Columbia Veterinary Hospital’s lobby was busting at the seams last Monday. It was chock-full of clients and critters begging to see Dr. Larry Goza on his last official day before retirement. After 35 years of caring and affordable service, Dr. Goza will be sorely missed.

A true home

“He’s probably spent more time at the clinic than he has at his own home,” said Matthew Zedwick, who has handled the business side of things since he and his wife, Dr. Kristin Zedwick purchased the animal hospital from Goza in 2011.

In 1979, Goza opened his practice and called it Columbia Veterinary Hospital. And for some time, he actually called the clinic his home, too.

Goza, his wife at the time and four children lived in the basement and half of the top level while he got his practice started. At that time, only the front half of the main level was utilized for exam rooms and cages. The other half had a bedroom, bathroom and fireplace, and the basement had additional bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen for the family of six to use.

“It was wonderful because I was just getting the clinic started so it wasn’t very busy,” Goza said. “Oddly less people bothered me there than they did my own house. No one could believe I lived there. No one ever did it enough to drive me nuts.

Before it was a vet clinic, the building, which sits in an industrial zone along the Columbia River was a fire extinguisher and steel metal shop. When Goza returned to Astoria from California eager to start his own practice, he went door-to-door inquiring about buildings for sale in the area.

When he moved out of the clinic, clients had a harder time tracking him down with emergency after-hour needs. Soon though, clients caught on and house calls became somewhat of a norm for Goza, as people literally showed up on his doorstep.

“I’ve heard of people tracking him down to his house for vet care, but I have never heard him complain,” said Rita Smith from the Riversong Foundation.

Goza poured his heart and soul into the clinic. He often stayed after hours finishing up surgeries and cut his lunch hour short to get a head start on afternoon operations.

In addition to Goza making the clinic feel like a home to himself, he has been hospitable to the clinic’s house guests.

“The animals are in a place that is already really scary to them,” Kristin Zedwick said. “They don’t know where they are, I’m sure it smells weird like medicine, and I’m sure they have a lot fear not knowing what we are doing to them or why we are doing it. To put an animal at ease is huge. It makes things less complicated, and it’s a lot easier to do procedures when you aren’t worried about them biting you. He keeps the animals that come in and their owners as calm as they can be in a place like this.”

Matthew Zedwick describes Goza’s calming ability as an animal magnetism, similar to that of Dr. Doolittle, the famous “talk to the animals” veterinarian of childrens’ books and folklore from the 1920s.

Affordable care for all

Goza is known for being one of the most affordable vets on the block. Word-of-mouth about his affordable care has attracted clients from everywhere – both in and out of state.

People waiting in the lobby could easily attest.

Teresa McKee travels to Astoria from Kelso,Wash., for her veterinary needs. She was urged by a customer at her flower nursery to get a second opinion on her limping dog.

“My vet was going to charge $1,110 to remove the small lump on my dog’s foot,” McKee said. “I called down here and they gave me a high of $400.”

“And that’s not an uncommon story,” said Lex Morrow of Astoria.

His dog had an anterior ligament surgery he is pretty sure would have cost him $1,000 in the city, but turned out to be only $300 under Goza’s service.

“It’s become addicting to help people and their animals,” Goza said.

“He tries not to overwhelm owners with high prices,” Matthew Zedwick said. “He has set up an awesome business model as far as affordability and health care, and finds a way to make things really affordable for people without insurance. We have a lot of clients who come in with prices that are thousands of dollars more than what we charge, but Dr. Goza has such a caring heart and soul that he tries to take care of everyone.”

Goza has seldom turned anyone away for not being able to pay.

“He has never turned anyone away for not being able to pay, unless it was blatant someone was taking advantage of us,” Kristin Zedwick said. “If your dog’s leg is broken, we need to take care of it. We tell people to do whatever they can today and then get back to us later. A lot of people really honor it.”

Smith recalls more than one occasion in which Goza has assisted the Riversong Foundation with saving feral cats.

“Dr. Goza has been instrumental in helping us save animals’ lives,” Smith said. “He has worked on a discount basis with the foundation since 2009 to help us, help the animals.”

Although Goza has left, according to Kristin Zewick, the prices will remain the same – at least for now.

“The clinic as a whole hasn’t changed their prices in more than four years,” she said. “Because of inflation and mark up, eventually we will have to go up, but in really small increments.”

Zedwick says the prices will basically be the same idea: $30 for office visits, $15 to 20 for shots and $300 to 400 for major surgeries.

“I have never had our fees as high as some other vets because half of the people can’t afford them,” Goza said. “Oddly, to have lower fees means and help more people – I still made more money than the average vet my whole lifetime. The good thing about having your own business is you get to do things how you want to do it. If I would have been doing them some other way, I wouldn’t have lasted until I was 65 years old.”

Beef ranching

Goza grew up in Riddleton working on a beef ranch. His responsibilities included driving a tractor, clearing land, bailing hay and feeding the cows.

It was because of this Goza felt inspired to pursue veterinary medicine. He attended Eastern Oregon University for his undergraduate degree from 1966 to ’68. Then he attended Oregon State University for one year before switching to Washington State University for its college of veterinary medicine. He graduated four years later, and quickly took a job at Astoria Animal Hospital in 1973.

After several years of work at the clinic, Goza moved to Cheno, Calif., to begin working off his school loans for a year. Then he went to Lake Arrowhead, Calif. and started his first practice at Lake Arrowhead Veterinary Hospital, which he ran for three years before returning to Astoria.

Because of a covenant he signed promising he would not compete with the vet at Astoria Animal Hospital, Goza cordially waited to begin his own practice in Astoria until 1979.

Goza quickly became well-know in town and even served on the Astoria-Warrentong Chamber of Commerce board.

Sense of humor

“He’s tall, handsome and funny – the ladies love him,” Matthew Zedwick said. “There are a lot of ladies that think he is just the most special person in the world.”

Goza is also known for his unique sense of humor, affability and for keeping things lively around the clinic.

The woman who works at the front desk, refers to Goza’s jokes as those “cheesy one-liners your dad tells that you can’t help but roll your eyes at.”

One of his favorites – “What time is best to do a doggy dental? – Tooth-thirty.”

Goza, who could easily be mistaken for a mad scientist with his coily white hair surrounding the bottom half of his skull and bald spot on top. is notorious for sporting brightly colored wigs and for gluing tumors he has removed from animals to his glasses.

Although Goza can be a jokester, when the time calls for seriousness, he has a cap for that, too.

“He has offered animals that have passed on a kind and blessed release from suffering,” Smith said.

Making the decision to put down a pet is never easy, and Goza will go to great lengths assisting and consoling families through the process.

“I have seen him sit in a room and talk with clients for an hour and a half,” Katherine Zedwick said. “And everyone in the lobby just has to wait because he knows it’s important that owners know what’s going on with their animal.”

Hitting gold with retirement

Although he has been spotted moseying in and out of the clinic, as of July 1, Goza is a retired man. He sold the clinic to the Zedwicks two years ago on June 30, 2012 and as promised, worked exactly two years before throwing in the towel.

“I’m really going to miss caring for the animals,” Goza said.

But from the sounds of it, he will be too busy anyway.

He plans to live the bachelor life after three separate marriages and spend time with his twin sons in Colfax, Calif., dredging for gold. Goza purchased a Victorian home in Colfax several years ago when the economy was down, which he has renovated. He also has a home in La Pine that he will spend time at.

On his agenda is waterskiing, visiting kids and grandkids in New Mexico, Southern California and Belize.

A mentor

Word on the street is that many people in town are panicking about Goza’s retirement, but not to worry – he has left the practice in good hands.

Kristin Zedwick began getting acquainted at the clinic when she was 14 as a volunteer. She worked side-by-side with Goza until she left for college at Oregon State University. After she graduated in 2009, she called Goza and he told her to “come on back.” A week later, one of Zedwick’s classmates at OSU and good friend, Dr. Megan Christie, was also in search of a job and Goza welcomed her on board with open arms as well.

“I know people are stressed about him leaving, but people don’t really know what a good mentor he has been to us,” Zedwick said. “Megan and I were able to start off as two brand-new grads, and he was never impatient with us. He just kind of eased us into learning how to be great vets.”