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.”

The wind is crisp and unsympathetic at 8 a.m. on Cave Run Lake. Tom Timmermann braces himself against the morning air with rain gear and scraped hands, cutting through waves in his outboard boat.

He gillnets fish to sample for his annual report as part of his work as a District Fisheries biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife at the Minor E. Clark Fish Hatchery. The samples will help determine the size and creel limits for fishing in the 23 counties he supervises. Tom feels it is his responsibility to enhance and preserve the environment.

"Anybody that gets into natural resources, you're getting into it for the love of something," he says. "Fishery was my first love."

Tom was inspired to pursue his career thanks to an uncle who studied wildlife biology. Tom's father was distant from Tom as a child, and his uncle stepped in as a role model. "It was absolutely every bit his influence and his help and his advice that got me here,” says Tom.

Scott Barrett started working at the hatchery the same time as Tom. “We’re somewhat of a family,” says Scott. “It’s good having someone you can talk and relate to. He’s professional, knowledgeable . . . He’s just a good fella.”

Tom met his wife, Jen, through his first boss at the fish hatchery. The two have been married for five years. “He’s 100 percent my very best friend,” says Jen. The two have a daughter, Caelin, 3. “Caelin is absolutely his No. 1 concern," Jen continues. "He does everything he can for us.”

Caelin is described by Tom and Jen as their “little nature baby.” She’ll come home from preschool with dirt, acorns and leaves shoved in her pockets. That's fine with Tom. "As adults that have an appreciation for the outdoors, it’s our responsibility to make sure that gets passed on to as many people as it can,” Tom explains. “I feel like it’s my responsibility to make sure it gets passed on to Caelin.”

"Our goal at this point is to lay that foundation of an interest in nature," Tom says. "That day that she becomes bored with mom and dad, at least she’ll say, ‘Hey you know what? My dad's a big nerd, he embarrasses me, but at least he's got a really cool job – and a really important job.’”