To help support the next generation of veterinary professionals, Purina shared that it will be donating $4.5 million to the top 3 veterinary schools in the United States. The donations will help the schools drive innovation and excellence in pet health and education over the next 5 years. These collaborations will also be used to support research in emerging areas of pet health, such as gastrointestinal issues in canine and feline patients, mobility in canines, and healthy aging.

"Veterinarians play such a pivotal role in caring for our pets," said Kurt R. Venator, DVM, PhD, Purina chief veterinary officer, in an organizational release.

 "These three new programs build on Purina's decades-long history of supporting veterinary schools and students and promise to offer exciting scientific and nutritional advances to help our pets live long, healthy lives."

The 3 programs and beneficiaries who will receive $1.5 million are

Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine

: The donation will be used to create the Purina Canine Healthy Aging and Mobility Program, which will focus on advancing the innovation and science in nutrition, healthy aging, mobility, and rehabilitation in canines.

The University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine

: The donation will be used to create the Purina Distinguished Program in Gastrointestinal Health and Wellness. The 5-year program will work to further the knowledge in gastrointestinal conditions and advance health solutions for feline and canine patients.

Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine

The donation to this school will create the Purina Young Investigators Award Program in the Center for Companion Animal Studies. The program will fund up to 12 annual grants in perpetuity to veterinary students and faculty mentors to share and investigate scientific advancements.

"These efforts aim to uncover new insights that will impact future innovations and change the lives of pets and the people who love them – and the veterinarians who care for them," Venator concluded.

Purina Announces $4.5MM Donation to Three Leading Veterinary Schools to Advance Pet Health. News release. Nestle Purina PetCare. December 9, 2024. Accessed December 16, 2024. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/purina-announces-4-5mm-donation-to-three-leading-veterinary-schools-to-advance-pet-health-302326427.html

Articles

The schools will receive the donations from Purina to help drive innovation and excellence in patient health and veterinary education.

Three veterinary schools receive $1.5 million donation 

Neurology therapies

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Treating exotic animals can be uniquely challenging due to their fragile health and heightened stress levels. According to Leilani Alvarez, DVM, DACVSMR, a collaborative approach with an exotic specialist is essential to ensure safe and effective rehabilitation. In this video, she shares tips on minimizing stress during interventions, the importance of skilled restraint, and why noninvasive therapies like pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) loops are ideal for exotic patients.

Oh, my goodness, exotics are tough because, a lot of times, they arrive already with a chronic illness. Sometimes, just touching them can worsen their condition—or even cause them to die. So, when treating exotic patients, I recommend working closely with an exotic specialist. It’s important to understand their medical condition and how stable they are for any intervention, especially when performing rehabilitation, which is what I focus on with these patients.

The first tip is to involve an exotic specialist and ensure that someone experienced in handling these animals is on your team. Restraint can be very stressful for exotic species and can push them over the edge.

Finally, I recommend using noninvasive strategies whenever possible. For instance, I really love the PEMF loop because you can place it in the cage with a bird, guinea pig, or reptile, and they’ll sit inside the loop and receive therapy without being handled. These kinds of therapies are much better tolerated by exotic species.

Videos

Treating exotic animals comes with unique challenges, but a collaborative approach and noninvasive therapies can make a world of difference

Quick tips for safe and effective neurologic rehabilitation for exotics

Happy Monday dvm360 readers! Can you believe we are almost done with 2024? Throughout the rest of the year, dvm360 will be unveiling each day the top articles of 2024 as well as the top podcast episodes and video interviews. Be sure to check in through the rest of the year to see what was most popular on dvm360.com this year!

Here is what you can find this week on dvm360.com:

Mary Lucille Walsh, DVM, DACVO, explains what to do when a veterinary team is confronted with a feline patient with a history of red eyes, squinting, or watery discharge as a way to determine the cause and treat the patient.

On this week’s episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, Pam Hale, DVM, MBA, JM, George Melillo, VMD, and Keith True, DVM, MBA, share the launch of New Order Of Veterinary Leaders (NOVL). NOVL is a team of veterinary leaders working to promote veterinarians owning or co-owning their own practices and gain high levels of leadership within veterinary organizations.

The veterinary team at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine's Veterinary Teaching Hospital worked together to solve the mystery Zia, a German shorthaired pointer who was brought to the hospital after her owner noticed a change in her demeanor.

During an interview with dvm360 prior to his lectures at Fetch Long Beach, Craig A Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), discussed the most common bladder tumors in canine patients, misdiagnosis, and the Cadet BRAF test assay.

The FDA recently provided animal care providers and pet owners with information on multiple ways they can help reduce the risk of the animals contracting Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. 

Here is a sneak peek of this week’s headlines 

Sneak peek: FDA provides outline on H5N1 prevention, and other news 

Craig A Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology) talks about the most common bladder tumor in dogs, misdiagnosis, and the Cadet BRAF test assay

Understanding transition cell carcinoma in dogs

, Craig A Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology), talked about the most common bladder tumor in canines: transitional cell carcinoma, or urothelial carcinoma. In the interview, Clifford differentiated between superficial and invasive forms of the disease, explaining that the latter is more prevalent in dogs than in humans.

According to Clifford symptoms of transitional cell carcinoma mirror those of a urinary tract infection, often leading to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. He also talked about the Cadet BRAF test assay and how it works.

Below is a partial transcript. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

Craig A Clifford, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Oncology): 

So we know that transitional cell carcinoma, or now, as you'll start to see in the literature, we're using a term that is used on the physician-based side, and it's called urothelial carcinoma. It means the same thing, and for the most part, we use the terms together.

We know it's the most common bladder tumor of dogs, and it's actually a model for the disease in people. You know, when I speak to an owner, I describe that the bladder is like a bounty paper roll with many layers to it, and the cardboard layer, the inner lining, is made up of cells called transitional cells. So when they transform and become cancerous, we call it transitional cell carcinoma.

When we get it—people—the most common form we get is called the superficial form. So truly it's only in that cardboard layer. So for us, we can go in and take it out surgically, instill medications in the bladder and destroy it.

The second form, which is less common in people, but is the most common form in dogs is called the invasive form. So by definition, it means it dives down deeper. So it's a very difficult form to remove surgically, unless it's located all the way on the other side of the bladder, what we call the apical area. This tends to occur in the trigone. So in order to remove it completely, you have to reroute three tubes, which is very challenging to do.

Understanding transitional cell carcinoma in canine patients

Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, CVCH, CVFT shares his favorite treatments for osteoarthritis pain in animal patients

At-home therapies for osteoarthritis pain

to talk about his about his Fetch Long Beach session, “Alternative Therapies for Managing Osteoarthritis Pain,” Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, CVCH, CVFT, shared his preferred therapies for managing osteoarthritis pain in animal patients. Shapley talked about therapies that pet owners are able to do at home, explaining that some clients may find it challenging to medicate their pet or bring their dog to an acupuncture appointment.

Below is the interview transcript. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, CVCH, CVFT: 

So that's a tough one because I have a whole lot that I love. Of course, my wheelhouse and my go-to is always acupuncture and herbal therapies. I'm big on, you know, weight loss as a first step for managing osteoarthritis. But honestly, a lot of clients aren't always able to come in, or it's difficult, especially if they have a larger dog to, you know, to bring their pet in for regular acupuncture. If they have a cat that has osteoarthritis pain, well that makes it even more challenging for us. And some people just can't, you know, give medications to their pets or even herbs they find it difficult.

So, I tend to think about things that owners can do at home. So the targeted pulse electromagnetic field technology absolutely one of my favorites. It really targets pain, it targets inflammation, and it really, I've seen it help a lot with osteoarthritis cases. And again, it's something that they can do at home. I'm also a big fan of like doing like laser therapy at home too, like red light therapy is also very beneficial.

So those are my favorites, mainly because, again, the targeted pulse electromagnetic field, easy enough to do at home, red light therapy, easy enough to do at home. And of course, I love doing acupuncture and I love herbal medicine, so I can't just give you one, but I got my top 3 for you at least.

Christopher Shapley, DVM, CVA, CVCH, CVFT, shares his favorite treatments for osteoarthritis pain in animal patients

 editorial team is counting down our Top 20 news stories and articles of the year, from January 1, 2024, to November 15, 2024. Rank was determined by measurable audience interest and engagement.

A spotlight is shining on 1 article each day through New Year’s Eve, when the No. 1 dvm360 story of the year will be shared. The following article is No. 16 on this list:

Save time in dermatology appointments by utilizing your technicans

For any dermatology case, a comprehensive and thorough history is crucial to getting a complete picture of the patient and what might be going on. Joya Griffin, DVM, DACVD, star of television's "Pop Goes the Vet with Dr. Joya" on Nat Geo Wild, explained that these histories can take some time since they include several questions for the client. However, to free up some time for veterinarians and veterinary dermatologists, veterinary technicians can perform these tasks and allow the full team to be properly utilized. “These histories are really important in dermatology, and I think our histories are very specific,” Griffin stated during her session at the Fetch dvm360 conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Important questions to gather from dermatology histories:

When did it start? What is the age of onset?

Did the pet initially present with lesions or did pruritis precede the lesions and then from the pet itching, scratching, and biting, did the lesions develop and a secondary infection?

Are the medications that have been used that have worked or medications that haven't been tried yet?

Was there a particular seasonality of onset?

Griffin explained that technicians can take on this role of asking the client about the patient’s history, and then the veterinarian can come in to perform the complete body check and physical examination. Following the physical exam, Griffin said, “I'm going to do some cytology and collect my samples. Then, I'm going to look at them under the scope. You'll hear a dermatologist say over and over and over again, ‘cytology, cytology, cytology,’ it's easier said than done, for sure, and it takes a lot of time. Doing it to really feel confident and comfortable and knowing what you're seeing, I really recommend starting to get used to that. There's some ways that you can try to train your staff to help them do this for you and that'll speed things up as well.”

For information on this story, including more tips for improving consultations and client satisfaction, continue reading the full article: 

https://www.dvm360.com/view/save-time-in-dermatology-appointments-by-utilizing-your-technicians

dvm360 is counting down the Top 20 news stories and articles from 2024 with this series of spotlights