Oct. 21, 2025
Photo by Karen Clifford
Jerry Toporis spent his childhood begging for a dog. When his family finally brought home Toby — a Shetland Sheepdog and the runt of the litter — joy quickly turned into fear. The pup was diagnosed with a life-threatening liver condition, and most veterinarians doubted he would survive.
“One surgeon believed in Toby’s chances, even when others didn’t,” Toporis said.
That surgeon saved the puppy, giving him a long, happy life — and giving Toporis, now a veterinarian and clinical instructor at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, a lifelong calling.
From that moment on, his path was clear.
“My mom would ask what I wanted to do when I grew up,” he said. “I’d just point back to that moment and think, ‘That guy saved my dog. Why couldn’t I do that too?’”
Toporis chased that dream with purpose. In high school, he worked in veterinary clinics. When he moved to Columbia for his undergraduate studies at Mizzou, he joined the Veterinary Health Center — and never left. The hospital became both his training ground and his professional home.
The emergency room clicked
Toporis initially envisioned himself in surgery or food animal medicine, but during his third year at the college, a clinical rotation in emergency medicine changed everything.
“It was a combination of the adrenaline, intensity and never knowing what was coming through the door next,” he said. “That was my jam.”
One rotation quickly turned into three, and by the time he graduated, there was no doubt: emergency medicine was where he belonged.
Today, as a clinical instructor of small animal emergency and critical care, Toporis leads the frontline Veterinary Health Center team. For many clients, the team is the first point of contact — handling everything from late-night crises to specialty referrals from across Missouri and beyond.
Teaching through turmoil
That same adrenaline-fueled environment now shapes not just his own work, but the experiences of his students. Every clinical rotation brings a batch of aspiring veterinarians, each with their own goals, aspirations and uncertainties. Toporis sees that as an opportunity.
“I always ask them what they want to do, just to gauge potential interests,” he said. “But I also try to orient cases and questions to what will help them the most.”
Even students who plan to go into general practice and think they’ll rarely face emergencies benefit from learning how to keep their composure when the stakes are high.
“Everyone deals with emergencies once in a while,” Toporis said. “When that adrenaline dump happens, I want them to feel like they can focus and work through it.”
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