Our History

Learn about the history of Tickle Blagg Animal Hospital and its founder.

In Memoriam Dr. Jack Tickle

Andrew Jack Tickle, DVM of San Marcos was the founder of Tickle Blagg Animal Hospital. Jack was born in Ballinger, Texas to Cora and Herbert Tickle on Nov. 18, 1924. Jack grew up on the family ranch in Concho, Texas and graduated from Millersview High school in 1940. He then attended Texas A&M to study veterinary medicine and married Bobbie E. McChristial. He served in the US Army and Navy during WWII. Jack graduated from A&M in 1949 with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

From 1949 to 1950, he worked in Mexico with the US/ Mexican effort for Aftosa (Foot and Mouth) eradication as a Veterinary Inspector. He then joined Green Valley Cattle Company in San Marcos in 1950. Dr. Tickle established Tickle Animal Hospital in 1954 on Highway 80 after a miraculous recovery of bloated cows in the wheat field behind the current building.

The building has been remodeled and added to during the 1960s and 1970s. He retired in 1993 at the age of 68 and passed away June 14, 2017, at the age of 92.

Tickle-Blagg History

Tickle Blagg Animal Hospital has been proud to serve San Marcos, Texas for many decades and is the oldest veterinary hospital in Hays County. In the 50's, Highway 80 was a gravel road and townspeople would come to the hospital on horseback for treatment of all their farm animals and pets, including jaguars, lions, and other exotic animals. The building has since been remodeled and added to during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1949, Dr. Jack Tickle graduated from Texas A&M Veterinary program and spent a year with the Mexico/US cooperative program to eradicate Foot and Mouth disease in hoofstock before the disease spread to the US.

He then started in Hays county as a large animal veterinarian with Green Valley Cattle Company. After several years working with JD Cummings, he founded the current location of Tickle-Blagg Animal Hospital in 1954 after a miraculous recovery of bloated cows in the wheat field behind the current building. Dr. Robert Blagg joined the team in 1987. He hails from San Angelo, attended Texas Tech then graduated from Texas A&M Veterinary Medical School.

After moving to San Marcos, he worked with Dr. Tickle to provide small animal expertise and care, then purchased the hospital in 1994 for Dr. Tickle's upcoming retirement. Dr. Angela Jordan joined in 2005 to help Dr. Blagg on a part-time basis with providing small animal medicine and surgery. In 2017, she joined Tickle-Blagg Animal hospital full-time to help with the growing pet population of San Marcos and surrounding areas. The hospital has been through many transitions through the decades and continues to embrace new technology with the newest solar energy panel addition. Tickle-Blagg Animal Hospital vows to evolve with the local community's needs and always provides up-to-date veterinary medicine.