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.

Tanya cannot remember a time in her life without a four legged companion. She loves animals of all kinds (almost!) and has made Drayton Valley area her home since late 2018. Through her extensive Medical Laboratory career in Alberta, she has been able to parlay her love for patients into a love for leading teams. Combining her love of animals and people, she has found a home at Rocky Rapids Veterinary Services!

Emra graduated from the AHT program at Lakeland College in 2016. Since then she has been a dedicated Registered Veterinary Technician, providing exceptional care to all furry friends. She started working in Edmonton before moving to beautiful Prince Rupert BC for four years and has gained experience and knowledge to share with the people of Drayton Valley. She has always loved animals since she was young and knew then that she wanted to be in the veterinary field. In her spare time, Emra enjoys hiking and spending time with her husband, three cats; Butterscotch, Fluffy, and Molly, and two dogs; Sarafina and Pandora.

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.

Nici was born and raised in Drayton Valley and moved to Edmonton at 19 with the dream of becoming a Veterinarian. After a few years in University, she changed course and ended up moving over to NAIT for her animal health diploma to become an RVT. Nici has always had a passion for dogs and horses and has an avid history and interest in exotics, especially reptiles. She currently have 3 dogs (Maddie, Paisley and Mikey) and loves taking them out hiking in the mountains or camping. Nici says she is obsessed with reading, plants and crocheting!

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!

Emily grew up on a small farm outside of Buck Lake, Alberta where they have a variety of animals including cows, horses, goats, chickens, dogs, and cats. Emily enjoys spending time outside with her animals and in her free time, she likes to paint and draw.

Bio coming soon!

Savanah is a mother to three lovely children. In her own time, she enjoys painting landscapes and animal portraits. Savanah has always had a special place for animals because she grew up on a farm close to Tomahawk and has always dreamt of working in a veterinary clinic!

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.