Veterinarians
Dr. Jeff Dand - Owner
Jeff graduated from the Atlantic Veterinary College in 1997 and then continued on to Florida to complete a veterinary internship. While in Florida, Jeff focused on canine behavior and dermatology as he had a special interest in these areas which he still does to this day. Jeff is an experienced veterinarian dedicated to helping animal lovers and their pets strengthen their relationship, health, and quality of life together. A vision fueled by his love for his three rescue pets, Rocco, a Lab mix, Coco a Great Pyrenees mix, and Bandit, a domestic longhair cat with 2 different colored eyes.
Throughout his career, Jeff observed key principles in animal care and discovered a passion for business that led to him building his own vet clinics and pet resorts. It’s Jeff’s sense of humor, contagious energy, and aptitude for business and behavior that has been key in the success of his clinics. Jeff is at the heart of helping each of our teams practice gold standard medicine and be a trusted cornerstone in our community!
Throughout his career, Jeff observed key principles in animal care and discovered a passion for business that led to him building his own vet clinics and pet resorts. It’s Jeff’s sense of humor, contagious energy, and aptitude for business and behavior that has been key in the success of his clinics. Jeff is at the heart of helping each of our teams practice gold standard medicine and be a trusted cornerstone in our community!
Dr. Mallory Green- Medical Director
Dr. Mallory Green grew up on a farm outside of Blackie, AB, south of Calgary, and had a love of animals from a young age. After high school she attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts on a hockey scholarship graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology in 2009. She obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from the University of Calgary in 2015. After graduating vet school she worked for four years in mixed animal veterinary practice in Carstairs, AB, and worked at our Westmount location before coming to West Springs Vet Hospital. In her spare time Dr. Green enjoys hiking, golfing, skiing, snowshoeing and traveling. Dr. Green has a special interest in ultrasound and also has a Certification in Natural Veterinary Nutrition from the College of Integrative Veterinary Medicine (CIVT).
Dr. Elspeth Yates
Dr. Elspeth Yates grew up in Calgary and completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Kingston, Ontario. She found she missed the mountains too much and moved back to Alberta, graduating from the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 2021.
When she is not working, you can find Elspeth out hiking, skiing, or curled up with a good fantasy book alongside her cat, Merlin, and her rescue dog, Molly. She is excited to be a part of the West Springs Veterinary Hospital team!
When she is not working, you can find Elspeth out hiking, skiing, or curled up with a good fantasy book alongside her cat, Merlin, and her rescue dog, Molly. She is excited to be a part of the West Springs Veterinary Hospital team!
Dr. Marcia Lembo - Now practicing at our Springbank location
Marcia is originally from Brazil and has been very passionate about animals since she was little. She decided to be a Veterinarian at the age of 5 and grew up going every weekend to her grandfather’s dairy farm, where she fell in love with horses and cats. Marcia graduated in 2000 from the University of São Paulo and was also granted with a Masters Degree in surgery. She opened her own clinic for 12 years before moving to a small animal Hospital where she worked as a feline specialist and surgeon. Marcia then moved to Canada and continued to practice Veterinary Medicine. She has been married for 21 years and is the mother of a wonderful daughter and 4 cats. She loves movies and jigsaw puzzles and when its time to relax, Marcia likes to horseback ride on mountain trails. Moving to Canada has always been a dream of Marcias and the best decision of her life.
Management Team
Rati Sehgal - Hospital Manager
Rati grew up in New York and moved to Calgary 16 years ago. She graduated from SUNY Buffalo with her bachelor’s in business management and communications. She has a professional background as a General Manager managing several big box retail stores and
a deep passion for the customer service industry. Rati prides herself in building genuine relationships with her customers and her teams. She believes in being available for her
people and her door is always open whenever you may need to talk or if you need help in your professional development.
Growing up she has always had a love for animals and been surrounded by pets ranging
from fish and hamsters to dogs and in recent years, horses. Rati likes to decompress by
hiking trails, running by Chestermere lake, spending time with her two daughters, or curling up watching a good movie. She has a love for people, animals, and good conversation. She
is new to the veterinary industry and is very excited to make West Springs Veterinary Hospital her new home.
a deep passion for the customer service industry. Rati prides herself in building genuine relationships with her customers and her teams. She believes in being available for her
people and her door is always open whenever you may need to talk or if you need help in your professional development.
Growing up she has always had a love for animals and been surrounded by pets ranging
from fish and hamsters to dogs and in recent years, horses. Rati likes to decompress by
hiking trails, running by Chestermere lake, spending time with her two daughters, or curling up watching a good movie. She has a love for people, animals, and good conversation. She
is new to the veterinary industry and is very excited to make West Springs Veterinary Hospital her new home.
Nicole Gigian - Director of Operations
Originally from Manitoba, Nicole moved to Alberta several years ago. She grew up loving all animals but had a special passion for horses. Following her passion, she received her diploma in the Animal Health Technology program in 2008. As a new RVT, she worked in a variety of different areas in the veterinary world including small animal, equine, emergency care, and bovine embryo transfer. Working in these different areas allowed her to gain vast knowledge and experience.
After moving to Alberta, she was hired on with Dand Veterinary Clinics as an RVT and helped Dr. Dand to bring Springbank Pet Hospital from the ground up. Over the years she has helped with the opening of several clinics including a few on Vancouver Island and soon realized her passion for management as well as the business side of veterinary clinics. She now manages and operates the four Dand clinics in Calgary and is enjoying every moment of it. She currently has two pets, Nim, a little black cat and Phoebe, a rescue white shepherd mix.
After moving to Alberta, she was hired on with Dand Veterinary Clinics as an RVT and helped Dr. Dand to bring Springbank Pet Hospital from the ground up. Over the years she has helped with the opening of several clinics including a few on Vancouver Island and soon realized her passion for management as well as the business side of veterinary clinics. She now manages and operates the four Dand clinics in Calgary and is enjoying every moment of it. She currently has two pets, Nim, a little black cat and Phoebe, a rescue white shepherd mix.
Holly Robinson - Accounting Manager
Holly was born and raised in Calgary, and grew up surrounded by animals, having everything from cats and dogs, to frogs, turtles, hamsters and bearded dragons. She has always had a love for all creatures, furry, slimy or scaly, and decided to pursue a career in the veterinary field, graduating from Bow Valley College's Veterinary assistant program in 2012. Holly started with the Airdrie Animal Clinic in March 2012 as a client care specialist, and spent a number of years leading the reception team. Holly decided to further her education, and in 2021 graduated with honors from the Business Administration program at SAIT.
Upon graduation Holly began assisting with the bookkeeping, as well as managing the Airdrie team. She has now turned her focus back to the financial operations of the business, and manages the accounting for all 6 Dand clinics. Holly resides in Airdrie with her husband, a ginger kitty named Simba and a golden retriever named Griswold.
Upon graduation Holly began assisting with the bookkeeping, as well as managing the Airdrie team. She has now turned her focus back to the financial operations of the business, and manages the accounting for all 6 Dand clinics. Holly resides in Airdrie with her husband, a ginger kitty named Simba and a golden retriever named Griswold.
Registered Veterinary Technologists
Raelene
Raelene grew up in Calgary and has had a strong love for animals ever since she was a little girl. Raelene’s love for animals while growing up is what pushed her to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. She graduated from the Olds College Registered Veterinary Technologist program in 2019 and headed right into general practice. Wanting to expand her skills and knowledge, Raelene spent the last two years of her career in emergency medicine acquiring advanced skills and a passion for urgent care. However, Raelene felt like she was missing the long-term connection with her patients which she could only develop in general practice. She decided to leave emergency medicine to build these lifelong bonds, and looks forward to meeting you and your pets!
Nicole
Nicole is originally from Ontario and graduated from St. Laurence College in 2008 from the veterinary technician program. Nicole then moved to Prince George, BC with her now husband right after graduation and worked at a busy small animal clinic. She then moved to Calgary in 2015 with our two cats and one dog. Nicole has experience working in emergency clinics as well as with an orthopaedic surgeon for the past 8 years. Nicole now lives in Airdrie with her husband and son, where they enjoy camping, hunting, fishing, going for bike rides and watching movies.
Tamara
Tamara is originally from Saskatchewan and grew up surrounded by animals, having everything from hamsters, turtles, a chinchilla and even a millipede named Q.
She completed the Veterinary Technician Program in 2001 where she then started working in General Practice in Calgary and then moved to Lethbridge. When Tamara moved back to Calgary in 2004 she found a love for Emergency medicine where she stayed for the next 19 years. She started missing the connection between clients and their pets and chose to move back into general practice in 2024, where she ended up learning all about preventative medicine.
Tamara resides in Cochrane with her husband, 2 boys, her mom, 2 Irish Wolfhounds and her cat. When she is not at work, you can find her spending time with 2 sons and her doggos either out enjoying the day or curled up on the couch watching TV or even fostering chicks and ducklings!
Tamara is super excited to join the West Springs team and can’t wait to meet everyone!
She completed the Veterinary Technician Program in 2001 where she then started working in General Practice in Calgary and then moved to Lethbridge. When Tamara moved back to Calgary in 2004 she found a love for Emergency medicine where she stayed for the next 19 years. She started missing the connection between clients and their pets and chose to move back into general practice in 2024, where she ended up learning all about preventative medicine.
Tamara resides in Cochrane with her husband, 2 boys, her mom, 2 Irish Wolfhounds and her cat. When she is not at work, you can find her spending time with 2 sons and her doggos either out enjoying the day or curled up on the couch watching TV or even fostering chicks and ducklings!
Tamara is super excited to join the West Springs team and can’t wait to meet everyone!
Veterinary Assistants and Client Care Specialists
Michela
Michela was born and raised in beautiful Vancouver, B.C. and moved to Airdrie with her fiancé in the summer of 2022. She grew up always having multiple pets in her household, with her very big Italian family.
She started working in the veterinary industry in 2020 where her passion for animals grew, and she jumped into working in an emergency based hospital to expand her knowledge. She truly does love interacting with not only the patients, but the clients as well.
In her free time she mainly spends her days with her puppy Beau, going on hikes and just being in the outdoors.
She started working in the veterinary industry in 2020 where her passion for animals grew, and she jumped into working in an emergency based hospital to expand her knowledge. She truly does love interacting with not only the patients, but the clients as well.
In her free time she mainly spends her days with her puppy Beau, going on hikes and just being in the outdoors.
Kristina
Kristina’s love for animals started at a very young age. When she was just six years old, she convinced her mom to adopt a kitten from a friend’s farm. Shortly after, Kristina’s family welcomed a hamster and adopted a dachshund puppy into the family. While growing up Kristina spent summers with her grandparents, who always had several pets due to her grandmother’s love and compassion for stray animals who needed help. This sparked an early interest in animal welfare. Kristina grew up to love spending most of her time outside meeting critters or at home reading about them. Her current interests are focused in behavior and nutrition; while continuously seeking further education in these fields for domestic and wild animals.
When Kristina is not at the clinic, she can usually be found painting, reading, bird watching, or spending time with my Green Cheek Conure, named Mushu, and Blue Fronted Amazon, named Lulu.
When Kristina is not at the clinic, she can usually be found painting, reading, bird watching, or spending time with my Green Cheek Conure, named Mushu, and Blue Fronted Amazon, named Lulu.
Kristine
Kristine was born and raised in the Philippines before moving to Canada, where she worked on swine farms in Southern Alberta and eventually settled in Calgary. She completed her DVM program in the Philippines and is now pursuing her veterinary license in Canada. Growing up, she cared for a wide range of animals, including dogs, tortoises, hamsters, chickens, and pigs. Kristine is passionate about working with animals of all sizes, appreciating the therapeutic benefits it brings to both animals and humans. In her free time, she enjoys summer camping, long drives, and park walks with her dog, Jordan, and her partner. Kristine also loves watching movies and cooking various dishes to share with others. She’s excited to meet your furry friends!
Alessia
Alessia graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Sassari, a beautiful city in a small Italian island in the middle of Mediterranean Sea. In 2018 she decided to work in Sitges, a coastal little town in Spain. There she has grown professionally and personally, but decided she wanted to go a little bit further. She chose to cross the ocean with her partner and her super sweet dog Dobby, a little rescue Jack Russell mix, and come to Canada for another adventure.
Her curiosity has always led her towards the animal world since she was a child, when watching in adoration TV documentaries. Her travels led her to discover new places and new species, thus she developed a deep passion in veterinary medicine. That’s why she is currently working hard on becoming a fully licensed Veterinarian in our country.
Her curiosity has always led her towards the animal world since she was a child, when watching in adoration TV documentaries. Her travels led her to discover new places and new species, thus she developed a deep passion in veterinary medicine. That’s why she is currently working hard on becoming a fully licensed Veterinarian in our country.