Ronaldean Pawlisch, DVM
During my
term in office, our Wisconsin Practice Act was challenged. Dr. Roland Anderson from Elkhorn had a
client whose cow had been aborted by a lay pregnancy examiner. The suit was brought to court against the
examiner and the co-op. Rock Valley
Association hired an outside law firm to prepare a side brief, thus helping to
establish a solid case against the lay examiner. In a short trial, only Dr. Lyle of Waukesha
and Bill O’Rourke testified (Bill over-whelmed the court) in Elkhorn. The case was won and the Practice Act
stood. However, the group of farmers
that were involved went before the legislature and got a bill passed to
grandfather the three lay examiners and they continued to practice examining
cows for pregnancy.
Several
changes were made in the annual winter meeting.
There were increased complaints about the facilities and there was a
decrease in attendance. The executive
board voted to move from the Schroeder Hotel to the Pfister Hotel in
Milwaukee. Fro the program, at the
banquet, I engaged the New Glarus singers and flag throwers. Because of the Swiss theme, we decided to
give each exhibitor and speaker a package of Swiss cheese in appreciation, from
the WVMA. By the way, as a matter of
history, a group charged $175, plus 10 cents per mile for their program. The program was accepted with enthusiasm and
high acclaim.
Mastitis was
a very important issue to most practitioners at this time, so our professional
program emphasized that problem. We had
three practitioners on the program.
Our summer
program was proceeded by a meeting conducted by Dr. Robert Madson and Dr.
O’Rourke for the presidents and secretaries of the local associations. It was an effort to establish better
communications between the state and local associations.
Dr. Ray
Pahle and his committee hired a veterinary director of the Animal Technician
School at MATC. Dr. Emil Roth was hired
as the veterinary director at MATC. An
attempt was made about 1965 to establish the Wisconsin Association of
Professions (WAP), consisting of nine professions. The organization was spearheaded by Executive
Secretary, Howard Brower. It was meant to have legislative clout, bur some
refused to include the chiropractors in the group. They were to be developed into a splinter
group. Dr. O’Rourke and I were
responsible for the speaker at the first all-day convention. We acquired the vice-president of the Federal
Reserve Bank in Chicago to speak.
A volunteer
group organized the Academy of Veterinary Practice. Dr. Don Postle from the University Extension
Department of Veterinary Science started to develop it. He resigned to go to Cornell because the
university there guaranteed to educate his children. Dr. Richard Bristol replaced him and
developed the program further. The
individual records for continued education were placed in the main frame
computer at the University of Wisconsin and it became so fouled up that Dr.
Robert Madson’s wife, Peg Madson, did the entire recording by hand. Dr. Fred Born was commissioned to design the
lapel pin.
Personal
information
I'm a native
Badger, born in the town of Baraboo, Wisconsin, and raised in the village of
North Freedom. I was always interested in animals and thought farmers needed
help with their sick livestock. However, I never realized how difficult it
would be to become a veterinarian. My education was interrupted a couple of
years during World War II, as I joined the Navy, serving in the submarine
service for most of my two years.
Upon entering
college, the first words from my advisor, Bonner Bill Morgan, were “Are you
willing to spend four years here at the University of Wisconsin, Madison,
before getting into a vet school?” I told him, whatever it took! There were 209
pre-vets at the time, on the Madison campus alone. Only a few actually became
veterinarians. I became extremely discouraged and frustrated at times. After
submitting letters to many colleges, Michigan State wrote back that I lacked
seven credits of European history. Kansas took students only west of the
Mississippi River. Illinois was just starting and would only accept straight
"A" students. Some schools would only accept resident students. I was
accepted and graduated from Minnesota in 1954.
Our oldest
son, Ray, had a similar experience. After getting his master's degree from the
University of Wisconsin, he was finally accepted into Michigan State School of
Veterinary Medicine. To my surprise, he was willing to come into practice with
our group. My wife and I have two other children. Our daughter is a nurse and
the other son is an engineer.
Veterinary school
issue
I became
extremely interested in the State of Wisconsin developing a School of
Veterinary Medicine after my experiences. In my opinion, a parasite is never as
strong as its host. We were defeated at legislative hearings in 1969. One
individual persuaded the committee against us.
Speakers for
a school included educated and astute individuals such as Dean Pound and David
Berman, who forgot more about Brucellosis than most of us will ever know! We
were not listened to and most of the legislators had already made up their minds.
In April
1970, we traveled to Chicago to hear a hastily prepared Moran report from a
supposedly independent study. This report was a compilation of statistics
showing that there was no need for another veterinary school. It was a very
damaging report to our cause. The school finally materialized, and I now can
smile for those so vehemently opposed to it were some of the first to use the
facilities. Also, some of their children have been accepted as students in the
veterinary school.
During his
presidency
During my term in office, our
Wisconsin Practice Act was challenged. Dr. Roland Anderson from Elkhorn
Annual meeting and
summer meeting
Several changes were made in the annual winter meeting. There were
increased complaints about the facilities and there was a decrease in
attendance. The executive board voted to move from the Schroeder Hotel to the Pfister
Hotel in Milwaukee
Mastitis
was a very important issue to most practitioners at this time, so our
professional program emphasized that problem. We had three practitioners on the
program.
Our summer
program was proceeded by a meeting conducted by Dr. Robert Madson and Dr.
O'Rourke for the presidents and secretaries of the local associations. It was
an effort to establish better communications between the state and the local
associations.
Wisconsin
Association of Professionals
Dr. Ray
Pahle and his committee hired a veterinary director of the Animal Technician
School at MATC Dr. Emil Roth was hired as the veterinary director at MATC An
attempt was made about 1965 to establish the Wisconsin Association of
Professions (WAP), consisting of nine professions. The organization was
spearheaded by Executive Secretary, Howard Brower. It was meant to have
legislative clout, but some refused to include the chiropractors in the group.
They were to be developed into a splinter group. Dr. O'Rourke and I were
responsible for the speaker at the first all-day convention. We acquired the
vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago to speak.
Academy of
Veterinary Practice
A volunteer
group organized the Academy of Veterinary Practice. Dr. Don Pastol from the
University Extension Department of Veterinary Science started to develop it. He
resigned to go to Cornell because the university there guaranteed to educate
his children. Dr. Richard Bristol replaced him and developed the program
further. The individual records for continued education were placed in the main
frame computer at the University of Wisconsin and it became so fouled up that
Dr. Robert Madson's wife, Peg Madson, did the entire recording by hand. Dr.
Fred Born was commissioned to design the lapel pin.
Final thoughts
There were
many changes in our practice from the time I started to retirement. When I went
into partnership with Dr. G.M. Miller in 1954, we practiced in a converted
chicken coop. We then moved to a three-car garage. In 1960 we built and moved
into a modem veterinary clinic. Due to expansion and information explosion, we
added computers, although we had two-way radios practically from the start of
our practice. Our wives were a very intricate part of our serving the public by
answering the phone, keeping books and billing. Many of the drugs that we used
were taken off the market or restricted. I said about the only thing left that could be used in practice
would be a vinegar douche and carrot oil. Both client and personnel problems
have changed little. There are so many human beings of different persuasions
that need to be managed. Costs have escalated, both in education and materials.
Gender is changing the way veterinary medicine is both perceived and practiced.
Some things are cyclical, now there are more horses in Winnebago County in
Illinois than there were in the horse days.
However, it seems veterinary medicine will survive and go
with the flow.
Editor’s note: After contacting Dr. Dean Pawlisch, in July
2014, he wanted to add the following text:
The need for veterinary medicine is not new. Back in Job’s time they recognized this.
Job 12:7-8
7 “But ask the animals, and they will
teach you,
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
New International
Version (NIV)
I don’t believe in one medicine per se.
Veterinary
medicine has too many unanswered questions.
I remember complaining to Dr. Elmer Woeffler that we were not getting
NIH grants that we should be getting.
Elmer said, “Remember, Dean the human being is the most important
arrival on the planet.”
We need to
listen to the engineers, physiologists, soil scientists, sociologists, educators,
and technologists in order to advance veterinary medicine in this global
economy and environment.
Two significant events that occurred during my presidency
were:
We worked
hard to establish a volunteer continuing education program because I felt you
can’t legislate a thirst for knowledge.
Later it would required by law.
We were again defeated when Governor Lucey vetoed
the veterinary bill to establish a veterinary school.
My picture includes my wife.
I feel our spouses are an integral part of any practice.
My wife even wrote my obituary.
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