the job as well. When she's not in the clinic, Alyson can be found enjoying the aquarium hobby or relaxing at her cottage with her family and two dogs. She currently shares her home with Luke (a rescue Galgo Espanol from Spain), Aspen (Jack Chi), Oakley (rescue domestic longhaired cat) and her two Betta fish, Gillbert and Petunia! She is looking forward to adopting more fish in the near future! Registered Veterinary Technician Laura Sutton, RVT A recent return to the Doncaster family, Laura was part of the practice from 1996 to 2008. After leaving here, she spent time working in a variety of animal hospitals, including the Intensive Care Unit of the VEC in Toronto and a small animal practice in Bermuda. Back with us in her role as Office Manager since May 2017, Laura is committed to working to ensure that we are providing the best health care for every pet and the people who love them.
Laura is a Registered Veterinary Technician with over 20 years of experience working with cats and dogs. She spends much of her free time volunteering with the Canadian Animal Assistance Team, helping to provide spays/neuters and veterinary care for communities in need in Canada and abroad. The love of her life is an orange and white cat named Caribou. Office Manager Caroline Gillies Caroline started as a co-op student in October of 2016. When the co-op ended, she was offered a position. In her spare time, she enjoys the company of her chocolate Labrador Keji and her foster Newfoundland dogs. Caroline is currently in grade 12, hopes to one day be a Veterinarian. Veterinary Assistant Meagan Meagan joined our team at Doncaster Animal Clinic in April of 2013. She graduated from the Social Service Work program at Seneca College in 2011. The following year, she attended Mohawk College to expand her knowledge and love for working with animals. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with friends and family but most importantly cuddling up with her two fur babies. A German Shepherd named Dakota and her cat Quasimodo. Client Care Representative Kirsten Kirsten has been a member of our team since April of 2017. Prior to joining our team, Kirsten graduated from the nursing program at Georgian College. Although Kirsten has always been very passionate about animals, she realized she needed to change her career path to pursue a fulfilling career with in the veterinary field after working closely with an RVT in the summer of 2016. Kirsten plans on returning to school to become a veterinary technician in the near future. Kirsten lives at home with her family and her 2 dogs; Lexis, a Border Collie/German Shepherd mix and Ruby, a Miniature Australian Shepherd, as well as her 2 cats; Sawyer, a Bengal and Charlie, a Himalayan mix. Outside of work, Kirsten enjoys hiking various local trails with her dogs, relaxing outside by the pool, country concerts and hanging out with family and friends. Client Care Representative Hyun Park Hyun joined the Doncaster team in October 2016 as an animal care attendant. She completed her Honours BSc. at the University of Toronto in mind of becoming a veterinarian one day. She has an undying love for animals and is grateful to work alongside the Doncaster team to assist in providing high quality medicine for patients.
In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her beloved toy poodle, Choco.
Unfortunately she will be leaving our team later in the year to commence her veterinary medicine studies in Australia. Veterinary Assistant Aline Dahmer Aline joined the Doncaster Team in February 2016 as an Animal Care Attendant. She grew up in Brazil and has always been around animals, since she was born. She has the dream of becoming a veterinarian and wishes to start vet school in the next following years. She tries to make our furry friends as happy and comfortable as she can when visiting our clinic. Since she arrived in Canada she got a pretty little Maltese mix called Emma, which brightens her life up every day. Veterinary Assistant Sonny Sonny was adopted into the Doncaster Animal Clinic family in January 2016. His previous home, unfortunately became unsuited for him due to circumstances out of his control. He quickly adapted to life at the clinic and captured the hearts of our staff even quicker! He is a handsome buff, domestic long-hair who likes to make his presence known. He enjoys long conversations with staff members, lounging on their laps or desks, exploring the clinic and demanding everyone's attention! You can follow Sonny's day-to-day on Instagram by following him @the_king_of_doncaster! DAC's Purrr-Patrol Carmen Carmen Meyer began her veterinary career 10 years ago as a front office manager at an Animal Hospital in downtown Toronto. Soon thereafter, Carmen excelled in her position before being promoted to Practice Administrator and now she has recently joined our Doncaster Family as our Hospital Manager.
Carmen, who enjoys the challenges of her new job, also enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children. When she’s not on an adventure with one of them, she enjoys quiet time reading a book. She also loves to travel and is looking to add more tales to her already vast repertoire of fun vacation stories.
While she doesn’t currently have any pets, Carmen still has fond memories of her elderly cat and hopes to welcome a four legged friend into her household once her and her husband can agree on the feline vs. canine debate. Hospital Manager Dr. Lauren Kostiner Dr. Kostiner joined the Doncaster team in June 2018. She studied veterinary medicine at Murdock University in Perth, Australia and graduated in 2015. Lauren grew up in Thornhill and still is part of the community. She remembers coming to Doncaster with her parents when she was young. For as long as she could remember, she has always had a passion for animals. She has a special interest in orthopedics and likes that each day at the clinic brings something new! She also enjoys the bonds she makes with patients and clients. When not at the clinic, Dr. Kostiner can be found horseback riding, golfing or hiking. She currently has two rescue pups, TimTam a Pomeranian/Papillon mix and Pekoe a Chihuahua mix. Melanie Melanie joined the Doncaster Animal Clinic team in December 2017. She received her Master of Science in animal physiology at York University in 2017. She wrote her thesis on ticks and is helping to educate our followers on social media during Tick Awareness Month (March) by answering questions with Tina the Tick! She is currently studying respiratory therapy at Michener Institute while working at the clinic part-time. Melanie has a passion for helping animals and it means everything to her to be able to come to work and be there for pets when they need it most! When she is not in the clinic or school, Melanie can be found cuddling up in bed watching Netflix or out on the field playing soccer in a recreational league. She currently has a dog named Tito, who is a German Shepherd/Akbash mix and a sassy Domestic Shorthair named Milo, both whom she loves very much! Animal Care Attendant Tayler Tayler became a part of the Doncaster Animal Clinic team in September 2019. She graduated in 2016 from Wilfred Laurier after studying communication. She has always had a love for our furry friends which lead to her recent decision to make a career change. She decided to follow her heart to pursue a carrier in the veterinary field. Tayler plans on taking a veterinary technician program in the near future. She enjoys learning more and more about the veterinary field, but most of all making sure every pet feels loved during their stay with us, no matter how long or short it may be. Outside of the clinic you can find Tayler going to hot yoga, cooking and looking after her fur babies. She currently has a Maine Coon/Domestic Longhair mix named Jackson, a Dwarf Rex Rabbit named Stevie, as well as two Guinea Pigs named Lily and Daisy. Her pets mean everything to her and she plans on adopting more in the future. Animal Care Attendant Nick Nick joined the Doncaster Animal Clinic team in June 2019. He graduated from the Veterinary Technician program at Seneca College in 2018. Although he initially wanted to be a Veterinarian, once he was introduced to the technical/nursing side of the job, he instantly realized the was the path for him! Nick loves being an advocate for his patients, performing all his technical tasks, but most of all cuddling with all the wonderful pets he meets! When he's not in the clinic you can find Nick working out at the gym or kickboxing in his basement. He also enjoys writing music and playing the guitar. He recently lost his beloved Golden Retriever who was by his side for 15 years. He plans on rescuing in the future, but until then enjoys the company of his Betta fish, Adore! Registered Veterinary Technician Nikita Nikita has been a part of the Doncaster Animal Clinic team since January 2017. She studied Human Resource Management at York University and graduated in 2017. Coming from a background not related to the veterinary industry, Nikita stumbled into this profession and is very glad she did! She enjoys being able to continue expanding her knowledge of animal health and wellness everyday. When she's not in the clinic, Nikita enjoys cooking, indoor gardening and escape room games! She currently does not have any pets, but hopes to adopt a black cat in the near future. Receptionist
