About Scott Johns, VMD and Regional Veterinary Center
It's been said that Dr. Johns, known to his clients as "Dr. J", had been in training to become a veterinary doctor since he was a young boy.
Dr. J's dad was a veterinarian. Early in his youth, before he was helping his father on farm calls and cleaning kennels, the future Dr. J was busy saving and helping tadpoles, frogs, salamanders, fireflies, injured birds, cats, and dogs in his neighborhood. He avidly watched "Wild Kingdom" every Sunday night, and built a large library of field guides about animals that he read, and re-read, at every opportunity. One of his earliest memories was making the goal to learn the name of every animal species on Earth. Meanwhile, he was busy learning art from his mother, playing the trumpet, singing in chorus, studying karate, and studying electronic physics as a hobby.
The future Dr. J excelled in his studies and extracurricular activities at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. He graduated with a BS in Biology—built upon the foundation of a solid liberal arts education that further nurtured and developed the keen sense of curiosity that he has for the world around him.
After being accepted to the veterinary schools at both Tufts University and University of Pennsylvania (Penn), the future Dr. J chose to pursue his veterinary doctorate at Penn in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated in 1992, earning his VMD degree through intense study and hard work.
The newly minted Dr. J chose to immediately join his dad's practice, Fairview Veterinary Hospital, in Erie PA, where as father and son, they became a highly-admired veterinary team in the tri-state region. Dr. Dan Johns was one of the earliest adopters of veterinary dentistry in the USA. As word spread of Dr. Dan's dental skills, he started receiving referrals from a great distance away. With a pre-established dental operatory available, Dr. J became very interested in veterinary dentistry, and he ultimately completed five years of postdoctoral studies under the mentorship of world-leading veterinary dental specialists including Colin Harvey, Peter Emily, James Auvil, and Robert Wiggs.
During his postdoctoral studies, Dr. J founded the Regional Veterinary Dental Center in 1994, where he excelled in the practice of veterinary dentistry. Meanwhile, he continued to nurture his intense interest in optimizing the quality of life of his primary care patients at all stages of their life.
In 2021 Dr. J founded the Regional Veterinary Center, the combination of the re-named and re-purposed Fairview Veterinary Hospital campus in Fairview, plus a totally new, second campus located in Millcreek to best serve the 50% of our clientele that is from Erie.
Dr. J continues to see referral dental patients from the greater tri-state and beyond with a PetDentistry.com office located at each Regional Veterinary Center campus.
Dr. J has served the veterinary profession as Vice President (once) and President (twice) of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, and has provided many radio and television interviews over the years to educate the public regarding pet care. As a regional leader in his profession, Dr. J has paid it forward by mentoring many individuals, including pre-vet students from Allegheny College, Mercyhurst University, Gannon University, Edinboro University, Penn State University, and North Carolina State University. He has also mentored veterinary students from University of Pennsylvania, Purdue University, The Ohio State University, and University of Glasgow Veterinary School. Our team has also mentored many veterinary technician students from IMBC, Bryn Mawr, and VTI.
Today, Dr. J leads our team of veterinary technicians, assistants, veterinary students, and pre-veterinary student preceptors, to be the very best that they can be. Most of all, Dr. J is dedicated to helping pets—one quiet and thoughtful appointment at a time, to be the healthiest and happiest that they can be.