Top Stories
Dogs Might be the Secret to Getting Some Anxious Patients in the Dentist’s Chair
Source: STAT News Dentists across the United States are increasingly using therapy dogs to help reduce dental anxiety, a common fear that leads many patients to delay or avoid care. Drawing on personal experience and scientific research, physician Henry I....
Tapirs at Denver Zoo Died of Copper Poisoning, Investigation Determines
Source: CBS News An investigation by the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance found that two Malayan tapirs, JonHi (16) and Rinny (18), died from accidental copper poisoning. The deaths occurred within a short time span, alarming zoo staff because tapirs typically live up...
Rhode Island Foundation Awards $636,000 in Grants for Animal Welfare
Source: PBN The Rhode Island Foundation has awarded $636,000 in grants to more than 24 animal welfare organizations across the state, supporting efforts that promote animal health, humane treatment, and community well-being. The funding will expand access to low-cost...
FDA Releases Advisory on Raaw Energy Dog Food
Source: Pet Food Processing The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued a food safety advisory on January 27, 2026, warning consumers about eight lots of Raaw Energy dog food that tested positive for harmful pathogens. The affected products contained bacteria...
Emergency Surgery Saves Rabbit with Liver Lobe Torsion
Source: UC Davis A 3-year-old mixed-breed rabbit named Tyler was saved after undergoing emergency surgery at the UC Davis Veterinary hospital for a life-threatening condition called caudate liver lobe torsion. His owner, Lexi Parrish, quickly recognized signs of pain...
UC Davis Receives $120M Gift, Largest Ever to Veterinary Medicine
Source: UC Davis The University of California, Davis announced a historic $120 million gift from the Weill Family Foundation, led by philanthropists Joan and Sanford I. Weill—the largest donation ever made to veterinary medicine worldwide. In recognition, the...
Dog Survives 17 Minutes of CPR After Drug Ingestion
Source: Veterinary Practice News A seven-year-old dog named Nelly survived an extraordinary medical emergency after ingesting multiple human medications and suffering cardiopulmonary arrest. Nelly was brought to DoveLewis Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital...
2026 Animal Health Summit Emerging Company Application
Source: KC Animal Health Corridor The 2026 Animal Health Summit Emerging Company Application outlines requirements and best practices for companies seeking to participate in the in-person event held August 31–September 1, 2026. Organized by the KC Animal Health...
Meet AKC’s Three Newly-Recognized Dog Breeds
Source: American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club officially recognized three new dog breeds on January 1, 2026: the Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka, the Basset Fauve de Bretagne, and the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, bringing the total number of AKC-recognized breeds to...
No New Parvo Cases Means Spokane County Animal Shelter May Reopen Adult Dog Adoptions Soon
Source: The Spokesman Review Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service (SCRAPS) may soon resume adult dog adoptions after reporting no new cases of canine parvovirus since last week. The shelter announced that five dogs had contracted the highly contagious...
Cost of Care Continues to Strain Veterinary Care Access, New Study Finds
Source: PR Newswire A new PetSmart Charities–Gallup study finds that the rising cost of Veterinary care continues to limit access for pets and place emotional strain on both families and providers. Nearly all veterinarians (94%) report that clients’ financial...
Your Pet’s Flea Treatment Could Be Destroying the Planet
Source: EurekaAlert! A new peer-reviewed study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry by Oxford University Press warns that widely used flea and tick medications for dogs and cats may pose serious environmental risks. The research focuses on isoxazoline...
Pensacola Goes to the Dogs During Paw-Di-Gras
Source: Pensacola News Journal Pensacola celebrated its fifth annual Paw-Di-Gras with a lively, dog-centered festival in downtown on February 1, 2026. The event drew large crowds of dog lovers who enjoyed a full day of pet-friendly activities. Festivities included a...
6 Weird Groundhog Facts for Groundhog Day
Source: SCI AM Groundhogs are best known for their Groundhog Day weather predictions, but their forecasts are no more accurate than chance. The tradition of watching a groundhog emerge on February 2 has roots in older seasonal folklore and continues to draw large...
Easterwood Starts New Role within Texas A&M Veterinary College
Source: Feedstuffs Leslie Easterwood has been appointed director of the Office of Continuing Education at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, beginning Jan. 1, 2026. A clinical associate professor and longtime equine...
Trump Administration Orders USDA To Investigate Foreign Researchers It Works With
Source: Successful Farming The Trump administration has ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to scrutinize foreign scientists who collaborate with its researchers, directing employees to investigate co-authors for potential “subversive or criminal activity.”...
Petflation 2025 – December Update: Back up to +3.5% vs Last Year
Source: Pet Business Professor The December 2025 Petflation report shows pet-related prices rising again, with year-over-year inflation reaching 3.5%, up from 2.6% in November and now nearly 30% higher than the national CPI. Overall U.S. inflation held steady at 2.7%,...
Startup or Buy? One of the Most Consequential Decisions in Veterinary Practice Ownership
I’m writing this article sitting at a coffee shop preparing to kick-off our Spring Semester of Professional Development and Practice Management at one of the Veterinary schools at which I have the opportunity to teach. This topic is on the docket for lecture today and...
Deepfakes, Identity Cons, and ‘Smart’ Devices: Cyber Scams Veterinary Practices (and Families) Need to Know
Veterinary practices are built on trust—between clients and clinicians, between managers and staff, and often between family members who help run the business. Unfortunately, today’s cybercriminals are exploiting that trust with tools that look and sound alarmingly...
Breaking the Cycle: Making Sense of Student Debt in Veterinary Medicine
Debt. Payments. Interest. Owing money. Losing money. Trapped. All these words can create anxiety or optimism depending on how we view the world. The reality is that veterinarians who have graduated and those who are graduating experience higher than normal levels of...
CE Isn’t a Luxury: Why Ongoing Education Is Essential for Veterinary Technician Retention
As the new year begins, many Veterinary technicians find themselves in familiar territory—credential and association renewals to track, continuing education (CE) hours to plan for, and budgets that already feel stretched. For some, CE feels like just another box to...
The First 150 Days: What I Got Wrong, What Worked, and What I’m Building Next
After selling my minority partnerships in my previous hospitals and finishing business school, I genuinely believed I was prepared for the startup-practice world. I knew it would be hard, but I thought experience plus an MBA meant I would launch with confidence and a...
Don’t Fire Them—Fire Them Up!
In a well-run Veterinary practice, most staff genuinely want to contribute and thrive. They perform willingly when the environment offers clear policies and procedures (SOPs), a structured gradient training approach (via the Gradient Training Check Sheet, or GTC),...
Arizona to Florida to Toronto and Back
Let’s be honest, winters in Arizona are not a chore. And 2026 is no different. But the highlight of my January so far was a quick trip to “balmy” Toronto (-2 degrees F) for the Ontario VMA Convention following a chilly VMX in Orlando. Ten years ago a group of us...
Does Humility Still Exist in Animal Health?
In an industry driven by innovation, advancement, and constant momentum, we often celebrate the loudest voices, the biggest announcements, the fastest growth, the boldest opinions. But recently, I found myself asking a different question: Does humility still exist in...