New doctor joins Hometown Animal Hospital staff

Jessica Heinrick has loved animals from a very young age and wanted to work with them.

People suggested that she enroll in veterinary school – but she wasn’t so sure.

“Too much math and science,” she told them.

Nevertheless, she finally decided to give it a try – and she was pleasantly surprised.

“It turned out I really enjoyed the science part of it … I discovered biology and chemistry are really interesting,” she recalls. “So, I became a pre-vet major my first year of college. I made the decision rather later in life, but once I made it, it felt right.”

Heinrick recently joined the Hometown Animal staff as its newest doctor. She specializes in small animal general practice, which includes preventative care, exams, vaccines and diagnostic exams.

After starting out in Western Washington, Heinrick later moved to Burns, Oregon, from which she commutes every week. She spends three days at Hometown and another one to two days in Central Oregon doing equine dentistry.

“I have been coming to Central Oregon for a number of years doing equine dentistry, so I am very comfortable in the area,” she said.

Growing up, Heinrick had lots of pets. Most of them were cats, dogs and horses, although she remembers periodically adopting an injured mouse or rabbit or bird that they would bring inside and try to nurse it back to health.

That love of animals and the desire to help them is what ultimately drove her into the veterinary field.

“I am very tenderhearted, and it drives me to do the absolute best that I can,” she said. “I have very big feelings where animals and their owners are concerned. That makes the hard times harder, but it also drives me to do the best that I can. I have a really big belief that we should treat our animals with kindness and respect and be as gentle and make their visit as comfortable as possible.”

The other highlight of her job besides caring for the animals is the team with which she works.

“I feel like I have really been fortunate in finding this group of people,” she said, “because everyone genuinely cares.”