Dr. Dennis G. Foster, veterinarian who practiced in Dundalk, dies

Dr. Dennis G. Foster, a veterinarian who practiced in Dundalk for more than six decades, died Thursday from complications of a stroke at a daughter’s Lutherville home. He was 87.

Dennis Gene Foster, the son of Dr. Eugene Zumwalt Foster, a veterinarian, and his wife, Aldona Oakjones Foster, was born in Baltimore and raised near Lake Montebello.

After graduating in 1950 from City College, he attended the University of Maryland, College Park and the Johns Hopkins University, and earned his veterinarian degree in 1957 from the University of Georgia.

He spent his early years as a veterinarian working alongside his father at his Joppa Road clinic, and at the suggestion of a cab driver who said there was a need for a veterinarian in Dundalk, established the Dog and Cat Clinic on Wise Avenue in 1959. He later added a second location in 1994 in the Festival Mall in Bel Air.

Dr. Foster practiced 10 hours a day, six days a week, until he was felled by a stroke last year.

“On the day of his massive stroke in April 2019, he had completed a five hour surgery,” said a daughter, Courtney Foster of Reisterstown. “He loved his work.”

When he wasn’t working, the Lutherville resident enjoyed spending time with his family and grandchildren, his daughter said.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the chapel at Ruck Towson Funeral Home, 1050 York Road.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife of more than 40 years, the former Carol Hillenbrand; three sons, Dennis G. Foster Jr. of Phoenix, Baltimore County, Mark Foster of Hampton, and Jonathan Foster of Honolulu; two other daughters, Kelly Foster Ballinger and Lindsey Foster, both of Lutherville; 15 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. An earlier marriage to the former Marguerite Zamerzla ended in divorce.

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