Facing some health issues, longtime Jacksonville veterinarian R.L. Zeller is selling his practice.
On May 1, Zeller will hand over the keys to his 43-year-old veterinary business at 1101 W. Walnut St. to Cass Veterinary Services in Virginia. Zeller said Dan Bergerud and Josh Castaneda of that veterinary firm will take on his small animal practice.
“We are in the process of hiring another veterinarian and will be hiring staff to man the clinic and continue the good service Dr. Zeller has provided to the Jacksonville area,” Bergerud said. “Dr. Zeller has agreed to help us out, mentor any new hires that we have and get us acquainted with the Jacksonville area and his Jacksonville clients. We look forward to having him help out in any way he can in the future.”
Zeller said he is comfortable with Bergerud and Castaneda taking over his practice.
“Their practice philosophy is very similar to my own,” Zeller said. “They practice quality veterinary medicine, will have more inventory of pharmaceuticals and newer diagnostic services.”
Zeller, who grew up in Alexander and graduated from Routt High School in 1967, earned his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of Illinois in 1974.
Soon after becoming a veterinarian, Zeller joined Jacksonville veterinarians Robert McKinney and George Roegge.
Zeller said he has many stories to tell about his veterinary practice, but one Christmas Eve snowstorm adventure in 1983 stands out.
“A month into my marriage, Dr. Roegge and I made an emergency farm call north of town,” Zeller said. “We had a snowplow to get us there, but the snow built up in the engine compartment and caused the engine to malfunction. Fortunately, a farmer found us and thawed out the engine in his shed, and luckily I made it home for my in-law’s Christmas Eve dinner. I had visions of sleeping in a barn that evening.”
In the first 20 years of his practice, Zeller treated large and small animals, but in the past 23 years he has strictly seen small animal patients.
He’s also treated some rather exotic creatures, including sugar gliders, a money, snakes, emus, llamas — even an elephant.
“There was a circus at the fairgrounds 15 to 20 years ago, and they called and said they had an elephant with a bad foot,” Zeller recalled. “Having no experience with elephants, I was reluctant but the only guy in town willing to treat the pachyderm.”
Zeller said he became a veterinarian because he grew up on a farm surrounded by all types of animals.
“We raised pigs, and I remember being fascinated by watching sows give birth,” he said. “When I applied for veterinary school, it was even more difficult to get in than it is today. When I applied, there were 18 veterinary schools in the United States and out of about 700 qualified applicants to the University of Illinois veterinary school, I was one of only about 80 who were accepted.”
Since 1974, Zeller estimates he has performed 23,000 surgeries on animals.
“There’s always the fear of being bit by your patients,” he said. “The standard line is ‘Don’t worry, Doc, he won’t bite’.”
“Oh yeah, what’s his name?”
The reply: “Nipper.”
Zeller gives a lot of credit to his staff for his success. Some of his office assistants have been with him for years, including Carolyn Beddingfield, Brenda Proffitt, Terrie Jones and Jan Snyder.
He also mentioned the support and help of his family, recalling how his wife, Cindy, and their son, Joe, once helped him deliver 11 boxer puppies by cesarean section.
“And without the support of the community, I would not have been successful,” Zeller said. “For that, I am extremely grateful.”
