Dr. Cliff Morris retires after 42 years as Eldorado vet

ELDORADO -- When a person pictures Santa on Christmas Eve, it's probably on a sleigh with reindeer, delivering presents to children around the world.

It's probably not performing life-saving surgery on a beloved family pet, but that's a scene that played out not once, but twice, during Dr. Cliff Morris' 42-year career as one of Saline County's veterinarians.

Morris, who with his wife Christine lives just outside of Eldorado, was active with a group called "Santa Claus Inc." At Christmastime, the group would get donations of gifts for children in the area. They would wrap them, and on Christmas Eve "Santa" would deliver the gifts to the children themselves at their homes.

Morris had the honor of being a Santa for the group, and is a memory he still cherishes.

One Christmas, though, as he was delivering presents, a client contacted him with a dog needing emergency stomach surgery. Morris said the dog only had a two-hour window for surgery at best if it was to live.

"I still had the white beard on, dressed as Santa Claus, doing surgery on the St. Bernard," Morris said, recalling the ordeal. "I got done, still got the toys delivered and made midnight Mass."

Another Christmas Eve, a similar scenario played out, only this time it was with a pregnant female dog. After delivering toys, Santa performed an emergency C-section on the pooch.

Morris graduated from veterinary school on May 10, 1975. Originally from Sikeston, Mo., he graduated with his bachelor's from University of Missouri before going on to vet school. As such, he spent his first couple years of practice with another vet in Missouri before moving to Eldorado.

His first office was in the location of the former Hitchin' Post Motel near Wasson, between Harrisburg and Eldorado. He purchased it in December of 1977 and started up his Saline County practice in 1978.

He moved to the office he recently closed in Harrisburg in 1988.

During his 42 1/2 years of doctoring animals, he said he's seen and treated a wide variety of animals and ailments.

"Early on, I did everything," Morris said. "You name it, I treated it. I fixed broken wings on geese, performed surgery on snakes, removed tumors on rats, all of it."

One of those rats, in fact, belonged to a cousin. Thanks to Morris's work, the rat exceeded its standard longevity.

"It lived for over seven years, which is pretty old for a rat," he said.

He said he can't put a number on the number of animals he's treated, but he says it is a large number.

"I started college with a slide rule, and computers and I never have been real friends," he said, chuckling. "So, I don't have computer records that go back that far. I really don't know, but it's been quite a few."

Now that he's retired, he and Christine, better known as Chris, are moving to St. Charles, Mo. where they both have family.

Plus, he said they'll have plenty of time to spend with their grown children Kipper, Tiffany, and Bethany, and their grandchildren.

"We have six grandchildren, and the oldest two are 7," he said. "There's three boys and three girls, so we plan to spend some time visiting them."