Veterinarian remembered for her kindness
Family, friends pay respects to woman at candlelight vigil
As the sun set outside Montrose Veterinary Clinic, dozens of handwritten notes were posted on a wall near the entrance to the clinic owned by popular vet Valerie McDaniel. Many of the condolences started with the words “I love you.”
“I’ve never in my life loved a friend like I loved Valerie,” Maggie Witley, her best friend, told dozens who grieved Friday night outside the clinic for the prominent Montrose veterinarian who on Monday jumped from the seventh floor of her River Oaks area condominium, taking her own life.
The 48-year-old was arrested last month with boyfriend Leon P. Jacob, 39, based on solicitation of capital murder charges.
But the focus of a candlelight vigil Friday night was to honor the McDaniel they knew as a compassionate and gentle soul.
Her sister, Angela Hudson, said that McDaniel’s love for animals started as a child. She said her sister, three years younger, had a natural talent for interacting with pets and always wanted to be a veterinarian.
“If the animals were hurting, she would cry with them.” Hudson recalled.
Clients agreed, saying the veterinarian cared for their animals from birth to death. Anne Cannon, who lives six blocks from the clinic, said McDaniel had been her pets’ vet since 2000. She cared for all of her animals, including her cats, bird and dogs.
“We can just sit here in the exam room until you feel like you can walk out the door,” Cannon remembers McDaniel saying
when her dog died.
David and Sherry Hultsman, who live in Montrose, said McDaniel had looked after their dogs for 15 years. They were shocked when they learned of her death.
“It’s been days, and we’re (still) walking around the house in deep sadness,” Sherry Hultsman said.
Hudson talked to her sister on Sunday night. She had spent a week with her last month and said that McDaniel seemed in relatively good spirits, even after her arrest.
The sister, who lives in Seattle, said she is trying to process the news that her best friend is gone. As a soft breeze blew through the trees, candles were lit and prayers said. Some mourners shed tears, and one woman told the crowd she did not care what the world thought about McDaniel.
“People were drawn to her,” Hudson said. “Anyone who would meet her would fall in love with her.”
Inside her condo, McDaniel left sealed letters addressed to family members and a note detailing her final wishes, according to Houston police.
McDaniel and Jacob allegedly hired a hitman to murder their exes, but the would-be killer was an undercover officer with the Houston Police Department. Jacob and McDaniel reportedly agreed to pay the officer $20,000 and two Cartier watches in exchange for committing the crime.
McDaniel died two weeks after posting $50,000 bail. Jacob remains in Harris County Jail and could face the possibility of life in prison if convicted.