101: Drugs, Drugs, and More Drugs—Novel Therapeutic Techniques in Companion Animal Anesthesia and Analgesia Cases

1-hour Lecture • 1.2 scientific credits

This interactive presentation will highlight the newest and most practical, common, yet challenging anesthetic and analgesic drugs and techniques encountered in clinical practice. Topics will include novel and validated pain-scoring systems, innovative advances in clinical techniques and agents, and the most helpful monitoring techniques for specific procedures and species. All veterinary personnel caring for critical patients, including veterinary assistants, veterinary technicians, and veterinarians, will find this session intriguing, informative, and immediately useful.

Becky Johnson, DVM, PhD, DACVAA, Clinical Professor and Research Anesthesiologist, University of Wisconsin-Madison, obtained her DVM degree from the Ohio State University in 1993, completed a residency and MS degree at the University of Wisconsin, and became board-certified in Veterinary Anesthesiology and Pain Management in 1997. In 2002, she completed a PhD in Respiratory Neurophysiology. She’s currently a Research Anesthesiologist and a Clinical Professor of Anesthesia and Pain Management at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Her interests include advances in anesthetic and analgesic techniques of laboratory animal species, and the effects of opioid and non-opioid analgesics on the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems of companion animals.

102: Top Juvenile Orthopedic Issues—Early Diagnosis and Treatment to Optimize Outcomes

1-hour Lecture • 1.2 scientific credits

Sponsored by Midwest Veterinary Specialists

In this session, we’ll talk about the top orthopedic conditions affecting puppies and kittens. Using a case-based approach, we’ll discuss common developmental and traumatic injuries with a focus on early identification and treatment to optimize outcomes.

Michael Dearmin, DVM, DACVS, Board-Certified Small Animal Surgeon, Midwest Veterinary Specialist, earned his DVM in 2000 at UC Davis and proceeded on to an internship at Texas A&M and completed his Small Animal Surgery Residency at the University of Georgia in 2005. Following residency, he entered private practice and has enjoyed helping animals with all manner of surgical problems, but with particular interests in Orthopedics, Minimally Invasive Surgery, and Zoological Surgery.

201: Tips for Success—Emergency Stabilization and Transfer of the Small Animal Patient to Your Local ER

1-hour Lecture • 1.2 scientific credits

This lecture aims to reduce the stress of the most common emergency situations in small animal medicine. No longer fear the CHF cat or the GDV dog! We’ll go over quick diagnostics, stabilization with commonly found supplies in general practice, prognosis, and methods for a seamless transition of care to your local emergency and/or specialty and referral hospital.

Sarah Vuolo, DVM, DACVECC, Veterinary Criticalist at WVRC (Waukesha), Ethos Veterinary Health, received her DVM from the University of Illinois and completed an internship at VCA Aurora before moving to Wisconsin. She worked as an emergency doctor before completing an emergency and critical care residency at the Fox Valley Animal Referral Center in Appleton. She works at WVRC in Waukesha with a diverse and talented group of DVMs, technicians, and assistants, providing 24/7 care for critical ICU patients. She heads up the blood donor program, enjoys teaching, and provides educational outreach to the referring community. She enjoys running, skiing, and hanging out with her husband, children, and yellow labrador in her rare free time.

202: Small-Animal Rehabilitation—Optimizing the Peri-Operative Experience

1-hour Lecture • 1.2 scientific credits

This presentation will provide an overview of the principles of rehabilitation and the framework for progressing patients through a rehabilitation program. Orthopedic and neurologic case examples will be provided with differences in peri-operative and conservative management highlighted. Participants will gain tools to manage pain and mobility in a variety of patients.

Molly Hopp, DVM, CVA, CCRT, Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center by Ethos, established the Integrative Medicine service at Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center’s Waukesha and Racine locations and works part-time in emergency medicine. She’s a 2017 UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine graduate, certified in Veterinary Acupuncture from Chi University since 2018, and a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist through the Canine Rehabilitation Institute since 2022. She especially loves working with geriatric patients with multiple comorbidities.

301: Tox Trends—Emerging Toxins and Updates in Clinical Veterinary Toxicology

1-hour Lecture • 1.2 scientific credits

Focused on clinically relevant toxicology, this one-hour session will cover the toxic syndromes on the rise in companion animals and share new information and therapies used to manage exposed patients. We’ll discuss psychedelic mushrooms, delta-8 THC, oclacitinib, illicit xylazine, and more. The second half of the session will highlight extracorporeal elimination, grape and raisin exposures, and ropinirole use.

Renee Tourdot, DVM, DABT, DABVT Associate Director, Quality Assurance & Protocol Management ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, serves as the Associate Director of Quality Assurance and Protocol Management for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. She earned her DVM from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009 and completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery before starting her career in emergency medicine and toxicology. She became a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology in 2019 and a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology in 2021. In addition to teaching veterinary professionals, Dr. Tourdot has authored numerous textbook chapters and online publications. A strong advocate for treating the patient, not the poison, Dr. Tourdot is proud to be a reliable resource for veterinary medical professionals in the trenches. When the toxicologist hat comes off, she enjoys volunteering as a Master Gardener, sewing her wardrobe, and lounging on a sunny patio with her furry family.

302: Vaccine Refresher for Small Animal Practices

1-hour Lecture • 1.2 scientific credits

Vaccines are a daily part of most small animal veterinary practices, but do you remember how they work? Immunology class may have been a long time ago, so let’s brush off the dust! A good understanding of mechanisms of action will help you use vaccines appropriately and communicate associated risks and benefits with your clients. This talk will focus on the WHYs and HOWs of vaccinology, using case scenarios and data gathered from the field.

Laurie Larson, DVM, Director CAVIDS Laboratory, UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, has over 30 years of experience studying veterinary vaccines, infectious disease, and immune responses. She’s currently an instructor of immunology at UW-Madison SVM and the director of a fee-for-service titer testing laboratory (CAVIDS Lab). On most days, you’ll find her deep into a science experiment, leading a discussion in the classroom, consulting about a disease outbreak in a breeding kennel, or developing a study for an industry partner. She lives in Madison, where she gardens, hikes, and makes music with friends. She’s never been to the Milwaukee Zoo in all these years—until today!

103: DC305—Tips for the Dairy Practitioner

1-hour Lecture • 1.2 scientific credits

Sponsored by ProAGtive Dairy Nutrition

This session will cover practical applications of dairycomp305 to improve the insight and understanding you can deliver at your herd health visits. Topics will include protocol management, reproduction, transition health, milk quality, and culling/inventory. Tips will range from basic to advanced, and suggested commands will be provided for use in the field.

Dr Scott Earnest, Director of Technical Services, ProAGtive Dairy Nutrition, is a dairy veterinarian and Director of Technical Services with ProAGtive Dairy Nutrition. He holds a doctorate of veterinary medicine from UW Madison and a bachelor’s degree from University of California Berkeley. His family roots are in Maine, but Lodi, Wisconsin, has been home since 2014. His professional interests include records analysis and management consulting, farm employee training and communication, protocol development and review, and calf care and milk quality. Outside of work, Dr. Earnest enjoys woodworking and time outdoors with his wife and sons, Carter and Camden.

203: Food Animal—Diagnostic Trends at the WVDL

1-hour Lecture • 1.2 scientific credits

This session will provide a review of pathogens seen in Food Animal Production Medicine and the different ancillary testing modalities used for screening and/or disease diagnosis. We’ll discuss past and present testing and how the submitting veterinarian utilizes this information. We’ll also take a look at what’s in store for the future of testing.

Ryan Breuer DVM, DACVIM- LAIM, Diagnostic Case and Outreach Coordinator (WVDL) & Clinical Assistant Professor of Large Animal Internal Medicine (UW-SVM), holds a dual appointment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: He’s a Clinical Assistant Professor of Large Animal Internal Medicine at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine (UW-SVM) and a Diagnostic Case & Outreach Coordinator at the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL). As part of his commitment to UW-SVM, Dr. Breuer is actively involved in the didactic, laboratory, and clinical instruction of veterinary students in large animal internal medicine and food animal production medicine (FAPM). His teaching interests are in clinical large animal internal medicine, small ruminant medicine, concepts of AVMA-approved humane euthanasia for large animal species, herd health investigations, and diagnostic/infectious disease consultation.

303: Beef on Dairy—Managing Heifer Inventories

1-hour Lab • 1.2 scientific credits

Sponsored by CentralStar

This presentation will highlight the benefits of team-focused collaboration with genetic companies to assist producers in creating the ideal number of heifer replacements. We’ll discuss genetic strategies to maximize genetic progress and herd health using a sexed and beef focus. We’ll provide tools to calculate the precise number of tagged heifer calves each month on the farm. We’ll share tips for reducing heifer-raising costs and expanding beef on dairy revenues. And we’ll show producers how to work together to establish the long-term value of beef on dairy calves.

Susie Martin, Regional Consulting Manager, CentralStar Cooperative, is a Regional Consulting Manager on the CentralStar/Select Sires team. Her main role is to assist producers and CentralStar teams in developing genetic strategies to achieve successful and profitable herds. Utilizing various tools, she helps control heifer replacement inventories, genetic recessives, haplotypes, and inbreeding levels. For over two decades, Susie negotiated and secured the procurement of genetically superior bulls for worldwide markets. With hands-on experience as a Holstein genetic program manager and sire analyst, she’s well-versed in genetic programs and evaluations. She has a passion and deep understanding of the dairy industry, a strong farm background, and working relationships with dairy customers, veterinarians, nutritionists, and sales teams around the world. Susie grew up on a dairy farm in southern Minnesota and earned her degree in Diary Science from the University of Minnesota. She’s been in the dairy industry for thirty-five-plus years and lives near Madison, Wisconsin.