Biography & Contact

I was born in Germany in 1965. A year later my family emigrated to Canada.  I grew up in Saskatoon, regularly returning to Germany to visit. I studied biology the University of Saskatchewan before switching to veterinary medicine. After graduation in 1990 I moved to Winnipeg with my classmate and future wife, Lorraine. Except for a year taken to backpack around the world, I have been in the same Winnipeg small animal practice since 1990. I have been semi-retired since the beginning of last year, showing up only a couple half-days a week. When I feel like it. 

My writing began with blogging about travel and veterinary medicine, and then my first book, The Accidental Veterinarian, was published by ECW Press in 2019.

Lorraine and I live in a creaky old house on the river with two young adult children, an unpredictable cat, and a very predictable dog. 

Although the clinic, writing, and my family keep me busy, I love to spend time outdoors in self-propelled activities. I'm a particular fan of long-distance walking, having completed the West Highland Way, Hadrian's Wall, the Laugavegurinn, and the Inca Trail, among others. Back in the pandemic, I was also inspired to start tackling "virtual walks", with the highlight being a 2863 km trek across Middle Earth from The Shire to Mordor. I learned how sturdy those hobbits really were.