CLEVELAND, Ohio — “I’ve always wanted to be a doctor ever since I was a little girl. It's been a longtime dream of mine,” Dr. Venaya Jones said.

• Since the majority of veterinarians in the workforce are white, opening her clinic didn’t come easy
• Aside from caring for her over 150 clients, she plans to use the clinic to inspire more youth to pursue careers in veterinary medicine
• The facility offers a wide spectrum of services, including diagnostic exams, dermatology, wellness visits, and hospice care

It was in the third grade that Jones realized that her dream could become her reality.

“It’s exciting when you find that you what your passion is actually something you can get paid to do. So, it was really exciting when I saw this veterinarian at a career day,” said Jones.

Now being a veterinarian and business owner is her career. Jones recently opened the Cleveland Veterinary Clinic.

She says its location, which is in the Fairfax neighborhood outside of downtown Cleveland, is right where she wanted it to be. 

“There's not a lot of veterinary options in this area, so I’ve always wanted to come back and be able to provide this care for the animals in this area, and the fact that it is a majority minority area. Also, I wanted to come back so they can see themselves in me.” Jones said.

Jones says when she entered the profession there weren’t many veterinarians that looked like her. In fact, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, about 97 percent of  veterinarians in the workforce are white.

“I got a lot of pushback from that “but I don't think it discouraged me, it just made me more determined I'm going to be one of them…I don't care what the dominated sex or color is, I'm going to be one of them.” Jones said.

Jones studied zoology at Kent State, where she received her bachelor’s degree and later went to veterinary school at Western University in California.

She then set out to open her clinic, which she says didn’t come easy. 

“I felt like a lot of people, you know, questioned me or made me doubt that this could be something that could be possibly done. So, I felt like I had to keep reminding myself and telling myself, if I can see this vision, this can happen,” said Jones.

Her persistence and positive attitude paid off. 

“I did feel like a little kid in the candy store or in Disneyland like, oh my God, this is finally happening to me, and I was like, I can finally take a deep breath, that, you know, that my dream, my hard work, was finally paying off," said Jones.

Iones says aside from caring for her over 150 clients, she plans to use the clinic to inspire more youth to pursue careers in veterinary medicine. 

“When they come in, I'm going to definitely let them experience as much in the veterinary field as they can safely experience while they're here, so it's just, just leaving my doors open and letting the community know that i am available,” said Jones.

Athough she just celebrated her grand opening last month, she’s already focused on the future. 

“This wasn't the ultimate goal that I had set up for myself, I actually want to create like a doggy-doggy cat university, where it's like a full service, they got the full-service hospital, but they also have a human facility, they have boarding facility, pet store, all like, in like on one big campus.” Jones said. 

The facility offers a wide spectrum of services, including diagnostic exams, dermatology, wellness visits, and hospice care.