Veterinary Voices

Veterinarians strive to save sea lions from toxic algae

In California last summer, a bioengineer named Richard Novak and his family spotted a dead sea lion on the beach near Santa Barbara. Then, they saw a second sea lion dying and a third looking disoriented. Novak reached out to area rescue groups, which, he learned, had become woefully familiar with calls like his. What happened next was not so typical.

This story was published on Jan. 14, 2025.

Renewed push for Kentucky veterinary school hits rough water

Following an unsuccessful attempt to get the go-ahead from Kentucky lawmakers last year, proponents of opening a veterinary school at Murray State University plan to try again in coming weeks. Pushing their plan over the finish line will require overcoming a wave of skepticism.

This story was published on Jan. 9, 2025.

Remote teaching in US veterinary schools: Comments invited

The American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education accredits veterinary medical programs that provide in-person instruction, but it is not authorized by the federal government to accredit programs that use remote instruction, including hybrid approaches. It's considering whether to pursue that authority.

This story was published on Jan. 7, 2025.

Whatever happened with …?

As another year came to a close, the VIN News Service revisited some notable stories from the recent and not-so-recent past. Learn what happened when three practitioners in upstate New York decided to fill an emergency care void in their off hours. Find out where insects are showing up as an ingredient in pet food. Learn how an innovative veterinary vocational program is growing. And catch up on the spread of a lethal rabbit disease in North America.

This story was published on Dec. 26, 2024.

Links to original stories:

• Veterinarians revive ER service after Thrive hospital closes
• There's a fly in my kibble! Insect-based pet food takes off
• Clinic to serve needy pet owners, veterinary students
• Southwest US faces lethal rabbit disease outbreak

Britain's Royal College expects veterinarian shortage to ease

A shortage of veterinarians in the United Kingdom will gradually ease over the next decade, bringing the supply of practitioners almost into line with demand for their services, according to an assessment commissioned by the country's official regulator for the profession.

Produced by the Institute for Employment Studies on behalf of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the report also predicts that the U.K. will experience a considerable oversupply of veterinary nurses, whose role is similar to that of veterinary technicians in the United States.

This story was published on Dec. 20, 2024.

Show notes:

• Link to 2024 RCVS Workforce Modelling Report

 

Nonprofit seeks to boost sustainability in veterinary realm

The Veterinary Sustainability Alliance is a nonprofit that aims to provide resources on environmentally sustainable practices for the profession in the United States and Canada.

Among the first tools the VSA debuted is a veterinary-clinic-specific carbon calculator to help North American practices quantify their greenhouse gas emissions.

This story was published on Dec. 16, 2024.

Research challenges notion of 'hybrid vigor' in dogs

More than a century ago, the famed naturalist Charles Darwin discovered that cross-pollinated maize plants were taller and more fertile than their self-pollinated counterparts. The observation gave rise to the concept known as hybrid vigor, whereby a richer assortment of genes makes an organism hardier.

But the idea that hybrid vigor makes crossbreed and mixed-breed dogs inherently healthier than purebreds is looking questionable, judging from several scientific studies.

This story was published on Dec. 10, 2024.

University of Cambridge veterinary school under fire

The University of Cambridge's veterinary school is at risk of losing its accreditation in the United Kingdom and possibly elsewhere after dozens of shortcomings were identified in its veterinary medicine program.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the U.K.'s regulator for the profession, found the school had failed to meet 50 of 77 accreditation standards following a site visit conducted in May.

This story was published on Dec. 3, 2024.

Bunsen and the giant cyst

Until he was 7 years old, Bunsen lived a carefree life. The Bernese mountain dog romped on a farm in Alberta, Canada — his adventures with two dog buddies and a cat named Ginger followed by hundreds of thousands of users on X, Instagram and other social media platforms.

But on the morning of Aug. 16, Bunsen was in distress.

This story was published on Dec. 6, 2024.

Relief business impersonates veterinarian in online group

In a masquerade that began eight years ago, a Texas-based veterinary relief staffing company called Evette has been using the identity of at least one veterinarian to access veterinarian-only Facebook groups, and possibly other veterinarians' identities to infiltrate online platforms of rival businesses. 

This story was published Nov. 25, 2024.