Dr. Connie Rippel knew she wanted to be a veterinarian from a very early age. In kindergarten, she drew a picture (stick figure of course) of what she wanted to be when she grew up and it was a veterinarian. As a kid she worked as a kennel person for a local veterinarian as well as at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas where she grew up.
She went to the University of Wyoming for her undergraduate studies and then back to Kansas State University where she graduated from veterinary school in 1988. She moved to Twin Falls right out of college and worked at Green Cross Veterinary Hospital before opening up Magic Valley Veterinary Hospital in 1992. She loves having the opportunity to see so many different pets and people. She has been seeing some of her clients for over 30 years now and has watched some of them grow up since their parents are also clients. It really does feel like we are all part of a big family.
In her free time she loves going on walks with her dogs as well as spending time taking care of her lawn and gardens. Backpacking and hiking with her spouse and dog is a passion, but she laughingly admits that the backpacking trips have less altitude gain and are shorter than they used to be. Much of her free time is spent with family and with her many nieces and nephews.