Just try to think of a neighborhood business – or any business in Dallas for that matter – that has been in operation for nearly 70 years.
Can’t think of one?
Well, the Rutherford Veterinary Clinic opened its doors in 1926, and generations of neighborhood residents have taken their pets there for care.
“It only takes a few minutes in the lobby of the Rutherford Veterinary Clinic to know it is a different kind of business,” says Cindy Ethridge, graphic designer and longtime client.
Her first visit to the clinic came with her parents in the late ’50s, when their cocker spaniel, Ginger, was ill.
“The entire staff has always shown a genuine concern for your pet,” she says, “and today, their follow-up is extraordinary.”
Another longtime client, Michelle Franklin, agrees.
“You walk in the door, and the staff always remembers your name and your pet’s name,” she says. “My mother took her pets there for care, and so did my grandmother.”
Neighborhood resident Ronnie Vaughn owns Rutherford Veterinary Clinic, which is located at 924 Haskell, one block south of Parry Avenue across from Fair Park.
Vaughn, who wanted to be a vet since he was 12, received his veterinary degree from Texas A&M, where his father and uncle studied. He joined Rutherford in 1969 and initially believed his stay would be short because the area was rundown.
“But the longer I was here, the more I enjoyed the clientele, which is a mix of the poor and the affluent,” he says.
“Some of my clients are so poor, they don’t have a dime to spare, but they’ll spend that dime on the pets they so dearly love.”
In 1979, he became a partner with Charles Steeger, who had owned the clinic since the ’30s. Vaughn became sole owner when Steeger retired in 1985.
Most of the staff have been around for a long time, and all of them live in our neighborhood. A front-office assistant and a kennel worker both recently retired after working there for 30 years. And Rutherford’s groomer, R.B. Moore, who is honored with a bronze bust in the lobby, is in his 48th year.
Also on staff are veterinarians Chris Swearingen and Valerie Jaffe, who specializes in reptiles and exotic birds, two technicians and three front-office assistants.
Later this year, Dr. Vaughn has scheduled a major renovation of Rutherford Veterinary Clinic.
“It is important to me to maintain the historical aspects of this building,” he says. “But the interior will see a new state-of-the-art X-ray room, as well as updated kennel and grooming facilities.”
In the lobby hangs a picture of the red-brick, two-story building taken shortly after its opening, and in the foreground is the Rutherford’s original pet ambulance with the clinic’s phone number, which has remained the same, painted on the side.
Some things never change – thank goodness.
