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Then he heard about a vocational farm in Washington, Michigan.

"It was designed for young people who wanted to learn about agriculture and go to college at the same time," said Walton. "We worked. We took care of the cows, the chickens. We'd drive to Wayne State University for liberal arts. We were the only farm kids at Wayne State."

That farm provided Walton's life's inspiration. "It was there that I knew I wanted to become a veterinarian. That was what I wanted to do."

After 43 years of caring for animals large, small and exotic, Walton has retired.

A reception to honor his dedication, planned by his wife Carol, will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Sun., June 24, in the Deckerville Community Center.

Walton graduated from Perdue University's school of veterinary medicine in 1964.

His long career began at the Harbor Beach Veterinary Clinic.

"One of my connections in Michigan found me a job in Harbor Beach, so this is where I stayed," he said.

In 1970 he moved to the Deckerville Veterinary Clinic, where he remained for 37 years, mainly caring for cows and horses.

A lot has changed in all that time.

"When I first started in '64, fifty cows was a good sized dairy operation. Now, the farms have anywhere from several hundred to a few thousand. They still may be owned by one family, but it's not the old version of the family farm. Everything's bigger."

A majority of the dairy farms in the Deckerville area now are owned by first-generation Dutch families who have found a niche in Sanilac County.

"It seems like the Dutch have changed the whole landscape with the size of their farms. They found an opportunity over here," he said.

Walton said longtime local families who got out of business now are raising feed or raising calves for the Dutch.

When the clinic opened a Sandusky office in 1998, Walton worked there, too.

"He has very good people skills. He always did very well with clients," said office manager Helen Kennedy.

In 2003 he retired from large animal practice and switched to companion animals.

"The Sandusky office became his exclusive small animal practice," Kennedy said. "He kind of started that up."

When it comes to companion animals, emergency obstetrics is one of Walton's special memories.

"Doing C-sections on cats and dogs is a big deal in the clinic," he said. "The whole staff gathers around to rub and dry the babies while they revive from the anesthetic. It's always been an interesting event."

Walton also for many years has cared for the exotic animals at the Whispering Pines Animal Kingdom in Lexington, owned by Kirk and Christina Elya.

"He's done a lot," Kirk Elva said. "He's declawed some big cats, gelded a couple camels and cared for several other exotic animals. He inspects our facility every year through the federal government and is our vet for all our animals. Fred is a very nice guy. It was very enjoyable to have him around. He used to just stop in and say hi."

Walton said Whispering Pines was one of his more interesting clients.

"When I accepted them as a client, I told them I had limited experience. They said they'd work with me. They know all about the lions and tigers. They did the dangerous stuff.

"The baby tigers and lions are taken away from their mother quite young so that they'll bond with humans, so they're just like overgrown kittens. They look like a tiger or lion, but they act like kittens.

"They are, in fact, wild animals, everyone has to remember that. They don't play like a kitten later on, but they're still bonded with people. You just have to be careful."

Now that Walton has retired from active practice, he plans to spend more time with his favorite mission Ð the Sanilac County Humane Society, where he has volunteered since it opened. "I'll be doing more volunteer surgeries now, mostly spaying and neutering, especially cats," he said.

Nothing upsets Walton more than when irresponsible cat owners abandon a box of kittens on the steps of the no-kill shelter in Carsonville.

"That tells a big story," he said. "It means people aren't taking care of business. Whether it's a box at the back door or a sign on the lawn for free kittens, it tells you there's a mama somewhere that needs to get spayed. The world has enough cats."

Walton said people get the Sanilac County Animal Control shelter in Sandusky confused with the Sanilac County Humane Society, but they're definitely different.

"The county animal control does a good job too, but if they get too many for too long, they do have to put them to sleep. They have their limits," Walton said.

"But the Humane Society is a Ôno-kill' shelter. They don't turn away anybody. The Humane Society is supported only by private donations and adoption fees. When you adopt, your pet will already be spayed or neutered, has all its shots and is declared healthy."

Karen Schlichting, Humane Society board member, said Walton will play an indispensable role in the shelter's next big step: He will become the "in house" vet.

"We are setting up a surgery and clinic area so he will be able to perform spays and neauters on our animals, right in house," she said. "We're hoping to find local strays, spay and neuter them and re-release them. That's our big plan.

"We'll keep them if we have room, but we're usually stuffed full of cats, so we'll just re-release them," she said.

The Humane Society's lucky to have a vet like Walton who is willing to donate his services.

"It's what we've been dreaming of for years," Schlichting said.