How does a busy veterinarian working in multiple specialty areas at two different practices relax and unwind on weekends? By doing more veterinary work, of course.
Though she splits her time during the week between Midwest Veterinary Specialists in Greenfield and her private practice, Capital Performance Veterinary Services in Blue Mounds, on weekends Jennifer Lorenz (DVM’09) can often be found caring for equines who participate in horse endurance rides.
And, just like these 25- to 100-mile rides can be filled with twists and turns, Lorenz’s career trajectory has not necessarily been linear.
“I’ve always fascinated by people’s paths, and the more you talk with others the more you learn it’s OK to change your mind and be open to where your career may lead you,” she says. “If someone would have told me 15 years ago I’d be doing acupuncture on dogs, I would not have believed it.”
With both parents in the United States Navy, Lorenz moved around a bit growing up, and her family landed in Madison during her middle school years. She went on to attend Edgewood High School and then UW-Madison. And, although she says it took her “a bit to get in,” she was admitted to the SVM and received her DVM in 2009.
Her first love and primary interest being horses, she thought she would focus on equine practice forever. After living for a time in Pennsylvania, she returned to Wisconsin and launched an equine ambulatory business. As she developed that area of practice, she realized there were not many veterinary providers performing acupuncture. She became certified in veterinary medical acupuncture through Colorado’s Medical Acupuncture for Veterinarians in 2013 and, following that, in veterinary spinal manipulation through the Healing Oasis in Wisconsin.
In the years since, her practice naturally evolved to include additional focus on physical rehabilitation – she earned a certification as a canine rehabilitation practitioner through the University of Tennessee – as well as an expansion toward seeing more small animal patients. This led to a shift with Capital Performance Veterinary Services becoming a part-time job and taking a full-time position as a small animal rehabilitation specialist with Midwest Veterinary Specialists.
While she still sees large animal patients in private practice, much of her work with equines comes in endurance riding circles and at competitive events. Both leading equine endurance riding organizations – American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) and Upper Midwest Endurance and Competitive Rides Association (UMECRA), of which she has served as a board member – require veterinary presence and vet checks on-premise to ensure the health and safety of horses.
Still, Lorenz finds time to actively participate and take on leadership roles within the SVM Alumni Association (SVMAA), including working on alumni newsletters, planning reunions, serving as secretary in the past as well as president and helping establish an alumni awards program.
“Learning about service was a big part of my high school experience at Edgewood, and I’m a fourth generation UW alumna,” Lorenz says. “My great grandfather helped found the psychology department, and all that history has always made me interested how we do things and how we can improve for future generations.”
One of Lorenz’s lasting legacies as an alumna and SVMAA member has been to spearhead the development of a class gift fund that supports the Divine Service Dog Scholarship. With the permission of a classmate who is legally deaf and had a service dog named Divine, the annual scholarship supports a student with an interest in service animals.
“I encourage people to get and stay involved however they can,” she says. “Maybe that’s monetary, maybe its signing up to be a mentor or maybe it’s serving on a board. It’s easy to focus on what school cost, but the SVM gives its graduates an invaluable tool and it’s important to give back however we can.”
When there is time for a little rest and relaxation, Lorenz and her husband love to camp with their dogs, kayak and go fishing. But, most of all, they enjoy their small farm in Blue Mounds with its many animals, including – of course – sport horse ponies.
Maggie Baum