Dr. Jena Questen DVM, CertAqV, who runs Aspen Park Vet Hospital in Conifer, recently won the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Colorado Small Business Person of the Year award.
After having a house call practice for 17 years, Questen bought Aspen Park Vet Hospital in 2017. Her practice takes a holistic approach, providing treatments like herbs, acupuncture, thermal imaging and much more.
The practice provides services for all types of animals, including cats, dogs, horses and even fish. Questen said she is the only certified aquatic veterinarian in the state of Colorado and the 21st person in the world to achieve the certification.
Years back, when she saw some of the beautiful koi fish people kept in ponds at their homes, Questen was curious what happened when these often imported, expensive creatures got sick.
She quickly found out that they would be left to die and simply be replaced. This was unacceptable, so she set out to help.
“I started teaching myself fish medicine,” she said.
By attending seminars and classes at universities across the country, Questen soon became certified as an aquatic veterinarian. In 2020, she served as the president of the World Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Association.
The title of DVM, CertAqV, isn’t exactly a common one, especially in Colorado.
“Sometimes I’ll meet vets who don’t even know there are fish vets,” she said.
But forging her own path is something Questen is no stranger to. She has been taking business courses and learning how to run a small business in her spare time. When she found out she won the SBA’s Colorado Small Business Person of the Year, she was speechless.
“It’s an honor. It’s really cool because it’s a tough journey owning a business and navigating COVID. … You doubt yourself a lot,” she said. “It’s really gratifying. It tells me, yeah, I was making some good decisions.”
Questen said her practice takes the approach of looking at each patient individually.
“It’s really unique in that we don’t do cookie-cutter medicine,” she said. “We meet people where they are.”
She said one of the best parts about her job is seeing her work pay off when her patients go home.
“I really love being able to better the relationship people have with their pets,” she said.
Being the only certified aquatic veterinarian in Colorado, Questen takes special pride in her underwater patients.
“I cherish my fish patients. A human being who is willing to spend $400, $500, $600 on a $4 fish to make its life better is a special person,” she said.
Questen attended Colorado State Univerity for veterinary school and lives in Evergreen. She also runs ResqRanch, a horse rescue in Conifer, and offers animal training services both in person and on her YouTube channel.
To find out more about Questen’s services, check out www.aspenparkvet.com or her YouTube “The1DrQ”.