Nixon Celebrates 40 Years

Barking dogs, yowling cats, ringing phone and a line of folks at the front desk are business as usual at Nixon Animal Hospital, where Dr. William “Bill” Nixon has been seeing clients of all breeds for the past 40 years. He celebrated his anniversary with a catered lunch at the clinic June 1.

Nixon believes his 40 years in business as a sole proprietor is second only to Lancaster’s Hardware on the courtsquare. He also believes he is the first Stone County resident to attend veterinary school, and the first licensed graduated veterinarian to work in the county.

He started with the commitment to offer the best medicine he could for an affordable price.

“I still try to live by that motto,” he says.

Nixon grew up on Pony Peak Ranch near Onia, where his desire to become a veterinarian was instilled when he was 8 years old and accompanied his father, Alan, to take a horse to have its teeth checked. He said he never seriously considered another career choice. After graduating from Timbo High School, he served a hitch in the U.S. Army and then enrolled at the University of Arkansas as a pre-veterinary major. He went on to graduate from veterinary school in Alabama, after which he worked a year with Dr. George Vickers in Independence County.

“I probably learned more in that year that in four years of vet school.”

See the full story in the June 7, 2017 issue.