Title: Surgeon
Hometown: Crystal City, Texas
In 1971, just one year out of vet school, Dr. Robert Taylor made an important decision for his newly formed practice. "I think one of the pivotal things for me was coming to the recognition that if we were going to call ourselves a hospital, we needed to be open 24 hours a day."
Around-the-clock dedication was a boon to animals in need, but proved to be a challenge for the few hospital employees. "Every other night and every weekend we were doing everything: cleaning cages, answering the phone, seeing people after hours. That soon became a huge burden for us." Thirty years later, Dr. Taylor works as hard as ever, but a much larger (and often younger) staff stands ready to maintain his dedication. "I think I was 24 years old when I started. You're young and impetuous but, you know, you can only do without so much sleep."
Growing up in rural Texas, a young Robert Taylor developed an early fondness for animals. "I had a number of wild animals when I was a youngster: a fox, a raccoon, a deer, a skunk, just a number of different wild animals that were orphaned and brought into the veterinary hospital that I worked in," he recalls. "I began working there when I was 14 and I would go in before school in the morning and I would clean kennels and come back in the afternoon and stay until all hours of the day or night. It just really captured my imagination."
Many years beyond a career in its infancy, Dr. Taylor is now a highly respected surgeon with a city full of thankful patients. "I figure that I have a lifetime total of something around 17,000 operative procedures," he says. Picking even a handful of favorite cases is nearly impossible. "If I were to say one over that 17,000, it wouldn't do justice to all the other animals I've taken care of."
A self-described "devoted family person," Dr. Taylor lives just south of Denver with his wife Maggie. He has four children, three grandchildren, two dogs (a black Lab and an Italian greyhound) and a "big yellow tomcat named Jack." His own companion animals keep him firmly grounded for difficult days at work. "I think the thing that a lot of veterinarians forget until they're faced with the death of their own animal is just how much you really care about 'em and how it affects you."
As for the effect of being an unexpected TV star, Dr. Taylor has no choice but to take it in stride. "I'm standing in line at the grocery store and somebody comes up and says, 'Aren't you that guy on Emergency Vets?' And I say 'Yeah I am.' And the guy looks at me and says 'In your dreams!' and turns around and walks off." The memory brings a laugh and perspective. "It's been, uh, it's been interesting that way."
