Our Team

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Our Team

Home / About / Our Team

Each of our staff members is whole-heartedly devoted to not just technical expertise, but to creating an atmosphere of extraordinary support, honesty and compassion. All of our veterinarians are members of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and the College of Veterinarians of Ontario.

Dr. Gabor Magyar

Veterinarian/Owner

A native of Hungary, Gabor was inspired at a young age to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph before attending the Ontario Veterinary College. Having spent a few years gaining valuable experience in veterinary hospitals in both Alberta and Ontario, he is happy to call Close Veterinary Clinic home. Gabor enjoys all facets of veterinary medicine, with special interests in surgery, dentistry and preventative medicine. Dr. Magyar participates regularly in continuing education to remain current in the profession. He enjoys working together with the compassionate team at Close Veterinary Clinic to provide optimal health care for all four-legged family members! In his spare time, Gabor enjoys reading, mountain-biking and spending time with his beautiful family which includes his wife Laura, daughters Kamilla and Nikoletta, son Roland and Goldendoodle puppy Bundás.

Dr. Kirstie Puskas

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Kirstie Puskas knew she wanted to become a veterinarian when she was young and has spent many years achieving this goal. She grew up in Waterloo, Ontario and moved to Guelph to complete her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science at the University of Guelph. After completing her degree, she was accepted into the Ontario Veterinary College. Since graduating, Dr. Puskas has worked in south western Ontario and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. She recently moved back to Guelph with her husband and is happy to join the team at Close Veterinary Clinic. She enjoys working with owners to provide the best possible care for their pets. She has a special interest in surgery, anesthesia and emergency medicine. Dr. Puskas and her husband have a 1 year old son and share their home with Hunter, a bluetick coonhound. When not working, Dr. Puskas enjoys many outdoor activities including mountain biking, running, cross country skiing and hiking.

Dr. Heather Brown

Associate Veterinarian

Dr. Brown is the newest addition to the Close Vet team. She grew up in Norfolk county, and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Guelph in Animal Biology with a minor in Nutrition and Nutraceuticals. She then went abroad to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland for her veterinary degree where she spent four years studying, as well as travelling throughout Europe in her downtime. Since graduating in 2016, she has worked in Brantford before making the move to Close Vet in Kitchener. She has a special interest in dermatology and nutrition, and enjoys creating a relationship with clients and their pets. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, baking, and travelling. She has one very anxious cat who has been nicknamed “Pansy”, who can often be seen as a lump under the covers when visitors are in her home.

Emilee

Office Manager/Veterinary Technician

Emilee is one of the fantastic Veterinary Technicians on our team! She has been with Close Veterinary Clinic since the beginning and works hard every day to make sure surgeries run smoothly and that all the animals in our care are well taken care of! She has been the office manager since February 2015, bringing lots of experience to ensure the best care is provided. Emilee graduated from Office Administration – Veterinary at Conestoga College in 2017. Before working with Close Veterinary Clinic, Emilee worked in a local boarding facility gaining experience, then proceeded to obtain her grooming license in Brampton, Ontario. Outside of work, Emilee enjoys spending time with her husband Jordan, family and friends. At home, she has four rescued fur babies: two Chihuahuas: Tia & Paco and two feline friends: Indy & Momo.

Jessica M.

Registered Veterinary Technician

Jessica is one of our RVT’s that joined the Close Veterinary Clinic team in 2014 after graduating from the Veterinary Technician Program at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus. Her passion for animals started at a young age and led her to work at a veterinary clinic and a horse farm while attending high school prior to becoming a veterinary technician. Jessica grew up in Georgetown but currently lives in Kitchener with her husband Shayne, daughter Elena and son Noah. They share their home with both fur and scale babies including a pug named Yoda, two cats – Fred and George, as well as multiple snakes and fish. In her spare time Jessica enjoys spending time with her family, reading, playing video games and attending reptile expos.

Amanda

Registered Veterinary Technician

Meet Amanda, one of our RVTs. Amanda began her educational career by attending Wilfrid Laurier University where she received a BA in Psychology but, her passion for animals drove her to pursue a career as a Registered Veterinary Technician instead. She graduated from the Veterinary Technician program at Sheridan College in April 2018 and passed her registry exam in August 2018. Amanda loves all animals but, she especially loves cats. She has two cats of her own, Luke and Ivy. Ivy was a cat that came into the clinic looking for a new home. Amanda quickly fell in love with her and she has adjuested well with her new family.

Jan

Veterinary Technician/Assistant

Jan graduated from the University of Guelph (Ridgetown Campus) in 2013. Jan lives with her three cats: Luca, Florence, and Daisy. Daisy came to the clinic as a feral cat with a serious leg injury and is now doing well in her new home.

Jessica D.

Receptionist

Meet Jessica, one of our wonderful receptionists. Jessica has always had a passion for animals and has 2 little pugs of her own at home. After high school, she decided to take the Animal Care program at Sheridan College and graduated with honors in 2013. Since then she has been working with the staff at Close Vet Clinic and she plans to go back to school soon to further her education and become a registered veterinary technician.

Doreen

Receptionist

After arriving from Scotland, Doreen attended high school in Montreal and then McGill University, graduating with a B.Sc. and B.Ed. She taught in Montreal and Labrador City for 13 years. While teaching in Labrador, Doreen became involved with the local SPCA and for 11 years volunteered to work with the veterinarian who flew in from Quebec City every 6 weeks. This vast experience became the basis of her future work with animals. Upon relocating to Ontario in 1983, she made the decision to follow her heart and her love of animals and work full time in the veterinary world. She has worked at four veterinary clinics over the last 30 years performing many functions, but now prefers to work at the front office interacting with the clients and their pets. At CVC, she loves to work with the rescued animals giving special time to kittens which often go home with her for some extra TLC. Throughout her life she has shared her many homes with goldfish, birds, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, turtles, tortoises, cats and dogs. It is her special love for cats that brought her to the showing and breeding of Persian cats for over 20 years. She was the president of the Golden Triangle Cat Fanciers, our local cat club, for over 10 years. With 5 granddaughters much of her time for attending cat shows has been curtailed, however she still enjoys getting away for a week-end to show Japanese Bobtails, a wonderful but little known cat breed.

Krista

Receptionist

Krista is one of our receptionists. She started working with Dr. Close many years ago and continues to work with us on a part time basis. She has always been drawn to animals and has two Labrador Retrievers (Jasmine & Tilly) and two cats (Stormy & Vinny). In her spare time, Krista enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Gord

Animal Care Attendant

Meet Gord, the man who wears many hats at the clinic. He has been a client with Dr. Close since the late 80’s and has adopted many animals from us over the years. He’s our ‘behind the scenes’ man on weekends. Not only does he take care of the clinic animals, but he also looks after the boarding and hospitalized patients on Saturday and Sunday evenings. Gord seems to have a special connection with each and every animal he meets: our resident dog Deena loves him to pieces!