Our Norman Veterinarian

Jennifer A. Holland, DVM

Although Dr. Jennifer Holland thought for a time about becoming a medical doctor, her path to veterinary medicine seemed preordained from a very early age.

"I have been an animal lover from my earliest days. As a baby, I learned to walk grasping the shaggy coats of two Old English Sheepdogs, one on either side, who shepherded me gently about the house and kept me safely away from steps and stairs," she recalls. "Through the years, we had a great variety of pets, from cats and dogs, to pocket pets, rabbits, cockatiels and horses. As a young girl, many of my fondest memories are of times I spent on horseback, in the company of my dog, exploring the canyons and mesas of Los Alamos, New Mexico."

Dr. Holland grew up in Los Alamos and moved to Vinita, Oklahoma while in high school after her mother and stepfather bought a horse ranch there. It was during high school that Dr. Holland had the epiphany that changed her life. While attending a National Youth Leadership Forum's "Careers in Medicine" conference, she spent an afternoon shadowing two veterinarians at the Houston Zoo. "I was fascinated, engaged, and energized in a way I had never experienced," she says. "After that pivotal afternoon I changed my focus to veterinary medicine and I never looked back."

Dr. Holland earned her bachelor's degree in zoology from Texas A&M University, where she graduated summa cum laude. As an undergraduate, she received a National Merit Scholarship, the President's Endowed Scholarship, and the College of Science Faculty Achievement Award. She was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society. Following college, she received a full scholarship to the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she graduated in May 2003 with her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine. While there she was a member of the Nu Chapter of the Phi Zeta National Veterinary Medical Honor Society and the OSU Chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

As for being a veterinarian, Dr. Holland finds particular satisfaction in the daily excitement and challenges of her chosen profession. "On any given day we may be solving the puzzle of why this cat has stopped using her litter box, or taking bets on what this dog ingested to cause projectile vomiting, or looking at a complicated wound and deciding how to debride the damaged tissue and still be able to close the wound as aesthetically as possible," she says. "We get to hear funny stories about pets from our clients, and share funny stories about their pet's antics while dropped off at the hospital. We also connect on an emotional level with many of our animal-loving clients, and that can be very rewarding."

One of Dr. Holland's most memorable cases involved nursing a Boston terrier that arrived in her owner's arms, experiencing full body convulsions. The entire family — the panicked mother, two teary young children, and a basket of one week old puppies — followed close behind. "With a simple infusion of calcium gluconate to restore the calcium levels depleted by her milk production, our patient was on her feet and giving kisses within a matter of minutes, showing us in the only way she knew, that she was aware we had saved her life," Dr. Holland remembers. "The looks of amazement and wonder on the faces of the clients and their children as they came in to the treatment area a short while later and found their sweet dog alert, affectionate and well on her way to recovery, was priceless."

Dr. Holland is a member of the American Animal Hospital Association, Oklahoma Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association. Her areas of professional interest include internal medicine and wound repair.

Dr. Holland is married to her "love and dearest friend" Greg, who is a professor of engineering at Oklahoma City Community College and a cat lover. They have two small children, Liam and Savannah. "Liam is actually the funniest person I know and Savannah is my snuggle bug and my emerging athlete," says their proud and loving mother.

At home, Dr. Holland and her family care for a menagerie of pets: three dogs (Shania, an Anatolian shepherd; Jacque, a boxer; and Girlfriend, a small breed mix), three cats (Teacup, an Abyssinian mix; Liddie, a Himalayan mix; and Freeway, a domestic shorthair), three horses (Firefly, an Arabian; Grandizer, a Percheron-Arabian; and Midas, a Missouri Fox Trotter), a teddy bear hamster named Fuzzy, Brahma chickens, and Muscovy ducks. They also have four saltwater aquariums.

In her free time, Dr. Holland enjoys attending her kids' activities and reading. She is also an avid quilter and dabbles in floral arrangement, wall art, and photography.