Ron Hines

Dr. Ron Hines has loved animals since he was a boy. In addition to his veterinary training, he has a Ph.D. in microbiology. In 1966, he enlisted in the U.S. Public Health Service and worked at the National Institutes of Health. In 1978, he was awarded the Surgeon General’s Commendation medal. He retired from the PHS reserve in the early 1980s as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Ron left the Public Health Service due to health problems following a 1973 accident at an NIH facility in Maryland. He was fixing equipment in an animal lab and fell into a pit of machinery, crushing several vertebrae. Though not paralyzed, Ron lost most sensation below his waist and walks with difficulty and pain.

After leaving the Public Health Service, Ron worked as a full-time veterinarian, owning clinics in Florida and even working at Sea World. In 2002, Ron retired because age and disability left him without the stamina to maintain a physical practice.

That same year, he launched a website to share his pet articles with the public and to stay in touch with pet owners. Ron was inundated with emails from pet owners seeking advice, and he realized that the Internet presented him with a tremendous opportunity to help animals and the people who care for them. He estimates that he has helped over 700 pet owners. Only five percent of these people are in Texas. 45 percent are elsewhere in the U.S., and the remaining 50 percent are overseas.