Meet a Scientologist—Canadian Pet Vet Donald Bissonnette
Second-generation veterinarian Donald Bissonnette loves his four-legged patients and goes out of his way to make them feel at home in his office. Scientology has helped him learn patience and bolstered his personal integrity. His video profile is one of 200 “Meet a Scientologist” videos available on the Scientology website at www.scientology.org.
Winter has definitely arrived in Mississauga, and Donald and Dawn Bissonnette, veterinarians who live and work in this southern Ontario city, anticipate spending a white Christmas with their friends, family, three cats, two dogs and three horses.
The couple met at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, while learning how to restrain a horse as part of their veterinary training. They started dating a year later, married, earned Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees, and have worked together ever since.
In his interview on the Scientology video channel at www.scientology.org, Donald Bissonnette describes a typical day at their clinic, which specializes in the care of cats and dogs. It’s a friendly place where pets and their owners are greeted by a Rottweiler statue bearing a welcome sign. The Bissonnettes love their four-legged patients and go out of their way to make them feel at home.
Donald Bissonnette grew up in a Canadian farming community where his father was a veterinarian. As a youngster, Donald did chores around the clinic and helped his dad when cows gave birth, inheriting not only his dad’s love of animals but also his wry sense of humor.
Asked what difference Scientology has made in his life, Bissonnette laughs and replies, “You wouldn’t have wanted to know me before Scientology.”
“There was so much that used to bother me—things that just don’t bother me now,” says Bissonnette. “Dawn and I both used to lose our tempers a fair bit. That doesn’t happen anymore. We are a lot calmer and more capable of dealing with situations as they arise.”
One of Bissonnette’s guiding principles is Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s definition of personal integrity: “What is true for you is what you have observed yourself. And when you lose that, you have lost everything.”
“I can think for myself and use my own knowledge,” says Bissonnette. “Scientology really explained a lot for me, with answers to questions that didn’t seem to have any answers. It has been a voyage of self-discovery. Everything was what I came up with and not what others told me. Thanks to Scientology, I can think for myself.”
View the Donald Bissonnette video at Scientology.org
The popular “Meet a Scientologist” profiles on the Church of Scientology International Video Channel at Scientology.org now total 200 broadcast-quality documentary videos featuring Scientologists from diverse locations and walks of life. The personal stories are told by Scientologists who are educators, teenagers, skydivers, a golf instructor, a hip-hop dancer, IT manager, stunt pilot, mothers, fathers, dentists, photographers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, engineers, students, business owners and more.
A digital pioneer and leader in the online religious community, in April 2008 the Church of Scientology became the first major religion to launch its own official YouTube Video Channel, which has now been viewed by millions of visitors.