‘The Incredible Dr. Pol’: Is Dr. Brenda Dr. Jan Pol’s Daughter?
If you’re an avid viewer of the veterinary Nat Geo Wild reality show The Incredible Dr. Pol, you probably know the cast well: Dr. Jan Pol heads up Pol Veterinary Services alongside his wife Diane, their son Charles helps out, as well as the solid staff consisting of Dr. Lisa, Dr. Nicole, Dr. Ray, and Dr. Brenda.
Dr. Brenda is a longtime staff member at the veterinary clinic. In fact, many viewers wonder if she is related to the Pols.
Dr. Pol shared his view on female veterinarians
In his 2015 memoir, Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow, Dr. Pol expressed his thoughts about women veterinarians, and it’s clear he has nothing but respect for his female counterparts.
“When I hear people criticizing the women in this profession, I can hardly believe it,” he wrote. “When I was going through vet school, we had only five or six girls in our group of three hundred, but they were as tough as beans. They weren’t as strong as the men; so what?”
Dr. Pol noted one of the advantages that female veterinarians have over their male counterparts.
“Because their arms tend to be slender, they have a lot less trouble reaching inside a small farm animal without causing damage,” the doctor said. “They can squeeze into smaller places in a barn. I’ve always had women working for me and I’ve never seen the difference.”
Dr. Brenda isn’t related to Dr. Pol
While it may seem as though Dr. Brenda could be the Pols’ daughter, simply because of how long she’s been by Dr. Pol’s side at the Michigan-based clinic, she is not related to him.
Her bio on the Dr. Pol website revealed more about her background: “Dr. Brenda Grettenberger was born in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, in 1967. She grew up on a dairy farm and always had an interest in large animals. After graduating from Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1992, Dr. Brenda began working at Pol Veterinary Services. When Dr. Brenda is not working, she enjoys dancing, reading, and training her oxen to pull wagons.”
She told Monsters and Critics that she began working with the Netherlands-born veterinarian in the 1990s when she saw an ad seeking veterinarians: “I answered a help wanted ad in the AVMA journal (magazine) to find my way to Pol Veterinary Services.”
Fans were worried about Dr. Brenda
During one of Charles Pol’s Facebook Live updates about the popular show, fans sent the executive producer chat messages expressing their concern about Dr. Brenda’s absence during season 18 of the reality show.
“She had some things that she was doing a year ago,” Charles explained. “So you might not see her as much in one of the past seasons and I think people were getting nervous about that. But that was because of, you know, busy life and she was kind of running around. They weren’t able to get as much filming with her. But she’s still here. So don’t worry about that. Brenda will be here, is still here, and we’re very thankful to have her. She’s great, she’s been a part of the Dr. Pol family for like over 30 years. I can’t imagine Pol Veterinary without Brenda.”
