Creating great client relationships through communication and trust

Dr. Guillemaud and ‘Summer’.
Anne Marie Guillemaud, owner and veterinarian, is an ‘Island Girl’ and grew up in Port McNeill. Annie has loved horses her entire life. She was a member of the Ports North Pony Club, achieving her Horsemanship Level A. Some of you may remember her from her time showing horses in the Comox Valley under her maiden name, De Leenheer. Annie also used to compete in the Modern Pentathlon, which includes riding, running, swimming, shooting and fencing.
Dr. Guillemaud did her undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, earning a Bachelor of Science in Food Nutrition and Health in 2008. After that, she moved to Saskatoon and completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. She stayed on at the College to spend a year working as an Intern in Equine Field Service. She was then a Clinical Associate in Equine Field Service for two years, before returning to the Island to join Epona Equine in 2015. In 2019 she purchased the practice from Dr. Andrea Plaxton. Dr. Guillemaud’s areas of interest include reproduction, dentistry, and lameness.
When not working Annie can be found enjoying time with her Dutch Warmblood ‘Summer’, filly ‘Raeah’, her husband, Chris, and daughters, Hannah and Hailey.

Dr. Tamara Hockley
Tamara Hockley, associate veterinarian, also known as Red grew up in a dairy family in Alberta as the oldest of four kids. Although her path to becoming a veterinarian has not been as streamlined as most, she fell in love with veterinary medicine at the age of 6 when she rescued a pair of sick, abandoned kittens. As a teen, Red spent many hours riding her horses in the foothills of the Rockies and riding shotgun with her veterinary mentors.

Kayleigh
Former Staff Members

Dr. Julia Cusack
Julia Cusack, former associate veterinarian, is originally from Nova Scotia. She attended Dalhousie University in Halifax and the University of Queensland in Australia for her undergraduate coursework. She completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, PEI in 2019. She then headed to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon where she completed a large animal rotating internship. This included rotating through medicine, surgery, field services and theriogenology. Julia was with Epona Equine from 2020-2021 before leaving to pursue a radiology residency. We wish her all the best!

Shannon & ‘Summer’.
Shannon Eykelenboom, former Animal Health Technologist, is originally from Alberta. She moved to the Comox Valley in 2016. with her husband and 2 young children. She brought along her Paint gelding, Kohlie.
Shannon graduated from the Animal Health Technology program in 2002 from NAIT in Edmonton. She worked at an emergency clinic, small animal clinic and then a mixed animal practice in Alberta.
Shannon joined Epona Equine in October 2017 as a part-time vet which eventual turned into a more full time position. Shannon and her family moved to the Yukon in early 2021. We miss her very much and hope they move back to the Valley some day. Kohlie stayed behind and lives with Dr. Guillemaud.

Kasey and ‘Figgy’

Cassidy and ‘Skyla’