When Dr. Russell “Rusty” Skinner walks into work each morning, it is familiar not only because he is been Mt. Sterling’s resident veterinarian for 32 years, but also because his office is in the house where he grew up. It is appropriate considering how connected the town’s residents are to their menagerie of furry friends.
“People are very attached to their pets,” says Rusty, who has two dachshunds (and two daughters) with his wife Dixie. “They’re like children. There’s a really strong bond.”
The waiting room is often lined with owners cradling their pets in blankets, towels and arms. The work is second nature for Rusty, whose father also was a vet and the man responsible for inspiring him to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Russell Sr. passed away in 2013 at age 91, and Rusty feels fortunate to have spent 22 years serving the community alongside him.
“I saw how he was regarded by his clients,” he says. “He was well thought of in the community.”
Russell Sr. bought the two-story white house in 1958 and opened his vet clinic in the adjacent guest house. Rusty grew up in the home until he was 15, when the family moved and his father eventually expanded his practice into the main house itself.
Vicki Grooms, a vet technician who works for Rusty, also remembers working for his father and acknowledges the closeness of the people working there.
“We’re so small, you’re more like family here,” said Vicki, who was just 15 when she started working for the Skinners 32 years ago. “They’ve been really good to me over the years – you couldn’t have asked for anybody better to work for.”
Both at work and at home, Rusty takes advantage of opportunities to care for the people around him. His 96-year-old mother, Jean, was the bookkeeper at the clinic until roughly a month ago when her health started to quickly diminish. Not surprisingly, he is hands-on with his mother’s care, visiting her at least once a day and making sure she gets the medical assistance she needs.
“A lot of people think I’m crazy for living alone at 96,” Jean says. “But that’s my choice. I’m very lucky to have Rusty. He’s my only son, and he’s a good boy.”
“You like to think that you’re doing some good,” says Rusty, who calls being the local vet is a “satisfying profession.”
“There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t see something I’ve never seen before. My days are not routine and mundane.”