It didn鈥檛 take long for Dr. Renee Ferguson to realize that performing C-sections on cows in the middle of the night during the dead of winter in Manitoba was not a very glamorous reality for her veterinary dreams.

The south Surrey native, who always longed to be a horse vet, had just finished veterinary school at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and was starting out her career as a mixed animal vet.

鈥淚 was always one of those girls that loved ponies and horses and I thought that I was going to be a horse vet initially, probably just like tons of other little girls,鈥� Ferguson explained. 鈥淏ut horse vet is a tough life.

鈥淚 kind of had this fantasy of James Herriot, but being from B.C., working in minus 40 degrees where you had to keep your truck running ... I was like, OK, this is not for me.鈥�

Fast forward 16 years and today Ferguson is back in B.C. as the proud owner of her own practice, Mountain View Veterinary Hospital, which opened two weeks ago at 132-19653 Willowbrook Dr.

The brand new small animal clinic deals with all needs for 91原创鈥檚 cats, dogs, and other 鈥減ocket pets,鈥� including examinations, vaccinations, dentistry, and small surgeries.

Ferguson has also installed brand new state-of-the-art equipment, such as a dental X-ray machine and a top of the line anesthetic monitor to service her furry patients.

鈥淲e have a high priority on patient care and we have a staff that has a lot of experience,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥淲e focus on patient care and treating patients well, because people come in and they are nervous, their pets are sometimes sick, so it鈥檚 important to me that they get treated properly.

鈥淭hat was one of the biggest things for why I wanted to open my own practice and have the quality equipment and the quality staff. And I think it can be done really well. That鈥檚 what I鈥檓 going to make myself do.鈥�

In addition to veterinary services, Mountain View also carries a full line of prescription pet foods and other medicines.

And, as a special opening offer, Dr. Ferguson is giving away free deworming and flee prevention for the summer.

鈥淲e just want to offer really good patient care, good client communication, clients options and treat each pet as an individual,鈥� Ferguson said.

鈥淓very household and every pet has different needs, and you can鈥檛 have a specific cookie cutter plan for each family and for each patient. I think that鈥檚 what we do well.鈥�

For more information on Mountain View Veterinary hospital visit www.mountainviewveterinary.ca or call 604-427-2744.