Veterinary Voices

The University of Cambridge is poised to become the first educational institution in the West in decades to end an established veterinary medicine program, a prospect that's sparked a sharp rebuke from its staff and students, who have pledged to do whatever they can to stop the prestigious British school from closing.

The British Veterinary Association, which represents more than 19,000 practitioners in the United Kingdom, also called for a rethink of the plan, which it described as "deeply worrying."

This story was published on Dec. 15, 2025.

Two decades ago, Singapore had around 100 veterinarians. Today, more than 650 are licensed to practice in the Southeast Asian city-state.

The remarkable growth, driven in large part by a rise in pet ownership, has propelled lawmakers to rectify what many see as a glaring shortcoming: the lack of a dedicated veterinary regulator.

This story was published on Dec. 10, 2025.

Ever since Tuskegee University's veterinary school failed to meet what appeared to be a make-or-break accreditation standard last year regarding its students' performance on the national licensing exam, the question has loomed whether it would lose the crucial recognition.

An answer came in November.

This story was published on Dec. 4, 2025.

On a crisp, blue-sky autumn day, Lauren Cabrera sits at Pups & Cups Cafe, a go-to study spot in the college town of Pullman, Washington. Two and a half months into her first year of veterinary school, Cabrera is studying on her iPad and slipping treats under the table to her dog, Cleo.

Like every other veterinary student who frequents this cafe, Cabrera, sporting a maroon Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine sweatshirt, has a lot of schoolwork to do. Unlike her peers, she already has started a veterinary clinic, where she will work after she graduates in 2029 — 5,800 miles away.

This story was published on Dec. 1, 2025.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.