Dr. Doolittle of Chateaugay

One man changes the face of a local town's library

Story by Shanelle Loffler

It's early in the morning and the phone rings.  He quickly reaches for it, afraid it will wake the rest of the house.  He grumbles and nods a bit, fighting the urge of sleep.  "Here we go," he mumbles and Dr. Sidney Martin was gone on an emergency veterinarian call.

"He's grumblesome but he never complained," Susan Taylor, daughter of the late Dr. Martin says. "He really cared about his job, the customers, and most importantly the animals he treated."

Martin, originally from Massachusetts, moved to Chateaugay, NY after World War II. He had studied veterinary medicine and when he arrived he had started a practice with Dr. J.D Sweet, which was named Sweet and Martin Veterinarians. 

"He would get out of bed at four in the morning for any animal."

In 1972, after Sweet had retired, Martin joined a partnership with fellow veterinarian Dr. Peter Neveu. Their practice, North Franklin Veterinary Services, was and still is located right outside the town of Chateaugay. Neveu still runs the practice today.

"You could ask any farmer in the county and they could tell you a story of something he did for them," Silas Martin, grandson of Dr. Martin says. "He would get out of bed at four in the morning for any animal."

Dr. Martin was well known for his skill with animals and the compassion he had for them.

"He just loved what he did so much and he loved helping the farmers," Linda Martin, daughter-in-law to the late Dr. Martin says. 

During Martin's lifetime, he served on the Executive Board of the New York State Veterinary Medical Association. There he inspected animal hospitals around the state for certification in the American Animal Hospital Association. He was also a long time member of the Northern New York Veterinary Medical Society. 

"I really liked being with him."

"When my dad was alive, he donated too many places around the areas," Taylor says. "When he died, one of his charities was to the Chateaugay Library, so I took it upon myself to donate to it."

"I was chatting with the director [Eileen Clar] and I asked her what her dream for the

library was and she said for the library to have a building of its own.  So I donated money

to the cause" Taylor says. 

Taylor donated $100,000 to the library to have it remodeled.  Once she had done this, many other donors began to send in money. 

"The community and I, all together, donated $600,000 to the library" Taylor says.

On Oct. 11 2008, the Chateaugay library was reopened and named after the late Dr, Sidney Martin, whose influence clearly still reigns in the town. 

"I really liked being with him, and I loved helping him get ready for work.  It became a daily ritual for us," Taylor says. 

How much do you like animals?