Jessika has always had a love for animals. While growing up, she and her family always had both dogs and cats. It wasn’t until she adopted her first puppy, Gus shortly after graduating high school, that she discovered her passion and desire to work in the veterinary field.

After working full-time as a gas station cashier, she began the Veterinary Technician program at Kirkwood Community College. She graduated from Kirkwood in May 2015 after two years of schooling and a full-time summer internship. In August 2015, she passed the Veterinary Technician National Exam and became a Registered Veterinary Technician. During her schooling and shortly after graduating, Jessika worked full-time at a veterinary clinic in Waterloo before joining the Petersen Pet Hospital team in January 2016.

Jessika chose a career in the veterinary field because of her passion to help those that could not help themselves. She loves every pet she meets and enjoys getting to know each of their individual personalities. She has a soft spot for our senior patients and always tries her best to keep them comfortable and relaxed during their visits with us.  In March of 2017 she received her Fear Free Certification.  This certification means that she has been educated in the ways of making the entire process of taking your pet to the veterinary office much less stressful and fearful.

Jessika lives in Keystone with her husband Jim. They have a rather large furry family including a Yorkshire Terrier, Gus, who would do anything for a snack. Ellie, a Jack Russell Terrier, enjoys splashing in the water and getting as dirty as possible, whenever possible. Their four cats, Perrie, Geronimo, Arby, and Kiwi all love sunbathing, grooming each other, and getting into as much trouble as they can find. And lastly, a Yellow-Bellied Slider named Jonathan Turtle Thomas. Jessika grew up with 9 siblings and having an empty and quiet house has just never felt right to her.

In her free time, Jessika enjoys spending time with her family, getting outside as much as possible, watching documentaries, and spending time with her pets.