Our Veterinarians

Our friendly and dedicated doctors and staff look forward to meeting you and your family!

Dr. Eric Howlett

Dr. Eric was born and raised in Texas. Before finding his true calling as a small animal veterinarian, Dr. Eric  had a very broad science background including a Ph.D in Biochemistry and Cell Biology with Post-Doctoral training in Radiation Oncology and Public Health. After traveling widely in areas as varied as Nepal, Rwanda, Ecuador, and Tanzania, he has found a long term home in the Mazomanie area, graduating from the University of Wisconsin-School of Veterinary Medicine in 2015.  He has practiced in the area the past 2 years.
He and his wife enjoy their free time on their small farm homestead caring for their menagerie of cows, goats, chickens, dogs and cats.
Dr. Eric has certification and a passion for a fear free approach to reduce stress and anxiety for his dog and especially cat patients. He particularly enjoys building relationships with pets and their owners to better understand their needs and allow him to give the best advice tailored for that particular individual, whether that be the most pampered family pet, an old farm cat or dog, or the prized hunting dog or show cat. After getting to know you and your pet, he prefers to follow a shared approach for deciding on the best preventative, surgical, or medical care for your pets.

Dr. Ellen Richardson

Dr. Ellen Richardson was born and raised in Massachusetts and moved to Madison to attend school.  She fell in love with the Madison area, and quickly determined that Dane County is where she wanted to put down roots.  After graduating with Honors from the University of Wisconsin-School of Veterinary Medicine in 1992, she spent the next ten years mentoring with other veterinarians, until opening Mazomanie Animal Hospital in 2002.  Dr. Richardson and her husband Ken live in Cross Plains and have two school aged sons.  They share their home with four cats, (Henry, Stripes, Bandit and Toby), a miniature poodle, (Belle) and a chihuahua (Sylvester). Dr. Richardson enjoys getting to know clients and their families while providing individualized medical care to pets over their lifespan.  Her practice interests include client education, soft tissue surgery, internal medicine, and dermatology. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, reading, and kid-related activities.

OWNERS
( Primarily work at Spring Green Animal Hospital )

Dr. John Dally

Dr. Dally graduated from the University of Wisconsin-School of Veterinary Medicine in 1992 and has practiced in the River Valley area ever since. He opened Spring Green Animal Hospital in 2003 with Dr. Mark Baenen. He has truly enjoyed getting to know all the pets and their "human companions" over the years. He has found watching and helping the puppies and kittens grow up happy and healthy with their families to be a great pleasure and satisfaction. He also enjoys helping people care for and manage their senior pets chronic conditions such as Arthritis, Kidney dysfunction, Diabetes, and Hyperthyroidism. 
His goal as a Companion Animal Veterinarian is to get to know each pet and owner well enough to give effective as well as practical recommendations. He strongly feels that to be successful as "Your other Family Doctor" it is critical to recognize:
    
1. Every pet has a different personality, disease exposure risk, and breed predispositions.
 2. Every pet owner is different in their knowledge of pet care and pet training, time and financial constraints, and level of human-animal bond.
 
"Veterinary preventive care and disease treatment should never be a 'one size fits all' approach and should always be tailored to the individual pet, owner, and situation."

Dr. Dally was fortunate to have met and married Dr. Ann Vetter while in vet school, expanding their family and starting and continuing their adventures together!

Dr. Mark Baenen

Dr. Baenen graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in 1995. He began his career as a large animal veterinarian at River Valley Veterinary Clinic.  In 2003 he decided to pursue his small animal interests and, along with Dr. John Dally, started Spring Green Animal Hospital.
Dr. Baenen has an interest in Dentistry, General and Orthopedic Surgery. He has special training in a surgical technique for the common orthopedic hindlimb ACL (cruciate ligament) injury for large dogs called the Swivel Lock technique. He also has been able to help many older dogs with progressive hindlimb weakness improve their quality of life with a simple procedure administering a steroid into the epidural space.
He met his wife Nancy while in college.  In 1999 they started their family and have two daughters, Harper and Isabella, and a son Cameron.  He also shares his home with a blind Jack Russell Terrier, 'Milo,' and 3 cats (Cooper, Tucker and Carl).
In his spare time Dr. Baenen enjoys tinkering in his garage, expanding his knowledge, and building things.  He recently obtained his pilot license and built his own small airplane!