Editor's Note: This story originally appeared in Spanish in last week's La Estrella de Tucsón.
Veterinarian M.R. Whitlock was tending to Óscar, a 1-year-old brown Labrador mix who suffered from a swollen face.
Óscar, who lay on an examination table at Guadalupe Veterinary Clinic, received Benadryl and a steroid injection that brought the swelling down.
Earlier that morning, Óscar was outdoors and appeared to have been bitten by a bug, said Krysten Doyle, 19, who saw her dog walk into the house with blisters on his face.
"He was trying to scratch his face and I was going through the phone book looking for a vet and this was the first listing I saw on the South Side," said Doyle, who needed to get Óscar help quickly. "This is my first time here and I plan to come back."
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The animal clinic, 5107 S. 12th Ave., opened in January in an underserved area for pets in the city, said Whitlock who in her research found six pet clinics within a 34-square-mile area on the South and Southwest Sides.
Meanwhile, she said her research showed six pet clinics in a 2-square-mile area in a neighborhood on the East Side.
"This is the least-served market in Tucson, and I had this opportunity — so here I am," explained Whitlock who speaks Spanish and has bilingual workers at the clinic. She advertises her business on Radio Tejano and La Preciosa radio stations.
Whitlock, 51, who was raised in Lincoln, Ill., graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980, and then joined the Army. She served as a veterinarian treating all service animals, including military police dogs and horses.
She was stationed at Fort Huachuca in 1980 and in 1982 was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, the same year the Army took over animal care for all military branches.
Whitlock was discharged in 1985 and made Tucson home, opening Rolling Hills Pet Clinic on Tucson's Southeast Side. She owned and operated the clinic for 13 years before selling it in 1998.
Whitlock then went to work as a relief veterinarian throughout Southern Arizona, and she also worked at Cat Hospital of Tucson and at Ajo Veterinary Clinic before opening her current business.
She said she invested about $850,000 and owns the building. It was remodeled and furnished by Whitlock, who went shopping at secondhand stores. A statue of the Virgin de Guadalupe stands on a marble shelf in a niche on a wall behind the reception counter.
The inviting, comfortable clinic has high ceilings with fans and is painted yellow and peach. It has child-size furniture and bilingual books for children, who are sent home with a free book.
The clinic, which has six examining rooms and a surgical area, is equipped with state-of-the art technology, including a digital dental X-ray machine, a computerized X-ray unit and a laboratory for blood work.
Computers are found throughout the work areas. Staffers computerize all animal records, along with making photo identification cards for pets. The clinic serves dogs, cats and some pocket pets such as hamsters, gerbils and mice. It does not treat birds or snakes.
The staff works with organizations such as Good Samaritan and People for Animals, which help pet owners with limited incomes pay spaying and neutering bills, along with medical costs for pets suffering from a serious illness or in need of emergency treatment.
In addition to serving an animal's medical needs, people who find strays can take the animal to the clinic, where staffers will scan it to see whether it has a microchip in hopes of finding the owner. The staff also can provide contact information for animal rescue groups.
South Side
