A Little Backstory on Glen Rock Vet

Hello, I’m Dr. Dennis Sepulveda and Glen Rock Vet is my practice and my passion. I’ve been an animal lover since childhood and dreamed of becoming a vet since early days.

I grew up in Puerto Rico in a large family. My dream seemed like a big and impossible one. But I was determined.

$50 and a Dream

Thrilled with being accepted into Veterinary School at the Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine in Alabama, I tearfully said goodbye to my supportive mother and made my way to the U.S. to realize my dream.

I had $50 in my pocket and somehow thought that was going to see me through. It’s incredible what passion can do for us. I mean, I was young but I was an intelligent person with good schooling and somehow I still thought this was a reasonable, though somewhat daring, thing to do.

Nothing was going to stop me from fulfilling my promise to myself and my mother. That I would become a veterinarian.

Making It Work

When I arrived, I had already connected with another Hispanic student who had offered to pick me up from the airport. When he picked me up, he asked, “Where to?” I told him I didn’t have a place to stay. He asked how I could do that. I told him I wasn’t giving the opportunity I’d gotten to someone else. He said he knew what to do.

My friend drove me to an apartment complex and knocked on a door. The guys answered, “Who are you?” My driving friend tells the guy, “Your’e always complaining that you don’t have a roommate. Here you go.” The guy was like, “Okay, so who are you anyway?” He said okay to the arrangement, which was $80 a month, which made me complain quite a lot at the time! He took me in. I ended up staying there for a few years and went on to live with other students.

The Motivation of a Dream

I was so eager to accomplish my dream that I didn’t look at obstacles as obstacles. I simply found ways around them or through them.

My friends from home thought I was crazy and said, where are you gonna live etc. Oh and then there’s the fact that I didn’t speak English.

The first six months was tough, learning the language and getting used to the system. When I look back, I see it was kind of crazy.

But it’s worth it to accomplish our dreams, don’t you think?

My Own Practice

I saw colleagues starting their own practices. I had a good career working at other hospitals initially. But this was also a dream of mine.

After years of wondering, I realized I had to take another leap of faith and start my own practice. I read, went to conferences about business, running a business. I met with a manager and other veterinarians. I realized that I could do this.

Shaping Glen Rock Vet

I knew what I wanted to create in my own clinic also. I wanted a clean, loving, inviting place that provides top-notch technical capabilities as well.

I settled in Glen Rock because I had interviewed years earlier in a nearby town so it felt like destiny. I also did my research and found that Glen Rock was the perfect place for my practice, with an animal-loving community who would be open to the quality and care I want to provide.

Steady Growth

I’m happy to say that since opening in 2014, Glen Rock Vet has experienced steady growth. We’re learning, living and loving being here.

Future Visions

I look forward to continuing to grow and serve this community. If you’ve got suggestions, I always want to hear them. I look forward to meeting you if we haven’t yet and to continuing to work and play with our family of four-legged friends together. Thank you for your interest and trust in Glen Rock Vet. I’m here to serve you.