Bewitched Goldens is a family affair owned by 2 veterinarians, Drs. Joel and Jean Ihnen. Dr. Joel was born and raised in Northwood, Iowa and was passionate about animals from what seems like from birth. He went on to graduate from Iowa State University in 1993 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. His love of goldens started when he was young but really blossomed when in vet school. While in vet school he rescued a golden that had come into the veterinary hospital because of cataracts, could not see, and was possibly going to be put down. With the help of the opthalmologist at Iowa State, the cataracts were removed and "Ginger" was able to see again and was adopted by Joel. That golden was the first of many wonder dogs that he has since owned. After graduation, Joel took a job in Princeton, Minnesota where he met his lovely wife and settled down. He has lived on a hobby farm in rural Princeton with his wife Jean, daughter Julia, numerous horses, cats, chickens, ducks, and of course multiple dogs. Dr. Joel owns a veterinary clinic in Zimmerman, MN and has special interests in canine reproduction, sports medicine and orthopedic surgery.
Dr. Jean Ihnen has always owned pets since she was a little kid growing up in Elk River, MN. She owned several horses, dogs, and cats along with cattle and chickens being shown in 4-H when growing up. Dr. Jean graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota in 2005. Dr. Jean runs her own relief business where she fills in for veterinarians when they need time off, so you may see her around in clinics in the area.
Joel's interests outside of his family and work are field training, trialing, hunting, and the MN Twins. Joel got into field training and events with the help of Jean who decided to go to an obedience class and dragged Joel along, where a trainer talked him into going to a field training class to show you how to train your own dog. After the field training class Joel started training his own dogs himself and showing in multiple field events. His wife continued down the obedience road and has shown many of the same dogs in obedience. Joel loves field training and eventing because it gives the him and the dogs something do to during the "off" season, since we all know hunting season is never long enough.
Joel is also an active field judge, judging master, senior, and junior events yearly. He is also active in DU, PF, SCI, and actively trains his dogs several times a week when possible.
