Caledon Mountain Veterinary Hospital has become a big-time clinic with a small-town feel over the last 20 years

By Rob Paul

When you walk in, it feels like home: there's a soothing presence about it that helps keeps your anxieties at bay, even when you're fearing for a lifelong companion's well-being. That is the Caledon Mountain Veterinary Hospital.

For 20 years, Dr. John and Dana Brajkovich have aimed to instill a type of culture at the Caledon Mountain Veterinary Hospital that makes pet owners feel like family and pets feel safe in their hands.

In March of 2002, the Brajkoviches made the decision to open the clinic in an old art gallery on Elizabeth Street in Caledon Village, and what was a risk for them at the time turned into their greatest success as they've become a pillar of the community.

“I grew up here in Caledon Village and when I became a vet this building came up for sale within a year or two of graduating and I had actually worked as a volunteer in a clinic in the Village that had shut down,” said John. “When this building came up for sale, we thought what better thing to do than to come back into our own community.”

“The timing wasn't great because he was new and we had two young kids at the time,” said Dana.

“So, we took a leap of faith and hoped that our community would support us and 20 years later we're doing well, thanks to the community,” John continued. “We've supported the local community with employment, as well as fundraising for the church and community, because now we want to give back to Caledon Village.”

Seeing the clinic grow from an animal hospital that supported those in the area to a staple of animal healthcare in the province has been a surreal feeling, but John and Dana are adamant the success hasn't allowed them to lose focus of the importance of connecting with clients.

“I started by myself here with Dana and we grew from three employees to about 26,” John said. “We've changed pace a lot in terms of starting as a small animal hospital; we do have a small animal hospital but now most of our business is referral surgery. We get a lot of clients from all over Ontario and Quebec. They come here for specialized surgeries that other places just don't do and we have advanced imaging like CT scans and procedures that can only really be done at the university or here as referral. We've kind of gone from a small-town clinic to a big city approach with how we do things and it's very unique to this industry. Moving into the future we do have more plans on doing more procedures that people have to travel great distances for.”

A big reason for the growth of the clinic over the last two decades has been John's love of advancing his knowledge and the technology within the practice to ensure they can help any and all pets in need.

“John loves technology,” said Dana. “We're always getting the newest equipment—we just got a new dentistry area.”

“We try to be up to date and we're doing things that most vet clinics aren't doing anywhere,” John said. “For example, I'll do 3D modelling and imaging of a fracture and then prep and plan using this the 3D print and I'll bring that into surgery for an accurate, quick, and efficient procedure. There's a lot of technology that we've adapted from the human side but there's a very small cohort of surgeons that actually do that, and that's a difference with us. I also want to stay up on the newest technology and that's what attracts veterinarians and other staff here and interested. We do a lot of hip replacements here and we're only one of two or three facilities in Ontario that do total hip replacements and people travel from across the province to us.”

For the Brajkoviches, it always comes back to being client-oriented and giving the best service through that old-school small-town disposition that comes with treating everyone who walks in the clinics door like a family friend. 

“We've employed my kids and their friends throughout the years, and we still feel like a small family business, but we're a bigger player than most places. We feel like we're in a good spot and continuing and advancing what we do because we have so much energy and a lot of young people here that do a really good job with client services. That's what also sets us apart; we have amazing hands-on client experience as well as providing a service that you'd have to go to a facility that has a huge hospital. 

“Those types of facilities are different for people; they don't have that same one-on-one conversation about the pets they care so much about. We've also done something special here called ‘Fear Free' and we're all certified in that and it's to help with stress. When an owner comes in here, they're stressed, which makes the animal stressed, so we have special pheromones in rooms that settle them down and we have certain handling techniques that create a good environment for them, so they don't become stressed. Not a lot of places do it, but I think it's important that when they come in, they're feeling more like they're at their house and that's part of it with the building too. Our building doesn't feel like a clinic, it feels more like a house and none of us wear white scrubs. We want it to feel like we're all at home checking out your pet. It sets a lot of people's minds at ease.”

The Brajkoviches aren't just passionate about giving back to the geographical community, but also to the community that comes with being part of a unique industry full of people that love animals and want to help them.

“We do help a lot of rescue groups because a lot of them have no owners and no facilities and just have fundraisers,” said John. “It's something that's become important to us because we can facilitate these procedures that they would need to wait a long time to get done or we can have a conversation directly with groups that have started the process of bringing an animal in. It makes it an easier transition for these groups to get animal the procedures they need done in a relaxed state because they're super anxious animals. Rescue groups are dear to our heart here because we care so much about the animals.”

Having been mentored at the old clinic in Caledon Village himself all those years ago, John has made a point to do the same for others who have an interest in becoming a veterinarian and it's the biggest way he pays forward the chance he was given. 

“We have a lot of pride in this place, it's a beautiful building, but it's when you see the relationships we've built through this place that have continued after starting with just three people it's amazing,” said Dana. “Having all three of our kids be part of this one way or another and our youngest wanting to be a veterinarian is amazing. And John has mentored probably 100 different students over the years who want to be veterinarians, supporting others has been a big part of this place.”

“I'm on the Admissions Committee for the university and I work for the College of Veterinaries in their discipline committee as well,” John said. “I try to give back to our profession that way and helping mentor high school kids and university students to get them on the pathway.”

“Because at some point someone took a leap of faith with him,” said Dana. “He volunteered at places, and he needed to have people who were willing to take that risk with him. John said to me, ‘you've got to remember where you came from and why you went into the job' because like anything in life it can get ahead of you, and you start to lose your passion but he's able to keep himself grounded by using his skill and knowledge to help others out.”

“When the old country clinic here took me on as a kid, it worked out because I got enough experience there to realize this is what I want to do, and now to come back to the same area and I try to do the same for them that was done for me,” said John.

The culture that the Brajkoviches have built at the Caledon Mountain Veterinary Hospital may be the achievement they're most proud of and it's the reason their relationships are so strong with clients and others in the industry. 

“People come and go but the spirit of this place stays the same and I think gets better,” said John. “It's this whole team that works together to make their job a happy place to come to and it's that thing we're so happy to have created—a happy place means happy employees and happy clients. It's that continuation of having a good vibe and feel when you walk through the door or talk with us on the phone. From start to finish, we want to give a full experience. People drive from the city and comment on how amazing it is, so it's a full package feel for a lot of people.”

“Even with the other veterinarians in the area, there's room for everybody,” said Dana. “John goes to other vets to do orthopaedics, it's not a cutthroat feeling here, it's a community.”

“It's that old country feel, where everyone knows everyone but also it's the fact that we've got everything here, so you don't need to go to the city to get special imaging done or specialized procedures. We have all that here, but we'll also give you the family feel. That for us is very unique in this industry.”

At the end of the day, the best part about the success that John has found at the clinic is the way it's rubbed off on his children and how he's now getting to see them grow up and achieve their dreams the way he once did when he opened the Caledon Mountain Veterinary Hospital. 

“I've got a great family, and all this wouldn't happen without the community support and their support,” John said. “Our kids all see how hard we work and they're using that to become successful and interested in their careers. My eldest is in agriculture at the University of Guelph and she's doing amazing thing, my son Moses is in biomedical engineering and so he helps me with a lot of projects I have, and my youngest in grade nine wants to follow in my footsteps. What drives me and motivates me is to see them interested and seeing what we've done which makes them believe they can succeed in their interests. That's what's most important to me, seeing my kids achieve their goals.” 

Even though they've reached massive heights the Brajkoviches have stayed humble and will never forget the support that Caledon has given them for the last 20 years. 

“We're trying to navigate through a hard time, but we really want to reach out to the community and thank everyone for being patient with us and for always supporting us,” said John.

“There's a list of people who have been supporting us since day one and they've seen John go from the only vet here to what we are now,” said Dana. “It's those people that have been so important, those are the people who started us and got us going. They're the people who we'd rush to pick up the phone for when we first started 20 years ago because we were so anxious for support and those people are still with us and supporting us.”

As the 20-year anniversary of Caledon Mountain Veterinary Hospital approaches, Dana and John encourage the community to stay tuned to the clinic's social media pages for contests that will support small local businesses in Caledon.