For Dr. Allison Hay, starring in the documentary program about Indigenous women veterinarians was an opportunity to be a role model.
A shy, animal-loving kid who grew up to run her own veterinary practice in Saskatoon, Allison Hay was always more comfortable in the barn than in front of broadcast cameras.
She never expected to be sharing her work at the Forest Grove Veterinary Clinic with a national TV audience.
“From treating beloved pets to caring for wildlife, Wild Rose Vets opens the world of veterinary medicine, showcasing the dedication of these veterinarians to keeping animals healthy and happy,” APTN said in a news release.
Hay said APTN approached her in 2022, telling her that her name had come up in discussions of Indigenous women working in veterinary medicine who might be a good fit for their new show.
She was willing to hear them out, but had “every intention of telling them ‘no thank you,’ ” she said.
Hay grew up in Calgary, doting on the family dogs and cats as well has her grandparents’ horses. By the time she was six, she knew she would grow up to be a veterinarian, she said.
“I always came to all the vet visits with my family, and our family vet (Dr. Martin Lovo) was really lovely and allowed me to come in and volunteer at the age of 14,” she recalled.
“I loved seeing how he interacted with people, that he really listened to what their concerns were and tried to come up with solutions that would help. He had this really positive, caring energy about him, and it was contagious. So I knew, not only did I want to be a vet, but I wanted to be like him.”
Now, with a veterinary clinic of her own, Hay thought Wild Rose Vets could be an opportunity to share a version of that formative experience with others and help bring a new generation of animal lovers into the world of veterinary medicine.
She had some hesitations, especially about how the presence of a documentary crew might affect staff and patients at the clinic. But when she raised the idea, the response was instantly and overwhelmingly enthusiastic, she said.
“My family and friends and all of my colleagues and teammates at Forest Grove have had nothing but really positive feedback,” she said. “Especially at the clinic, a lot of people enjoy seeing themselves on TV and watching how they’re portrayed. …
“At first, when we got started, it was a little hectic. It’s weird to show up to work and have a microphone taped onto you, and to be thinking about batteries during the workday. It’s weird to have a camera following you around.
“But as the weeks went by, they did such a good job of blending into the background and the flow of the practice, and I was shocked at how many of our clients were stoked to share their story and show off their pets and how much they love them. It was really sweet.”
Wild Rose Vets has been full of learning experiences: From little things like seeing what her ‘I’m nervous and I’m thinking about what’s going on’ expression looks like on TV, to profound new ways of connecting with her own Indigenous heritage.
Her mother is Gwich’in from Old Crow, a small community in the Yukon north of the Arctic Circle, but Hay never had the opportunity to be immersed in that culture.
“My mom was a part of the ’60s Scoop, so she was adopted into a white family — a really wonderful, loving family. I love my grandparents to bits,” she said. “But it cut a big link to that cultural aspect.
“My heritage is something that I’ve always felt very drawn to and wanted to learn more about, but I wasn’t sure how to do it in a respectful way. … It felt very isolating.”
During the filming of Wild Rose Vets, Hay didn’t fly up to the Yukon, but she was encouraged to look for ways to participate in the Indigenous culture and traditions in Saskatoon. She took jigging classes, learned beadwork from a colleague at the vet clinic, and discovered that embracing Indigenous culture more empowering than intimidating, she said.
“For me, this was a big step. I can take pride in my roots, and not be ashamed that I don’t know a lot about my culture; it’s OK for me to want to learn more. … I really love and appreciate the stories and experiences people have shared, which empower me to have my own.”
Hay said she knows her story is not unique; many young people with Indigenous heritage share the same worries and fears she carried around about whether it would be OK to go and learn more about their culture and community, and whether they would be welcome in those spaces.
If she had seen a show like Wild Rose Vets when she was growing up, it would have told her something she needed to hear, she said.
“As a kid, this is a show that I absolutely would have been in love with. I would have been a big fan of watching a bunch of vets working with animals. I don’t know if I would have picked up on the Indigenous culture at the time, but I would have loved seeing all the stories of the human-animal connection and all the different ways it can be expressed.
“And as I got older, I think I would have found it empowering to know that the person on TV had a similar background to me — they weren’t raised in that culture, but they’re wanting to learn more; they’re taking a jigging class and learning beading and going to a powwow. And they’re being openly accepted and encouraged to do so.
“I think that would have empowered me to start that journey for myself, a little younger than I am now.”
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