Local veterinarian reflects on lifelong career

Robert McClung, or as many know him by Dr. Bob, is celebrating his 47-year career as a veterinarian in Seneca County and surrounding counties. As McClung prepares for retirement, he's reflected on the milestones he has accomplished over the years and his services' impact on the community. McClung grew up in Tiffin where he helped take care of the farm animals his family raised. McClung's father began the veterinary practice Animal Hospital of Tiffin in 1950, which was later passed on to McClung. Then, in 1976, McClung graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and is also an undergraduate of The Ohio State University. He graduated the same year McClung began working in the family practice. "They give you the scientific basis," McClung said of veterinary school. "But you have to pull in what the people are doing, what the animals are doing and use your background and your basis to make decisions. "That's where I was really fortunate—because I got to work with my dad's associates as well as mine," he continued. "Oh, I was learning all the time." McClung identified learning as one of the most significant aspects of his career, as continuous learning led him to complete several accomplishments throughout his time as a local veterinarian, he said. He went on to say one of his biggest milestones was bringing and achieving accreditation by the American Animal Hospital Association to the Animal Hospital of Tiffin, which is only granted to 17% of veterinary clinics in North America, and his practice was the first in Tiffin to achieve that status. He said there were 800 standards the clinic was judged against to accomplish this. McClung noted the Tiffin Animal Hospital also had the first laser surgical unit in the 419 area code and was Ohio's first stem-cell unit for small animals. Additionally, the practice completes all-natural immunotherapy and cancer care for pets. McClung was involved in researching projects that developed four patents for advances in natural immunotherapy for cancer in dogs and cats, and virus control in large animals, which is still ongoing today. "At the peak of cancer care, I had routine clients coming from Milwaukee (Wisconsin), Detroit (Michigan), Louisville, Lexington (Kentucky) —I mean we had people come from all over," he said. "We had a lot of equipment most practices don't even understand or know about. That's what made practice very invigorating and challenging." McClung has also been a fair veterinarian for 43 years, and had children that participated in 4-H which he was involved with for 10 years. He was also in commodity groups, including the Seneca County Pork Producers, Seneca County Cattleman's Association, and the state and federal veterinary associations. McClung was in Rotary for many years as well, and is a Paul Harris Fellow. He has also lectured on natural immunotherapy at several of the annual state cattleman's meetings and has participated in scientific booths with several other veterinarians at Integrative Veterinary Medicine for 20 years where he educated other veterinarians about the immunotherapy he worked on. In his spare time, he was on the board of trustees for the Ohio Veterinary Medical Associations for two terms of three years, was involved with the Regional North Central Veterinary Association which covers 10 counties, and went through two cycles of officerships totaling eight years. McClung also helped to operate the local humane society for many years, and worked at ST Genetics, a laboratory in Union County, for 27 years. McClung said he had always been a mixed animal practitioner—working on large and small animals—up until the last four years in which he has focused on small animal medicine. He has worked on various animals including house pets, many cattle and horses, goats, flocks of sheep, hogs, alpacas, llamas, ostriches and even buffaloes along with other animals. "I delivered a lamb at three o'clock in the morning for a client in Wyandot County who won the State Fair," he shared. "And I delivered a goat for a local who turned into a stud-ram, and they named him after me." McClung noted he has delivered countless calves and lambs throughout his career. His favorite part about working with animals is the "human connection." "In the large animal (industry), it's all about economics," he said. "You develop health programs and preventative medicine programs so they can stay solid…the programs were developed for health and efficiency. Now, small animals are different because there's the human connection." Altogether, McClung's work has expanded throughout seven counties. "I dearly love my clients," he said. "The passion was to help them anyway we could." "Another fortunate thing was I had the most wonderful staff," McClug added. Moving forward, McClung said his retirement plans include visiting his grandchildren with his wife Jan, and working on their yard and garden together. McClung said he is happy to see the business continue to help serve the local community, and that he loved the practice and its challenges, and that it has been a "privilege to help clients and their animals."