Jenn Hall/St. Joseph News-Press

Dr. Darrell Haeker, right, removes a tumor from a dog’s leg during a surgery at Countryside Veterinary Clinic with assistance from Stacy Stoll, a technician. Dr. Haeker founded the clinic in 1973 and is retiring.

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Things have changed since Dr. Darrell Haeker graduated from college in 1967.

“There’s things we didn’t even know about when I was in school,” he said.

But the veterinarian kept up with the times and transitioned over the years from his first job as a large animal vet in Iowa to settling in St. Joseph, dealing with smaller patients.

Dr. Haeker is retiring from Countryside Veterinary Clinic. Family and friends are having a reception in his honor Sunday. The event will be from 4 to 6 p.m. at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 3524 St. Joseph Ave.

He said he hasn’t given much thought to retirement. He has no big plans to go on extreme vacations or play nine holes at the local fairway.

“I have plenty of other things I do,” he said.

Dr. Haeker built the Countryside Veterinary Clinic in 1973 with a fellow veterinarian. He said he knew from that first job back in Iowa that large animal medicine wasn’t for him. His back gave him problems, something he said isn’t good for working with food animals.

But he said that small animal practices are more commonplace now. “Back then that was how the economy was going,” he said of the business of large animal veterinarians.

In college, there was limited teaching on the practice with dogs and cats in mind, something Dr. Haeker vowed to change through self-education and the business.

“I made a commitment years ago to provide the best care,” he said.

With that he only hired certified staff, practiced modern veterinary medicine and always had a good bedside manner.

Since February, Dr. Haeker has been winding down, spending 12 hours a week with his patients. The extra hours have allowed him to spend more time on his 200 acres in Gentry County.

There, Dr. Haeker works with none other than wildlife. He said he’s trying to get the quail population up as well as manage two acres of grapes for his vineyard.

“I really enjoy that,” he said.

His son, Dr. Erik Haeker, joined the practice more than 10 years ago and has gradually been taking over the clinic.

“The transition should be good,” he said.

Jenn Hall can be reached at jennhall@npgco.com.