—Lancaster Famine, Saturday, Decamber 29,1979
16
BY SHEILA MILLER
LITITZ Beginning with
the first issue of LAN
CASTER FARMING in the
new year and decade a new
weekly column will debut.
Ask the VMD. Uiis column
will feature the expertise of
three local veterinarians,
Leon S. Riegel, VMD; C.
Edgar Sheaffer, VMD; and
Timothy P. Trayer, VMD.
Each week, the Valley
Animal Hospital doctors will
be answering a question on
animal health and care. This
column will deal with
specific situations and
concerns of LANCASTER
FARMING readers.
The column will be
designed to be educational
and informative. Of course,
it will not be able to answer
questions that require
diagnosis or emergency
treatment For those critical
situations, it Is essential to
call for veterinary
assistance as quickly as
possible.
The Valley Animal
Hospital team has been in
the Palmyra area for over
ten years. It was started in
1967 when Dr. Riegel went
into practice with Dr. Henry
Hanshaw Riegel was joined
by Dr. Sheaffer m 1970 and in
~19T3, Dr. Riegel purchased
the practice. Just this past
year the duo became a trio
when Dr Trayer joined the
staff.
Dr. Riegel is orginally
Dr. Riegel inventories the supply room. He says
that farmers are more concerned in knowing
what’s wrong with a sick animal now that when he
first started his practice 12 years ago.
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Home Ph: 717-786-1380
Valley Animal Hospital team joins
from Hdleffown in Lehigh Their vans are their supply
County. He attended Penn rooms and hospitals in
State for five years and wheels,
received his Bachelor of Dr. Trayer is adjusting to
Science Degree. After the hectic schedule and life
graduation, he was accepted of a veterinarian since he
into the University of . graduated from Ohio State’s
Pennsylvania’s School of School of Veterinary
Veterinary Medicine where Medicine this past June. He
he earned his VMD. was very impressed with the
Riegel presently resides cordial atmosphere of the
on a small 8.5 acre farm hospital and its clients.
where he raises truck crops.
He is married to the former
Nancy Boyer of Reading,
and they have two children,
Alicia, 8, and Ludor
“Done”, 3. He is a member
of the American Veterinary
Medical the
Pennsylvania Veterinary
Medical Association, and the
Conestoga Veterinary
Association of Lancaster
County. He enjoys wood
working and gardening when
relaxing in his “spare” time.
Hours of leisure in a
veterinarian’s life are few
and far between. Dr. Trayer,
the youngest of the trio, said
that there are weeks when
the average time he spends
working is eighty to one
hundred hours. The vets see
each other in the office for
about ten minutes in the
morning while they share
case information and
determine client scheduling
in between answering
telephone calls and seeing
office patients.
They keep in touch while
on calls with CB radios.
“The farmers have made
it easier for me,” said
Trayer. He also noted that he
was pleasantly surprised
with the amount of swine
work in the area.
Since he has gotten out of
school, Trayer said that he is
constantly amazed at the
healing ability of animals.
He told of a recent case
where a horse had a 7 inch by
9 inch cut, inflicted by a
barbed wire fence.
“We couldn’t do anything
to the cut because it was
around the norse’s throat
and it was too big a gash.
The horse couldn’t even be
restrained,” Trayer said. In
two months, the horse has
healed itself, and only a
white scar remains where
the cut had gaped. The horse
did what stitched couldn’t, in
this case, with the owner
keeping the wound flushed
and clean..
Trayer is originally from
Hershey and graduated
from Hershey High School in
1971. While a student there,
he was a three year let
terman on the Trojans track
and cross country team. He
aslo participated in chorus
and orchestra.
He left Hershey and
travelled to Ohio to attend
Wilmington College, an
accredited agricultural
school. Trayer stated that he
became interested in
veterinary medicine only
after he started his college
education.
The young vet is not at a
loss on the farm, having
grown up on a general farm
JOLLEY
f ANIMAL
Tv
The Valley Animal Hospital trio is looking forward to helping LANCASTER
FARMING readers answer questions on livestock health problems. Watch for |
their column, Ask the VMD, in next week’s issue.
where they raised cows and
sheep along with cash crops.
He is the hospital’s resident
swine specialist, along with
his other general prac
titioner duties
Trayer is married to-the
former Debby Brock, from
Ohio. He is a member of
PVMA, AVMA, American
Association of Bovine
Practitioners, American
Association of Swine
Practitioners, and the Ohio
Veterinary Medical
Association. The Trayer’s
presently reside in Hum
melstown.
Dr. Sheaffer, the third
member of the team,
described his life as a
veterinarian as exciting but
chaotic. There are times
when the work goes on mto
the night.
The hospital takes care of
all the shows in the Farm
Show Complex except the
All-American Dairy Show.
They are on duty 24 hours
around the clock during the
(Turn to Page 25)
HOSPI
Dr. Sheaffer discusses an urgent health problem
with a farmer early in the morning. He gives the
farmer instructions on what he should do until he
arrives.