Future Vets Society (FVS) hosted guest speaker veterinarian Dr. Jan Bellows, one of only six board certified companion animal specialists in Broward County, Monday, March 10. Bellows specializes in dental procedures and brought along his service dog Rylee as well.

Bellows informed club members, many of whom are interested in a future with veterinary medicine, of how to not only become a veterinarian, but also shared his life story with his own practice.

“Today’s meeting was amazing. I had so many questions for the doctor and it is always great to have a furry friend visit campus,” senior FVS co-president Sydney Burke said.

Uniquely, Bellows began learning dentistry from a human dentist and only studied an extra two years to become a veterinarian, opposed to the three-six seen in recent years. 

Although Bellows specializes in dogs and cats, he has worked with many interesting animals across South Florida including lions, jaguars, monkeys, gorillas, sea otters, bears and anteaters. One of the more quirky cases, in fact, was the anteater. With the creature being around eight feet long, “[t]he anteater was too big to be on the table so I had to do the procedure laying down on the ground,” Bellows said.

Bellows demonstrates and teaches students how to find and listen to a dog’s heartbeat with a stethoscope. “My favorite part was hearing about his unique experiences all around the world with animals like baboons and bears as well as listening to… Rylee’s heartbeat,” junior FVS co-president Anneliese Hsiao said. (Photo/Sydney Burke)