Thu
Nov 29 2007
12:21 pm
By: redmondkr
East Tennessee has lost a great man. Dr. William O. (Bill) Butler passed away Tuesday. His love for his patients was unsurpassed even though some of them kicked him and bit him. He was there for so many of my family's crises down through the years.
He was much more than our vet, he was our dear friend.
|
Topics:
|
|
Discussing:
- SoKno what have you done? (1 reply)
- Vote! Thursday is election day. (4 replies)
- The Odyssey (3 replies)
- AI backlash - Justin Pearson (1 reply)
- U.S. Commerce Dept. Going Socialist? (2 replies)
- Publix Greenwise Organic Berry Recall (4 replies)
- Clayton partners Townsend properties with national company (1 reply)
- Open AI escapes, hacks competitor (2 replies)
- What's going on with Chattanooga? (3 replies)
- Oil company benefits from Middle East war? (2 replies)
- Senate Homeland Security Meeting - Harassment of Anthony Fauci (1 reply)
- Tennessee paying $637 million over 5 years for voucher software program (3 replies)
TN Progressive
- View from the Overlook (Whitescreek Journal)
- Alcoa property taxes will probably not go up (BlountViews)
- Smith & Wesson not a good fit for Blount County (BlountViews)
- Pellissippi Parkway extension delayed again (BlountViews)
- Blount County early voting record turnout (BlountViews)
- WATCH THIS SPACE. (Left Wing Cracker)
- America As It Is Right Now (RoaneViews)
- A friend sent this: From Captain McElwee's Tall Tales of Roane County (RoaneViews)
- The Meidas Touch (RoaneViews)
- Massive Security Breach Analysis (RoaneViews)
- (Whitescreek Journal)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
TN Politics
- Congressional approval not needed for White House ballroom, Trump tells high court (TN Lookout)
- Local officials in the dark about contract naming Adams as ICE call center site (TN Lookout)
- DOJ targets 3 more states in effort to axe in-state tuition for immigrants (TN Lookout)
- Stockard on the Stump: Special session talk on tax appraisals rears its head (TN Lookout)
- ICE to outfit agents with electric shock gloves from KY company in $20 million no-bid contract (TN Lookout)
- How abuse in a Tennessee businessman’s juvenile prisons remained under wraps (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- Community Snapshot: Sometimes the best view Is on the way Home (Knox TN Today)
- Lady Vols soccer opens 2026 season with win (Knox TN Today)
- Daily Connections: Your East Tennessee Guide | August 14-16 (Knox TN Today)
- Hummingbird Festival at Ijams + First concert @ Music in the Grove + Master Gardeners ++ (Knox TN Today)
- Help Zoo Knoxville name its newest red panda cubs (Knox TN Today)
- Close to Home, Far from Ordinary: History lives at Carson-Newman (Knox TN Today)
- Weekend Scene: Glow in the Dark to Yacht Rock Concert (Knox TN Today)
- Treasures and Tales: What in the world is this? (Knox TN Today)
- Hiking with Harrington: Old Sugarlands Trail shows late-summer color (Knox TN Today)
- Food City continues its longtime commitment to local schools (Knox TN Today)
- Meet Charlie Hatcher + $350M med school upgrade + Bill Lyons + Nikki Davis + Rick Scarbrough ++ (Knox TN Today)
- Little Things (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- 'The Standard is the standard': Maryville begins new era under Kenny Cobble (WATE)
- Northview football feeling comfortable and confident in offense (WATE)
- Campbell County residents scramble to buy bottled water amid contamination scare (WATE)
- Dollywood's $60-million NightFlight Expedition coaster welcomes 1st riders (WATE)
- Knoxville woman fights for release of husband detained by ICE since March (WATE)
- Knox County seeks new deadline for Andrew Johnson Building redevelopment (WATE)
News Sentinel
State News
- Baylor’s Khori Faulkner now a defensive leader for reigning state champs - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Boyd Buchanan’s disruptive defensive front shines in scrimmage - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Free Press Opinion: Lookout Mountain must decide whether a gondola is a friend or foe - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Opinion: Keep Nashville’s hands off Chattanooga’s airport, mayor says - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- 6 dead, including shooter, and one critical in mass shooting near Cadillac - The Detroit News (US News)
- Iran war: Trump to declare Hormuz US territory 'soon' - DW.com (US News)
- Trump dismisses families’ concerns about USS Abraham Lincoln conditions - The Washington Post (US News)
- Has your vehicle been searched by Flock cameras? Here’s how to check - WAVE News (US News)
- Trump-linked World Liberty crypto venture gets preliminary approval from currency comptroller - Fox Business (Business)
- Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett declares local disaster emergency amid severe flooding - WTHR (US News)
- EXCLUSIVE: Anthropic IPO valuation hinges on $190-200 billion 2028 revenue forecast, sources say - Reuters (Business)
- Why tech bosses keep sharing their manifestos about AI - BBC (Business)
- F.D.A. Classifies Egg Recall as Class I, for Highest Health Risk - The New York Times (Business)
- Luigi Mangione reveals motive for CEO's killing after pleading guilty in federal case - PBS (US News)
- A rare hurricane landfall threat for Hawaii's Big Island as strengthening Tropical Storm Lala nears - AP News (US News)
- 723 jobs being lost as Tyson Foods closes Eagle Mountain facility - KSL.com (Business)
- Berkshire boosted its Alphabet stake by 83% during its biggest stock-buying quarter in years - Business Insider (Business)
- Berkshire Hathaway expands Alphabet stake and trims bank exposure in Q2 - Yahoo Finance (Business)
- ‘Devastating’: bulldozers plough through Big Bend national park as Trump’s border work pushes ahead - The Guardian (US News)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
To date, the failure to expand Medicaid/TennCare has cost the State of Tennessee ? in lost federal funding. (Source)
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South

It is always sad to hear
It is always sad to hear another good person leaves this earth. Vets definitely have a special place in our hearts. Happy trails, Dr. Butler.
I remember his wife Josie
I remember his wife Josie telling me once that she knew what kind of marriage it would be when he went to birth cattle (or maybe it was a horse) on the morning of their wedding. Bill Butler was a special person, from treating animals large and small, giving or finding thousands of pets a home and providing the petting zoo at the TVA&I Fair from his own farm animals.
Take a look back when his house burned. If I recall correctly, the community raised enough money to build him a new one. He was loved and appreciated by many.
My mother was settling up
My mother was settling up with him once about a cat she had lost. He told her that he made most of his money on his large animal work for farmers. Years later I talked to one of his farmers who said he had told him just the opposite, that he made most of his money on the small animals at the clinic.
He never turned an animal away and he adopted many "hopeless" cases as his own either to live on his farm or to greet patients there at the clinic. You were as likely to be greeted by a duck wandering around the waiting area as that big friendly Doberman.
He had a great deal of pain the last few years, but his work seemed to be his therapy, and none of this would have been possible without the love and help of Josie and the children.
Visit us at
Wearybottom Associates
East Tennessee has lost a great man.
Our entire extended family has been going to Doc Butler for years.
When our beloved Paws and Patches were too sick to be treated, My wife took them there.
Mrs Thag was allowed to stay in the back and hold them while the injection was done. My wife said it really helped with the closure.
Surely, the good Lord has a special place for men and women like Doc Butler.....
No Matter Where you go, There you Are!!!!
Dr. Butler was great!
I drove buy Dr. Butler's old clinic the other day on Oak Rdge hwy, and the field was empty where the goats, and lamas and at least one pot bellied pig use to graze and play. All was empty and quite. The clinic was dark and closed.
I remember thinking that the animals and birds had lost a true friend when he passed away. If kindness to God's innocents is a pathway to heaven, I know where Dr. Butler is now. I once worked at an apartment complex in west knoxville, and found five abandoned and starving kittens.I took them to Doc, because someone had told me about him. He took them in and started careing for them on the spot.
It is rare to run into a man who cared more for doing the right thing than for his own pocket book. Doc could have made several times the money he did if he didn't have such a good heart. This world is a sadder, and more heartless place now. I feel honored to have met him.
All God's Creatures Great and Small
All God's Creatures Great and Small are mourning the loss of their patron saint.
Doc was always generous to me, as he was to everyone who genuinely cared for their pets. Doc always extended credit to me when I couldn't afford to pay for the many cats, dogs, goats and one turtle that I have brought to him over the years. Doc saved the life of my Chesapeake Bay Retreiver when 3 other vets in this town told me there was nothing wrong with him or wanted to charge me hundreds of dollars to run the same tests as the one before. It is a sad day as there are no other vets like him. He will be terribley missed.
Mrs. Butler and family, God Bless you and keep you. May your grief be brief as you rest in the joy of knowing that Doc is sitting at the head of the table of God's great gifts to this earth.
One of the True Heroes
I've known Doc since I was 16 and he was a young man with small children, way back in 1966. Doc has always been a real hero -- so generous, kind, a wonderful vet and a wonderful friend. If the world had more people like him it would be a much happier place.
Mrs. B and family, so very very sorry.
dr. butler
i have always brought my animals to him i will never get to anyone else except his son now
Doc
The son is not like his dad. Doc was one of a kind. I loved him very much. He had a calling not a job. THERE IS NO REPLACING HIM. HE WAS A GREAT MAN WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKING. EXCEPT GOD.WE LOST A RARE TREASURE. I STILL CRY BECAUSE HE HAS PASSED ON.I FEEL BLESSED TO HAVE KNOWN SUCH A GOOD MAN.
Loss of a great man
My sympathy you have. Dr. Butler, and his son have helped me out so much in my life with my pets. I know he's a wonderful man. We love you Dr. Butler!!