Everyone who stumbles upon Animal Planet’s “Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet” inevitably becomes inspired by it. On the lead, there’s Dr. Jeff Young, a veterinarian whose mission is to save pets and ensure they leave safe and sound from his clinic, and that pet owners don’t have to pay extremely high bills for taking their dogs, cats,and other animals to the vet.
Dr. Jeff is admired everywhere, so when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2023, his fans and casual viewers of his show were equally worried and heartbroken.
So what is going on with Dr. Jeff these days? Are there any ill-intentioned rumors about his current health? What about the clinic and the future of the show? Keep with us to learn all about “Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet”.
Is Dr. Jeff Sick?
Animal Planet’s star Dr. Jess Young is indeed doing not-so-great health-wise. He was diagnosed with lung cancer, an illness that he’s been continually suffered from for several years, as of 2023 the fourth of his life, and is in Stage Four. As he told the Canyon Courier in early 2025, he’s ‘going to die’ but wanted to make sure that his clinic Conifer’s Planned Pethood would keep afloat, regardless of his health situation.
Dr. Jeff was diagnosed with cancer in 2013, but recovered after undergoing treatment including having part of his lung removed. However, three years later he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which affects the lymphatic system. He recovered once again, but in a “Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet” from 2021, the veterinarian revealed he had been fighting a B-cell lymphoma, which also falls into the non-Hodgkin’s category.
He recovered, only to have his fourth cancer diagnosis revealed in 2023. This time he’s not only fighting the illness and its ominous implications, but also dealing with the future of the clinic when he’s no longer its front. That said, the business will be left in the hands of his wife Petra, who is also a doctor at the pet clinic, and often appears in the show.
Other Health Details & The Clinic
As noted by the Canyon Courier in 2025, donations to Conifer’s Planned Pethood decreased once an outlet circulated the rumor that Dr. Jeff had died in 2024. With the rise of rumors and lies about Dr. Jeff’s condition, people have also sent ‘sympathy cards’ alongside checks as a way to support the clinic in whichever way they want, though the staff often contact the senders to inform them that the doctor is alive and still working. According to Dr. Jeff, most people still prefer their donations to be kept by the clinic, even after knowing the situation. He also affirmed that one of the constant problems he was facing was back pain, caused not only by his cancer, but also by keeping himself active performing surgery at the clinic.
That said, a funding campaign was opened for him to help him out with the financial struggles that facing such an aggressive illness entails. Towards the $50,000 goal set in August 2023, people had donated over $37,000 by early 2025. As the funding campaign states, Dr. Jeff’s fourth cancer diagnosis came at a time when he had just opened a new clinic in Colorado called Planned Pethood Veterinary Hospital and Training Center, which meant that his health situation had been extra hard to face, due to that other financial struggle.
All in all, there have been many misunderstandings and ill-conceived rumors about Dr. Jeff’s health, and though his condition is very serious, it’s also worth noting that his veterinary mission is as alive as ever, despite the various on-going struggles.
View this post on Instagram
What’s His Business’ Mission?
Planned Pethood International Veterinary Clinic and Training Center is a non-profit organization created to treat animals free of charge. It’s located in Denver, Colorado, and was founded in May 2023.
This isn’t the clinic where people got to know Dr. Jeff at the beginning of his show, but as he states on his website, this new health service center for animals is ‘the realization of his dream’, one he conceived when he qualified with his Veterinary degree in the early 1990s.
Besides providing health care to animals, Planned Pethood International also receives veterinary students from all over the world, to get professional practice at the clinic, becoming a place where Dr. Jeff’s veterinary philosophy gets passed down to others through training and hard work.
What Happened To His Show?
Since 2015, “Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet” has been gaining the hearts of millions through the amazing stories featured in it, not only about treating animals, but also about doing everything in the staff’s power to save their lives. It also helps with the show’s charm that Dr. Jeff’s clinic gives pet owners with a small budget the opportunity to pay for treatments that would otherwise be unaffordable.
Conifer’s Planned Pethood Veterinary Hospital doesn’t always go well, and the show is very honest about it. As The Denver Post revealed in 2016, Dr. Jeff ‘lost money’ during the show’s first season and wasn’t very keen about doing some of the things that Animal Planet’s production crew asked him to, such as kissing animals in cages or taking patients with the sole purpose of presenting exotic animals on screen. Nonetheless, the money from the following seasons was of help to Dr. Jeff, who in 2019 turned the former Planned Pethood Plus into Planned Pethood International, a non-profit organization based in the US, that also works in developing countries to help animals there.
Regarding the fate of the show, “Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet” premiered eight seasons from 2015 to 2022. After that, no new episodes have been announced, but it’s unclear if it’s because of Dr. Jeff’s health issues or if there’s something else going on with the show behind the scenes.
While it’s unfortunate that the show was left in that unclear status, it’s heartwarming to watch the show’s old seasons again, and remember all those great moments depictted.
