I’m Dr. France CYR.

I grew up on the East Coast in a small Acadian village, with a very imaginative sister and a cat named Pouf. His mother was a stray cat and she gave birth in our house. We had many adventures with him. That’s around the time I knew I wanted to become a vet.

I graduated from the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, PEI, in 2014. I practised veterinary medicine in New Brunswick, in the Yukon where I was treating companion animals, and in London since 2019.

What I enjoy the most about my job is taking time to slow down, connect, and appreciate the bond people have with their pet, even when that means helping to say goodbye. It is a very emotional, as well as very meaningful work. I find comfort in the work that I do when I see pets leave this world with a smile in their heart, bonded to their owners.

Snowball was the first cat I owned as an adult, and had to make the decision to euthanize. It happened when I was in vet school. He was in heart failure and lived a short 8 years. I remember most the days leading up to his death. His health was slowly declining, he was less and less interested in food, or interacting with me. All he did was lie down on the front door mat.

I was hoping medications would start working and he would start feeling better, but they didn’t. Making the decision to end his life was so emotionally taxing. I kept wondering what if medications started working, or what if tomorrow is better than today.

I had so many questions and so much doubt, guilt, sadness, anger, but the most prominent thing for me was doing the right thing for him. Now, my practice is centred around providing this support to individuals and families navigating the same feelings and fears around parting with their loved one.