Meet The Team

He appreciates the opportunities that rural mixed-animal practice brings. You can find him on the farmyards with the cattle, the sheep, and the goats (or other wooly creatures) almost as often as he is in the clinic surrounded by the dogs and cats of the area. The challenges of medicine and surgery, with a side of laser therapy, combine to keep him sharp and always learning. Dr. Winder enjoys helping to mentor the students and new graduates that come through the practice, hoping to pass on some of the lessons he has learned over the years. After a day in the practice, Dr. Winder heads home to spend time with his wife Ingrid and to take orders from his cat named Claude.

Dr. Savannah Howse is a veterinarian at Rocky Rapids Veterinary Services and has been with the practice since 2013. She went to the University of Alberta for her undergraduate degree and earned her DVM from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2013. She offers veterinary care to a wide variety of animals, from bees to bulls and everything in between! Her special interests include exotic animal/wildlife, poultry and honey bee medicine.

Dr. Howse is also a Responsible Veterinarian for the Canadian Animal Task Force and for the Alberta Helping Animals Society. She values the human-animal bond, providing services to maximize production in food animal operations, as well as offering a spectrum of care to ensure veterinary services are within reach of everyone that owns animals. When not working or volunteering, she enjoys gardening, beekeeping, and playing board games and video games. It really makes her day when a pet comes in with a nerdy name!

After completing high school, she went on to Simon Fraser University, where she completed four years of university studies. In 1988 she moved to Saskatoon to attend the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and received her degree in 1992. Dr. Oakey moved to Alberta after graduating from vet school, and in 1993 she started practicing at Rocky Rapids Veterinary Services. She has been providing excellent care and service for her patients over the years and has always had a special interest in horses. She has bred and raised Canadian Warmbloods for over 16 years.

When not at the clinic, she spends her time riding, cycling, skiing, all with her wonderful daughter Kathryn. They are both very involved with their horses and compete in dressage. Sharron is a competitive triathlete and cyclist; she has acquired numerous medals and has traveled the world competing. She and Kathryn spend most of their spare time outdoors working with all their horses and being active.

Kaylei’s love for all things four-legged started at a very young age. This love was reinforced when she graduated from NAIT in September of 2020 from the Veterinary Medical Assistant program.

She moved to Drayton Valley in 2011 and married her high school sweetheart a short 7 years later! They have three beautiful fur babies at home. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, fishing, hiking, and spending as much time as she can with her family and friends. Kaylei joined the Rocky Rapids team in September of 2021.

Ever since Veronica was a little girl she’s had a strong passion for animals. Shortly after graduating high school, she started working at an animal hospital and instantly fell in love. She began as a receptionist and slowly worked her way up helping out hands-on with the patients. Veronica moved to Alberta from Vancouver BC 10 years ago and decided to grow her knowledge and study to become a Veterinary Assistant. Shortly after receiving her certification, she started a family and bought her first home on an acreage.

Veronica couldn’t be more thrilled to be where she is at today and to be a part of the Rocky Rapids Veterinary Services team!

Lisa has worked with Rocky Rapid Veterinary Services for three years. In 2018 she graduated from Lakeland college from the Veterinary Medical Assistant program. Before that, she had the opportunity to work on a feedlot in western Australia with sheep and cattle. Lisa lives on a farm with her parents near Tomahawk where she owns a handful of purebred Simmental cattle. Some of the things she enjoys are playing with her two nephews, showing cattle, hanging out with friends, and contributing to the success of the family farm.

One of the many things Lisa does at RRVS is work in the back along with the technicians on daily surgical appointments while helping to carefully prepare the animals. She is also the person that comes to greet and admit patients on the morning of surgery. Lisa enjoys working with all of her co-workers and of course animals of any size!

Ricki Is originally from Vancouver BC where she graduated from the Kwantlen University farrier program. She moved to Drayton Valley in 2019 and joined the RRVS team as a Veterinary Technical Assistant in 2020.

Ricki resides North of town with her husband Angelo and their dog Koda, and she is also expecting her first child in February 2022. Outside of work she enjoys practicing farriery and spending time outdoors camping and hiking.

Brooke came to Drayton Valley In the spring of 2019 after graduating from Lakeland College with her AHT diploma. She has been with Rocky Rapids Veterinary Services ever since and enjoys the variety and challenge of a busy mixed animal practice. She grew up around both small and large animals, and since joining the RRVS team has loved expanding her skills to include exotics. Outside of work, Brooke spends most of her time caring for her own animals on an acreage with her partner and enjoying sports, travel, and good food with her friends and family.

Tori has lived in Drayton Valley for the past 15 years. Rocky Rapids Veterinary Services has been like a second home, as a senior in high school she spent most of her lunch hours volunteering and observing behind the scenes.

Tori spent her winter and summer breaks while she was a college student working at the clinic to gain more experience. After graduating from the Animal Health Technology program at Lakeland College in March of 2020, she started working at RRVS.
Tori’s special interests lie in small animal medicine and surgeries. She loves the whole surgery process from anesthetizing, monitoring anesthesia, to patient recovery.

During her spare time she enjoys camping, being with friends, and traveling the world!

Jackie has had a passion for animals her whole life. After her first Jack Russell had puppies when Jackie was a teenager, she developed further interest in caring for animals. In 2008 she graduated from the Veterinary Administrative Assistant program at NAIT.

After a 12-year reception career in Leduc, Jackie joined the Rocky Rapids Team in 2020. Being a person that loves to learn, she actively participates in continuing education courses and will be the first to say “you learn something new every day”. She also has a passion for volunteering and has been a part of Edmonton’s Zoo Dream Night, the Canadian Animal Task Force, and the Alberta Helping Animals Society. When Jackie is not in the clinic, she’s spending time with her 16-year-old Jack Russell, her 5-year-old son, or enjoying one of her many activities (bowling, swimming, practicing her saxophone, playing cards with friends).
You will see her friendly smile at RRVS in the front end as well as find her assisting the doctors with their appointments. Other times she will be working hard on the online tasks.

You could say she’s the “Jackie of all trades”!

Brenda was born & raised in Manitoba and owned a mixed farm for 30 years. Shortly after selling the farm, it didn’t take long for her to realize that she missed working with animals and decided to return to school to take the Veterinary Administration course in Winnipeg. Upon graduating with honors she began working in the veterinary industry and eventually moved to Alberta where she was Practice Manager at an Edmonton clinic until 2018. It was at that time that she decided to shift her focus to full-time renovations on the acreage and 40-year-old log home she & her husband Rod, and of course, their black lab Brix had purchased for retirement. But once again as the renovations were completed and Brenda’s spare time increased she began to miss working within the veterinary industry. So, in July of 2021, Brenda joined the Rocky Rapids Veterinary team in the position of Practice Manager.

Michele comes from the United States, where she was a Veterinary Technician until starting a family. She moved to Alberta with her husband and 4 children in 2006 and lives North of Drayton Valley on an acreage enjoying the Alberta country life. As soon as she was ready to return to working outside the home, she went back to her love of working with animals in the Veterinary field and joined Rocky Rapids Veterinary Services.

Michele enjoys small community and rural Alberta living. It is not only a great place to raise a family but because she also can have her cats, dogs, and horses. She loves giving back to the community by volunteering and being involved in her local church. Whenever her pets or horses can be involved she is sure to be there. Whether it’s riding her horse in the local parade, a fundraising trail ride for the local kids camp, or dressing her dogs up for Halloween to raise funds for animal rescue.

In the future, Michele hopes to be able to combine her heart for people and love of animals and get involved in animal-assisted therapy with her horses and dogs.