Nelson Animal Hospital is family-owned and operated and we strive to extend our family philosophy to include our patients and their families as well. Please feel free to browse below for bios of some of our staff here at Nelson.
Dr. Sharon Quinn, DVM
Dr. Sharon Quinn has been the owner and head veterinarian at Nelson Animal Hospital since October of 2006. She graduated from the DVM program at the University of Guelph in 2004 and also holds an honours B.Sc. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Guelph. Following graduation, Dr. Quinn was employed full-time at a busy small animal and exotics practice here in Burlington. When the opportunity presented itself, she made the jump into practice ownership.
Dr. Quinn is a member of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association and the College of Veterinarians of Ontario. She attends conferences and lectures on a regular basis to keep updated with the most current developments in the field of veterinary medicine.
Dr. Quinn's practice philosophy involves maintaining the highest standard of veterinary medical care while honouring the human-animal bond and fostering communication in a warm and friendly environment. She deeply values the relationships formed with our client families and patients and absolutely loves caring for senior pets!
Over the past couple of years, Dr. Quinn co-founded Smart.vet and Ontario Veterinary Telemedicine Services, currently the only CVO accredited facility of it’s kind in Ontario. The concept is to make veterinary care more accessible to all, and she is very excited to continue to work on new uses and applications for telemedicine in veterinary healthcare.
In her spare time, she helps to run an international singing competition, and enjoys travelling to different places around the world with the singers from Canada.
Dr. Quinn resides with her partner Marc and four children Michael, Preston, Peyton and Rowan. In addition to the permanent clinic residents and adoptable pets you will meet on our site, the family includes two cats, Jace and Hannah, and three pet rats!
Dr. Kristen Frederick, DVM
Kristen joined the team at Nelson Animal Hospital in July, 2020. She has a B.Sc in biological anthropology from the University of Toronto, and a DVM degree from the Ontario Veterinary College (Class of 2017). She has worked in both equine and small animal practice, and her professional interests include anesthesia, feline medicine and shelter medicine.
Kristen lives in Hamilton with her partner Dane and their mischievous cat Leonard. Outside of work, Kristen enjoys horseback riding, sport climbing, sailing, reading and travelling. She also enjoys assisting with the Nelson Animal Hospital adoption program.
Dr. Barbara Drewry, DVM
Coming soon.
Heather, RVT
Registered Veterinary Technician
Heather graduated from Seneca College in the spring of 2018 and achieved Registered Veterinary Technician status later that summer. Heather loves working with animals of all shapes and sizes. While at school, she could often be found in the barns on campus hanging out with sheep, cows, ponies, and horses. Since graduation, Heather has been working in small animal practice and loves helping to treat every pet that comes to Nelson Animal Hospital.
Heather has a special interest in client education and animal nutrition. Heather is the proud dog-mom of a Redbone Coonhound named Aurora and they love finding new trails to hike together.
Kaitlyn, RVT
Registered Veterinary Technician
Kaitlyn graduated from Seneca College, King Campus in 2013. After graduation she traveled to South Africa to help provide under privileged townships with parasite prevention, vaccines and spay and neuter services. She joined our team in Sept 2013 after working the summer at a local zoo.
Kaitlyn always knew she had a huge love for helping animals and it was a lifelong goal to become a veterinary technician. She has a special interest in patient care and recovery and always enjoys a good dental cleaning! Kaitlyn has a soft spot for bunnies and pocket pets.
Outside of work you can find her spending time with her husband and daughter, enjoying the outdoors, practicing yoga or shopping! They share their home with an adorable orange tabby named Wayne & a three-legged black cat named Paul!
Tracy, RVT
Registered Veterinary Technician
Tracy achieved her RVT status in 2004 after graduating from Ridgetown College. She also has an academic undergrad and masters degree in Musical Performance. Tracy has a passion for the science side of medicine, and when she isn’t at Nelson Animal Hospital yon can find her back at Ridgetown! She has been teaching since 2011 and has taught courses such as Clinical Chemistry, Hematology and Urinalysis. Tracy wanted to become and RVT to raise awareness about responsible pet care, as well as to help people (and furry friends of all shapes and sizes).
Tracy’s home life is as busy as her workplace with a husband, two lovely daughters and three cats (Pasha the resident old lady, and her two rambunctious kittens Beans and Buttons). She loves spending time with her kids and can often be found volunteering as a trainer for Taya and Georgia’s hockey teams. Some of her interests outside of work include; Fitness, faith and fiction! In her free time Tracy loves being active or curling up with a good book. She also enjoys spending time helping out at church.
Karleigh Hubble
Veterinary Assistant/ Client Care Specialist
Karleigh is another friendly face you will see here at the front desk! She joined the Nelson family in August 2020 after working and volunteering in the veterinary field for many years. Karleigh graduated from Brock University with a degree in biological science.
She has an interest in observing surgeries, caring for post op patients, and providing knowledge about pet nutrition.
Outside of work Karleigh enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 sons and share their home with 2 dogs, 6 cats and bunny! You can also find her enjoying photography, hiking and baking.
Dana Laidman
Veterinary Assistant/ Client Care Specialist
Dana has worked with animals for about 9 years by volunteering and working in the veterinary field. She has always had the passion for working with animals for many years and can’t imagine doing anything else. Dana has graduated from Ontario Veterinarian Assistant program and looks forward to returning back to school to become a technician in the next year or two.
Outside of work you can find Dana either curled up at home with a nice cup of coffee, a book and her cat named Olivia or out and about enjoying what nature has to offer. Dana is a proud cat mom and will somehow always find a way to bring up her fur baby.
Hannah Kim
Veterinary Assistant/ Client Care Specialist
Hannah has worked with a variety of animals including but not limited to pocket pets, cats, dogs, and horses. She has always been passionate about animal welfare and she hopes to practice veterinary medicine in the near future! Hannah achieved her honours B.Sc. with a specialization in Biology from the University of Western Ontario in 2022 (go Mustangs!). She is actively pursuing either a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree or a M.Sc. in Animal Sciences, or both!
Hannah’s favourite animals are marine mammals and she had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of observing them in the wild when she lived in Victoria, BC. This included sea otters, whales, seals, and more! She also holds a special place in her heart for her 2 dogs, Snowy (a Maltese) and Hugo (a Dobermann), and cat, Zeus.
When she’s not at work, Hannah enjoys skiing, going to the gym, making art (visual and musical), and rewatching the Marvel Cinematic Universe!