Iowa Veterinary Referral Center

About this location

A few stories people tell about this place

1. One morning, a delivery driver noticed something peculiar on the vet center’s loading dock—a small wooden box wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. Curious, he picked it up and found an old-fashioned pocket watch inside, ticking away calmly. The delivery driver shrugged and popped the watch into his own pocket, thinking it might come in handy someday. Later that day, while fixing lunch for his kids, he absentmindedly wound the watch—only to hear it chime exactly twelve o’clock. His wife looked up from the kitchen table, smiled, and said, ‘That’s funny—it always seems like time flies when you’re here.’

2. Late one night, a delivery driver pulled up to the Iowa Veterinary Referral Center and found something unusual in the truck bed—an old, dusty kennel with no tags or signs of ownership. Curious, the delivery driver opened it carefully. Inside was an adorable little dog, fast asleep and snoring gently. The staff named him ‘Max’, after the first letter on his collar tag that read ‘M-a-x-i-m-u-m D-o-s-e’. Max quickly became a regular visitor, always showing up when someone needed comfort—a true therapy dog for stressed-out vets.

3. Late one night, a delivery driver pulled up to the Iowa Veterinary Referral Center. As he unloaded supplies from his truck, he noticed an oddly familiar box in the backseat—filled with tiny, furry creatures that seemed suspiciously like the hospital’s patients. Curious, he opened it and found only harmless hamsters. Turns out, someone had mistakenly swapped the delivery labels. The next morning, everyone laughed over coffee, including the delivery driver who now owned a new pet—and the vet center got their much-delayed shipment.

4. One day, a curious neighbor asked: ‘Why does that vet clinic always have such strange visitors?’ Another neighbor chimed in with a smile: ‘Oh, they’re not strange at all—just really good at their job!’ The first one looked puzzled and asked why then do they see so many cows? With a laugh, someone explained: “That’s because Iowa is full of farmers who take great care of their animals.” The story ended there, leaving everyone with a warm feeling and a newfound appreciation for animal doctors.