Dr. Jan Harm Pol, better known as Dr. Pol, was born on September 4, 1942, in Wateren, a small village in the province of Drenthe, Netherlands. He is a Virgo, which is said to make him practical, humble, self-effacing, and industrious. He is the youngest of six children and grew up on his parents’ dairy farms, where he developed a love for animals. He decided to become a veterinarian at the age of 12 after he assisted in delivering a litter of piglets on his farm.
Dr. Pol attended a local high school in his hometown, but he also spent a year as an exchange student at Mayville High School in Michigan, USA, in 1961. He wanted to be closer to his older sister, who was living in Canada at the time. He met his future wife, Diane Dalrymple, during his stay in Mayville. After returning to the Netherlands, he pursued his veterinary education at Utrecht University and graduated in 1970. He then moved to the USA with his wife and worked as a veterinarian in Harbor Beach, Michigan, for 10 years.
