Veterinary Voices

Ticks' expanding ranges keep veterinarians on their toes

On a June morning two years ago, Kristin Laidre's dog, Molly, suddenly fell off her owners' bed.

"She just crashed to the ground," Laidre said. "She couldn't use her legs. They were basically like Jell-O."

This story was published on Aug. 29, 2025.

Hike or bust: Veterinarians in BC vote on registration fees

Veterinarians in British Columbia had a tough decision to make by the end of August about the regulatory fees they must pay to practice in the Canadian province.

The provincial regulatory body for the profession, the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia, asked them to approve a 36% hike in their annual registration fee to CA$1,900 (US$1,374), among a raft of other fee increases. Without the increases, the college said, it would become insolvent.

This story was published on Aug. 27, 2025.

Update: The proposed fee increases were approved, with 55.4% voting in favor and 44.6% against, the CVBC said in a statement on Sept. 2. Of 2,595 eligible registrants, 36% voted.

'It was crazy': Inside the shutdown of The Vets

Jerrold Abber finished his shift as a veterinary technician on a recent Monday and returned to his home in Tampa, Florida, thinking nothing was amiss. Then, at 9:39 p.m., an email arrived from his employer, The Vets, a mobile veterinary services provider. The July 21 message said the company was furloughing its employees without pay, effective immediately.

Abber was astonished. "We had appointments the next day," he said. "It was crazy."

This story was published on Aug. 21, 2025.

US veterinarians join effort to aid honey bees

Dr. Kristol Stenstrom didn't seek out beekeeping — the bees came to her.

The Kansas veterinarian came home one day in 2016 to find a honey bee swarm had taken up residence on her front porch. In awe but also frightened, she called acquaintances who were familiar with bees. Then, not one to turn down a challenge nor turn away strays — even 30,000 of them — Stenstrom decided to keep the bees.

"It was kind of baptism by fire," Stenstrom said.

This story was published on Aug. 19, 2025.

Donation to fund Australian veterinary school revamp, growth

When Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, celebrated its 50th birthday last year, festivities were tinged by an awareness that its aging facilities could do with an upgrade.

Now, the veterinary school has received a large, unexpected shot in the arm that will enable it to update the school and increase by about 50% the number of openings each year for domestic and international students combined.

This story was published on Aug. 13, 2025.

Union for veterinary support staff shuts down

The only union dedicated solely to veterinary support staff in the United States has shuttered. Its collapse was precipitated by the closure, in May, of an animal hospital in the Seattle area, where workers represented by the National Veterinary Professionals Union were negotiating a collective bargaining agreement.

This story was published on Aug. 12, 2025.

First long-acting flea, tick control for dogs rolls out in US

The launch in the United States of the first long-acting treatment to prevent fleas and ticks in dogs is stirring a mix of excitement and caution among veterinarians, as they weigh the benefit of uninterrupted 12-month coverage with concerns about neurological side effects that can be caused by the product's active ingredient.

The product's cost compared with shorter-acting treatments also has veterinarians wondering if some pet owners will be uncomfortable paying more up front for extended coverage, particularly for larger dogs that require a greater, and therefore more expensive, dose.

This story was published on Aug. 7, 2025.

Veterinarian reflects on colorblindness and career

When Dr. Randall Ruble attended veterinary school in the 1970s, being colorblind wasn't at the forefront of his mind. He pursued his studies with the merest of help and adapted as needed to visual challenges in his clinical practice.

Only now, late in his career, is the small animal practitioner in Central California beginning to appreciate how color vision deficiency — not seeing colors in the same way others do — influenced his life.

This story was published on July 24, 2025.

Internet vendor of opioids, euthanasia drug draws warning

At the top of a website called Peaceful Meds, images of injectable forms of ketamine, Demerol and GHB play in a slide show. A shopper may browse offerings in a variety of categories, labeled benzos, dissociatives, psychedelics, stimulants, opioids and more.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter dated May 5 to the website, alleging it is dealing in unapproved and misbranded drugs and offering prescription drugs for sale without a prescription.

This story was published on Aug. 4, 2025.

Georgia pet owners lose access to pet poison hotlines

The nation's only 24-hour animal poison control hotlines stopped providing guidance to callers from Georgia in July following the passage of a law on remote care that they believe prohibits them from dispensing treatment advice to nonveterinarians in the state.

This story was published on July 30, 2025.