A Turner Valley veterinarian well beyond retirement years is ready for the next chapter – almost.
Dr. Wayne Steiger has sold his veterinary practice after 31 years in Turner Valley, but the 74-year-old said he’s not quite ready to call it quits completely.
“I won’t be putting my arm up any more cow’s (butts) and I won’t be castrating any more horses and I won’t be rassling with any more wild dogs but other than that I’ll still be around to answer people’s questions,” Steiger said.
Getting to the point of retirement was a long and winding journey for Steiger. He grew up on a farm and was involved in rodeo, riding rough stock and roping.
“The vets came and worked on cows,” he recalled. “I thought that would be a good thing to do. You get to travel around. You meet a lot of people. You meet a lot of good people. I’ve always had an affinity for helping animals since I was really young.”
Steiger first took a degree in marine biology at Simon Fraser University.
“I wanted to work on the salmon out there and then the economics changed and there was not that work available so I went to WCBM (Western College of Veterinary Medicine) and got a veterinary degree and after that it is all history,” he said.
After graduating, Steiger moved to Alberta and started a trail riding business and worked as a locum vet with Dr. Doyle Mullaney at Okotoks’ Big Rock vet clinic.
It was in 1990 that Steiger opened the Diamond Valley Veterinary Clinic with his then wife, who was a veterinary technician.
While working with Mullaney, he was taken by the Turner Valley area.
“I really liked this country,” Steiger said.
Back then he was one of the few veterinarians who was certified as a veterinary acupuncturist and other alternative treatments for animals, like chiropractic and Chinese medicine.
“I have an interest in Chinese medicine and I think a lot of times we depend on our drugs like they are silver bullets, and they don’t always work,” he said. “I think Chinese medicine has a place in veterinary medicine.”
He said his clients have been open to these treatments.
“I’ve treated a lot of horses with acupuncture and cats and dogs,” he said. “It’s not so invasive and certainly helps a lot of animals that wouldn’t be treated otherwise. They’d just be treated with painkillers, which don’t help that much.”
Steiger said he will miss his clients, some of whom have been seeing him for 50 years, and will continue to be a phone call away, if they need him.
Animal owners are not his only clients. Steiger has also been the veterinarian for movie and television productions, including Heartland.
He also organized spay and neuter clinics in Mexico, 25 years ago when it wasn’t as widely done.
“We all have to give something back,” he said. “Down here was very little veterinary work being done at that time there… we packed all our equipment up and got a bunch donations and went down there for a few years for a about a month at a time, so those were interesting days.”
Rodeo has also continued to be a part of Steiger’s life and practice. He has provided veterinary services for a number of local rodeos and continues to be there for the Okotoks and Millarville rodeos.
“(I) just make sure the stock is healthy and that there is nothing being done to cause any undue stress to those animals and that they are being fed properly and looked after properly and that any injured animal is not being used,” he said. “If any animal is hurt during we are there to help.”
His three sons also took part in rodeo. Steiger’s youngest son, Ben, was killed in a rodeo training accident in Thorsby seven years ago when a horse stepped on him. Steiger was there and provided CPR until emergency responders arrived, but Ben couldn’t be saved.
“He was a rodeo cowboy,” Steiger said. “He died when he was 16.”
Steiger continued to practice, which he recently sold, and is ready to slow down.
On Sept. 15, Steiger handed Diamond Valley Veterinary Clinic over to Dr. Gregor Hein and his wife, Lindsay, who is also a vet, and just returned from maternity leave.
“I’m still not ready to retire,” Steiger said. “I will work here a few days a week and as a consultant for acupuncture and chiro.”
Steiger said he also plans to garden and take care of his animals and when COVID allows it, he’d also like to do some travelling.
Hein said he is grateful Steiger will continue to be in the clinic four times a month.
“We for sure have big shoes to fill,” he said.
