Veterinary Voices

Sunny thinking rose from a dark period

Running late en route to a meeting one night and already grumpy, Dr. Trae Cutchin got stuck in traffic and grew grumpier still. But when he saw that the backup was caused by a terrible accident, Cutchin realized that his bad day was nothing compared with the driver's.

The moment marked a turning point in Cutchin's mindset and inspired an online discussion with fellow veterinarians. "No matter how bad anyone's day is," he wrote, "there is always a little good in it. Find it. Relate it." An instant hit, the "best thing" conversation has been active for more than 12 years.

This story was published on Nov. 24, 2025.

Caring for and learning from the dogs of Chornobyl

When a reactor exploded at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, the thousands of people evacuated from a 19-mile exclusion zone were ordered to leave their pets behind. Soviet authorities said they'd be home in around three days. That never happened, and their dogs, cats and any other animals were abandoned in the wake of what turned out to be, and still is, the worst nuclear accident in history.

Today, nearly 40 years later, the descendants of some of those abandoned animals live on, including hundreds of stray dogs that inhabit the dilapidated remnants of the plant and nearby town of Chornobyl, both located in what is now northern Ukraine.

This story was published Nov. 18, 2025.

Hanover College suspends effort to open veterinary school

New rules on how accredited veterinary schools use distance education have derailed a proposed program in Indiana.

Hanover College announced an intent in late 2023 to open a veterinary school that would combine remote and in-person instruction. It would have been the first of its kind.

This story was published on Nov. 20, 2025.

Questions follow company's claim that its AI aced the NAVLE

A fledgling company that describes itself as the first artificial intelligence reasoning platform built for veterinary medicine made a splash in October with a press release proclaiming "OpenVet becomes first AI to score perfect 100% on the NAVLE," referring to the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination.

Upon seeing the press release, dated Oct. 8, the not-for-profit corporation that administers the NAVLE pushed back, calling the claim "false" in a letter to the company that was shared with the VIN News Service.

This story was published on Nov. 13, 2025.

Being a left-handed veterinarian in a right-handed world

"If you're left-handed, you should give up hope of becoming a surgeon."

Can you imagine a more demoralizing response to a simple question about suturing a wound?

This story was published on Nov. 6, 2025.

How necessary is the 'cone of shame'?

Vanessa Waltz was at her wit's end after her veterinarian issued an Elizabethan collar to her dog, Ringo. The 8-year-old, 66-pound dog had developed two skin lesions on his left front paw from obsessive licking. Elizabethan collars, often called "cones" for their shape, encircle a dog or cat's neck to keep them from licking or chewing on a wound, surgical site or irritated skin.

Like many pets, Ringo didn't like it, and he expressed his dislike openly.

This story was published on Nov. 10, 2025.

More veterinarians are using AI to write up medical records

In 2023, Dr. Summer Hedges signed on to beta test scribing software that uses artificial intelligence to convert recordings of a veterinary appointment into a medical record.

Two years later, she’s fully on board with the software — one among a growing number of early adopters. Regulators advise caution when using the fast-evolving technology.

This story was published on Nov. 3, 2025.

The rise and fall and rise again of the FTC on noncompetes

As anyone who follows government policy on noncompete agreements probably knows, the past 18 months have been a roller coaster in the United States.

The ride began in early May 2024, when the Federal Trade Commission published a rule that would render most employer-employee noncompete agreements in the country unenforceable. Noncompetes are clauses in contracts meant to prevent former employees from competing against their ex-employers, usually within a particular geographic area for a defined period of time. They are common in the veterinary profession, among other occupations.

This story was published on Oct. 29, 2025.

Royal Veterinary College regains full accreditation in US

The Royal Veterinary College has regained full accreditation by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education after its students sharply improved their collective performance on the key licensing exam that must be passed to practice veterinary medicine in the United States and Canada.

Students at the British school who elected to take the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam achieved a pass rate of 86% during the 2024-25 academic year, according to an update posted on the school website.

This story was published on Oct. 27, 2025.

Your turn: The VIN News Service would like your thoughts

The VIN News Service was founded 17 years ago to provide news and commentary for and about the veterinary community, free of advertising and free of charge to anyone with an internet connection. The news team strives to stay fresh and always improve. That's why we're reaching out to listeners for feedback. How often do you listen to VIN News? What would you like to see more of or less of? In sum, how can we better serve you? Take the short survey here.

This story was published on Oct. 20, 2025.