Off the Beaten Path Veterinary Retreats is where veterinary professionals come to reconnect - with nature, their passion, and themselves. We create immersive retreat experiences designed to foster well-being, spark inspiration, and build community among those who give so much care to the animals. Step away from the clinic and into a space where you can rest, grow, and rediscover your “why”.
About Us
Dr. Midge Ritchie, DVM Founder, Off the Beaten Path Veterinary Retreats
My journey to becoming a veterinarian has been anything but conventional. I was raised in Northeastern Ohio by an artistic father, and I earned my bachelor’s degree in fashion design and art history from Kent State University. It was the adoption of my first Pug, Oliver - following a series of personal losses - that illuminated my true calling: to care for animals and support the people who love them.
I moved to New York City in 2000, completing my pre-veterinary prerequisites at Columbia University and Hunter College while gaining hands-on experience as a veterinary technician. I earned my veterinary degree from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, completing my clinical training at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in 2010.
Following several years of practice in New York, I relocated to Canada in 2014 and later reopened Bowen Veterinary Services on Bowen Island, BC in 2019, becoming co-owner in 2021.
As a veterinarian, I have a special interest in wellness-focused care, internal medicine, pain management, dentistry and soft tissue surgery. I am also deeply passionate about mental health in the veterinary profession. I have completed the AVMA’s Train-the-Trainer, Veterinary Wellbeing Educator and Certificate of Wellbeing in the Workplace programs and am currently enrolled in The University of Tennessee's Veterinary Human Support Certificate Program.
Driven by a desire to support the well-being of my colleagues as well as my patients, I founded Off the Beaten Path Veterinary Retreats, a unique Canadian-based initiative offering continuing education retreats that combine high-quality veterinary medicine topics with a focus on mental health topics in restorative, offbeat locations.
Outside of veterinary medicine, I enjoy traveling, visiting art museums and spending time with my son, Xander. Currently I live on Bowen Island with Xander, a Pug Dexter, a rescue pittie Piper and a crew of beloved cats.
