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As a veterinarian, Dr. Michael Maris’ patients come first — always.

“Our main goal here is to take care of people’s pets because they’re part of their family,” said Maris, veterinarian at Shelley Drive Animal Clinic in Tyler. “It’s kind of like being a pediatrician … to them because the ones we see are like family members.”

Maris is retiring this month after a 50-year career at the Tyler clinic.

Growing up in Troup, Maris made his way to Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine where he earned his veterinary degree. Then on Aug. 15, 1973, he started working at Shelley Drive Animal Clinic.

“I wanted to do something in the medical field,” Maris said. “Here, you get to do medicine, you get to do surgery, you get to do dental, dermatology, you get to do so many different things and you do it every day. It’s very challenging and it makes it more fun getting to do a lot of different things.”

Originally started by Dr. John Paul Arnold in 1970, the Shelley Drive Animal Clinic has always prided itself on exceptional pet care, from health complications to taking preventative measures of a healthy pet. Offering everything from wellness exams and surgery to dental care and boarding, even aiding with breeding, the animal clinic looks to care for the clients.

During his long career, Maris has seen all sorts of cases.

“There’s been some really complicated cases that once you finally figure them out, it’s pretty gratifying,” Maris said. “It’s just a matter of staying on top of things.”

The challenge in any medical field is keeping up with the constant advancement in medicine, prescription drugs and equipment.

“We do a lot of continuing education, get probably at least 50 hours a year of continuing education so we can stay up on everything and that’s what makes it fun too though,” Maris said.

Luckily, Maris doesn’t mind tinkering with the latest medical gadgets.

“He’s totally up on the technology and he doesn’t mind spending money to have the best… he likes the best toys,” said Kristin Blaise, veterinary technician supervisor of Shelley Drive Animal Clinic. She called his work “cutting edge.”

When it comes to tough cases, Maris enjoys the challenge, as it gives him an opportunity to figure out what is the most up-to-date method and what works best for each patient. He has obtained an ultrasound machine, a digital X-ray and even an in-house lab for the four-legged clients.

“It takes the guesswork out of your diagnosis… the more you can see, the more you can find out,” Maris said.

Whether he is dealing with a client that has a diagnosis that stemmed from an owner’s Google search or a dog who continuously ate rocks, Maris handled each one with care, and some even with a bit of humor.

“Working with him has been very entertaining,” Blaise said, who has worked with Maris for 25 years. “He has a very unique way of doing things but he gets them done and he does it so well. Our clients love him.”

When it comes to solving the most difficult cases, Blaise says Dr. Maris hardly breaks a sweat.

“He has a flow chart in his head,” Blaise said. “If there’s a difficult case, he’s like ‘well, let’s go step by step and see what we can get done.’”

“Dr. Maris is an entertainer for sure but he loves to educate,” Blaise said. “We’ve had many, many students come through SDAC.”

In 2010, Maris was awarded with Companion Animal Practitioner of the Year by Texas Veterinary Medical Association.

After caring for thousands of cats and dogs in East Texas, Maris will retire on Aug. 15, 2023 — exactly 50 years from the start of his veterinary career.

“It’s been a joy working with him every day,” said Sammi Day, front desk receptionist at Shelley Drive Animal Clinic. “He’s fun to work with and always has a good attitude.”

In her 33 years of working with Maris, Day cannot recall a time where he was outright frustrated with anybody.

“He deals with the situation and then it’s just gone,” she said. “It’s not something he carries on about or ever you never ever would hear him mention it again. He never has a bad word to say about anybody. He’s just a sweet man with a good heart…such a loving person.”

Although he finds joy in caring for his patients, whether it’s delving into a difficult case or just staying up-to-date on the latest advancement in veterinary medicine, Maris is looking forward to some downtime with his wife of 51 years, Susie and their adult daughters, Leah Michelle and Andrea.

He is also really looking forward to fishing and seeing more Aggies sports.

“I love to fish, especially fly fishing,” he said. “We plan on going to more functions, like baseball games, basketball and football. We didn’t have time for long vacations and stuff like that, and now we’re gonna take some.”