Meet Dr. Villanueva
Dr. Pilar was born in the south of Chile, the land of lakes and volcanoes. She grew up on a farm with her two brothers. Her mother was an elementary teacher and her father was a farmer. Farm life directed her path to become a veterinarian; when she was four years old she decided she would be a “pet doctor”.
She graduated from vet school in 2009 in Chile and moved to Toronto to work as an RVT to gain experience before getting her doctorate certified in Canada in 2016-2017. She has special interests in dermatology, cardiology, internal medicine, and chronic disease management.
During the pandemic, she felt very far from her roots in Toronto and found the opportunity to move to Southern Alberta and to the mountains! She has a passion for outdoor activities like hiking, camping, and snowboarding.
She has two kitties, El Diablo and Mama Cat. Since moving to Alberta she has redeveloped a passion for homegrown food and is a pescatarian (she doesn’t eat meat). She can grow potatoes, tomatoes, and herbs but has no luck with broccoli and cauliflower. She says her clinic in Toronto was like family to her and it was very scary to leave them, but she was lucky enough to find Chinook Pet Clinic and discover a new family. And we are so lucky to have her!