J. C. RODGER, V. S. The veterinary doctor and surgeon of today recognizes the benefit of science as applied to his profession, and it is a noteworthy fact that, within the last several decades, the course in this line has been as strict as that of a regular doctor of medicine, while the scope of practice being wider, many of the progressive men of today are taking up the veterinary line in preference. One of the successful veterinarians of Madison County is found in the person of Dr. J. C. Rodger, a member of the firm of Rodger & Catey, of No. 715 Jackson street, Anderson. Dr. Rodger was born near the city of Toronto, Canada, August 24, 1865, and is a son of John and Helen (Cowan) Rodger, both natives of Scotland, the father being a farmer. He was a man of energy, became prosperous and much respected in his community, and owned a large farm in the vicinity of Toronto, where both he and his wife passed away in the year 1901.
The early education of Dr. Rodger was secured in the public and high schools of Toronto, and he spent some little time on the farm. There he showed a decided inclination for the veterinary profession, this having been developed through his love and understanding of animals, and he accordingly decided to enter upon a professional career. He entered the Toronto Veterinary College, one of the oldest and best institutions of its kind in America, and was graduated in 1887, coining to the United States in the same year and locating at Anderson. Here he opened an office and established himself as a veterinary surgeon, and as he became acquainted and known as a graduate of a college, his practice extended and he was soon in the possession of an excellent professional business. It now extends not only all over Anderson, but to various points in Madison and adjoining counties. He devotes his practice to all domestic animals, of which he has made a careful study, and his success in cases of a complicated nature has placed him well up among the leaders of his calling. In 1904 Dr. Rodger formed a partnership with Oscar M. Catey, under the firm name of Rodger & Catey, and this association has continued to the present time. Dr. Rodger’s skill has caused him to be called upon to lecture on various occasions, and for ten years he was an instructor on Bovine Pathology in the Indianapolis Veterinary College, Indianapolis. He is a member of the Indiana Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association. He is a prominent Mason, belonging to Mount Moriah Lodge No. 77, F. & A. M., to Anderson Chapter No. 52, R. A. M., and to Anderson Commandery No, 32, K. T. He is connected likewise with Murat Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., and has attained to the thirty-second degree in Indiana Consistory.
The stables of the firm of Rodgers & Catey, at No. 715 Jackson street, are substantially constructed in modern manner, are 32×144 feet, and include all modern equipment, box stalls and exercising yard in the rear.