Not all of us are lucky enough to do for a living what we imagined we’d do when we "grew up," but Dr. Jill Elliot is one of the lucky ones. As a kid in the Bronx, she adored animals of all species and dreamed of becoming a vet, saving her allowance to ride horses at the neighborhood stable. But her mother would only permit parakeets and fish in the house. "She didn’t want animals eating her couch," Elliot explains.
For the first ten years of her career, she worked in advertising; after that, she earned her masters degree in social work and went to work for a social service agency for six years. Although she found the work rewarding, it was very low-paying, so she took a job at a medical placement agency. "That enabled me to save some money, which I used as payment for my first semester in vet school," Elliot says. "So at age 46, I went to Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts. It was a three-year program, with three semesters for the first two years, with no summer breaks; then I did the last year of clinical rotations at Oklahoma University School of Veterinary Medicine. I owned a co-op in New York, and had to get special permission from my building’s co-op board to sublet my apartment for three years – their limit was two."
When she made the big decision to enter vet school, "I was at a crossroads in my life," Elliot explains. "I’d broken up with a man I was engaged to, so I had no obligations, no attachments besides my beloved Keeshond, Lickety Split. It was now or never! I thought to myself, I don’t want to be sitting in that rocking chair in the old-age home with regrets. I gave myself permission to fail."
Although her training was "very intense," she succeeded – with a little help from her dog. "He was one constant, loving companion through it all," she says. "Whenever I felt lonely, overwhelmed, or scared, I just hugged him. He always gave me a big lick and the confidence to go forward. Running and playing with him provided many hours of fun and stress relief. When I look back, I’m so proud of myself," Elliot adds. "Whenever I tell my story, other people get inspired. People often think they’re too old to follow their dreams. But my mantra is, It’s never too late. Just by telling my story, I’ve sent a lot of people to vet school, or medical school, or law school, who used to think they were too old. And I love that!"
