Instructors
Craig M. Tockman, DVM
Gary D. Norsworthy, DVM, DABVP
Kent Adams, DVM
Mark A. Mitchell, DVM, MS, PhD
Don J. Harris, DVM
Kate An Hunter, DVM
Dr. Terry Gerros
Andrew Rosenfeld, DVM, Diplomate ABVP
Craig M. Tockman, DVM
Craig M. Tockman, DVM, owner of two practices and Director Professional Services at Abaxis. Dr. Tockman is the owner of Veterinary Care Center, an AAHA certified full service veterinary hospital with two locations in St. Louis, Missouri. Veterinary Care Center, under Dr. Tockman's direction, provides services such as in-office laboratory, endoscopy, laser surgery, diagnostic ultrasound, geriatric medicine, behavior consultation and full soft tissue and orthopedic surgical services. In addition, Dr. Tockman is certified in the Penn Hip method of radiologic diagnosis for hip dysplasia.
Dr. Tockman began his veterinary career at a two-veterinarian practice in St. Charles County, Missouri, where he was employed for 2 years. He was then associate veterinarian at Page Animal Hospital in St. Louis County. After 2 years, Dr. Tockman began purchasing Page Animal Hospital and opened a satellite practice in 1994. He attained complete ownership in 1998. Veterinary Care Center grew to a five-location facility by the year 2000. Currently, while still maintaining his ownership and continuing to practice, Dr. Tockman is also the Director of Professional Services for Abaxis, Inc.
He is the past president, past vice-president and past membership chairman of the Greater St. Louis Veterinary Medical Association where he currently serves on the board of directors. He is also a current member of the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association Scope of Practice Task Force and a member of the AVMA, AAHA, Missouri VMA, and The Greater St. Louis VMA. Dr. Tockman graduated from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989 and is a member of the Phi Zeta Veterinary Honor Society and the Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society. He was a two-time recipient of the Frank E. and Ena Hickerson Rhoads Scholarship in Veterinary Medicine. He particularly enjoys clinical pathology, orthopedic surgery and soft tissue surgery. He has been lecturing since 2001 on the benefits of in-hospital blood testing and the need for regular wellness blood testing. He has spoken at many local veterinary medical associations across the country, and has presented all day seminars for organizations such as the Wyoming Veterinary Medical Convention.
Gary D. Norsworthy, DVM, DABVP
Dr. Gary D. Norsworthy is a 1972 graduate of Texas A&M University. He practiced for two years (1972-1974) at the Cat Clinic of Seattle, Washington. He was in small animal practice from 1974-1999 in San Antonio, Texas, then he opened a feline only practice in San Antonio in 2000.
Dr. Norsworthy has lectured extensively in the United States, Canada, and Brazil on feline diseases. He has presented over 300 lectures to veterinary associations and conventions. In addition, he has published over 30 papers in veterinary journals. He is the editor and major author of Feline Practice, published by the J.B. Lippincott Company in 1993. His second textbook, entitled The Feline Patient: Essentials of Diagnosis and Treatment, was published in 1997 by Williams and Wilkins. It was translated into Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. The Second Edition of The Feline Patient, published in 2002 and was translated into Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese. The Third Edition of The Feline Patient published in 2007. He is one of the veterinary editors for Cat Fancy magazine.
He was selected as the 1992 Companion Animal Practitioner of the Year by the Texas VMA and the 1997 Outstanding Alumnus in of the College of Veterinary Medicine of Texas A&M. He received the 1998 Diplomate Achievement Award from the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. He is a charter Diplomate of the Feline Practice Category of the ABVP and holds the position of Adjunct Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University.
His hospital, Alamo Feline Health Center, was chosen as a Practice of Excellence by Veterinary Economics magazine. It hosts a constant stream of externs and visiting practitioners from many US veterinary schools and from Canada, Japan, Finland, France, and Brazil. His influence in feline medicine has been felt by practitioners around the world. Although he loves writing and lecturing, his first love is the practice of feline medicine and surgery, which he does on a daily basis.
Kent Adams, DVM
Kent Adams, DVM, graduated from the Virginia - Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1990. After an internship in southwest Virginia, he returned to his family farming roots to start Appalachian Veterinary Services in 1991 near Blacksburg, Virginia. His practice was initially predominantly dairy but has shifted to predominantly equine over the last 14 years due to the rapid urbanization and changing demographics of the area. Appalachian Veterinary Services employs four full-time ambulatory veterinarians who serve the needs of horses, beef and dairy cattle, small ruminants and camelids… but not a single dog or cat. The practice has extensive in-house laboratory capabilities including the Abaxis Vetscan VS2 and VetScan HM5.
Dr. Adams is a member of the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners and a host of other professional organizations. He is active in the VVMA and has served as the president of the regional unit of the VVMA for a number of years. Passionate about the importance of organized veterinary medicine, Dr. Adams spends considerable time bringing grass roots practice issues to the forefront of discussion at the state level. Dr. Adams has developed extensive equine wellness programs that have been well received by a diverse clientele. His personal interests lie in equine reproduction, advanced equine dentistry and practice management.
Mark A. Mitchell, DVM, MS, PhD
Dr. Mitchell received his D.V.M. in 1992 from the University of Illinois and an M.S. in clinical epidemiology with an emphasis on wildlife medicine from the University of Illinois in 1997. He completed his Ph.D. in clinical epidemiology with an emphasis on Salmonella in reptiles at Louisiana State University in 2001. From 1996-2007, Dr. Mitchell was a member of the zoological medicine faculty at Louisiana State University. During his tenure at LSU he served as the Director of the Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana .In February 2007, Dr. Mitchell moved to be closer to family and is currently an associate professor in zoological medicine and surgery at the University of Illinois. His primary areas of research include clinical pathology, epidemiology of infectious diseases, clinical toxicology, and biotelemetrics.
Dr. Mitchell founded the International Aquatic and Terrestrial Conservation Medicine and Biotelemetrics Research Laboratory at LSU. This program was created to generate epidemiological investigations in the USA and abroad using specialists from other institutions. The program currently has projects focusing on elasmobranchs, amphibians, reptiles, raptors, cetaceans, and bears from Louisiana, Florida, Belize, Massachusetts, Mississippi, St. Kitts, El Salvador, and the Galapagos Islands.
Dr. Mitchell is a past-president of the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian. He serves as the co-editor of the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine and is the scientific editor for the Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery. In 2008, Dr. Mitchell published the Manual of Exotic Pet Practice with his good friend and mentor Dr. Tom Tully. Dr. Mitchell has published over 300 book chapters, peer-reviewed manuscripts, and scientific abstracts.
Dr. Mitchell lectures at the local, state, national, and international level throughout the year. Presentations include basic husbandry to advanced medicine and surgery. He also regularly presents original research.
Don J. Harris, DVM
Don J. Harris graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1980. His practice became exclusively avian in 1990, and he opened Miami's first exotics-only veterinary hospital, Avian & Exotic Animal Medical Center, in 1996. Over the years, he has developed and maintained a close relationship with leaders in exotic animal medicine from around the world. Avian & Exotic serves as a point of contact between the hospital's clients and the international authorities on practically any situation involving exotic pets.
Dr. Harris received the Outstanding Service Award from the Association of Avian Veterinarians in 1986, Speaker of the Year Award from the North American Veterinary Conference in 1997, and many other commendations over the years from various colleges and associations. He served as president of the worldwide Association of Avian Veterinarians in 1991-92, president of the South Florida Veterinary Medical Association 1993-94, and is currently the President of the North American Veterinary Conference, the largest veterinary conference in the world.
Kate An Hunter, DVM
Dr. Kate An Hunter opened Carver Lake Veterinary Center in Woodbury, Minnesota in 1996, as a primary care facility for small animals. In addition to her practice, she enjoys educating the public on pet care in a number of venues including seminars, workshops and as a guest on Minnesota Public Radio's Midday program. Dr Hunter applies her years of experience in dog training and competition to her special interest in working with canine athletes. She and her canine companion Ansel, compete in agility, obedience, rally and musical freestyle. With her equine companion, Ferrous, she trail rides, and volunteers for mounted patrol deputy for the local county sheriff. With her previous career as a chemist, she is particularly interested in laboratory testing for veterinary medicine.
Dr. Terry Gerros
Dr. Terry Gerros, owner of Santiam Equine Clinic and Cordon Road Veterinary Clinic in Salem, Oregon, graduated from Auburn University in 1981. After graduation, Dr. Gerros was the resident veterinarian at Calumet Farms and followed that experience by practicing general equine medicine/surgery at a racetrack and broodmare practice in Lexington, KY until 1989 when left for the University of Wisconsin-Madison to do his residency in Large Animal Medicine. After receiving his Masters in Science from UW-Madison, Dr. Gerros became an Assistant Professor, Large Animal Medicine at Oregon State University. In 1996, Dr. Gerros became a Diplomate, ACVIM.
Dr. Gerros has published a number of peer reviewed journal articles, parts of book chapters in Large Animal Medicine and 5 Minute Veterinary Consultant – Equine Practice. Dr. Gerros has spoken at several veterinary conferences across the country. Dr. Gerros enjoys woodworking and playing the guitar.
Andrew Rosenfeld, DVM, Diplomate ABVP
Dr. Rosenfeld has spoken on numerous occasions on topics in emergency medicine, small animal anatomy and physiology, and cardiology. Dr. Rosenfeld was the Director of Technical Education for the Pet’s Choice family of veterinary hospitals and specialty practices. He has also practiced small animal critical care and emergency medicine for 18 years and served as hospital director of Paradise Valley Emergency Animal Clinic in Scottsdale for 3 years. Dr. Rosenfeld is a member of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and was an adjunct professor at Mesa Community College and Arizona State University. Dr. Rosenfeld is also authoring a text for veterinary hospitals called The Veterinary Team Handbook from Blackwell Press and is co-authoring a textbook in clinical pathology called Clinical Pathology for the Veterinary Team (Blackwell – 2009).