Some 60 years later, ‘Doc’ McLeod closes family Austin Animal Clinic
As he prepares for a new chapter, veterinarian Don “Doc” McLeod faces a whirlwind of to-do lists.
But on a recent afternoon, despite a growing list of calls to return, “Doc” — as he’s lovingly called by his clients — sat in Austin Animal Clinic’s empty waiting room and paused. After more than 60 years, McLeod closed the longtime practice on North Lamar Boulevard last month. The veterinarian who has treated animals of Austin royalty and rabble for decades will be retiring from daily practice and moving to Fort Worth to be closer to his children » and grandchildren.
McLeod took a look around the quiet reception area, glancing at the outlines on the blank wall where framed newspaper articles used to hang and at a cardboard moving box on the floor filled with pet pamphlets. “Lots of good times here,” he said.
His late father, who also was a veterinarian, N. L. Tim McLeod, opened the Austin Animal Clinic in 1954, and throughout the years. the practice became an integral part of the lives of many Austinites. On the clinic’s last day, clients flocked to the longtime establishment to say goodbye. Cards, cakes and cookies inundated the office, and clients came from near and far to reminiscence and to get a hug or handshake from McLeod.
“It’s a bittersweet situation,” he said of closing the clinic’s doors. “This was my dad’s dream for his family and all of his (six) kids. It raised all of us.”
As a boy, McLeod would ride his bicycle or sometimes walk to his father’s clinic after school, first from Lamar Junior High and later from McCallum High School. He grew up watching in awe as his father performed sur-