In human medicine, we receive primary treatment from our family physicians and if more complex matters emerge, the family doctor refers us to appropriate specialist care. What most of us don’t realize is that the same is also true for pets.

Family veterinarians handle primary treatment concerns such as routine check-ups, vaccinations and minor surgical procedures. However, there is a separate category of veterinary specialists who have received additional training and certifications in areas such as internal medicine, surgery, neurology and critical care, who see patients with advanced care requirements that have been referred by their family vets.

Canada West Veterinary Specialists is the largest veterinary specialty hospital in Western Canada with over 20 specialists and 100 staff providing specialist veterinary services as well as 24/7/365 emergency care. They are a designated sentinel site for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and the Disaster Response Centre for animals for Greater Vancouver and are regularly featured in the mainstream media for their handling of high-profile cases such as the Canada’s first canine open-heart surgery.

Skunkworks has worked with Canada West for over a decade on a myriad of strategic initiatives and marketing activities. Our involvement includes:

• Research surveys for referring veterinarians, clients and staff to understand stakeholder needs and enhance service offerings;
• Logo design refresh and collateral redevelopment to modernize the hospitals corporate identity;
• Website redevelopment to improve both functionality and appearance;
• Event planning & marketing to develop and evolve the province's largest annual gathering of the veterinary profession in British Columbia for a continuing education symposium as well as a smaller seminar series, as well as bi-annual on-site training seminars for police and emergency team K-9 Units;
• Building Signage both internal & external to improve visibility and user experience at the facility;
• E-Newsletter program development, copywriting and management to maintain an ongoing communication channel with the province's family veterinarian demographic, a key stakeholder group;
• Print collateral including a variety of brochures; and
• Social Media Management including growing the hospital's facebook presence to over 4,000 followers.