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CDVMS In-Person CE Event: Vaccination Guidelines for the General Practitioner AND Lyme Disease - Why Do Blue Dots Happen to Good Dogs?

Tuesday, August 25, 2026
6:30 PM - 9:00 PM (EDT)

Event Details

Review the latest AAHA vaccination guidelines for canine and feline patients, and gain clinical insight into Lyme disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention strategies.

Vaccination Guidelines for the General Practitioner

This program reviews and highlights changes that were made to the most recent updates of the feline and canine vaccination guidelines by the American Animal Hospital Association. It separates puppies and kittens from the adult dog and cat populations to discuss why understanding the concept of maternal antibodies is so important for us and our clients. It also discusses the hot topic of antibody testing to help practitioners decide which situations and diseases these tests are useful for. Finally, the discussion will shift to common questions on storage and handling. Both the antibody testing and vaccine storage/handling are brief introductions to let practitioners know there is information in the guidelines related to these topics.

Who you'll hear from

Speakers

Christopher Gargamelli, DVM, MBA
Professional Services Veterinarian, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health

What you'll take away

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:

1Review the 2017 American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) canine vaccination guidelines for general practice
2Review the 2020 AAHA/American Association of Feline Practitioners feline vaccination guidelines
3Discuss maternal antibodies and why it is important to understand this concept with relation to vaccinating puppies or kittens
4Examine antibody testing and where it makes clinical sense
5Explore vaccine storage and handling best practices

Why Do Blue Dots Happen to Good Dogs?

This course covers an overview of Lyme disease, including its history, vector and reservoir hosts, clinical signs, treatment, and how to decrease risk of infection. Lyme vaccination protocols, how the vaccine works, and the different types of vaccines currently available will also be discussed.

At a glance

Length
Approx. 90 minutes
Where
The Desmond Hotel, 660 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, NY 12211-1056
2 NYSED CE credits for Non-Member, Member of other NYSVMS Regional and CDVMS Member & their Technicians

Contact

NYSVMS  ·  staff@nysvms.org  ·  (518) 869-7867

Agenda

6:30 PM Registration
6:30 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Vaccination Guidelines for the General Practitioner — Christopher Gargamelli, DVM, MBA
8:00 PM Why Do Blue Dots Happen to Good Dogs? — Christopher Gargamelli, DVM, MBA

Speaker biographies

Christopher Gargamelli, DVM, MBA

Professional Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health based in Connecticut and providing support throughout New England. Prior to joining Boehringer Ingelheim, he was an emergency clinician at emergency and referral hospitals throughout Connecticut for 18 years. Also served as program director and anatomy and physiology professor at an accredited veterinary technology program for 5 years. Graduate of Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine with an MBA from Louisiana Tech University. Holds volunteer leadership positions with the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Generously sponsored by

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health