Dr. Gary Palmer – Veterinarian/Practice Owner
Dr. Palmer graduated from Ontario Veterinary College in 1989. He practiced for three years in a busy, progressive animal hospital in Scarborough before falling in love with Northern Ontario and purchasing Sault Ste. Marie Animal Clinic with his wife Robin in 1992. While practicing in Scarborough, Dr. Palmer was fortunate to be at one of the first private practices in Ontario to offer veterinary ultrasound diagnostic services to their clients. Over the last twenty years he has enjoyed refining his skills and incorporating this valuable diagnostic tool into daily practice. In addition to providing comprehensive preventive care for pets, Dr. Palmer relishes working up challenging internal medicine and cardiology cases. He is also an accomplished surgeon and enjoys performing a wide range of surgery from orthopedics to root canals. Recently, he has developed an interest in minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery and has been very impressed with the many benefits this exciting new technique offers.
Dr. Robin Lewis-Palmer – Veterinarian/Practice Owner
Dr. Lewis-Palmer graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1990. She practiced in Scarborough for two years prior to moving back to northern Ontario with her husband Gary to purchase Sault Ste. Marie Animal Clinic in 1992. Unfortunately, allergies limit the amount of “hands on” contact Dr. Lewis-Palmer has with dogs and cats but she remains active behind the scenes as a practice manager and promoting client education.
Tara Houston – Registered Veterinary Technician
Tara has been with Sault Ste. Marie Animal Clinic since graduating from the Centralia College Veterinary Technician program in 1994 and obtaining her Registered Veterinary Technician status in 1995. She participates in ongoing accredited continuing education activities to maintain her registered technician status. Tara is responsible for running most of the diagnostic tests performed on blood, urine and stool samples in our fully equipped ‘in house’ laboratory as well as taking x-rays and monitoring pets under general anesthesia.
In her spare time, Tara operates ‘The Mannered Pooch” teaching group and private obedience lessons. She actively competes in Agility classes with her Parsons Terrier “Cricket”. Tara has also trained Hudson, the Palmer’s Portuguese Water Dog, and has successfully competed with him at several agility competitions as well. Hudson LOVES learning and competing in agility and highly recommends Tara as a trainer.
Cindy Bouchard – Veterinary Assistant
Cindy joined the Sault Ste. Marie Animal Clinic team in 2001. She is active behind the scenes assisting during assessments, treatments, surgery and anesthesia but her favourite part of the job is providing lots of TLC for our four-legged friends. Cindy is the one to make sure your pet’s stay with us is as pleasant and fear free as possible – her caring and gentle manner calms even the most nervous or reluctant patients. Cindy has a cat and two dogs at home.
Whether it’s four legs or four wheels, count Cindy in! She and her husband enjoy four wheeling, ATV’s and they spent many years mud racing in Canada and the US.
Cara Noyes Registered Veterinary Technician
The newest member of the team, Cara, is a graduate of the Northern College Veterinary Technology program and brings over 10 years of experience working in a variety of veterinary hospitals. Cara participates in ongoing Continuing Education to maintain her designation as a Registered Veterinary Technician and like Tara, performs all aspects of diagnostic lab work, taking x-rays, monitoring pets under anesthesia and caring for pets in the hospital. She particularly enjoys interacting with clients and answering questions about caring for the four legged members of their families.
A self described ‘Cat Lady’, Cara and her fiancée and four cats (Marmalade, Percy, Bear, and Ike) moved to Sault Ste Marie to take advantage of all the Northern Ontario lifestyle has to offer. 
Hudson – Good Will Ambassador/Clinic Spokes Dog
Hudson is a Portuguese Water Dog belonging to the Palmer family. Following family tradition, Hudson spends most of his days in the clinic. He takes a personal interest in every patient and client that comes into Sault Ste. Marie Animal Clinic and generally likes to make his presence known. Hudson takes his role as clinic “Spokes Dog” very seriously and frequently dresses up to make PSA announcements on our social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
Delilah – Patient Advocate/Social Media Influencer
Delilah is a Chihuahua also belonging to to the Palmer family. She takes her role as patient advocate seriously as she has personal experience with being a patient – she was born here via C-section and after a somewhat rocky start, ended up being a permanent part of the Palmer family.
Due to her tropical heritage (and very short coat), Delilah is always cold – so she has acquired an impressive wardrobe and a reputation for being a fashionista. Like Hudson, Delilah also takes her public role very seriously and often dresses up with him for important Public Service Announcements.
Cricket – Positive Reinforcement and Clicker Training Expert
Cricket is a Parsons terrier belonging to technician Tara. Aptly named (she must have springs in her legs!) Cricket, is an avid obedience, agility and clicker training enthusiast. Cricket and Tara love to offer advice on positive reinforcement training techniques and to entertain you with an impressive repertoire of tricks.
Click Here to see “Cricket’s Corner”.
Oscar – Patient Advocate/Clinic Cat
Oscar earned his name when he was found as a tiny kitten with a badly broken leg by a city garbage truck driver. He captured our hearts as he struggled first with the broken leg then with the secondary nerve damage caused by the fracture. He too has embraced life as a clinic cat and spends his days visiting the hospitalized patients and supervising their care and treatments.
Click here to read here to read some “Oscar’s Success Stories”.