Heritage Veterinary Care was established in the summer of 1905 when Dr. Albert Dunlap (1872-1967) started practicing from the family's carriage house near the fairgrounds in Cadiz. He was a graduate of Western Veterinary College in Kansas City, where his tuition was $11 for six months. Veterinarians at the time were focused on farm animals but he did treat small animals in a spring house that still stands. He was known as "a veterinarian and friend to all" and covered a large area riding or driving a horse named Gyp before purchasing a Model T.
Dr. Festus Rogers (1903-1991) was Dr. Dunlap's neighbor and started riding with him when he was seven years old. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1926. For the first 16 years of his career, he was a state veterinarian working on the cattle brucellosis and tuberculosis testing and eradication program. In 1942, he returned to Cadiz and took over the clinic when Dr. Dunlap retired at the age of 70. Dr. Rogers built a small animal clinic next to his house on Jamison Ave. in Cadiz. He was known as a spirited character who drove large Buicks from call to call at a high rate of speed. In late 1962 a milk truck pulled out in front of him, nearly shearing the roof off his car. He never practiced again. Outside of veterinary medicine, he was a well-known judge and breeder of Tennessee Walkers and Shetland ponies.
Dr. Carl Sparling (1932-2015) graduated from Ohio State University in 1963. He purchased Dr. Rogers' house and clinic and began a mixed animal practice. in 1976, he built and opened Cadiz Animal Clinic on Airport Rd. It was a two-exam room hospital with a large animal treatment area in the basement. He was a boisterous man and many animals quaked at his brusque loud voice. Outside of veterinary medicine he was a county commissioner and acted in many local plays. As he started his political career, he began looking for a partner.
Dr. Scott Pendleton (1963-?) graduated from The Ohio State University in 1989. He is from Bloomingdale's and was looking to move back to the area when he called on Dr. Sparling in early 1992. He began working at Cadiz Animal Clinic in June and purchased the clinic in February 1993. At the time, the clinic was 80%. As the area changed, the practice changed until it was 90% small animal in 2019 when he retired from large animal medicine.
In 2018, he and his wife decided to build a new facility. Construction started in January of 2019 and the clinic opened in October of that year with a new name: Heritage Veterinary Care. Dr. Samantha Figurski started working at the clinic when she was 16 years old. She graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019 and became a partner at the clinic in 2024. From a solo doctor with two exam rooms and six employees in 2017 to four doctors with eight exam rooms and 28 employees in 2025, Heritage Veterinary Care honors the past as it embraces the future.