What actually makes a veterinary hospital work? It's not all about medicine.

In this episode of Don’t Call Me Catty, we sit down with Daniella Cox, Hospital Manager at Boreal Veterinary Centre, to talk about what really drives a successful, high-performing clinic, and why leadership, communication, and culture matter more than most people think.

Daniella shares her journey from ER tech assistant to managing a 130+ person team, and what it takes to build an environment where people actually want to come to work.

We get into:

• Why not everyone should be a manager (and why that’s okay)
• The hardest part of stepping into leadership
• How strong communication can make or break a team
• What clinics get wrong about culture and how to fix it
• How great hospitals retain staff (and support them through burnout)

If you’ve ever wondered why some clinics thrive while others struggle… this conversation is for you.

About Daniella:

Daniella has spent over a decade in emergency and specialty veterinary medicine, building her career from the ground up through roles in veterinary support, client care, and referral coordination before stepping into leadership. Alongside her career, she completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource and Business Management at MacEwan University. A reflection of her genuine passion for the people side of any organization.

HR, for Daniella, is about more than process. It’s about communication, connection, and helping people do their best work. She is driven by building collaborative cultures where teams feel supported, heard, and set up to thrive, even in the most demanding environments.

Get in Touch:

https://www.borealvet.com/

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Jillian sits down with Dr. Greg Andrews: equine veterinarian, industry leader, and founding force behind Mosaic Veterinary Partners, for a candid conversation on what it really takes to build a lasting career in veterinary medicine.

With over 37 years in practice, Dr. Andrews shares stories from the early days of equine medicine—working out of a tin shack, relying on hands and intuition before advanced diagnostics—and how those experiences shaped his approach to leadership, mentorship, and business.

But this episode goes far beyond clinical practice.

We dive into:

• Why mentorship matters (and what happens when you don’t have it)
• The biggest financial mistakes veterinarians make and how to avoid them
• Why “buy stuff” might be the most underrated advice in vet med
• The power of equity, real estate, and thinking beyond your paycheck
• Why you should never try to be the cheapest vet in the room
• How communication is often the hardest (and most important) skill to master

Dr. Andrews also shares hard-earned lessons on truth-telling with clients, building confidence early in your career, and creating a life that balances both intellectual and financial growth.

Whether you’re a student, associate, or practice owner, this episode is packed with practical insights and a few bold opinions that might just change how you think about your career.

About Dr. Greg Andrews

Dr. Greg Andrews is an Equine Veterinarian who has practiced in the Calgary area for 37 years and previously held the position of CEO at Canada’s largest equine practice, Moore Equine Veterinary Centre. In 2016, Dr. Andrews and a group of like-minded veterinarians founded Mosaic Veterinary Partners which he led as CEO until late 2022. Dr. Andrews is now involved with the Mosaic team as Executive Chairman and is proud to be ICD.D certified by the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Throughout his career, Dr. Andrews has been the President of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, and Western Canadian Association of Equine Practitioners, and has been involved with the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and Equine Canada. He has served on the advisory boards of the University of Calgary’s School of Veterinary Medicine and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Andrews both initiated and chaired Business Infusions Ltd., a leading equine software provider, and served as Board Chairman of CNAD Ltd., a private bioinformatics/genomics company based out of Calgary and Austria. In his spare time, Dr. Andrews loves nothing more than letting nature challenge his body on his bike or skis, and is equally as passionate about challenging his mind through his board and business engagements.

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Leilani and Jillian sit down at the 2025 CanWest Veterinary Conference to chat with the incredibly inspiring Dr. Heather Murphy, a Calgary-based veterinarian from Glamorgan Animal Clinic.

Dr. Murphy, a 2016 UCVM grad, shares her unconventional and deeply moving 10-year journey through veterinary medicine. At just 23 years old, during her first year of vet school, Heather was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. She opens up about the reality of undergoing surgery and chemo, and even heading straight to class after radiation treatments. Unbelievably, just a few years into her clinical career and three months into her first maternity leave, Heather had to navigate a second, entirely different cancer diagnosis.

Heather is the definition of perseverance. In this episode, she discusses how staying task-oriented and focusing on future goals helped her push through when living in the moment was simply too hard.

In this episode, we also cover:

• Early Career Realities: The steep learning curve of transitioning from a fast-paced rotating internship to locuming on your own,
• Clinical Highs & Lows: Why she absolutely loves a good ophthalmology case (and her fancy Tonovet), and why tricky diabetic cases are the ones that drive her up the wall,
• The Midnight Worries: The complex, hard-to-pin-down cases that keep her up at night, and how your subconscious mind never really clocks out,
• The Future of Vet Med: Heather’s hopes for making veterinary care more financially practical for pet owners, so practitioners can just focus on what’s best for their patients,
• Advice for the Next Generation: Why new DVMs and RVTs need to stop beating themselves up, remember their humanity, and prioritize taking care of themselves.

Whether you’re a new grad trying to find your footing, an exhausted associate, or a veterinary professional juggling parenthood and practice, Heather’s story of grit, survival, and a healthy dose of stubbornness is exactly what you need to hear today.

About Dr. Heather:

Born and raised in Calgary, she is a dedicated veterinarian who graduated from the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) in 2016. She completed her internship at the CARE Center from 2016 to 2017 and now practices in Calgary, where she continues to provide compassionate care to her patients.

She lives in Calgary with her husband and their two children, along with their two cats, Binx and Hobbes. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her kids, making the most of everything the area has to offer.

Get In Touch:

If you'd like to get in touch with Dr. Murphy for potential mentorship opportunities or other inquiries, please email dontcallmecatty@gmail.com and we will connect you.

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For podcast inquiries, please contact dontcallmecatty@gmail.com