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The Doctors "Having raised
several generations of dogs in my family, I have seen
first hand how a conscientious owner and a caring
veterinarian can give a pet the best possible chance for
a happy, healthy life. I have carried that personal
approach over into my practice."
- Dr.
Gret Rumetsch
"The
personal satisfaction I get from helping animals and
educating owners on how to care for their pets tells me I
made a good choice when I decided to study veterinary
medicine."
- Dr. Gene Barnsteiner
Alpha veterinarians, Dr. Gret Rumetsch and Dr. Gene
Barnsteiner have carried their personal partnership as
husband and wife into their professional alliance in the
Alpha Veterinary practice. They share the same goals of
providing personal, expert care to your pets. Here they
are relaxing at home with their own pets: Duke, Liza and
Anya. Four cats, some bottle babies or orphans, round out
the household.
Dr. Gret Rumetsch
Originally from Germany, Dr. Rumetsch grew up in
a small town on the Swiss-German border and
studied at the University of Zurich. She decided
to intern in North America to expand her
knowledge of veterinary techniques, first
specializing in large animal surgery at the
Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Canada,
then in small animal medicine and surgery in
Philadelphia. Dr. Rumetsch loves to garden, cook
and eat. She is an avid walker, doing a 7-mile
circuit 4 times a week. |
Dr. Gene
Barnsteiner
A graduate of The University of Pennsylvania
School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Barnsteiner
specializes in cardiology and internal medicine.
He has held offices in professional
organizations, including the Pennsylvania
Veterinary Medical Association and the Suburban
Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Barnsteiner's
community activities include the Perkasie Rotary
and the Pennridge Chamber of Commerce. Dr.
Barnsteiner enjoys outdoor activities like
canoeing, sailing and mushroom hunting and he's
now an Internet enthusiast. |
| Dr. Maria Vitello
Dr. Vitello grew up in the Midwest and graduated from Purdue
University in 1990. She enjoys all aspects of veterinary
medicine, but enjoy internal medicine and geriatrics, in
particular. However, the best part of her job is slobbery
kisses and cold wet noses! Dr Vitello's husband Tony is
also a veterinarian, and they met in veterinary school.
They have one daughter, Julia, and two kitties, Merlin and Nala.
She enjoys nature and the outdoors, youth and music ministry at
church, and hanging out with Julia. Her goal is to
further the human-animal bond by providing high quality care to
her patients and excellent communication with clients. |
The
Staff
Alpha's staff is
another example of the excellent service provided to pet
owners and pets. From the first phone call to the time
you take your pet home, you are surrounded by a
competent, caring staff. They should be, they all have
pets, many adopted from the "unexpected gifts"
left at Alpha. We'd like you to meet them.
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Dawn, a receptionist at Alpha since 1986, has three
children, two dogs, four cats, and three goats. Her
hobbies include reading, music, photography, swimming, taking
care of her home and family and, of course, animals! |
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Trishia - Trishia
has been working at Alpha as a technician since 1992.
Helping and caring for animals has always been a priority in her
life. While not working, Tricia enjoys spending time with
her two daughters, riding horses, and volunteering at a
therapeutic riding facility teaching people with disabilities
how to ride. In 2005,
during the hurricane Katrina disaster, she opened her home and
heart to a rescued Lab Mix she later adopted and named "Bayou".
A more recent addition to her family is "Fred", a lovable Golden
Mix who was given a second chance at life when he was brought up
from a shelter in North Carolina. There are also a few pet
cats in the home that have learned to tolerate the new
additions. |
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Virginia - Virginia started at
Alpha in 1990 and is often the friendly voice at the other end
when you call. She is very organized and keeps the
hospital running smooth by ordering our supplies, medicines, and
the tedious job of keeping our finances in order. Her
patient nature makes her the perfect person to deal with sales
reps and the sometimes hectic front desk.
Other than her husband and two
daughters, her family also includes two playful Labs "Rocky" and
"Emmett", and a Rotti mix named "Hazel" who came up to
Pennsylvania in the hurricane "Katrina" rescue effort.
Last but not least is their little Jersey Wooly rabbit that the
girls named "Glitter".
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Danielle - In January 2007, Alpha welcomed newcomer
Danielle to the practice. However, she is not a newcomer
to the veterinary field. She worked at the Allentown
Clinic for Cats for almost 11 years. Danielle is not only
a technician, but is also an experienced cat groomer.
Although her specialty has been cats, she has a great love of
all animals, especially dogs,. Her family has always had a
variety of pets. As an avid animal lover, working in the
field came very naturally. She truly enjoys helping pets
as well as caring about the people who love them.
Danielle's home consists of two
dogs: A Yellow lab named "Mojave" and a Pug named
"Capone", three cats: a DSH named "Storm", a Persian named
"Sasquatch", and another DSH named "Amigo", and also her husband
since 1997 named "Chris".
In her spare time, Danielle
enjoys being with her family, reading, pet sitting, traveling,
collecting dolls, bears, and jewelry. |
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| Chelsea - Ever
since she was little, Chelsea has had a passion for animals.
At a very young age, she would walk around telling everyone that
some day she was going to be a veterinarian when most of the
kids couldn't even say the word!
Upon graduating from High School,
she sought a job working with animals. She applied to a
local pet store and was hired to help in the kennels; her hard
work and dedication soon lead to a management position.
Pet sitting for friends and family soon followed and she began
tot realize the satisfaction fo caring for animals on a more
personal level.
Over the years, Chelsea has
collected a small library of books on dog and cat health and
behavior. She enjoys researching the medical aspects of
animal health and began to concentrate her focus on her long
lived dream to work in the veterinary field. In March of
2006, she was hired at Alpha as a Vet Assistant and loves every
minute of her job, the constant learning as well as the
patients. Her favorite part of the job, now that she works
in the profession, is the "nursing" role. She is
currently seeking to further her education as a Veterinary
Technician.
She looks forward to the end of
teach day when she can go home and spend time with her special
little friend "Jewl" (a fun-loving beagle/cocker mix) who is
quite a character and the subject of many stories and
adventures! |
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| Penny - Penny has been in the field since 1984.
She started at Alpha in April 1997 after working 13 years in
Freehold, New Jersey and moving to the area with her husband.
Known for her magical way of calming even the most factious
patents, her ability to raise orphaned kittens and wildlife, and
her compassion for all the patients here at Alpha. Her
knowledge, attention to detail, bedside manner, and years of
nursing experience have been an asset to Alpha.
She share her home with her pets
"Bosco" and "Hank" (her Rotti and Rotti mix) as well as the many
cats that seem to come and go through her door.
Recently fulfilling her dream to
have a family, Penny and her husband have adopted a son who was
born premature with various medical conditions. Who better
to love nurture and raise this special child than Penny!
Currently they are working on adopting his older sister to
complete their family. |
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| Tracey - Tracey
cannot remember a time in her life when she was without animals.
Growing up she always had something stirring in her room; little
did she know this childhood hobby of rescuing pets would evolve
into a lifetime of dedication to animals. She started by
managing several pet stores while going to school for animal
care. Tracey started working as a technician in 1991 and
worked at five different hospitals over the years (including an
exotic animal hospital) before ending up at Alpha in 2000.
Her free time consists of tending
to her menagerie of exotic animals, birds, reptiles, as well as
her many dogs and cats. She also enjoys her work with
children doing educational animal programs as entertainment at
birthdays, schools, etc. Tracey is on the bard of the
Perkasie Dog Owners Group helping to raise funds and construct
the area's first dog park in Perkasie.
Her favorite pets include
"Belly" her long-haired Chihuahua, who can often be seen sitting
high atop the front desk at Alpha, her mini horse "Cricket" who
she loves to run with, and her two tiny goats "Posey" and
"Gypsy" who try to help with the daily feedings,.
The friendships, honest
compassion of the staff, personal care and family environment
are what she appreciates most about working here.
Educating clients is the most rewarding thing abo0ut working at
Alpha. |
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| Eric - Eric has
been a member of the Alpha office staff since 2004, when his
wife left her position as part-time receptionist. He keeps
all the staff laughing with his witty remarks and constant
comedy, which makes working with him a pleasure.
He and his wife Cory, and Equine
Studies Instructor at Delaware Valley College, share their home
with a spunky little Brittany-Jack Russell mix named "Barley",
who often accompanies Eric to work to socialize with the
patients. He said their Thoroughbred horse "Destiny" has
to live at the college stables on account of his trouble with
stairs!
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