In early spring, For Paws Blue Cross Animal Hospital begins receiving the phone calls. “What will you do with the flower garden this year?”
Dr. Jennifer Jellison has heard from clients, “If you take care of flowers like that, you must take great care of pets!”
She laughs, sharing that the landscaping started as a way to make her veterinary office feel like home when she took over the previous clinic in 2011. Folks drive by to see what’s growing. They honk and wave at Dr. Jennifer’s husband, who dutifully weeds and waters the ever-expanding beds every day. Some clients have given her plants to name after their pets.
Inside For Paws, compassion and care bloom bright.
For Paws is a full-service animal hospital providing general and preventive medical care, lab work, dental cleanings and surgery to cats and dogs of all sizes and ages. This includes treating emergency cases and providing routine checkups.
“I love the relationship between the animal and the owner,” says Dr. Jennifer. “We are all on the same team, working together to get the pet well, vaccinated or house trained.”
Plus, she loves puppy “face kisses” and the detective aspect of her internal medicine specialty. “I like trying to solve the problem,” she says.
A Pet Project
From the time she was 4, Dr. Jennifer knew she wanted to care for animals. “I’ve never wavered from wanting to become a vet,” says Dr. Jennifer, who opened For Paws Blue Cross Animal Hospital in North Canton 12 years ago.
A formative experience as a preschooler paved a lifelong career pathway. “My father and I were driving one evening and the car in front of us hit a dog on Cleveland Avenue and kept going. The car behind it beeped at the dog and ran over it, as well,” she relates, still shaken by the inhumanity.
Her dad stopped, got out of the car and picked up the dog. “I started to cry and my father looked at me and said, ‘If you’re going to help, help. If you are going to cry, get back in the car.’”
“That was it,” Dr. Jennifer says. “I helped him load the dog into the car, and we took it to a vet hospital with an emergency service where you ring the bell. I remember ringing it and ringing it, and no one came to help. We took the dog home, found the owners, and it died that night with the owners down in our basement.”
The lesson? Just help.
Dr. Jennifer applies this mindset to her practice and community involvement. At For Paws, Dr. Jennifer knows clients have different financial concerns. “But people come here because they need help, and that is our goal,” she says. “We try to help everyone who walks in our doors in one way or another.”
One way of doing this is through Dr. Jennifer’s pet project.
The For Paws Project funds care for abandoned or surrendered animals that are badly injured or severely ill, from pelvic fractures to pneumonia. “These pets are usually referred to me by a shelter, I pay for their care privately, and then we adopt them out,” Dr. Jennifer says, adding that she believes if you have the education and knowledge, that’s a gift. “How can I not use it?”
For Paws has helped up to 2,500 dogs and cats through the project. “It’s so rewarding to see these pets get better, and I personally look at them as my pets,” she says.
In fact, she takes 10 puppies needing a home to New York City every year when she appears on Live with Kelly and Mark as a regular guest. She and associates from For Paws load up their SUVs and caravan to the city. “It’s a big honor,” she says. “I’m humbled to be invited and to bring my puppies.”
Dr. Jennifer has also appeared on Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures. She was his pet’s vet while living in Columbus. Hanna’s executive producer saw a segment she did for the local Fox news and called on her to speak about canine companions for Independence.
“We do safety talks for the North Canton Fire Department and sponsor runs for the elementary school,” Dr. Jennifer adds. “We try to stay as active as we can in the community. We are invested and reach out as much as we can.”
To learn more about Four Paws Blue Cross Animal Hospital, visit ForPawsCanton.com.
At home, the Jellisons have a wire hair fox terrier named Zoey, and a “mop of a dog” who goes by Zen Warrior Princess. They also dote over two cats – Kitten and Elliott. “We have downsized over the years,” Dr. Jennifer says. “At one point, I had three kids, eight cats, four dogs, a hamster, a ferret and a husband!”
“I love the relationship between the animal and the owner. We are all on the same team, working together to get the pet well or vaccinated or house trained, whatever it is.”
“We try to help everyone who walks in our doors in one way or another.