Jenny Cassibry Fisher, RVT, VTS (Oncology), provides insights about one way veterinary teams can serve more patients.

Improving access to care with telemedicine

 interview, Jenny Cassibry Fisher, RVT, VTS (Oncology), director of medical excellence for Mission Pet Health (formerly Southern Veterinary Partners and Mission Veterinary Partners), discussed how digital services like telemedicine can help improve access to care while utilizing skilled technicians and assistants. A continuing education presenter at the 2025 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum in Louisville, Kentucky, Fisher spoke to attendees about the challenge of accessing care that many pet owners face and how to mitigate those obstacles to better serve clients and patients.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Jenny Cassibry Fisher, RVT, VTS (Oncology):

 There are many ways that we, as veterinary professionals, can think of to increase or open access to care. Teletherapy, or telemedicine, is a big one. This is another great way to utilize those technicians or veterinary technician specialists, and even assistants, because they can do those phone meetings with pet parents who [may be older] and can't come into town but still want to meet with someone on the health care team. Utilizing things like digital platforms...newsletters, or even just your iPhone and doing something as simple as a FaceTime or a text message can go a long way in helping to build that trust. Just imagine if you were that pet parent, and it was your dog in the hospital, receiving those daily...updates [that are] letting you know how they're doing—that goes a long way. [Remember] that we are all here for that pet and people connection, and make sure...[to] do everything we can to make that relationship the center of our treatment.

Videos

Improving access to care with technicians and telemedicine

Texas A&M University’s mascot, Miss Reveille X—a 5-year-old American rough coat collie—has undergone eye removal, according to a statement by Mark A. Welsh III, president of Texas A&M, earlier this week.

 The decision was made after Reveille X, also known as the “First Lady of Aggieland,” was diagnosed with glaucoma.

According to the statement, Reveille X had been experiencing progressing discomfort and cloudiness in her right eye and was diagnosed with the ocular disease during a recent veterinary checkup. Veterinarians at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital recommended the rough collie undergo surgery to relieve discomfort.

Miss Reveille X. (Image courtesy of Jesse Everett/Texas A&M Marketing & Communications)

The veterinary team discovered signs of abnormal tissue during the procedure and proceeded with removing her eye out of an “abundance of caution.” Following standard procedure, the team then submitted a tissue sample to an ocular pathologist for analysis.

Clinical signs of glaucoma include squinting; corneal edema; tearing; loss of sight; a bright red, bulging eye (buphthalmos); dilated or slow-moving pupil(s); lethargy; loss of appetite; and pain. If glaucoma is suspected, eye pressure should be measured with a tonometer. Normal eye pressures in dogs do not typically exceed 20 to 28 mm Hg in each eye.

Eye pressures above 40 to 50 mm Hg need emergency treatment.

Latanoprost, travoprost, bimatoprost, or other prostaglandin analogue eye drops can help quickly lower eye pressures to normal measurements.

Medications such as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and β-blockers can also be administered.

According to Texas A&M, Reveille X’s surgery was successful. She has since been discharged and is now in recovery.

“Our priority is her health and well-being, and we are blessed to have access to the remarkably talented and caring Texas A&M veterinary team who will continue to monitor Miss Rev on her road to recovery,” Welsh said in the announcement.

 “She will take a brief hiatus from engagements as she fully recovers.”

Reveille X’s veterinary team anticipates the rough collie will be back to her usual activities this fall, which include riding on the Rev Force One, attending classes, and cheering on Texas A&M students.

Reveille has been Texas A&M’s official mascot since 1931, after cadets at Texas A&M adopted a mixed-breed dog and hid her in their dorm room.

 The dog later became Reveille I, a name she earned by barking wildly when a bugler played “Reveille” to wake the cadets that were hiding her.

In 2021, Reveille X moved from Topeka, Kansas, to College Station, Texas, and became Texas A&M’s 10th mascot after she was donated to the university by the award-winning kennel Juell's Collies. Born on September 5, 2019, the First Lady of Aggieland is the highest-ranking member of the Corps of Cadets.

Welsh III MA. A statement on Miss Reveille X. News release. Texas A&M University. July 23, 2025. Accessed July 25, 2025. 

https://president.tamu.edu/messages/reveille-x-statement.html

Glaucoma. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Updated July 2024. Accessed July 25, 2025. 

https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/riney-canine-health-center/canine-health-information/glaucoma

Reveille X. Texas A&M University. Accessed July 25, 2025. 

Articles

The veterinary team discovered signs of abnormal tissue in the eye of Miss Reveille X, a 5-year-old American rough coat collie.

Texas A&M's collie mascot undergoes enucleation following glaucoma diagnosis

Ellen Behrend, VMD, PhD, MS, DACVIM (SAIM) discusses what is currently known about remission when on SGLT2 inhibitors

Can cats on an SGLT2 inhibitor go into remission?

Remission in feline patients with diabetes is often the goal. With the advent of new treatment options like sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, clients may have questions about whether a patient can go into remission while on this therapy. In this video, Ellen Behrend, VMD, PhD, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), a consultant at Veterinary Information Network, discusses what is currently known about the potential for remission in cats on SGLT2 inhibitors, as well as steps to take to know if a cat is in remission and the possibility of long-term SGLT2 inhibitor use.

Should cats on an SGLT-2 inhibitor go on a special diet?

Below is the interview transcript, which has been lightly edited for improved clarity:

Ellen Behrend, VMD, PhD, MS, DACVIM (SAIM): 

 We do know that the answer is yes, based on anecdotal information.

We don't know how often that is. In theory, it would be more common with an SGLT2 inhibitor than in cats on insulin because we do know the better you control the blood glucose and the quicker you control the blood glucose, the more likely the cat's going to go into remission. And SGLT2 inhibitors seem to control the blood glucose more quickly and you have much flatter glucose curves. The only way, though, to know whether a cat is in remission is to stop the drug and see what happens—whether the diabetes comes back.

I typically would do that at 3 months, see if the cat is in remission. If not, you can start the drug again. Try it again at 6 months. If the cat's not in remission at that point, the chances are that it's not going to go into remission, and I would not routinely check again.

You can leave a cat on an SGLT2 inhibitor for life. It's not going to hurt the cat. It would potentially help the cat, as far as it's going to have diabetes controlled for the rest of its life. It will never come out of remission.

But of course, the issue is the owner's pocketbook—so it's really up to the owner whether they want to try or not.

Ellen Behrend, VMD, PhD, MS, DACVIM (SAIM) discusses what is currently known about remission when on SGLT2 inhibitors.

and login or create a free CE account and claim your credit after listening to this episode.

Ticks pose a significant health risk to companion animals, both as blood-feeding parasites and as vectors for numerous pathogens. Over the past few decades, tick populations have expanded and intensified due to factors such as increased globalization, greater movement of humans and animals, and climate change. In the United States, common tick species—including the blacklegged tick, lone star tick, American dog tick, and brown dog tick—have the potential to transmit a range of bacterial, protozoal, and viral pathogens.

Serological data indicate that tick-borne pathogens are a persistent challenge for dogs, with U.S. canines frequently testing positive for agents of anaplasmosis, Lyme disease, and ehrlichiosis. Many of these same ticks and pathogens also pose a public health risk, as the tick species that commonly bite dogs can also transmit these same pathogens to humans. As a result, dogs can serve as valuable sentinels for tick-borne disease risks of their human families.

Despite awareness of the risks ticks pose to pets, ticks are often and easily overlooked. Given that ticks are a year-round threat in most regions, annual testing and the routine use of fast-acting tick control products play a critical role in protecting pet health by killing ticks and reducing pathogen transmission risk.

Identify the most common tick species in the U.S. that pose a risk to companion animals and suggest resources where for investigating local tick and tick-borne pathogen risk.

Explain the key factors contributing to the expansion and intensification of tick populations, including environmental and human-driven influences.

Outline pathogens commonly transmitted by ticks to dogs and humans, including agents of anaplasmosis, Lyme disease, and ehrlichiosis.

Discuss the speed at which different tick-borne pathogens are transmitted and the implications for timely intervention and prevention.

Advise on effective tick prevention, treatment, and control strategies for dogs, including the importance of annual testing.

 Credelio Quattro is indicated for the prevention of heartworm disease caused by 

 and for the treatment and control of roundworm (immature adult and adult 

), hookworm (fourth stage larvae, immature adult, and adult 

) infections. Credelio Quattro kills adult fleas and is indicated for the treatment and prevention of flea infestations (

) and the treatment and control of tick infestations [

 (brown dog tick)] for one month in dogs and puppies 8 weeks of age and older and weighing 3.3 pounds or greater. 



 Lotilaner, an ingredient in Credelio Quattro, belongs to the isoxazoline class and has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions like tremors, ataxia, and seizures even in dogs without a history of seizures. Use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. Dogs should be tested for existing heartworm infections before Credelio Quattro administration as it is not effective against adult 

. The safe use in breeding, pregnant, or lactating dogs has not been evaluated. The most frequently reported adverse reactions in clinical trials were vomiting and diarrhea. For full prescribing information see the Credelio Quattro package insert.

Podcasts

Explore the rising threat of ticks to pets and humans, and discover effective prevention strategies with Credelio Quattro (lotilaner, moxidectin, praziquantel, and pyrantel chewable tablets).

Podcast CE:Tick Tidbits: Ticking Off The 5 Ws on These Tiny Troublemakers

A veterinary rehabilitation specialist delves into how general practitioners can best diagnose arthritis in cats

4 steps to diagnosing feline osteoarthritis

Kristin Kirkby Shaw, DVM, PhD, MS, DACVS-SA, DACVSMR, founder of Canine Arthritis Resources and Education, talks about the steps involved in the diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) in feline patients. As Kirkby discusses, these steps include a conversation with the caregiver (which may include home videos of the patient), a physical examination, x-rays, and a pain management trial.

Below is the interview transcript, which has been lightly edited for improved clarity.

Kristin Kirkby Shaw, DVM, PhD, MS, DACVS-SA, DACVSMR: 

So, veterinarians need to diagnose OA in cats using a combination of essentially [4] things, the first 2 being, honestly, the most important.

Actually talking to the caregiver and asking them the appropriate questions about what the cat is doing at home and along those lines, potentially even getting home videos to see what the cat is doing. Are they changing their behavior and their mobility? So, #1 is asking the right questions of the caregivers.

No. 2 is, of course, a veterinarian does need to do their exam, but cats are notoriously great at hiding pain from us, so if we don't find pain or anything that suggests arthritis on our physical exam, it doesn't necessarily mean that that cat doesn't have arthritis pain.

The next step, ideally, is to do x-rays. But as we know, 90% of cats over the age of 12 will have x-ray evidence of arthritis. So, that doesn't necessarily mean that the cat has pain, but x-rays are definitely best medicine to confirm what we're suspecting.

And then the fourth way that often may be used is actually a pain management trial. So, [it’s about] start[ing] a proven analgesic that can be helpful for [a] cat [with] arthritis. Now, in the United States, we don't have any NSAIDs that are approved for long-term use in cats, but in many other countries they have been approved. Or alternatively, Solensia could be an option there. It has been shown that cat caregivers may actually notice changes in their cat once they've been on a pain reliever and then that pain reliever is taken away, [at which point] they notice, ‘oh, actually, my cat was doing better when they were on the pain reliever.’

So those are 4 ways that veterinarians can potentially identify and diagnose arthritis in cats.

A veterinary rehabilitation specialist delves into how general practitioners can best diagnose arthritis in cats.

Ticks on pets often provoke immediate concern among pet owners, who may be uncertain how to remove them safely and what health risks they pose. Educating clients, especially those who have encountered a tick or reside in regions with high tick prevalence, enables veterinary teams to assess disease risk more rapidly and to reassure anxious owners. By providing clear, accurate information about tick biology and pathogen transmission, veterinary professionals can both streamline clinical decision‑making and help reduce client stress.

During her lecture at the 2025 American Veterinary Medical Association Convention in Washington, DC, Susan E. Little, DVM, PhD, DACVM, Krull-Ewing Professor of Parasitology at the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, broke down ticks and their life stages to help give clients a better understanding of these threats to pets.

“We have 5 [tick species]. We used to talk about the big 4 in veterinary medicine in the US: 

, the Asian longhorned tick...established in almost half the states in the US, [including] here in the DC metro area,” Little said during her lecture address.

With the 5, each goes through multiple life stages: larvae, nymph, and then either adult female or male—except for the 

, [for which] there is only 1 female, a larva, and a nymph, no males. Little explained that these ticks reproduce through parthenogenesis clonally, so new larvae hatch from eggs laid parthenogenetically, without fertilization by a male.

Besides the big 5, there are several other species out there, including the most feared tick, 

, also known as the deer tick or black-legged tick. This tick is the one that transmits anaplasmosis, 

As larvae, the ticks feed for about 3 to 5 days, nymphs for 5 to 7 days, and then adults feed for 7 to 14 days, sometimes even longer. For ticks, their physiology is also different between the stages, so transmission can vary. According to Little, different tick genera locate hosts in distinct ways. For example, she explained that most ticks are supported by wildlife and then spill onto people and pets from the wildlife that is supporting them—but then there is the brown dog tick.

What affects the transmission of tick-borne pathogens?

“That's the tick that wants to be a flea. It lives in homes and kennels. It infests premises where there are dogs.... It's still a 3-host tick, but the larvae, the host for the larvae, the nymph, and the adult are all dogs, right? Whereas for the others, they're supported on wildlife and then spill over to the dogs or people, so a [few] differences there,” Little said.

Most people think that ticks are passive questers, crawling up vegetation and waving their first pair of legs until something walks by and brushes up against the vegetation so it can transfer over. Although that is true for some species, like the 

 does not wait. It will go out and run after hosts in the wild because it is drawn to the pheromones that are given off, carbon dioxide, as well as the shadow and movements of a potential host. Dog ticks are also very similar to this, as they will pick up on cues in the environment if a dog is there and go after it, as well as all its species.

“The No. 1 thing we can do to change the situation for dogs in the field is advocate for tick control. Dogs are better off protected from ticks than not. We don't know when they're going to come out. We used to talk about tick season, and now I say it's always tick season, right? It used to be spring and summer, [but now] it's also fall [and] winter, and winter is not as cold as it used to be,” Little said.

Clinicians should emphasize year‑round tick prevention. Once a tick attaches, treatment is reactive, not preventive. By informing clients about tick life stages, behaviors, and associated disease risks, veterinary teams can communicate the importance of consistent protection. The more guidance and preventive measures they offer pet owners, the greater the likelihood their animals will remain tick‑free, regardless of season or region.

Little S. Perfect timing: protecting dogs from tick-borne infections. Presented at: 2025 American Veterinary Medical Association Convention; July 18-22, 2025; Washington, DC.

Because tick-borne diseases pose a danger to patients, understanding the species from which they originate can help equip health care providers and clinics to protect their patients.