Veterinary Voices

Putting veterinary social workers on the map

Early efforts are underway to establish veterinary social work as a distinct vocation in Australia and the United Kingdom, potentially bringing increased global recognition to a role that has been gaining traction gradually in North America.

This story was published on Oct. 8, 2025.

Three states adopt laws allowing emergency medics to treat K9s

When Sgt. Christopher Moore goes to work in the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Houston, his partner, Rex, is always at his side.

A K9 officer, Rex is one of many specially trained working dogs around the country — often German shepherds — that assist law enforcement, military and other emergency response organizations, including search and rescue. K9s perform a variety of tasks. They detect drugs or explosives, track missing persons, help to apprehend suspects and more.

This story was published on Oct. 2, 2025.

After a gap year, rural veterinary incentive program to resume

After skipping a cycle selecting applicants for the first time in its 15-year history, a federal incentive program to draw veterinarians to work in rural, underserved regions of the United States is coming back online.

The return of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program was announced in a Rural Veterinary Action Plan issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Aug. 28 to strengthen the rural food animal veterinary workforce.

This story was published on Sept. 25, 2025.

Veterinarians stress importance of disaster planning

Dr. Debra Zoran has lost count of the number of times people have complained to her about losing their pets during natural disasters.

"I've heard it over and over and over again: 'I didn't think my dog would run off in the middle of the night,' " Zoran said. "If there's a fire bearing down on the house and they're loose, they're running. It's survival instinct."

This story was published on Sept. 23, 2025.

Apoquel accidental overdoses are rising in cats and dogs

Apoquel, a drug for skin allergies in dogs, came out two years ago in the United States in a chewable form flavored with pork to make it palatable. It's proven to be that, to an extreme.

Two separate organizations that operate hotlines for pet poison emergencies report a rising trend in overdoses in dogs and cats, who are breaking into the packaging and gorging on the contents.

This story was published on Sept. 18, 2025.

Koala vaccine approval could pause slide in numbers

Chlamydia, a bacterial infection best known as a sexually transmitted disease in people, has increased the risk of koalas going extinct. Now, the approval of the first-ever vaccine to protect the iconic Australian bear-like marsupial from chlamydia promises to arrest a rapid decline in their numbers.

The vaccine also is regarded by scientists as a potential blueprint for treating chlamydia in other animals, such as sheep, cattle and humans.

This story was published on Sept. 16, 2025.

Accreditor OKs second Lincoln Memorial veterinary school

An allegation in a lawsuit filed by Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee against the American Veterinary Medical Association could be undercut by a recent accreditation decision in the school's favor.

This story was published on Sept. 11, 2025.

Veterinarians asked to be alert for screwworm infestations

Dr. Will McCauley remembers a parasitology unit in veterinary school when his professors at Texas A&M University described the New World screwworm fly, an insect that once wreaked havoc in Texas but has long been eradicated in the United States.

"It was here in the '60s and '70s, but not anymore," McCauley recalled the instructors saying. "You'll probably never see it."

But it's looking like that won't be the case.

This story was published on Sept. 9, 2025.

When the patients are odds and ends and silicone

Dr. Julie Hunt knows how to sew latex fabric, wield a Dremel grinder and mix and pour foam like a practiced crafter. Early in her veterinary career, she did not anticipate these skills would play a role in educating future practitioners.

This story was published on Sept. 4, 2025, as the second of a two-part series. Read or listen to part 1.

Terminal labs: Controversial veterinary teaching method ebbs

When she was a veterinary student, Dr. Meghan Shannon was heartsick at the prospect of learning surgery by operating multiple times on a dog that didn't need it, then ending its life intentionally.

Being at a school in the southern United States, Shannon already felt like an outcast as a vegan Northerner sporting a crew cut and nose ring. So she didn't hesitate to openly question the practice.

This story was published on Sept. 3, 2025, as the first of a two-part series. Read or listen to part 2.

Show notes:

• A public records review of cadaver and terminal animal use in US and Canadian veterinary schools, Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, Aug. 20, 2025
• A survey of the use of live animals, cadavers, inanimate models, and computers in teaching veterinary surgery, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Oct. 1, 1993
• Guidance on the operation of the Animals Scientific Procedures Act 1986
• AAVMC Use of Animals in Veterinary Medical Education Handbook