Veterinarians
Dr. Mark Wenner, DVM
Dr. Mark Wenner is a General Practitioner and has been the owner of Cascade Animal Medical Center since 1991.
While there were many events and people that influenced his decision to become a veterinarian, Dr. Wenner says his Grandmother’s example and encouragement were very important to him. He adds that growing up with German Shorthairs, which he loved to watch romp through fields near his home, as well as working for a local veterinarian during high school also swayed his choice of career.
A native of Rochester, Minnesota, Dr. Wenner graduated from John Marshall High School in 1979. That next fall he entered Iowa State University where he began his studies for a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. He was also able to earn a position at the Mayo Clinic’s Animal Research Department during his undergraduate studies.
Despite a love for his college, Dr. Wenner was allowed early admittance to the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine after his third year of undergraduate studies. In 1986, he graduated from veterinary school with a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine.
Now that he is a veterinarian, Dr. Wenner says he loves working with our clients to help them support and improve their beloved pets’ health. “Taking over ownership of Cascade Animal Medical Center was a dream come true,” he says. “I never imagined that I would someday become the owner of the veterinary hospital that took such good care of the German Shorthairs and other pets I grew up with.”
Dr. Wenner’s areas of professional interest include surgery, ultrasound, and chemotherapy and oncology. He is a member of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Animal Hospital Association. He is also the Director of the Rochester, Minnesota, post of Learning for Life, Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Veterinary Technician Program at Rochester Community and Technical College and a member of the Advisory Board for the Veterinary Technician Program at the Minnesota School of Business.
Dr. Wenner found a kindred spirit in his wife Linda, whose motto is: So many breeds, so little time. The couple has two children; Charlie, who works in downtown Chicago as an actuarial and mathematical wizard, and Audrey, who is working toward an Education degree with minors in English and Vocal Performance.
His animal family includes seven dogs: a Springer Spaniel named Sam, a Yellow Lab named Starlette, a Rottweiler named Mac, a Chihuahua named Peso, a German Shorthair named Chip, a Jack Russell Terrier cross named Clyde, and a Miniature Poodle named Daisy. He also has two cats named Agatha and Elphaba. His hobbies and activities include bicycling, downhill skiing, cross country skate skiing, and cooking.
Dr. Evelyn Richer, DVM
Dr. Evelyn “Eve” Richer is a General Practitioner who has been practicing with Cascade Animal Medical Center since 2004.
Dr. Richer had something of a bifurcated childhood as she spent her early years in the more urban environment of Minneapolis, but then moved to the far more rural Kenyon, Minnesota. However, both her urban and rural selves have always had a love of animals. In Minneapolis she had the habit of rescuing stray cats while in Kenyon she enjoyed any opportunities to work with animals, which included helping goats birth their kids.
Adding to her desire to become a veterinarian, she says, was reading author and veterinarian James Herriot’s books, referred to under the common title of “All Creatures Great and Small.” His semiautobiographical books explored what it was like to be a practicing veterinarian in the English countryside during the mid-twentieth century, which held great appeal for Dr. Richer.
After graduating high school in Kenyon, Dr. Richer entered Wellesley College in Massachusetts where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology in 1982. During her undergraduate studies she earned honors recognition for a thesis she authored that discussed production of monoclonal antibodies for an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. That fall, she enrolled in the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine and earned her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1986. After veterinary school, she went on to an internship in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at the Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus, New Jersey.
Now that she is a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Richer says she greatly enjoys helping people and their pets as well as the medical mysteries, challenges and puzzles of diagnostic veterinary medicine. Among her memorable events as a veterinarian, she includes monitoring anesthesia for a Beluga Whale and being able to cure a cat with Nocardia, a very serious and life threatening form of bacterial infection.
Dr. Richer’s areas of particular professional interest include feline and internal medicine. She is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association, American Association of Feline Practitioners, and the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association. She also participated in Project Samana, an outreach program of the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association, at a spay-and-neuter clinic in the Dominican Republic in 2000.
She and her husband, Sebastien, a master craftsman in ornamental architectural metal work, have two daughters. The family provides a home for three cats: a Munchkin named Marla, domestic shorthair rescued from the streets of Cape Cod named Matou, and a domestic shorthair from a Minnesota farm named Tigron.
Dr. Richer’s hobbies include cross country skiing, hiking, canoeing, cooking, reading, and being a spectator at marching band and rowing competitions. She is also fluent in French.
Dr. Becky Richardson, DVM
Dr. Becky Richardson is a General Practitioner who has been practicing with Cascade Animal Medical Center since 2004.
A native of McIntyre, Iowa, Dr. Richardson spent her early years on her parents' farm where she spent quite a bit of her time helping to care for the various animals raised on the farm. During high school she worked first for a local small animal practitioner and then for a large animal practitioner. However, when asked which of these experiences led her to become a veterinarian, she says it really was the example set by her father as he tended to the various animals on his family’s farm.
After finishing high school, Dr. Richardson entered the University of Northern Iowa where she was a Dean’s List student and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Coaching Endorsement in 1999. She then enrolled in the Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. During her veterinary studies she was awarded the John Haupert Scholarship for Academic Excellence. In 2003, she graduated with her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine.
As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. Richardson says she enjoys the complexities of her work as well as being part of the human/animal bond. She is a member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society, Association of Veterinary Technician Educators, Veterinary Dental Forum, American Veterinary Dental Society, American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Animal Hospital Association. Her areas of special professional interest include dentistry, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and nutrition.
Her husband Kurt is the owner of Classic Carpets & Interiors and the couple, she says, has two beautiful girls. Their pets include three dogs named Baxter, Rebel and Gunner, and eight cats named Hobbes, Cali Bear, Lila Belle, Casper, Lightning, Ice Cream, Pirate, and Boots. Dr. Richardson’s hobbies include gardening, hiking, and biking.