Meet the veterinary team of Hard Rock Animal Hospital! We’re pleased to provide a variety of services for your pets.
Please call us at 705-264-6400 to speak to one of our compassionate staff members!
I graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College, at the University of Guelph, in 1997. I started practicing in the Timmins area in the spring of 1998. I enjoy many aspects of my work including all the lengthy discussions on many health issues like arthritis, nutrition and long-term management strategies for medical conditions. I have a special interest in small animal orthopedics, laser surgery, therapy laser, and equine medicine. Apart from work, I have a busy family life with my husband Lawrence and 3 kids – Wyatt, Joshua, and Erin. Like most veterinarians, I have many pets. I have an Irish Setter named Vegas, a boxer named Joe, and a black lab named Xena, and 2 horses, Louis and Magoo.
Dr. Penney graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2022, and was recognised with awards for excellence in radiology and small animal rehabilitation. They joined our Hard Rock team in early 2024. Dr. Penney has a special interest in antimicrobial stewardship and veterinary outreach. They love karaoke and spending lots of time with their 2 dogs (Teena and Crumbelina) and 2 cats (Maisie and Joe-Star). Favourite things about Timmins include the free and abundant access to nature that we enjoy and their awesome co-workers at Hard Rock Animal Hospital.
Andrea joined us at Hard Rock Animal Hospital in 2022 and was immediately struck by how well our team works together. She says that’s still her favourite thing about working here. When she’s not having a blast crunching numbers at the hospital, she loves camping and spending time with her 2 kids and her awesome dog, Luna.
Debbie began working as receptionist at the Algonquin Boulevard Animal Hospital in 2007 and was instrumental in the switch to our new location and new name. She has a great love for animals and is proud to be working with such a great team striving towards common goals of helping owners and their pets. She enjoys educating clients on the health and well-being of their pets as well as being a part of the many success stories we see daily. Debbie loves going to camp in the summer for some fishing and a bonfire, and spending time with her husband and her pets, Stewie and King Larry.
Jennifer is a crucial member of the team who started with us in 2018. You can find her working hard for the admin team. Her favourite thing about working at Hard Rock is seeing all the sweet pets that come in for visits. When she’s not here, she’s spending time with her family, snowmobiling, knitting, or honouring her Newfoundland hometown with some fishing (ice or otherwise).
Savannah has been part of our team on and off since 2013. We were lucky enough to welcome her on as a full-time vet technician in April of 2015, after her graduation from Collège Boréal. As our Lead Technician, you’ll find her wearing many hats. She’ll be getting appointments ready for the doctors, working hard on medical cases, scheduling everything under the sun, managing our stellar technician team, or snuggling every Boxer that comes in the door. Savannah has 2 boxers named Booger and Vera. She also has 4 cats, Millie, Davis, Timmy, and Catbee.
Michelle grew up on a farm in southwestern Ontario. She graduated from Northern College’s vet technician program in 2019 and joined our team in 2021 after an exciting time living in England. She’s our go-to for equine questions, and enjoys her time spent in surgery as much as she enjoys getting to meet all our patients in the exam rooms. Her cat, Kiki, and her frogs, Herman, Tyrion & Ignatius, and her newborn son keep her busy at home. Outside of work, Michelle loves the great outdoors and a good book with a glass of wine.
Vanessa joined the team in 2021 after graduating from Collège Boréal in 2019. When she’s not at work being our surgery technician, or spending time with her plants or best friend (her cat), Lexa, and her sweet doggy, Gunner, she loves travelling back to her hometown of Moonbeam, ON, to be with her family. Ask her about the spaceship!
Amber graduated with honours in 2021 from Northern College. She came to Hard Rock Animal Hospital and joined our team in 2023 and we’re endlessly glad she did. She says her favourite part of working at Hard Rock are her awesome teammates. When she’s not here, she loves spooky media (movies, tv, and video games) and plans to have more cats than Colleen one day.
Amanda is an awesome addition to our team that came on board shortly after her graduation from NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) in 2023. She spends a lot of time with Zoey and Jake, her dogs, and Mia and Nyxie, her cats. She also likes to bake, so we are doubly blessed — her baking and her awesome tech skills! She excels at her job and we’re thrilled to have her.
Jessica joined us in August of 2012 and has been a bright, smiling face on our team ever since. Jessica (or ‘Jess,’ but never ‘Jessie’) is unshakable in an emergency, can do doggy nail trims in her sleep, and knows everything about our therapeutic laser. You’ll see her if your pet ever comes in for laser sessions, and we promise you’ll fall in love. She somehow even manages to find time to maintain our entire clinic inventory. Jessica lives with her daughters, her two cats, Michu and Harlow, and her dog, Mokalicious, and enjoys time at camp when she’s not here.
Natalie joined our technician team in the winter of 2023. She graduated Collège Boréal in 2018 where dentistry was her favourite subject. Nat has 2 cats and a dog, and she’s originally from down south in Midland. She enjoys spending time with her pets & her partner, and her favourite food is fried chicken. Nat’s a great asset to the team, and you’re most likely to see her in wellness appointments.
Alexis joined us 2022 and is a wonderful, hard-working team member. She loves emergency medicine and helping with tricky cases. Alexis is constantly on the go in the clinic, helping the team, running lab samples, giving post-operative recovery care to our surgical patients, and doing mountains of laundry! When she’s not working her tushy off here, she’s with her super cool daughter and her pets (her dog, Willow, cats, Bella & Patches, and a crested gecko named Nyla).
Colleen graduated from Northern College in 2011 as a Certified Veterinary Assistant and Animal Groomer, and comes to us from Whitby, ON. She started at Hard Rock Animal Hospital in 2015, when we were still on Algonquin Boulevard. She loves meeting our all our clients and their pets at the front desk and fielding all your phone calls and emails. Colleen has cats, Bartelby, The Goose, Chin Ho, Snerps, Visit, Paperclip, and Kira, and a constant rotation of foster pets. When not in the clinic, Colleen likes video games with dragons in them, talking to her cats, and tirelessly working to perfect her nacho recipe.
Nick joined the Hard Rock team in late 2023. He is as happy to be here as we are to have him, because he adds a brightness and a lightness to the office. You’ll meet Nick at the front desk or over the phone, where his professionalism and sense of humour will win you over. When not at work, Nick enjoys his nerdy gaming hobbies and time with his husband, their cats, and his family.
