The new dean of the University of Calgary’s vet school arrived with a lot of new ideas — and two dogs, an Icelandic horse, a donkey, a pony, four children and one husband.
“They are family members,” Renate Weller said of the four-legged emigrés. “We have had the donkey and his two companion ponies for 20 years and I didn’t want to leave them behind.”
Weller — and ensemble — moved from London, England because of the opportunities at U of C’s Veterinary School of Medicine (UCVM), she said.
“I come from one of the oldest vet schools in the world (the Royal Veterinary College),” she said. “That’s where I spent most of my career.”
She grew up in southern Germany on a small farm near the Austrian border and attended veterinary school in Munich. Both that school and the Royal Veterinary College are long established but coming to UCVM offers a different sort of opportunity.
“I graduated from one of the oldest veterinary schools and the biggest,” said Weller. “Calgary is small and in its teenage years. It’s way more agile and can adapt much easier to the global challenges we are facing. That appealed to me.”
The family arrived mid-August, and Weller started her new role on Sept. 1.
She said she likes the hands-on model practised at the U of Calgary. Through their veterinary training, students learn practical skills, which give them real-life experience.
“To me, that’s the way forward,” she said.
A chunk of that hands-on learning takes place at the University of Calgary’s W.A. Ranches, a 19,000-acre working ranch that the school calls a “living laboratory.”
“It’s such an opportunity for those who research as well as on the teaching side. The opportunities are endless there,” she said.
In her interviews for the position, Weller was impressed by the engagement of people involved both in the faculty and in the local community.
“The stakeholders really want to contribute and help and get involved. That is unbelievable. It is really great here,” she said.
She’s also impressed by the scope of research being done at UCVM.
“For a school that size, they punch above their weight. That was a big draw for me. They’re tackling really big problems,” she said.
“What a lot of people don’t understand is that veterinary work is a lot more than looking after individual animals. They play a big role in tackling environmental and sustainability issues.
“We all know there is a close relationship between animal health and human health, and Calgary embraced that very early.”
Weller has a wide variety of experience.
She worked in the corporate world as director of veterinary education at CVS group, one of the U.K.’s largest integrated veterinary service providers. She began her work as a veterinarian in rural general practice, and eventually specialized as an equine clinician. She has also worked in private practice, in hospitals, in universities, and as a researcher. Along the way, she took on leadership roles.
And that journey has taken her around the world. Weller has worked in Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, and has done development, consultancy and research work in Dubai, Brazil, Finland and Russia.
“I consider myself a global citizen,” she said. “I guess that’s one of the things I love about veterinary medicine. You can go wherever you want and take your skills with you and there’s always demand.”
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Because of her upbringing in rural Germany, Weller feels at home in farming communities.
“The flavour varies a bit, but farmers talk the same talk,” she said. “We worry about weather, about prices and so on. That’s where I come from.”
One of her priorities and interests is tackling Alberta’s shortage of rural veterinarians, which is also a problem in the United Kingdom, Germany and most of Europe.
“If you would ask me what’s the biggest threat at the moment to animal care, it would be that — the lack of and availability of veterinary expertise. That’s something we all have to work on.”
People need to examine new models and bring various communities together to work on solutions, she said.
“I would also like to look into creating almost like bridging programs for foreign vets,” she said. “The basic skills are there. If you are a decent vet and you have the skills, you can learn.”
There also needs to be a focused effort to attract people with international veterinary expertise, and keep veterinarians and vet techs in the profession.
“It’s heartbreaking when you see young, enthusiastic people drop out of the profession after a few years,” she said. “We need to address the factors that cause them to drop out. We need to support them.
“The whole COVID-19 situation has led to a bigger acceptance of tele-health. I think we need to see that we build up a network where more experienced vets help youngsters who are having trouble with a case, that we make help accessible.”
Weller’s husband, Thilo Pfau, is working as a professor in the faculty of kinesiology at the University of Calgary. The two older children are enrolled at the University of Calgary, while the two younger ones are in high school and junior high.
“They (the two younger children) enjoy that they don’t have to wear a school uniform and can bring their mobile phones to school,” she said. “That is a big no-no in schools in the U.K.”
But one of the family is looking for employment.
“We have two dogs — one is a well-trained herding dog who misses her sheep desperately,” said Weller. “So if there are any farmers around Calgary who need their sheep herded, we are happy to come out and help.”
Her pony, donkey and Icelandic horse — all in their 20s and in good health — are coming to Canada, but were delayed because it is difficult to ship animals during COVID-19.
