Long before she even applied to vet school, Jayme Freye had a dream.
The dream was not just practicing and owning her own veterinary clinic.
No. Jayme Freye’s dream was about the clinic itself and all of the amenities it would include.
Now that dream has come true for the 2014 graduate.
“I started a mental list of things I wanted my vet clinic to have way back when I was a kennel attendant growing up in Wisconsin,” she said. “That is where my love of veterinary medicine began.”
Freye’s mental list of her dream clinic first included a loft style upstairs with a large conference room to have team meetings. After graduating and beginning to practice in Monticello, Iowa, Freye continued to add to her clinic list.
Four exam rooms and a room that allowed families the opportunity to say goodbye to their pets that was comfortable and afforded privacy.
A haul-in facility for cattle that could accommodate both semi-trailers and truck trailers were a must. Facilities for boarding and grooming were services Freye knew she wanted to offer her clients.
“One of the clinics we visited had a playroom for their children, which I though was brilliant so that go added to the list,” Freye said. “Anything I saw or heard at other clinics, I made a mental note of and started looking for blueprints.
“This is my dream clinic; it checks all of the boxes I had on my must have list.”
Family Veterinary Services clinic is now a reality. The Monticello veterinary practice is a true mixed animal practice with an even 50/50 split of large and small animals.
Freye landed in Monticello after graduating and hasn’t left.
“Even though I didn’t grow up in Monticello, it is now my home,” she said. “I have made deep connections and lasting friendships with members of the community. We may not have lived in Monticello long, but our roots run deep.”
That’s why when it came time to build her dream vet clinic, there was no place like Monticello.
“I couldn’t have imaged building anywhere else,” Freye said.
She may have started her list back in Wisconsin, but the actual design took much more work. During the design phase, Freye visited several veterinary clinics that had features she knew she wanted. She worked with Patterson Veterinary to design the actual building while her husband general contracted the project.
The entire process took about two years before the doors opened in May 2025.
That day sticks in Freye’s mind.
“The first day in the new building was a whirlwind,” she said. “We had 13 brand new employees, a brand new building and lots of nervous and excited energy.”
And despite her dream coming true, Freye can’t help but pinch herself from time to time.
“Every day when I pull in the driveway I am amazed this childhood dream is actually a reality,” she said. “It truly is the culmination of a decade’s worth of dreaming and doing.”
April 2026
