Dr. Robert “Bud” Hertzog graduated in 1956 from the MU College of Veterinary Medicine and has been a managing partner since then of the Lee’s Summit Animal Hospital.  He owns and operates livestock and grain farms in Jackson and Johnson counties with his family.  Since 1992, he has been an animal consultant for the KC University of Medicine & Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine school lab.  He currently consults at the Kansas City Zoo where he has served as zoo veterinarian for 25 years.

Dr. Hertzog was elected four times to the Jackson County legislature, and was elected for four terms to the Lee’s Summit R7 School Board.  He is an active member, deacon and corporate president of the First Baptist Church of Lee’s Summit.  He was named the Humanitarian of the Year by the Truman Heartland Foundation.  He was the recipient of the Lee’s Summit Lifetime Achievement Award and is a past president of the Kansas City Veterinary Medical Association.  He is a trustee and chairman of the MO 4-H Foundation.

On the state level, Dr. Hertzog served two years as chairman and eight years as a member of the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board.  He is a past president of the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association and was the Veterinarian of the Year in 1973.  He was the recipient of the MU Distinguished Faculty & Alumni Award, and is past president of the MU Veterinary Medical Alumni Association. 

Nationally, he served on the American Veterinary Medical Association Executive Board from 2000 to 2006, and chaired the American Veterinary Medical Association Executive Board those last two years.  He went on to chair the American Veterinary Medical Foundation Board in 2008.