Invention Lets You Scratch Where It Itches

SUNBURY – A woman with ties to the Susquehanna Valley has invented a device animals and even people can use to scratch where it itches.

Cynthia Garry-Jones, who lives in northern York County, has two patents pending in the U.S. and one patent pending in Europe for her Scratch n All pad. “It can take two to three years for a patent approval or longer,” she said.

Her mother, the late Blance Gemberling Moul, was born in Sunbury. Her uncle, Wells Gemberling, who was born in Northumberland, now lives in York. She has a cousin Jerry Gorin in Selinsgrove.

She tested her invention on her horses – Sundance, a 29-year-old mustang, and Teddy, a 16-year-old donkey. She mounted a prototype of the pad on a post outside the barn where Sundance and Teddy would scratch themselves. While she didn’t witness them using the pad, she later found evidence of horse and donkey hairs on it. Teddy and Sundance are now using the pads, which she mounted on the doors of their stalls.

The silicone rubber pad has a V-notch in the middle so it can bend around corners and an interlocking design so several pads can fit together. Stainless steel screws hold the pad in place. The screws are counter-sunk so they don’t harm an animal’s skin, she said. “My life’s passions have always been animals and the environment,” she said.

So far, sales have been good with people buying the units in lots of four to give to their husband or father for Father’s Day. “Mount them on a corner or flat on a wall in the bathroom, walk-in closet or workout room. Men love to scratch their backs or have them scratched,” she said.

The pads can be ordered online atwww.scratchnall.comor by calling 1-888-972-7282.

Years ago, Garry-Jones operated the food business Gourmet Specialities when she lived in Harrisburg and had a number of customers from the Susquehanna Valley.