Navc President Elect Recipient of 2009 UC-Davis Alumni Achievement Award

GAINESVILLE, FL — NAVC President-Elect Douglas R. Mader, MS, DVM, DipABVP, co-owner and director of Marathon Veterinary Hospital, Marathon Key, Florida, is a recipient of the University of California – Davis Veterinary Medicine 2009 Alumni Achievement Award for his contributions to the welfare of animals as a teacher, researcher, author and practitioner.

"I am humbled and flattered to have even been nominated for this award," Mader said, "to win is the greatest symbol of peer recognition. It means that my efforts in the profession have been appreciated by my mentors and colleagues – to me – that is the ultimate compliment."

Mader has come a long way from his beginnings in the Upper Florida Keys. His original plan to be an equine veterinarian was derailed following serious injuries suffered in an automobile accident at the onset of his schooling. During his convalescence, he started working with exotic animals and never looked back.

After graduating from UC-Davis, Mader completed a residency in Primate and Zoo medicine where he excelled in the pharmacology of antibiotics in exotic companion animals. He moved to Los Angeles and opened a small animal/exotics practice and became a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (Canine and Feline Practice) and a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. Ten years later, Mader and his wife, Geraldine Diethelm, Dr. Vet. Med, returned to the Florida Keys and opened their small animal/exotic referral practice.

"I still love going to work every day and I hope to continue with my referral work as well as my volunteer work with the wildlife found in the Florida Keys," said Mader. "There is great pleasure in my clinical work, clinical research, student mentoring and work done with the NAVC to help further the veterinary field worldwide."

As a 15-year volunteer staff veterinarian at the Marathon Sea Turtle Hospital, Mader has incubated eggs, fixed broken shells and monitored dozens of turtles living in his backyard. He also works closely with and provides veterinary assistance to the Key West Aquarium, the Dolphin Research Center, County Zoo, Key Deer Protection Alliance and Marine Mammal Rescue.

"As an association, NAVC has reaped the benefits of Doug’s relentless dedication to the veterinary profession," said NAVC Executive Director Colin F. Burrows, BVetMed, PhD, HonFRCVS, DipACVIM. "During the last decade he has served as an NAVC Conference speaker, Program Chair, laboratory instructor, NAVC Expeditions host, Board member and the next NAVC president. It is wonderful to see his alma mater recognize what we have known for years."

Mader is the author of Reptile Medicine and Surgery, now in its second edition and serves on the editorial review boards of NAVC Clinician’s Brief®, Compendium for Continuing Education, American Journal of Veterinary Research, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and Journal of Reptile Medicine and Surgery. He also documented the 2008 NAVC Expeditions Antarctica trip for NAVC Clinician’s Brief® in a blog titled Antarctica: Tipping the Iceberg.

"The veterinary field provides a wonderful canvass to paint your own career – it is dynamic and you can change the picture as you progress," remarked Mader. "Regardless of your path, the people that you encounter are wonderful, the animals are magical and the stories that you experience will fill your heart for the rest of your life. This award is another chapter in my terrific book of memories I owe to veterinary medicine."