Andrea Ray took the long way home and ended up there on accident.
The Canton-raised veterinarian was on the prowl for a new position after a year in Ames, Iowa. She saw a help wanted ad posted on the Web site for her vet school alma mater, Iowa State University.
The job was in Tea. Another Iowa State alumnus, Tea Veterinary Clinic Owner Tom Rentschler, had posted it.
“I was making a road trip home and I incorporated that into coming to visit,” Ray said of her interview at Tea Veterinary Clinic last month. “It’s not like that was my goal that I absolutely had to be there, but it will be nice to be a little closer to home.”
Ray started work this week at the clinic. She will be the third veterinarian at the clinic Rentschler bought it over five years ago. Dr. Joe Spoo, who was Rentschler’s roommate at Iowa State, began just over two years ago.
“Our clientele has grown with the growth of Sioux Falls and Tea,” Rentschler said. “We’re busy enough to have another vet on now, and we’re lucky to have her.”
The new doctor’s mother and stepfather still live in Canton, where the former C-Hawk spent hours working with FFA and 4-H in high school. She attended South Dakota State University to pursue and undergraduate degree in Animal Science with an eye to vet school. Unlike many undergraduates, Ray had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to do. Her interests led her toward a career in veterinary medicine
“I always enjoyed science and math and figuring things out, so it all sort of fit in together,” she said.
Ray was chosen from four interviewed applicants, Rentschler said. Having her there will help serve pet owners in Tea. At least once a week, both he and Dr. Spoo will be busy at the same time, which leaves no one available to help patients and their owners.
“Having that other set of hands there will be a big benefit for us,” Rentschler said. “We get emergencies any time and any where.”
This will be the second full time veterinary job for Ray, who earned her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2008.
“I plan to learn as much as I can from these guys,” she said.
The location proved ideal for now, too. Living in Sioux Falls, Ray be less than a half hour’s drive from some members of her family. She has six siblings altogether, including a sister in Canada – where Ray was born – and a brother studying in Edinburgh, Scotland.
She’s never experienced Teapot Days, but she and her far-flung siblings know how much her parents enjoy the Tea Steakouse.
“We usually ended up taking care of the (younger) kids and they would go,” she said.