09/10/2026
To our valued clients and industry partners,
On behalf of the entire VAHS team, we would like to thank you for your continued support throughout the past year. Sustained cattle prices and a successful start to harvest have given us much to be thankful for. As we reflect on 2026, we would like to take this time to share a few highlights with you.
Dr. Mike has been busy serving on the Beef Cattle Research Council Scientific Advisory Committee and helping revamp the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle. Dr. Craig maintains an advisory role at VAHS and frequently stops by the office to provide mentorship and share a story or two. Under the guidance of Dr. Mike and Dr. Craig, both Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Tommy continue to take on more responsibility in the practice while remaining active in the industry. They were invited to host a Cow-Calf Consulting Seminar by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) where they welcomed 12 veterinarians from across North America and discussed value-add services for ranching operations. Dr. Elizabeth also helped plan the 2026 AABP annual conference and was recently elected as District XIII Director where she will represent the interests of veterinarians across BC, AB, SK and MB. Dr. Tommy is also active in AABP and volunteers his time on the Student Activities Committee. We are so thankful for the opportunity to be involved in initiatives such as these and treasure the connections we have built.
Our staff have also been quite busy in the industry. Dr. Brittany is proud to serve as a Director for the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners (WCABP). Dr. Carling was recently elected Vice President of the Canadian Cattle Youth Council that serves as an advisory group to CCA. Dr. Matt Kumlin is a Director for the Calgary Central Feeder Association and recently outfitted his herd with virtual fencing collars to improve rangeland management. Lauren Stefaniuk, RVT, successfully achieved her Veterinary Technician Specialty designation in Production Medicine Clinical Practice through the AVTCP program. She is the only RVT in Alberta with this prestigious distinction! Lauren is also the inaugural RVT Ex-Officio Director for WCABP and was recently selected as a finalist in the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders program. Congratulations to all these individuals on their many accomplishments!
We are excited to announce some new additions to the team as we get geared up for fall run. Matteo Clarke recently joined our practice as a field services assistant. He is the grandson of the great “cow vet”, Ron Clarke, and graduated from University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology this past spring. We are looking forward to welcoming two more veterinarians later this fall! Dr. Alli Vesely was raised in Red Deer, AB and graduated from the University of Calgary in 2025. She spent her first 1.5 years in mixed animal practice in Southern Alberta and will be moving to the area later this month. Dr. Bailey DeGroat is also a 2025 graduate. She was raised on a cow-calf and row crop operation in Ohio and attended Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine. She also got her start in mixed animal practice and plans to join us mid-November. Both ladies visited VAHS as students and eager to follow their passion and begin focusing exclusively on cow-calf and feedlot production medicine. All our new additions are excited to be working along our entire veteran administrative team, including Ginny (MBA), Sandy (RVT), Adele, Lauren (RVT), Melissa, Dawn, and Makayla, as well as field services assistants, Adrianna (RVT) and David (UCVM c/o 2028).
Thank you to our entire team for their role in making our 9th Annual Advanced Beef Production Medicine rotation a resounding success. Together with help from Drs. Mark Hilton, Eugene Janzen and Karin Orsel, we delivered two packed weeks of advanced training in cow-calf and feedlot production medicine to 10 aspiring “cow vets” from the University of Calgary, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, and Oklahoma State University. We also continue to host veterinary and technician students for a variety of clinical externships during our busy seasons in the field.
In addition to teaching, advancing the beef cattle industry through clinical research is also a core component of our mission. In collaboration with industry partners such as CIPARS, CFAASP, AAFC, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and University of Regina, our team continues to be integrally involved in projects aimed at enhancing chute-side diagnostics using haptoglobin, advancing real-time NIRS feed analysis technology, improving the detection of BRD pathogens using hybrid probe capture and genome sequencing technology, and better understanding the development, prevalence, and transmission of antimicrobial resistance genes. We have several studies accepted for publication and look forward to sharing updates on some of these projects with you in the near future.
On behalf of everyone at VAHS, we extend our best wishes for a successful harvest and fall run! Please do not hesitate to stop by for a visit or give us a call if there is any way we can be of service.
Regards,
Mike Jelinski, DVM
Craig Dorin, DVM
Elizabeth Homerosky, DVM, MSc., DABVP
Tommy Ware, DVM
VAHS Partners (L to R): Dr. Tommy Ware; Dr. Craig Dorin; Dr. Elizabeth Homerosky; Dr. Mike Jelinski
