Education is Safety
Whether an animal is in a trailer accident, submerged in mud or water, trapped into a ravine, cast in a stall, or has fallen on barnyard ice and cannot get up, it is human nature to want to help. But large animals can be unpredictable, especially when in desperate, life or death situations. When stressed and trapped, livestock can injure themselves, property, and the people around them. Further injury to the animal, as well as to the person who seeks to aid the animal, can occur if the rescue is not performed in an organized, efficient, and safe manner.
Wisconsin Large Animal Emergency Response exists to increase survival rates of livestock being handled during emergencies while increasing the safety and efficiency of first responders and veterinarians by implementing training programs and assisting with responses.
Wisconsin Large Animal Emergency Response (WLAER) is nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to educating emergency response, animal control, and veterinary personnel in technical emergency response involving large animals – primarily horses and cattle. WLAER also serves in a support and response role for large animal emergencies.
Our goals:
Improve health outcomes associated with the handling of large animals during emergencies while increasing the safety and efficiency of first responders and veterinarians
Provide an efficient, well-trained, and specialized emergency team response for large animal emergencies
Create a model for future county and state response
Howard Ketover, DVM
Director/Founder
No one thinks that these emergencies will happen in their own communities. But they will, and we want to keep you and your animal safe when it happens.
Our board
Howard Ketover, DVM
Dr. Howard Ketover received his Bachelor’s and DVM degrees from Colorado State University before opening Irongate Equine Clinic in 2008. During his daily practice, Howard encountered emergency and rescue situations that his traditional training had not prepared him for. In those emergencies, Howard wanted to do more for the animals he loves and cares for, and so began additional training in 2006.
He has received training with the LAR Company, TLAER, EERU/ASAR, ASPCA, Disaster Animal Response Teams and Wisconsin Animal Response Corp. He has certifications as Large Animal Rescue Technician, Rope Rescue Technician I & II, Confined Space Technician, Boat operations, Static and Swift Water Technician, Animal Ice Rescue Operations, Animal Decontamination Basic Operations, Wilderness First Responder, and has various certifications from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security.
Dr. Ketover has worked closely with multiple mounted law enforcement agencies to bring emergency rescue principles to the departments. In 2014, Dr. Ketover worked with clinicians from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine and WLAER board members to develop a novel five-day Large Animal Rescue and Patient Management course that instructs twenty veterinary students annually. With the universities assistance he continues to bring emergency animal training and response opportunities to the veterinary students.
Anne Murphy
Anne Murphy is a recently retired police officer with twenty years of experience, much of that experience was done serving as a mounted officer. She has been on the board of directors since WLAER’s inception in 2012 and has a history of active involvement in the equine community and most recently serving on the Wisconsin Horse Council Board of Directors. Anne is a gubernatorial appointee to the Non-Motorized Recreational Trails and Transportation Council, and an alternate representative of that council on the DNR Recreational Stakeholders Council. She has received large animal rescue training from the Large Animal Rescue Company and Animal Search and Rescue/Code 3 Associates,and is trained in Boat Operations and Static and Swift Water Technician level.
John Palmer
John Palmer’s career has been largely dedicated to helping others. After serving in the Army and while serving in the Army National Guard, John became a volunteer firefighter. He served in Lodi for almost twenty years, achieving the rank of Captain before relocating to Mazomanie. In his new town, John is still serving on the Fire Department. He has served the department in the past as a Rescue Captain and is currently contributing as a firefighter. In addition to working as a Security Department Field Training Officer at St. Mary’s Hospital. John has additional animal rescue training in Ice Rescue techniques and is trained in Boat Operations and as a Static and Swift Water Technician.
Through some family involvement with horses, John came to have his own Paint gelding, Ranger, and a favorite veterinarian – Howard Ketover. After discussing their mutual interests in emergency rescue and responder training, John became a member of WLAER’s board, where he supports the organization in many capacities.
One of John’s favorite aspects of WLAER is that it brings people together to work toward common goals: keeping animals and first responders safe. In fact, WLAER’s model relies on community involvement and support. John is very excited to be doing this work and if you have any questions, please contact him!
Claire Afflerbach, DVM
Dr. Claire Afflerbach completed her DVM and Master of Public Health (MPH) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine in 2019. She is currently working as a small animal emergency veterinarian at the Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Claire has been interested in veterinary disaster response since 2013 and was initially introduced to technical rescue through Wisconsin Large Animal Emergency Rescue’s 5-day Large Animal Technical Rescue course in 2015. She joined the team as an instructor in August 2016 and has since completed additional training in Bovine Emergency Response, Animal Decontamination Basic Operations, Animal Ice Rescue Operations, Rope Technician I and II, Static and Swift Water Technician, Boat Operations, and Disaster Medicine. She’s spent time working with the Wisconsin Veterinary Response Corps, Animal Search and Rescue/Code 3 Associates, the HSVMA’s Rural Animal Veterinary Service, Texas A&M VET, Penn Vet’s Working Dog Center, and the National Wildlife Health Center.
In the future, she hopes to continue improving planning and handling of animal issues in disasters to support overall disaster response.
Molly Thomson
Molly Thomson has been a Police Officer with the City of Madison Police since 2005. In 2015 she joined the department’s Mounted Patrol Unit and attended the Wisconsin Large Animal Emergency Rescue’s 5-day Large Animal Technical Rescue course in 2018 and began volunteering with WLAER in the winter of 2018. She has also since completed additional training for Static and Swift Water Technician and Boat Operations.
Molly is working towards completing additional training so that she can deploy along with other members of WLAER in disasters.
Volunteers/Responders and/or Instructors
Lauren Alderman, DVM, CVA, CVSMT Irongate Equine Clinic
Amy James, Irongate Equine Clinic
Lisa Nesson, DVM Irongate Equine Clinic
Bob Ramsey, Retired DNR Law Enforcement
Dana Sechler, Retired Baraboo EMS Chief,
Mark Willar, Baraboo Assistant Chief of Training, Paramedic, Baraboo Fire Department