Keynote Speaker:  Wendy Blount, DVM

Dr. Blount is a companion animal (dogs and cats only) veterinarian Texas A&M Residency trained in Small Animal Internal Medicine. In addition to her Internal Medicine referral practice, Dr. Blount conducts Continuing Education Seminars for small animal veterinarians, veterinary technicians and animal control officers. She also teaches an undergraduate college course on "Medicine and Behavior in the Animal Sheltering Environment" for Duquesne University. She has also served as Medical Director & Surgeon for SpayNeuterNac and O'Malley PET (Preventing Euthanasia Together).

Dr. Blount has received several prestigious awards including the 2012 Texas Veterinary Medical Association "Companion Animal Practitioner of the Year" for outstanding contributions to veterinary medicine, the 2011 "Bilderback Award" for support of the animal sheltering community and the 2004 "TAVP Clinical Referral and Consultation Award" which recognizes contributions made by outstanding veterinary practitioners.

Additionally, in vet school and her early days of practice, Dr. Blount developed outstanding UltraSound skills. She further honed these skills during her Texas A&M Residency under the guidance of some of the best sonographers in the world. Over the years, she has now become well known for her UltraSound expertise and a veteran of literally thousands of successful UltraSound exams.

Guest Speaker:  Jan S. Suchodolski, MedVet, DrVetMed, PhD, AGAF, DACVM

Jan S. Suchodolski graduated with a veterinary degree from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria in 1997. After working for several years in a small animal specialty clinic he returned to academia and received his Dr. med. vet. degree from the University of Vienna, Austria in recognition for his research on potential diagnostic marker for canine gastric disease.

In 2005 Dr. Suchodolski received his PhD in Veterinary Microbiology from Texas A&M University for his work on molecular markers for the assessment of the intestinal microbiota. He is also board certified in immunology by the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists (ACVM). He currently serves at Texas A&M as a Clinical Associate Professor and the Associate Director of the GI Lab.