Jennifer Bonovich, DVM
HumaneVMA SOUTH CAROLINA STATE CO-REPRESENTATIVE

Dr. Jennifer Bonovich graduated from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012. She attended the University of South Carolina for her undergraduate studies, where she earned her BS in Biology, and most recently a Master’s degree from the University of Florida focusing on veterinary forensics. She currently is a shelter veterinarian in an open-admission municipal shelter, where she is surrounded by animals that come from neglect on a daily basis. She sees the direct results of the lack of strong animal welfare laws in her state, and this builds her passion to work every day to improve the welfare of animals.

With a diverse background in general practice, shelter medicine, veterinary forensics, nonprofit rescue, emergency care, and mobile spay-neuter services, Dr. Bonovich has dedicated her career to improving animal welfare. She has traveled across the state providing low-cost veterinary services to underserved areas, helping communities with limited access to care as a HVHQSN surgeon. She enjoyed being able to provide accessible care to underserved areas and rescues and saw the insatiable need for basic animal care.

In the shelter environment, she has helped facilitate implementation of protocols to enhance enrichment, along with ensuring that the mental health of the shelter population is addressed with the same importance as their physical health. She is passionate about managing the health of shelter animals, balancing the needs of the general population with the extra care required for those with special health challenges. 

In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Bonovich specializes in veterinary forensics. She assists with warrant searches, performs forensic exams and diagnostics, and prepares detailed forensic reports. She provides expert testimony in court for animal cruelty cases, advocating for the protection of animals and holding offenders accountable for their actions. She is especially passionate when it comes to dogfighting cases. She enjoys speaking at conferences about forensics, hoping to extend this education to colleagues and build a network of veterinarians who are better equipped to recognize and report cruelty and neglect.

Dr. Bonovich started a Street Dog Coalition team in Columbia, South Carolina where she hosts veterinary clinics to provide free medical care to pets of the homeless population. She travels to different areas to target specific camps to ensure they have direct, feasible access to health care for their pets. She partners with The Animal Mission to provide free spay-neuter for these pets. She is also passionate about One Health issues and partners with other organizations to provide support to both ends of the leash including food, clothing, winter gear, personal care items, pet care items, mental health support, and addiction support.

Dr. Bonovich is a board member for Carolina Wildlife Center, a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation center. She is Fear Free Elite- and Shelter program-certified, serves on the leadership team of the South Carolina Veterinary Reserve Corp, and is a member of the South Carolina Association of Veterinarians, AVMA, IVFSA, and ISAVF.

In her free time, Dr. Bonovich enjoys camping, hiking, reading, aviation, traveling to National Parks, museums, and most especially spending time with her husband and three children, three dogs, three cats, and three ducks.

Jennie Elizabeth Clark, DVM, JD
HumaneVMA SOUTH CAROLINA STATE CO-REPRESENTATIVE

Dr. Jennie Clark, pictured with one of her "foster failures," Gidget, became a veterinarian after deciding her mission in life was to help the animals of her home state--South Carolina.  Before graduating from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, she worked as an attorney.  Dr. Clark combines her legal and veterinary backgrounds to improve the laws pertaining to and the care of South Carolina animals.  She also serves on the South Carolina Bar Animal Law Committee.

Dr. Clark practices law in Columbia, SC and plans to continue the efforts to improve the laws protecting animals and to educate pet owners in South Carolina, particularly on preventable diseases.  Her motley crew of rescues are by her side to help her in this endeavor, one of whom she picked up from the side of the road on the way to a farm call.  This dog was a skinny little Chihuahua--probably from a puppy mill--who, after her liver shunt was repaired, is now thriving as a fat, happy diva.

To contact an HumaneVMA State Representative, please email [email protected].