CT State Animal Response Team

Dr. Howard Asher is the Medical Director of the VCA Animal Hospital of East Hartford where he practices small animal medicine and surgery. He is a 2004 graduate of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and attended the University of Massachusetts where he majored in pre-veterinary studies.

Dr. Asher is a member of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association and he serves on their Disaster Preparedness Commmittee. He is also a member of the Hartford County Veterinary Medical Association, New York Veterinary Medical Society and the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Asher assumed the role of Deputy Team Leader of the Region 3 Animal Response Team in 2008. His client’s concerns with their pet’s well being was key to his decision to become involved. He is pleased to be a part of this community effort.

Dr. Asher grew up in Norwalk, CT. During his undergraduate education Dr. Asher was an officer of the University of Massachusetts outing club for which he led others in activities such as canoeing, caving and hiking. He is a certified Wilderness First Aid Responder. Dr. Asher lives in Vernon with his two “rescued” dogs, Kane and Sugar. Kane came from St. Kitts and Sugar, from Louisiana. In his leisure time he enjoys hiking and spelunking.

Dr. Arnold L. Goldman is past-president of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Foundation (CVMF) and founded its CTSART program in 2005. The CTSART program began with the Region 3 Animal Response Team, under the auspices of the Capitol Region Emergency Planning Committee (CREPC), and eventually expanded to cover all 5 of Connecticut’s Preparedness Regions. Today, alongside co-chair Dr. Howard Asher, Dr. Goldman shares co-chairmanship of the “Emergency Support Function” dedicated to animal response, and the Region 3 Animal Response Team. The Team is composed of many members of the various municipal CERTs across Region 3. Together these individuals are committed to the animal response mission, and represent the operational arm of Regional Emergency Support Function #11 in Region 3. Today,  CVMF’s CTSART program supports all 5 Regional Animal Response Teams, which operate across Connecticut in support of the animals-in-disasters response mission.

In 2007, Dr. Goldman initiated the legislative process leading to enactment of Connecticut Public Act 07-11, mandating inclusion of the needs of pets and service animals in the evacuation and mass care plans of every Connecticut municipality. For this accomplishment the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association named Dr. Goldman the “2008 Veterinarian-of-the-Year.” Dr. Goldman speaks frequently about animal issue planning and response for disasters across Connecticut and nationally, and was the founding president of NASAAEP, the National Alliance of State Animal & Agricultural Emergency Programs. NASAAEP works to share best practices in disaster response on behalf of animals nationally and to educate the public.

Dr. Goldman is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He owns and operates a private veterinary practice in Canton, Connecticut, where he also lives. He is married and has two grown children.

Dr. Thibeault has a lifetime of farm animal experience. He received his B.S. in Biology from Fairfield University and was awarded his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Michigan State University in 1994. 

In 2008 he opened his practice, Green Valley Veterinary Services. Green Valley serves North Eastern Connecticut and most of Rhode Island, caring for livestock of all species and performing home euthanasia services for dogs and cats. He makes it a part of his professional mission to foster interest in the veterinary field by hosting students and talking to student groups. 

Dr. Thibeault is certified in Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue. He has completed the three day training course twice. Dr. Thibeault has taken over the Large Animal Response Unit of the CTSART Program. Dr. Peter Conserva has lead this program for many years. The Large Animal Response Unit program offers a comprehensive large animal rescue training program for Fire Departments, Community Emergency Response Teams, and other groups. 

Dr. Thibeault is an active member in the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Holistic Veterinary Medicine Association, the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association, the Rhode Island and Connecticut Farm Bureaus, and the American Associations of Bovine Practitioners, Small Ruminant Practitioners, and Equine Practitioners. He has also served on the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association board of directors. 

Dr. Thibeault and his partner Holly have three kids between them. In his free time, Dr. Thibeault enjoys skiing and he is also a black belt in karate. 

Dr. Gayle Block owns Town and Country Veterinary Associates in Vernon, CT. Town and Country is a 3 doctor veterinary hospital that opened in 1992. Dr. Block has been active in her community serving as Vice Chair of the Tolland Board of Education and the Chair of the Negotiating committee for her 7 years on the board. She has also been on the Advisory Board for the Animal Population Control Program (APCP) since its inception over 15 years ago. APCP is a state program that pays for the sterilization of pets adopted from municipal pounds. Dr. Block graduated from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and a past-president of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association. She is married and has an adult daughter. Her family also includes her dog, Colby, adopted from the Bridgeport pound 11 years ago, and two cats, Callie and Carson.

Dr. Donna Cobelli is a veterinarian practicing small animal medicine and surgery in Ridgefield, CT in Region 5. Dr. Cobelli has been in practice for twenty five years and has been an owner and director of a hospital for 18 years.

Combining her concern for animal care and interest in public health & safety, Dr. Cobelli sought out community activities that would benefit from those interests. She attended the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association produced Connecticut Animal Disaster Management Summit in 2005. Since then she has been an active member of the Connecticut State Animal Response Team (CTSART) program and is Team Leader of the Region 5 Animal Response Team. She also serves the Regional Emergency Planning Team in Region 5 as Chairman of Regional Emergency Support Function 11 (animal protection).

Dr. Cobelli has taken the requisite training for these positions and in addition has expanded her experiences to include an Emergency Medical Technician course and American Red Cross training. During the hurricanes of 2008, she deployed to Louisiana to work in an animal evacuation shelter that was co-located with a human evacuation shelter.

Dr. Cobelli is a member of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Tyler Roasa is a 2010 graduate of the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He currently practices small animal emergency medicine at Pieper Memorial Veterinary Center. Dr. Roasa is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Evidence Based Veterinary Medical Association, and is a Penn Hip certified veterinarian.

Dr. Roasa has an interest in veterinary disaster preparedness and response and became involved with animal disaster preparedness in Region 2 in the spring of 2013. He serves as the team leader of the Region 2 Animal Response Team and chairman of Region 2 Emergency Support Function 11 (Animal Protection) for the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security’s Preparedness Region 2, Regional Emergency Planning Team Steering Committee.

Dr. Sheldon Yessenow is a 1977 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, in Columbus, Ohio. After graduation, he left his native Ohio and moved to Connecticut to begin practicing his profession. In 1982 he founded Oronoque Animal Hospital in Stratford, where he continues to practice today. His practice is limited to treating dogs, cats, and a variety of small mammals such as rabbits, ferrets, and guinea pigs that are also known as “pocket pets”. Dr. Yessenow resides in Trumbull with his wife and a menagerie of his own pets. He has three daughters: one is a schoolteacher near Boston, and the other two are students at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Yessenow’s hobbies include license plate collecting, barbershop quartet singing, and emergency amateur radio operation. He is currently training to be a volunteer ambulance driver and will soon become certified as an EMT (emergency medical technician). Dr. Yessenow developed a passion for helping homeless pets after working with a variety of animal rescue groups, and with the Bridgeport, CT and Stratford, CT animal shelters, where he previously served as shelter veterinarian. His interest in disaster medicine began after 9-11-2001 when he responded to assist the search and rescue dogs at the World Trade Center. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Yessenow was accepted as a member of the Veterinary Medical Assistance Team and in 2005 responded to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. During the response to Hurricane Katrina he served as the hospital director of the temporary animal shelter at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. In 2006, Dr. Yessenow was recognized by the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association as Veterinarian of the Year for his contributions in Louisiana. In 2006, Dr. Yessenow accepted the position of Team Leader for the Connecticut State Animal Response (CTSART) Team program’s Region 1 Animal Response Team. In that capacity he was appointed Regional Emergency Support Function 11 Committee Chairman for the Region 1 Emergency Planning Team (REPT). The Region 1 REPT functions as a coordinating body for the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Dr. Yessenow continues to shepherd development of the Region 1 Animal Response Team and is available to speak to groups about the CTSART program.