HE'S served the furry friends of Clydebank for more than forty years but now it's time for Michael Boyce to hang up his stethoscope for the last time.

After walking in his father's footsteps and joining the family business, now known as Boyce and Houston, in the late 70s, the 66-year-old is ready to say goodbye to his beloved practice.

His departure announcement on his firm's Facebook page was met with an outpouring of, good luck and thank you messages, as well as the sadness at the "end of an era".

One well-wisher wrote Michael had inspired her to become a zoologist after taking such good care of her dogs over the years, while others praised his compassion and kindness over the years.

But while his masses of patients and their owners might be overcome with sadness surrounding Michael's plans to give up the role, he, himself, is much more content with his decision.

He said: "I won't miss it too much, no. You've got to give it up sometime.

"It's coming to the stage where it's pretty busy and it's time to hand it over to younger bodies now."

Michael moved to Faifley when he was around 4-years-old and has lived in Clydebank ever since, now residing in Hardgate.

However, it's his former Drumry Road home which is arguably the most interesting residence of his and is also the place where he can pinpoint his love of veterinary work beginning, as it wasn’t home to just his family – but also the veterinary practice.

He said: "When my dad bought the big house on Drumry Road there was a big hall that was used as a waiting room and there was just one big room that had actually been a dentist surgery.

"He converted that room in to a vets and that's where the practice was until 1990, when we moved to Crown Avenue.

"It was interesting to see and to be around so, I'd say that's where my interest in the field came from."

While Michael might be retiring on October 28, he won't be slowing down any and is looking forward to enjoying some well deserved family time with his wife and two grown sons, after sadly losing his daughter a little more than two years ago.

He plans to keep himself busy by walking his beloved 2-year-old Golden Retriever, Kaiya, and taking numerous trips to Tarbet to visit the newest addition to his family – his grandson, born in the summer.

Michael added: "My wife retired about three-and-a-half years ago so she's already been back and forth to my son's quite a bit.

"Now I'll be travelling there too and going plenty of walks with the dog.

"But I won't be giving it up completely, I'll probably still be coming in to do a bit of locum work now and then."