Family Business

Drs. Chuck ('78), Dennis ('81) & Terry ('90) Riordan
It’s a scene that’s as Beaverdale (Iowa) as a red brick house. Dr. Riordan and son caring for an animal. “Animals were an extension of you,” says Chuck Riordan. “They’re just a natural part of the family.” The late Dr. Bob Riordan ('49) started Riordan Pet Hospital in 1951. Today, three of his sons are continuing his practice. “There was no 24-hour facility back then,” Terry Riordan remembers. “There was no emergency clinic, so there were times when we’d wake up in the morning and we’d go into Mom and Dad’s bedroom not knowing what you’re going to find, and you’d find a dog that he brought home that was sick that he’d cared for right there in his bedroom.” Bob Riordan spent decades caring for dogs, cats, and sometimes, Riordan kids. “He sewed up the back of my head after I fell on the concrete,” says Dennis Riordan. “And I just laid on his little surgery table and he was like ‘this is gonna hurt a little bit.’”