Where Art Meets Animal Care: Nova Vet Takes Home the Vet Candy Design & Innovation Award at WVC Vegas 2026
The WVC marked its 98th annual gathering in Las Vegas at the iconic Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and tucked inside all the energy and activity of one of the veterinary industry's biggest weeks was a moment worth stopping for.
The Vet Candy Design & Innovation Award was presented to this year's recipient, and before the applause faded, history had already been made.
Nova Vet. Calgary, Alberta. The first Canadian clinic to ever take home the honor.
Shannon Gervais and Dr. Dan McClair accepted the award. Nova Vet isn't just a beautiful clinic. It's a statement about what veterinary medicine can become when someone is willing to dream a little bigger.
Inspired by art deco design, Nova Vet pulls off something genuinely rare: a clinical environment that feels both sophisticated and welcoming, where the details have been considered not just for aesthetics, but for how they serve the clients, patients, and team members moving through the space every single day.
The presentation was led by Vet Candy team members Caitlin Palmer and Dr. Jessica Trice and for Dr. Trice, it was a full-circle moment. In 2023, she was the one receiving this award for her Chicago-based clinic, Vetique, a clinic like no other, complete with multiple chandeliers, a bar for clients, and even gold flecks in the flooring. To go from honoree to presenter, handing the recognition forward to the next wave of creative thinkers in the profession, gave the ceremony a warmth that felt entirely fitting.
"This award is about celebrating practices that dare to be different," said Dr. Jill Lopez, CEO of Vet Candy. "Nova Vet embodies creativity, vision, and a deep commitment to the client and patient experience. They've created something truly special, and we're honored to recognize them on such a big stage."
The Vet Candy Design & Innovation Award has always been about more than square footage and furniture choices. It's about the philosophy behind the design, the belief that a veterinary clinic should reflect the passion of the people inside it, that clients deserve to feel welcomed rather than merely processed, and that environment shapes culture just as much as culture shapes environment.
Nova Vet gets that.
From Chicago to Calgary, the award's reach continues to grow, and so does the conversation about what it means to build a practice that's truly worth walking into. Innovation in veterinary medicine isn't only happening in treatment protocols. Sometimes it's in the way a waiting room makes an anxious pet owner exhale. In the courage it takes to look at a blank floor plan and see something no one has tried before.
This year, that courage had a name: Nova Vet.
The Vet Candy Design & Innovation Award is presented annually to a veterinary practice that exemplifies excellence in clinic design, client experience, and creative vision. Past recipients include Vetique in Chicago, Illinois.
