Love for animals inspires woman to become a vet

There are people born knowing what they want to do with their lives, and people who are well into adulthood by the time they know what they want to be when they "grow up."

As a very young child growing up in Lombard, Shannon Bielke said she used to walk around saying she wanted to be an animal doctor. Well, she's all grown up and just joined the Randall Oaks Animal Hospital on Huntley Road in Carpentersville as a veterinarian last month.

"I was born into a house with two dogs and a cat. I've had animals my whole life. It's been something I wanted to do since I was three or four," she said.

"Our animals had ailments, so I kind of went back and forth to vets starting at a young age and helped my mom give them medication and things like that."

She has had dogs with epilepsy, renal failure and pancreatic cancer. And along the way she was an owner of hamsters, a chinchilla and a ferret.

Bielke, who earned degrees from Augustana College in Rock Island and the University of Illinois in Champaign, worked as a veterinary technician at an animal hospital in Bartlett during summers and holiday breaks.

"I assisted in the surgeries and did the lab work just to get my head in the door, and so I knew what I was getting into," she said. "Getting into vet school you need experience, otherwise it's really hard to get in."

After graduation, she worked about three years at the Bartlett hospital before going to Randall Oaks Animal Hospital. She is excited to join a practice owned by a female vet, and is looking forward to being mentored by Mary Benz.

Benz, who opened the hospital in 2002, said she hired Bielke because her practice is growing and she needed additional help. The staff also includes a part-time vet, a practice technician and three vet assistants.

"Dr. Bielke is very conscientious, and she cares about the clients as well as the pets. She's got good medical knowledge," Benz said. "Obviously, we have to diagnosis without the patients telling us anything. It's like putting a puzzle together."

Bielke, who married and moved to Gilberts last year, lives with her husband, Aaron, and their Australian cattle dog, Gage; their pit bull mix, Georgie; and their cat, Tommy, a stray that was dropped off at the clinic.

"He was extremely sick and I just fell in love with him and brought him home," Bielke said.

What makes her a good vet is that she is not just a doctor, but an owner.

"For me, I feel like they are definitely a member of the family. Gage was mine coming into my marriage. He offered companionship. They love regardless of whether you're in a good mood or a bad mood. It's unconditional love that they give you, and loyalty. They always want to make you happy," Bielke said.

"They can be therapeutic, too," she continued. "We got my grandma, who has Alzheimer's, a cat about three years ago and I think it's helped her extraordinarily. Having someone around, and her affection with the cat, has really helped her out.

For more about Randall Oaks Animal Hospital, visit randalloaksanimalhospital.com or call (847) 428-8430.

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