Christy Lattin
When Dr. Calvin Moffitt opened a small animal practice out of his Fallon home in 1980, he couldn’t have known the little garage-turned-clinic on Schurz Highway would grow into one of the region’s most trusted veterinary hospitals. Forty-five years later, the Lahontan Valley Veterinary Clinic (LVVC) is still thriving and serving generations of families, ranchers, and their animals.
The clinic’s roots run deep in Churchill County. Moffitt’s early years were spent working out of modest facilities, first his converted garage, then a remodeled pole barn outfitted with corrals and stocks for livestock. In 1984, Fallon native Dr. Craig Schank joined the practice, returning home after working two years in northern California. Just a year later, Schank and Moffitt became partners, officially establishing LVVC.
For Schank, the career path was personal. Raised on a Fallon dairy farm, he grew up watching veterinarians care for his family’s herd. One local vet in particular, Dr. G.T. Woodward, made a lasting impression. “He was so kind,” Schank recalled. “He drove an old Chevy without a back seat so he could transport calves. I got to watch and help him. That inspired me.”
Over the decades, the clinic has expanded both its staff and its footprint. A major remodel in 2000 tripled its size to 7,000 square feet, allowing LVVC to keep pace with a growing client base. Along the way, new veterinarians joined the team: Dr. David Faught in 1992, Dr. Raymond Cooper in 1999, Dr. Pamela Ferguson in 2011, Dr. Jeff Oyler in 2014, Dr. Lyle Whitaker in 2015, and Dr. Abby Bake in 2023.
Faught completed his clinical externship (a short-term, hands-on training for veterinary students), at a horse racetrack and was heavily recruited to work in the Los Angeles area. However, he was married with one child at the time. “I wanted to raise my family in Fallon,” said Faught.
With a background in rodeo and a lifelong love of horses, Faught developed a specialty in equine care. Over the years, he’s also been the clinic’s lead veterinarian at the Bureau of Land Management’s Stillwater holding pens, tending to wild mustangs gathered from Nevada rangelands.
While LVVC’s services once leaned heavily toward large animals, the practice has shifted with the times. Today, small animal medicine makes up most appointments. Even so, LVVC continues to provide herd health care for several large dairies in Fallon and Yerington.
Through it all, the veterinarians have built strong ties with the community. Schank, who still works part-time and operates a walk-in vet clinic in Hawthorne, served nine years on the Nevada Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners and now represents veterinarians on the Nevada Board of Agriculture. He says what matters most, though, are the personal connections.
“I would hope that in the thousands of interactions I’ve had over the years, people would think of me as kind, honest, and that I did my best,” he said, his voice catching with emotion while reflecting on the legacy of care he and his colleagues have built.
Ownership of LVVC has shifted as the years passed. In 2009, Dr. Moffitt’s share was sold, and by 2018, the practice was in the hands of principals Faught, Cooper, Oyler, and Whitaker. Ferguson and Bake round out the stable of seven veterinarians at the practice, with Schank working limited hours and fewer responsibilities.
For the veterinarians of LVVC, the work is more than medicine. It’s about community, tradition, and a shared devotion to animals both large and small. Faught, now more than 30 years into his career, summed it up simply: “I’ll never really retire, but maybe I’ll go part-time in a few years.”
Both Schank and Faught have young family members attending veterinary school. While they would love to see the next generation join LVVC, they are content knowing the clinic’s commitment to service and maintaining personal connections will live on.
From a converted garage to a full-service hospital, LVVC’s story mirrors Fallon’s own growth. As the clinic celebrates 45 years, its veterinarians remain guided by the same principles that began in that small garage: compassion, service, and a love of animals.
Comment
Comments