Veterinary Voices

Can a dog's saliva really reveal its age?

Suppose someone said they could tell the age of your dog from its slobber. Would you believe it or dismiss it as hocus-pocus?

Several vendors of at-home genetic test kits make exactly that promise. Curious whether it's true, and if so, how the technique works, the VIN News Service put one of the tests to the test.

This story was published on March 10, 2025.

Tuskegee lays off 10 veterinary school faculty and staff

Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine in Alabama has laid off 10 employees during what its dean described as a "challenging time."

The university confirmed the layoffs on February 27 after being contacted by a local television news station that had heard directly from employees about being let go with little notice.

This story was published on March 4, 2025.

US student debt repayment plans steeped in uncertainty

Significant options for American borrowers managing repayment of federal student loans are in limbo following a court decision that led the U.S. Department of Education to pause activity on all income-driven repayment plans.

In these plans, a borrower's monthly payment is keyed to their income, regardless of the size of their debt. The plans especially are helpful to those whose debt is disproportionate to their incomes — such is the case for many veterinarians.

To better understand the latest developments, the VIN News Service talked with Tony Bartels, a veterinarian and the debt education director for VIN and its charitable counterpart, the VIN Foundation.

The article on which this episode is based was published on March 6, 2025.

Show notes:

• Blog post: All IDR applications for student loans are paused — now what?
• VIN Foundation Student Debt Center

North Carolina veterinarians must report dispensing gabapentin

Starting March 1, 2025, veterinarians in North Carolina are required to report when they dispense the drug gabapentin in quantities greater than a 48-hour supply.

This reporting date for veterinarians was established in a law passed in 2023 as part of an effort to reduce harmful interactions of gabapentin and opioids in people. Pharmacies were required to report on gabapentin starting in 2024.

This story was published on Feb. 26, 2025.

Pet microchip woes crop up in Australia

As veterinarians grapple with the unannounced closure of a pet microchip company in the United States, one in Australia also has mysteriously gone to ground, further testing confidence in tracking systems meant to help owners reunite with lost pets.

This story was published on Feb. 24, 2025.

Veterinarians entangled in effort to shrink federal workforce

A computer glitch felt ominous to a federal veterinarian in mid-February. "I was having trouble logging on to work," she recalled. She clenched up, asking herself, "Is this it?" The "it" was being fired without notice from a job she loves.

This story was published on Feb. 21, 2025.

NAVLE pass rates ticked up in 2024, stemming slide

After three straight years of decline, the percentage of students who passed the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination notched up in 2024 to 88%, albeit still significantly below the 2020 pass rate of 95%.

This story was published on Feb. 19, 2025.

Veterinary practice chains eye Indian market

In a country with 10 times as many cattle as pet dogs, working with production animals historically has been a well-trodden career path for veterinarians in India.

In recent years, however, India's growing middle class has warmed to pet ownership, upping demand for increasingly sophisticated companion animal medicine — and tempting corporate consolidators of veterinary practices to invest in the world's most populous nation for the first time.

This story was published on Feb. 13, 2025.

Pet microchip company goes missing

Someone was just trying to do the right thing by a lost dog when the staff at Sewell Animal Hospital in Oklahoma made a dismaying discovery about a pet microchip company called Save This Life, Inc.

This story was published on Feb. 11, 2025.

Avian flu comes home to cats

A rising number of cases in the United States of highly pathogenic avian flu in domestic cats has effectively pushed the disease into the purview of companion animal practitioners.

This story was published on Feb. 4, 2025.