History
From the files of he Bakersfield Californian, April , 1949.
Stiern Veterinary Hospital
Stiern Veterinary Hospital
Caring for Bakersfield’s animal community for more than 80 years By Julie Plata
» STIERN VETERINARY HOSPITAL HAS CONTINUOUS-
LY SERVED THE ANIMAL COMMUNITY OF BAKERSFIELD SINCE 1938, WITH ONLY A BRIEF INTERRUPTION WHEN DOCTORS WALTER AND ROBERT STIERN TEMPORARILY CLOSED THE PRACTICE FOR THE DURATION OF WORLD WAR II IN OCTOBER 1942. They assured their patients in the Oct. 5, 1942 Bakersfield Californian that “we will be ready to serve the community when this war is won!” Walter Stiern knew that he wanted to pursue medicine as a career — he was just not sure what kind. According to an interview he gave in 1987, he realized during the time of the Great Depression there were only two veterinary practices in Bakersfield, which also meant they were the only two serving Kern County. His father suggested, “Had you ever thought of veterinary medicine as a possibility? There are not a lot of veterinarians, and you like animals so much.” To Stiern this seemed an ideal career choice, as he stated, “I just love animals.”
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After graduating with his degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Washington State College and passing the California state board of veterinary medicine exam, he returned home to Bakersfield to start practicing. It was difficult to find jobs as a veterinarian in town so with the help of his father, they converted a double garage with a pump house into a small office. Stiern stated in his interview that “I worked out of probably the smallest office in the state of California for the first few years of my practice before we got going.” After practicing for 20 years, Stiern felt he had done “all in veterinary medicine that I can do,” and decided to pursue a new career path. In 1958, Dr. Stiern ran for office and although his first love was veterinary medicine, he stated, “I’ve spent a lot of time with animals, and now I want to do something for people.” Although he no longer practiced veterinary medicine, the practice remained open and others joined to continue the care of the animals that Stiern grew up loving.
CALIFORNIAN FILE PHOTO, COURTESY OF JULIE PLATA, JAVIER LLAMAS
