About Pawsome Veterinary Care

Dr. Elena Cervantes grew up in a small town in the Willamette Valley where her family raised goats, chickens, and a rotating cast of stray dogs that wandered onto the property. By the time she was twelve, she was the neighborhood kid who nursed injured birds back to health and convinced her parents to let her keep an iguana in her bedroom. Veterinary medicine was never a choice — it was inevitable.

After earning her DVM at Oregon State and completing an exotic animal fellowship, Elena returned to Portland in 2004 and opened Pawsome Veterinary Care on Hawthorne Blvd. Portland was a natural fit — the city consistently ranks among the most pet-friendly in the country, and the Hawthorne neighborhood's culture of community and care aligned perfectly with her practice philosophy. She was one of the first vets in Multnomah County to pursue Fear Free certification, redesigning exam rooms with non-slip floors, pheromone diffusers, and separate cat and dog waiting areas to reduce patient stress. Dr. James Patterson joined in 2008 and brought advanced surgical capabilities that let Pawsome handle complex orthopedic cases and emergencies in-house instead of referring them out.

Twenty-two years later, Pawsome cares for over 6,800 patients — dogs, cats, rabbits, reptiles, and birds — many of them rescues from Oregon Humane Society and local foster networks that the Portland community supports so passionately. The practice earned AAHA accreditation in 2019, placing it among the top 15% of veterinary hospitals in North America. The team launched Pawsome Wellness Plans in 2021 to give pet parents a predictable monthly cost for preventive care. Elena still sees patients five days a week, still keeps a rescue iguana in her office, and still believes that less fear means better medicine.