02/04/2025
It is with great sadness and joy that we announce the retirement of Dr Connie Rippel mid-March 2025. Dr Rippel opened Magic Valley Veterinary Hospital on March 15, 1992, and quickly became an integral part of the community. Her passion for not only the veterinary field but also the community that she lives in has always been abundant. Dr Rippel has long supported our area Humane Society (People for Pets), was a huge part in helping the college start an AVMA accredited Veterinary Technology program and still sits on the board for said program. She has nurtured and trained MANY veterinary technicians on externships and has helped other employees get through the program as well, always willing to work around school and family schedules. She has also welcomed two new veterinary grads to our clinic and mentored them in becoming even more passionate about the profession they chose.
Throughout her leadership at MVVH, Dr Rippel always put her staff’s family first, even if that meant she was going to be shorthanded for the day. She would roll up her sleeves and help wherever needed. Her compassion for animals and the desire to treat everyone like family led her to spend many sleepless nights at the clinic on a blanket making sure critical patients continued to do well overnight, calling to check on patients that she had seen or those that she referred to a specialty clinic. Dr Rippel has set the bar high for those of us that remain working, and we will strive every day to live up to her example.
On Friday March 14, 2025, at 3pm we will stop seeing patients for the day and will have a small open house so anyone in the community can come and give well wishes to Dr Rippel. It is to be said that we will miss her greatly but hope she enjoys her retirement spending time with her family, pets, and the great outdoors of Idaho which she loves and calls home.
P.S. There will be cake too.
