Hospital Address:
N10120 County Hwy M
Springbrook, WI 54875
Leading Edge Veterinary Services
Call Us Today
715-934-9055
Dr. Edward Metcalf, DVM
Dr. Edward Metcalf is originally from Hayward, Wisconsin and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1995. After practicing in a mixed animal practice in Mondovi for four years, he moved back to Hayward to start his own large animal practice. In 2014 Dr. Metcalf added the business name, Leading Edge Veterinary Services. Dr. Metcalf practices on all large animals and his areas of interest are dairy herd health management and bovine reproduction. He resides east of Hayward on his family farm. He enjoys camping, hunting and spending time with his sons, Ross and Tom.
Dr. Abagail Mickelson, DVM
Dr. Abagail Mickelson has been working at LEVS since she graduated veterinary school from the University of Minnesota in 2014. Dr. Mickelson was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota. She attended the University of Wisconsin River Falls and graduated in 2010 with a B.S. in Animal Science and a Minor in Chemistry. Dr. Mickelson works on all animals and her professional interests are equine internal medicine and reproduction. She enjoys horseback riding, gardening and spending time with friends and family. She resides in Hayward with her husband, Rob and daughter, Nora and family pets; a dog named, River, a cat named, Shorthorn, and horses named, Rosie and Skittles.
Dr. Jim Zoet, DVM
Dr. Jim Zoet recently relocated to Stone Lake area after practicing veterinary medicine in Madison for 20+ years. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison with his DVM degree in 1996. After practicing in 24/7 emergency and referral clinics for the first 15 years, he settled in day practice on Madison's west side for the last several years. He joined the LEVS team in the fall of 2021 on a part time basis. His other work consists of home building with a crew out of Stone Lake. He also dabbles in fishing, gardening, beer tasting (Go Whistle Punk!), and biking. Jim likes spending time at the lake with his family and friends while getting outside to enjoy as much of the beautiful north woods as possible.
Dr. Kaitlyn Inhoff Cook, DVM
Dr. Kaitlyn Cook graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. She spent her first few years out of veterinary school practicing mixed animal medicine, before deciding to practice small animal medicine exclusively. She joined the team at Leading Edge Veterinary Services in September 2022. She grew up in Hayward and now resides in Rice Lake with her Husband, Jason and two children.
Lisa Schmock, Business Manager
Lisa started working for Dr. Ed Metcalf in 2007, doing part-time accounting, and became full time business manager for Leading Edge Veterinary Services in 2018. She has over 34 years of experience in accounting and office management, beginning with Oakwood Hills Animal Hospital in Eau Claire. Lisa is originally from Hayward, is married, has two grown daughters, and two beautiful granddaughters. Lisa owned horses for 30 years and loves horseback riding. She also enjoys spending time with her granddaughters, her dogs, Fergus & Benny, four cats, raising chickens, reading, cooking, biking, hiking and camping with family & friends.
Jennifer Oates, Veterinary Technician
Jennifer joined the LEVS team in January 2019. Jennifer started her veterinary career in a busy 24 hour emergency referral center in Albuquerque, New Mexico after obtaining her certificate as a veterinary assistant from Pima Medical Institute in May 2006. She then went on to pursue her Associate Degree in her home state of Illinois and graduated from Rockford Career College from the Veterinary Technician program in June 2010. She has over 10 years of experience working in small animal medicine. Jennifer is originally from Northern Illinois and relocated to Hayward in 2015. Outside of working at LEVS, she has two children that keep her busy, and also enjoys being out on the area lakes fishing, snowmobiling, riding ATV’s, or hiking the trails with her golden retriever.
Amber Spiegel, Boarding Manager/Receptionist
Amber has resided in Stone Lake, Wisconsin since 2013, with her husband Joshua and newborn daughter Aspen. She graduated Northland College in 2012, with a B. S. in Biology, then graduated from a veterinary assistant program through Penn Foster. She's worked with Dr. Metcalf & Dr. Mickelson for a little over three years in the office and on ride-alongs, to assist in the field. She spent a little over four years working in animal rescue with the Northwoods Humane Society and enjoyed many foster pups through her work. She acquired her two pets, Cruiser and Greta through the shelter. She loves spending time enjoying the outdoors, jogging in her spare time, as well as downhill skiing with her mom and sister.
Dr. Elroy Roedel, DVM
Dr. Elroy Roedel graduated from Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1983. He began his professional career in Whitewater, WI for 3 years, before spending the next 36 years at Loyal, WI in a mixed animal practice. In Fall of 2022, he relocated to a home on Nelson Lake near Hayward with his wife Deb, dog Bumper, and cat Grau, and became part of the LEVS team after several months of pretirement. Fishing, boating and exploring Great Lakes lighthouses keeps them busy during the months and volunteering on the Veterinary Team for various Sled Dog races and snowshoeing occupies their wintertime.
Grace Long, Certified Veterinary Technician
Grace joined LEVS in the summer of 2020 working as a Vet Assistant/Intern before going into her program at Northwood Technical College for the Veterinary Technician program. She has since come back as a Vet Assistant, finished her last year in Vet Tech school, passed her VTNE in December 2022 to become a Certified Veterinary Technician. She now works at LEVS full time. In the future she wants to become a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. In her spare time she spends time with family and enjoying the outdoors. She is also hoping to become a Foster Mom for animals in need when she moves to Hayward, WI.
Jamie Balcsik, Receptionist/ Veterinary Assistant
Jamie was born and raised in Minong. As a child she was fascinated with animals and their well-being. After she graduated high school, Jamie set her dreams into motion and went to school to be a vet assistant. In April 2011 She completed her schooling from U.S. Career Institute. Jamie has two amazing kids, son Tyler and daughter Hayden, and two fur babies Piper and Scarlett. Jamie is looking forward to her future here at LEVS.
Sam Seliga, Large Animal Veterinary Assistant
Sam joined LEVS as a large animal assistant in September 2021. She was born and raised in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, but spent every summer in Hayward growing up. She moved to Stone Lake permanently after graduating from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities with a B.S. in Animal Science in 2014. She completed her internship at Wilderness Walk Zoo in 2012 and has stayed on since working with all of their small, large and exotic animals. Outside of work, Sam enjoys spending time with family and close friends, fishing and kayaking. She especially loves spending time with her horse, dog, cats, goats and chinchillas.
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Colleen Dressen, Finance Assistant
Colleen is originally from Marine On St. Croix, Minnesota and lived with her husband in Bloomington, Minnesota before moving to Springbrook, Wisconsin in 2006. She has over 30 years of experience in office management and administrative support. Colleen was the Office Manager of a mid-sized CPA firm in Edina, Minnesota for 14 years. Since moving to Springbrook, she has held administrative positions with law and investment firms, health organizations and non-profits. She and her husband Don live next to a creek and have plenty of woods and acreage for their Golden Doodle, Gunner, to run and play in. Colleen loves the outdoors, gardening, their little pontoon boat in the summer and just "livin' the dream" in the Northwoods.
Rachel Hanson, Groomer
Rachel was born in southern California and moved to the area when she was 11 years old. She graduated from Spooner High School in 2011 and pursued a year of education in Equine Science through Minnesota State in Fergus Falls. Upon completing school, she worked in horticulture, food service, and retail settings before finding her niche working in the veterinary industry. Rachel originally started with LEVS as a receptionist toward the end of 2020 and eventually found her place as our official groomer. When not at work, she has two young boys at home that keep her busy. In her spare time she loves doing carpentry, artwork, cooking, and raising rabbits and chickens. In the summer she enjoys gardening, riding her horse Oley, and going on walks with her dog Chloe.
Lilly Johnson, Receptionist/ Veterinary Assistant
Lilly joined the LEVS team in the fall of 2020 as a kennel assistant and soon took on the role of small animal veterinary assistant. Since then, Lilly has also stepped into the receptionist position where you will see her smiling face and willing attitude. Lilly is homeschooled on her family's farm with her two siblings and plans to attend college where she will major in biology and math, with the hopes of becoming a veterinarian. When Lilly is not working at LEVS, she is enjoying her many farm animals and going on hikes with her dog, Wally. Fun fact: Lilly occasionally has her hair colored to match her fun and outgoing personality!
Sammie Kennell, Receptionist/ Veterinary Assistant/ Groomer
Sammie joined LEVS in March 2022 as a large animal assistant. Not long after, Sammie dove all in and started working part-time as a groomer, receptionist, and kennel assistant. Sandwiched between her four brothers, Sammie's only sister is her foster sibling, Avery! She held many jobs after graduating high school in January 2021, but found her passion working in the veterinary field. Although future education plans are still unknown, Sammie would like to gain as much knowledge and experience throughout every part of LEVSS. When she is not at work, Sammie enjoys fostering shelter dogs, showing her horses, rodeo queening, spending time with her siblings, raising rabbits, and her three kitties. Fun fact: Sammie was 2020-21 Spooner rodeo queen as well as 2021-22 Miss Teen Rodeo Wisconsin!
McKayla Holden, Receptionist
McKayla joined LEVS in the summer of 2022 as a part time receptionist. She graduated from Northwoods Technical College in 2017 with an associates degree in Business Management. She is from the Hayward/Spooner area and recently built a house in Sarona, WI. She lives in her new home with her two boys John and Warren, border collie Roadie and has a pasture full of Morgan horses. Outside of work, she is a stay at home mom and enjoys riding her horses and spending time with her kids.
Sara Middleman, Kennel Assistant
Sara joined LEVS in the fall of 2022 as a kennel assistant working in boarding. Sara is currently a senior at Hayward High school. While at LEVS, she would like to gain as much knowledge and experience as she can in a clinic setting. She has a love for animals and wants to broaden her knowledge of animals after high school. Sara plans to attend Dakota County Technical College in their Veterinary Technician program to pursue her dream of working with animals. In the summer, she works at Wilderness Walk Zoo as the nursery lead where she is in charge of the caring for all of the neonates and small animals. Sara has worked at Wilderness Walk Zoo for 5 summers. In her free time, she enjoys being outside and being with her close friends and family.
Sarah Jorgenson, Kennel Assistant
Sarah was born and raised in Mequon, Wisconsin, but her family spent every summer and break from school in Hayward as much as they could. Sarah and her parents permanently relocated to Hayward, Wisconsin in May of 2022. In August, Sarah joined the team as one of our kennel assistants; she is also working on completing her school to become a certified veterinary technician online through Penn Foster. During the spring and summer months she also works at Wilderness Walk Zoo in Hayward helping to take care of all of the baby and small animals. Sarah has always had a big heart and love for animals so it is only fitting that she is going into the veterinary technician field. When Sarah is not working or in school, she loves to be doing anything outside. Some of her favorite outside activities include running, camping, cross country skiing, canoeing, mountain biking, water skiing, and hiking. Sarah also loves to spend time with her family, friends, family dog named Bailey, and her pet rabbit Noodles. She is looking forward to becoming a technician in her future and being a valued member of the LEVS team.
Grant Roedel, Receptionist/ Veterinary Assistant
Grant joined the LEVS team in the summer of 2022. He was born and raised in central Wisconsin, and attended college in Iowa at Wartburg College. Upon graduation, Grant moved up to the area and began working as a receptionist at LEVS. Grant plans to attend veterinary school come next fall, after taking a gap year. He currently has a cat named Kiki that he and his roommates rescued during college, and plans to have more animals including dogs and more cats! When winter rolls around, it becomes dogsled season for Grant! He has been involved with the vet teams for several dogsled races for the last 10 years. He can’t wait to continue this passion, and is excited for what is to come in life!
River Mickelson Novak, Large Animal Assistant
River was born in South Dakota and was homeless the first few months of her life. River was picked up by a rescue organization and transferred to Happy Tails Rescue out of St. Paul, Minnesota. In November of 2018, River was adopted by Dr. Mickelson. After a short working interview, River was hired as a large animal assistant. She obtained her formal education from Timberlawn Dog Training Academy in March of 2019. At LEVS, River specializes in supervising Dr. Mickelson, keeping chipmunks out of work zones and taking naps. River is a hard working dog with an additional part-time job at the local Rob Novak, American Family agency in Hayward, WI. In her spare time, River helps coach the boys high school hockey team in Hayward. She loves to give cuddles and is a very good cheerleader despite the fact she tries to eat the players sandwiches on a semi-regular basis.