Our team
Our veterinary surgeons
Dr Jean C. Pfister
Dr. Pfister was born in Basel and grew up in the canton of Bern. He graduated from the University of Bern in 1990. He completed his dissertation in anaesthesiology and obtained a PhD in 1991. He worked as a veterinary surgeon in a mixed practice (large and small animals) in Frutigen (BE) from 1991 to 1993 and then at our small animal surgery in Ecublens from 1993 to 1996. He completed several AO-courses in osteosynthesis in Davos and Courchevel in 1994/95. He then took over the small animal practice from Dr. Pierre Hauser in Lausanne city centre in 1996. In 2014, Dr. Pfister took over Dr. Nidegger’s practice in Ecublens, together with Dr. Pasche. He obtained his ESAVS certificate in dermatology in 2005 and was elected president of the Swiss Small Animal Association in 2008. Besides his interest in domestic pets, Dr. Pfister shows a particular interest in big cats.
He enjoys spending time with his wife, his three children and his Border Terrier, Egna. Besides having a keen interest in art and travel, he thrives on outdoor activities and sport.
Dresse Emmanuelle Cunier
Dr Cunier grew up in Auvergne (France), in the midst of nature and animals with her Dad practicing as a Vet. After completing her degree in international communication in Health Sciences, she studies Veterinary Medicine in Parma (Italy).She complets her thesis in 2006, and spends some time practicing as a Vet on dairy farms in Romagna (Italy). She consequently heads to Haute –Savoie and enjoys practicing with animals on Alpine pastures.The call to diversy brings her closer to small animals and she starts practising and caring for both smaller and larger animal, first in the French Chablais, then in Geneva.Open-minded and curious of her surroundings wherever she goes, Emmanuelle enjoys spending time in the mountains, skiing and hiking as well as taking advantage of the cultural offer of the Lac Leman région. Her three boys, two cats and dachshund keep on her toes daily!
Dr. Justyna Szczepaniak
Welcome to our new vet Dr. Justyna Szczepaniak. After graduating from the faculty of veterinary medicine of the University of Warsaw in 2014, she worked in our practice in Ecublens from 2016 to 2017. Her degree got recognized in Switzerland that year. Backed by the experience she has gathered in local veterinary practices since then, Justyna joined our team again in September. Her area of expertise is internal medicine, especially dermatology and endocrinology. She plans to do a soft tissue surgery training course in the near future.
Dr. Szczepaniak, who is a happy owner of two Jura ratters, Roxie and Reksio, works in our Lausanne practice branch. She particularly enjoys classical music, cinema, walks in the countryside, horse-riding and tennis.
Dresse Sophie Vilaclara
Dr. Vilaclara grew up in Geneva and she’s been passionate about animals for as long as she remembers. In 2018 she completed her degree in Veterinary Medicine in Valencia (Spain) at the University Cardenal-Herrera-CEU.
She then practiced at the Saint Martin Veterinary center for a year, followed by two small animal clinics in Grenoble (France).
Dr. Vilaclara is particulary interested in small mammals such as rabbits. She’s a proud mum of two rabbits (Peluche and Patchouli) and a Guinea Pig (Piweet). When she’s not taking care of animals, she’s passionate about horse riding and outdoors sports.
Our veterinary nurses
Olivia Martin
Olivia graduated as a veterinary nurse in July 2014 and joined our team in August 2016. Her special interest is everything involving dog behaviour and dog training. She is a keen cyclist and enjoys walks with her dog “Palma”.
Manon Borgeaud
Manon joined our team in September 2017.
She is currently training as a veterinary nurse and is in her second year.
She enjoys sports in general and competes in athletics in her free time. She also loves looking after Noisette, her rabbit.
Caroline Chablais
After having obtained her bachelor’s degree in Equine Science in Great Britain, Caroline chose to look after smaller pets and decided to train as a veterinary nurse. She joined our team in July 2017 and is now in her second year of training.
Caroline is especially interested in canine and equine massage and would like to specialize in that field. In her free time, Caroline loves looking after her dog “Nella”, plays volley-ball and practices yoga.
Tatiana Wick
Tatiana has joined our team this summer to begin her training as a Veterinary nurse. Animals have always been a passion; as a teenager, she spent four years volunteering at an animal park, mainly looking after birds of prey. Tatiana completed her training as a Canine Educator (DIC) in 2014 and enrolled in the army as a rescue dog handler in 2016. Since, she has completed numerous trainings with Redog. Rain or shine, Tatiana spends her free time training her sled dogs “Jag” and “Anco”. Her thirst for knowledge about animals, and canids in particular, has driven her to take on this next step in her education.
Patrick Beutler
Patrick is currently in his last year of training as a vet nurse.
In addition to his passion for animals, especially his cat “Limonade”, Patrick engages in many activities including skiing, water skiing and shooting, among other sports. He has been part of our team since March 2015.
Baptiste Gachet
Baptiste joined our team in 2017 and is in his first year of veterinary nurse training. During his free time, Baptiste plays volleyball and is a goalie in his local football team.
Frontdesk and administration
Robin Gervaz
Robin Gervaz completed his veterinary nurse training at our practice in Lausanne in 2014. He then decided to pursue a purely administrative career and trained as a commercial employee and obtained a professional maturity.
Robin joined our Ecublens team in August 2017. He mainly works at the frontdesk and deals with the administrative side of the practice, although he is more than able to support the nurses if necessary.
He is furthermore responsible for the purchase and stock of medical supply. He goes to the gym three times a week and loves riding his motobike with his friends. He is also a keen poker player.
Florence Pittet
Florence Pittet has been working in the practice as a secretary since 2006. She mainly deals with the finances and bookkeeping of the practice. Florence obtained her commercial diploma in business administration in 1983. She is very fond of animals and owns a cat. In her spare time, she enjoys skiing and hiking in the mountains.