Trained to Care for Our Best Friends

For the past 37 years, Westridge Animal Hospital’s Dr. Randy Murray has served pets and their owners with compassion

By Jennifer Jordan

Four States Living readers may remember that in last month’s issue, I opened musician Hailey Wright’s story with a statistic about childhood dream jobs. Being a rock star is certainly in the top 10. My research indicates that there is one dream job that ranks repeatedly as number one. That is veterinarian. Family pets, wildlife, strays—animals tug on the heartstrings of people worldwide. For this reason, children and pet owners esteem veterinarians greatly, for these are the folks trained to care for our best friends. 

Dr. Murray visits with a couple of his longtime Westridge clients.

Over the last 37 years, Dr. Randy Murray has found his way into the hearts of his patients and their families as a local veterinarian. Prior to establishing Westridge Animal Hospital in 1989, he practiced at Wisdom Animal Clinic for four years. For Randy, becoming a veterinarian was natural. In the early 1970s, his father, Herb Murray, together with Dr. Walter Barns and Dr. D.W. Wisdom, purchased a farm of about 400 acres south of Myrtle Springs Road in Red Lick. “My exposure to Dr. Wisdom working cattle along with my love for farm life was what caused me to consider veterinary medicine,” Randy attests. “I would say I was in the 12- to 13-year-old range at the time.  By the time I was 15, I quit sports, and my dad got me a hardship driver’s license (economic pressures of the cattle business) and I started running the farm.  I custom baled and hauled hay for folks all over Red Lick and the west Texarkana area through high school, even leasing my own land and selling hay.  I also showed cattle and was very active in Vocational Agriculture at school but still stayed in what was termed ‘college bound’ classes at that time.” Randy graduated from Texas High in 1978, at which time he also earned his American Farmer degree, of which he is very proud. He then enrolled in Texas A&M and completed his undergraduate degree in three years and attained his DVM in 1985. 

Buck (the big fella) and Oshi were happy to hop into the photo, but they weren’t very interested in posing for the camera.

Upon graduating, Randy returned to Texarkana to work with Dr. Wisdom, married Alecia Ratley in 1986, and started a family with son, Cullen, and daughter, Meredith. “I graduated vet school really not knowing a blessed thing about practice, but Wendell taught me patiently and thoroughly in the four years I was there,” he says. It had always been expected by both Dr. Wisdom and Randy’s father that Randy would eventually purchase the clinic. “For a variety of reasons, none of which I really now consider to be particularly reasonable nor important, I was dead set on charting my own course by 1989 so Alecia and I purchased the land we still occupy today.” Randy reflects upon how his life would have turned out differently had he remained at Wisdom Animal Clinic as planned, but concludes that “God is good and faithful, so my hard-headed and willful nature ended up being an asset more than liability over the long term.  Dr. Wisdom taught me vital lessons without which I would never have been successful, and I owe him a great deal.”

Dr. Murray graduated from Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1985.

Randy credits much of his success to others, particularly his parents, Herb and Mary, and his high school Agriculture teacher, Dwight Duncan. “My dad instilled in me the sense of responsibility to people in general to do what I said I would do, always do it with a passion for excellence, and work hard to make up for what I lacked in other areas. Whatever business success I have enjoyed is almost totally due to his dedication to making his kids understand these principles. I miss him terribly.” 

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in 1989 for the original 24x60 building that housed Westridge Animal Hospital.  That same building was donated to Sugar Hill United Methodist Church in 1997.

Since 1985, Randy has had a standing Friday lunch date with his mother, where she and he “talk life and Bible, which have no separation for her, or me these days. She is a treasure like no other, constantly challenging me simply by the way she lives her life. She probably has knee issues today at 87 because of the constant prayer for me and my siblings (older brother, Bob; younger brother, Brent; and little sister, Amanda). She is a stalwart with great, great faith and still serving faithfully as a greeter at Heritage Church where we attend,” he remarks. Randy tries to emulate his mother in studying the Bible. “I have found through her example that this is most gratifying, rewarding and a necessity to grow in God’s grace,” he says. The second chapter in Paul’s second letter to Timothy is particularly meaningful for Randy: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of the truth.” Teaching God’s word is equally important to Randy, and he and Alecia serve as group leaders at Heritage. “We have four families that are part of our community group and therefore part of our lives. They’re like another set of kids, and we love doing life with them.  I have a men’s group (we call it 318 at Heritage) and those guys are a very important part of my life (2 Tim. 2:2).” 

Way back in the early days at the vet clinic, Dr. Murray took time out of his day to visit with his children, Cullen and Meredith.

Dwight Duncan influenced Randy in his youth, not only as a teacher, but also like an associate dad. “Dwight pushed me to excel through agriculture, but he also reinforced everything dad taught me on a ‘real-time’ basis through the many adventures we shared in showing cattle as well as his role of influence at Texas High.  He and my dad were cut from the same cloth,” Randy says. “I still talk to Dwight fairly often today, but perhaps not as often as I should.” Agriculture is still an important aspect of Randy’s life; he and Alecia keep a few cows on 80 acres west of town, and they also keep a small farm outside of Foreman where he farms a little and is mainly a gamekeeper together with some close friends nearby. “I’m a hunter, specifically bow-hunting, but I love squeezing a trigger also. I delight in riding cutting horses (I’m not very good, but still like it) but just haven’t had the time or opportunity over the last two years. I hope to return to that discipline in the future.”

No matter how many people are waiting or in exam rooms at the clinic, Dr. Murray will stop what he is doing to visit with his mother, Mary.

Dr. Wisdom taught Randy that veterinary medicine includes both the arts and sciences. “He stressed this often to me in my early years – never leave off the arts.  What are they? He always said, ‘If someone thinks there is something wrong with their pet, then there is … don’t let them ever leave here without listening attentively.  You’ll learn almost as much as you will putting your hands on their pet.’ Dr. Wisdom was big on getting to know both people and their pet. He was correct! Still is!” Randy took this advice to heart, as it forms an essential part of his daily practice. “I take great pleasure still today after 37 years of practice in helping folks manage their pet’s health,” he comments. Randy notes that veterinary medicine has changed immensely over the years, especially with regard to the amount of information available to the professional community. “Technology is so vastly improved and has changed in my practice lifetime, but so has many aspects of medicine.  Keeping up with all that is very difficult and yet in many ways, essential.  I cannot imagine what the next 10 years holds!”

It is easy to see that Dr. Murray’s first grandchild, Charlotte, has stolen his heart.

Randy wants to ensure the Texarkana community that he will be around for the next 10 years or longer. “I am not retiring!” he avers. However, he intends to take off more time due to “probably the most beautiful girl baby ever born.” Cullen, and his wife, Amanda, gave Randy and Alecia the gift of a granddaughter, Charlotte Frances, last December. “We burn up the road between here and Frisco,” Dr. Murray quips. “We have big plans at Westridge in the coming months that I will be announcing but it will involve adding tremendously to our exam room space and hopefully emergency capabilities. We also have an additional doctor coming September 1.” This doctor will join Randy, Dr. Lisa Morgan, and Dr. Dean Burns, a vet school classmate of Randy’s who has been practicing for the same length of time. Dr. Patrick Murray also practices at Westridge part-time in a relief role. Randy plans to practice 3½ days starting in September, and then resume his regular schedule next spring during the busy months. “As long as my wheels will haul me room to room, I intend to keep practicing. I still love it!”

Celebrating Alecia’s 60th birthday in Dallas was a family affair for the Murrays.  Pictured are: Randy and Alecia with their son, Cullen, and his wife, Amanda, and their daughter, Meredith.