Photo: Юлия Завалишина/Adobe Stock

The Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine is creating its first food animal residency program. The program, backed by a $250,000 grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), aims to address the shortage of veterinarians in rural and agriculture communities, the school said in a news release last week.

“The lack of veterinary coverage in rural regions has far-reaching consequences, from diminished livestock health and welfare to threats against food security and community economic viability,” Jennifer H. Koziol, DVM, MS, DACT, an associate professor of food animal medicine and surgery at Texas Tech who will lead the program, said in the release.

 “The USDA project aligns with national strategic goals of supporting rural prosperity and ensuring a safe, nutritious food supply.”

The school said it plans to launch the program in 2026. The residency will recruit early-career veterinarians for advanced clinical and research training aimed at preparing them to become educators in food animal medicine. Texas Tech said the program is intended to help address a shortage of qualified food animal faculty at veterinary schools, where recruiting and retaining specialists remains a “struggle.” The school called the need for more of these faculty “critical.”

The residency will help educators influence more students to pursue careers in food animal, large animal, or mixed animal practice, thereby decreasing the shortage of practitioners in rural and regional communities that are underserved, according to Texas Tech.

Texas Tech is not the first entity to take action to address the shortage of rural veterinarians. This fall, Wisconsin lawmakers 

 a student loan relief bill aimed at encouraging new veterinarians to practice in rural Wisconsin counties. If passed, state lawmakers said they hope the bill draws veterinarians to the state’s rural farms.

With many graduates facing piling debt after graduating, working in small, rural practice where the pay is typically less than in urban areas becomes less appealing, supporters of the bill said.

Jennifer H. Koziol, DVM, MS, DACT. (Image courtesy of Texas Tech University)

In the Texas Tech release, Guy Loneragan, BVSc, PhD, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, said the university’s new residency program could have an impact beyond Texas. “This residency program is transformative for our school and the cattle industry,” said Loneragan.

 “A capstone professional achievement for the residents in this program is attainment of diplomate status in the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. This is a national recognition as an elite specialist in all things cattle. The residents will provide leadership to advance livestock health and protect the national interest in US food production. The program led by Dr Koziol tremendously benefits the school, Texas Tech, our state and nation.”

“Graduates of the residency will serve as vital resources in their communities, bringing expertise in antimicrobial stewardship, disease control and One Health leadership,” concluded Texas Tech.

 “By building a sustainable network of food animal veterinarians, Texas Tech’s program seeks to retain professionals in the field and also safeguard the future of America’s agricultural industries.”

Texas Tech’s School of Veterinary Medicine Receives $250,000 USDA Grant. News release. Texas Tech University. December 18, 2025. Accessed December 22, 2025.

Bautista-Alejandre A. Wisconsin lawmakers propose student loan relief bill to attract vets to rural areas. 

. November 15, 2025. Accessed December 22, 2025. https://www.dvm360.com/view/wisconsin-lawmakers-propose-student-loan-relief-bill-to-attract-vets-to-rural-areas

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The program, planned for 2026, aims to train educators in food animal medicine and encourage more students to enter rural practice.

Texas Tech to launch its first food animal residency program amid rural vet shortage

Officials for the FDA have expanded its’ approval of pimobendan chewable tablets (Vetmedin; Boehringer Ingelheim) to include a new indication. The drug is now approved for delay of congestive heart failure (CHF) in dogs with Stage B2 preclinical myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD).

Heart disease affects approximately 10% of dogs in their lifetime, and MMVD accounts for about 75% of these cases presented at veterinary practices in North America.

 Both MMVD and DCM may progress to CHF, according to BI. Canine patients with asymptomatic MMVD that have a moderate or loud mitral murmur caused by mitral regurgitation and cardiomegaly are considered to have Stage B2 preclinical MMVD.

Pimobendan chewable tablets was previously fully approved for the management of the signs of mild, moderate, or severe congestive heart failure in dogs caused by MMVD or DCM.

The drug received conditional approved for the expanded indication in 2022, under the FDA’s authority for certain new animal drugs not intended for a minor use or minor species. According to the agency, this latest approval was the first time it granted a full approval of an animal drug indication that was initially conditionally approved under the agency’s expanded conditional approval authority.

A conditional approval is valid for one year with the potential for up to 4 annual renewals. After receiving conditional approval, the drug’s sponsor has 5 years to obtain full approval during which time active progress toward proving substantial evidence of effectiveness for full approval must be demonstrated. If full approval is not obtained in 5 years, the drug can no longer be marketed, according to the FDA.

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA generated the necessary effectiveness data to support a full approval and submitted a supplemental new animal drug application (NADA) for FDA review after 3 annual renewals for pimobendan chewable tablets, according to the FDA.

 A pair of multisite field studies supported the company's NADA for the newly approved, expanded indication.

The first study evaluated whether chronic oral administration of pimobendan chewable tablets could delay the onset of CHF in dogs with Stage B2 preclinical MMVD. The study enrolled 363 dogs owned by clients, with an effectiveness population of 353 dogs, of which 178 were treated with pimobendan chewable tablets and 175 were treated with a vehicle control, according to the FDA. The investigators’ final analysis showed a “statistically significant difference between the groups.” The median time to the primary endpoint for dogs in the pimobendan chewable tablets group was 1127 days vs 732 days for the control group, which represented a clinically significant delay in the onset of congestive heart failure.

The second study was designed to further support the effectiveness of pimobendan chewable tablets in a subset of dogs with Stage B2 preclinical MMVD, which was defined by a left atrial-to-aortic root ratio (LA/Ao) of 1.8 or greater. This study enrolled 161 dogs owned by clients, with an effectiveness population of 125 dogs. All dogs in the study received pimobendan chewable tablets. Ninety-nine of the 125 dogs successfully completed the study without disease progression, and 26 dogs were classified as treatment failures because of CHF development, cardiac-related death or other advancing clinical signs. “The study's success criteria were met, as the lower bound of the 95% confidence interval for the success rate (70.3%) was well above the pre-specified threshold of 54%,” according to the FDA.

In 2024, pimobendan oral solution for dogs was also approved by the FDA for management of signs of mild, moderate or severe canine CHF caused by MMVD or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). This product and pimobendan chewable tablets are both indicated for concurrent therapy use in treating CHF, on a case-by-case basis.

FDA approves first drug to delay congestive heart failure in dogs. News release. FDA. December 19, 2025. December 22, 2025. 

https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/cvm-updates/fda-approves-first-drug-delay-congestive-heart-failure-dogs?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Keene BW, Atkins, CE, Bonagura JD, et al. ACVIM consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs. 

. 2019;33(3):1127-1140. doi:10.1111/jvim.15488

Center for Veterinary Medicine. FDA conditionally approves first drug delay onset of congestive heart failure in dogs. FDA. June 16, 2022. Accessed December 22, 2025. 

https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/cvm-updates/fda-conditionally-approves-first-drug-delay-onset-congestive-heart-failure-dogs

Freedom of Information Summary: NADA 141-273. FDA. December 19, 2025. Accessed December 22, 2025. 

https://animaldrugsatfda.fda.gov/adafda/app/search/public/document/downloadFoi/17792

Crossley KC. Oral solution approved by FDA for canine heart failure. 

. November 22, 2024. Accessed December 22, 2025.

The approval marks a new indication for Vetmedin.

Drug for delaying congestive heart failure in dogs is approved by the FDA

Smaller dogs have an increased incidence of periodontal disease, explains Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC, a veterinary dental specialist and senior pet advocate.

Preventing periodontal disease in dogs

Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC, a veterinary dental specialist at Cibolo Creek Veterinary Hospital in Boerne, Texas, discusses steps veterinarians can take to reduce the risk and severity of periodontal disease in dogs. She explains why smaller dogs face a higher risk, emphasizing the importance of early client education, and offers guidance veterinarians can share with pet owners about at-home dental care.

The following is a transcript of the video, lightly edited for clarity and cohesion:

From the very first [veterinary visit for puppies], you know, it’s tough to talk about it. [At that first visit] you’re doing vaccines and talking diet. But certainly by that second or third puppy visit, as you’re examining the teeth, make sure that owner is aware [of dental health risks and home care].

I used to say that dogs that were going to be about 20 lb at adult weight, ‘we have to be really more aggressive at taking care of their teeth,’ but now we see so many [dogs] that are under 10 lb, even. Definitely with those smaller dogs, we know there’s an increased incidence of periodontal disease. They don’t have as much bone, their teeth are more crowded, and what might be a 1-mm bone loss in a Great Dane doesn’t matter as much as it does in a Chihuahua.

So as we look at that, we educate owners early on—especially with these smaller dogs—and try to get them to do some level of home care. While brushing is best, it can be challenging. I even like using dental wipes, coming from behind the head and doing it that way, so it’s a little less assertive.

And then regular oral exams and regular dental cleanings under anesthesia. And while we still may have the occasional extraction or some problems with it, we can [absolutely] help decrease the impact of periodontal disease in these pets.

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Smaller dogs have an increased incidence of periodontal disease, explains Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC, a veterinary dental specialist.

Photo: Вероника Зеленина/Adobe

In this Q&A, adapted from an interview with 

 conducted at the 2025 New York Vet Show in New York City, Monica Tarantino, DVM, MBA, discusses chronic pain in geriatric canine patients. Tarantino shares guidance for veterinary professionals on diagnosing pain in senior dogs, recognizing signs that chronic pain may be affecting quality of life, developing multimodal pain management plans, and understanding the importance of addressing chronic pain in practice.

Tarantino is the cofounder of the Senior Dog Veterinary Society in Alexandra, Virginia, which aims to advance the care of elderly dogs in veterinary medicine.

She is also the coauthor of 2 books for early-career veterinarians, 

. In addition, Tarantino is active in animal rescue, with 4 adopted dogs, 2 rescue cats, and the occasional foster.

: What can practitioners do to better diagnose chronic pain in older dogs?

 I think right now, something practitioners can do to better diagnose chronic pain in older dogs is to start screening for it sooner and to be more proactive with questions to pet parents when we’re taking a history. A lot of times, there are older dogs showing signs of chronic pain at home with really subtle behavioral changes, and owners don’t know that those signs actually reflect chronic pain. So if we’re not asking, we’re not going to know.



: What signs suggest chronic pain may be affecting a dog’s quality of life?

 Signs that chronic pain may be becoming a quality-of-life concern include changes in things like the pet’s energy level or their ability to be part of the family or do things they enjoy. That often comes up with diseases of chronic pain such as arthritis in the joints, back pain, or even dental disease. Those things can certainly slow an animal down. Noticing that slowing down is really important when we’re talking about quality of life.



: How should veterinarians approach multimodal pain management in geriatric patients?

 When developing multimodal plans, what’s really important is to look at the patient in front of you and what they’re actually struggling with or what diseases they actually have. A lot of times in geriatric pets, you have patients that that have multiple comorbidities that they are dealing with. You have to look at them and think, 

what comorbidities are going to affect that pet’s quality of life the most

And how can I arrange my therapy to actually help them for that?

When it comes to chronic pain, we talk a lot about how, if a dog has pain—for example, in a knee due to arthritis or in an elbow—we don’t want to think only about treating that focal point. We need to think about the entire patient. Oftentimes, chronic pain from degenerative joint disease can actually result in and turn into neuropathic pain that affects patients at different points in the pain pathway. So really thinking about the holistic pet and their global health is important when coming up with a multimodal treatment [plan].

: Is there anything else you’d like to add or emphasize?

 I think that chronic pain is more prevalent than we actually realize, and I think it’s so important for us to address it as practitioners because it is a quality-of-life disease, and we don’t always give it the attention it deserves at this time. For me, I think starting to bring up chronic pain more frequently as a practice at every level—making people aware of it and what the signs look like—can be highly beneficial to our patients, which is what we all want.

"I think that chronic pain is more prevalent than we actually realize...we don’t always give it the attention it deserves," says Monica Tarantino, DVM, MBA.

A Q&A on recognizing and managing chronic pain in senior dogs

Laila Proença, DVM, PhD, MV, MSc, DACZM, recommends correct positioning, preplanned imaging technique, and judicious sedation to get diagnostic avian radiographs while protecting staff and patients.

Sedation is the key to better bird radiographs

Laila Proença DVM, PhD, MV, MSc, DACZM, founder and CEO of VetAhead, explains practical tips for avian radiography. She highlights 3 positioning checks to ensure diagnostic images, warns against hands-on restraint and improvised fixes, and recommends appropriate sedation to reduce stress and improve image quality.

: For avian radiographs I check three things. On the ventrodorsal view the keel should be perfectly aligned with the spine. The legs should be extended and parallel to one another. The wings should be extended and symmetric. Those three checks help make sure the bird is well aligned and positioned so you can reliably evaluate the organs.

One major pitfall is hands-on radiography where staff hold the bird and expose themselves to radiation. Another common mistake is inventing shortcuts to restrain birds without sedation. For example, people buy acrylic plates with Velcro to secure the patient and then forget to adjust the kVp for the plate. Those extra steps rarely make life easier because the bird will often move even when Velcroed. I see clinicians try to MacGyver solutions instead of using safe, standard techniques and appropriate sedation.

The secret to good radiographs across species is stopping movement. Sedation makes the patient stop moving. A poorly positioned radiograph raises more questions than answers because you cannot tell whether a finding is a true lesion or just superimposition from an oblique position. Parrots can be especially dramatic. They flap and vocalize, which makes the procedure stressful for staff and for the patient. Sedation done correctly is the best way to get a good image and to keep the patient safe. The risk of death from extreme stress during handling is often higher than the risk from properly performed sedation. It is a misconception that sedation must be dangerous. When done correctly it is safe and it improves outcomes.

o read more news and view expert insights from Fetch Long Beach, visit 

’s dedicated site for conference coverage at 

https://www.dvm360.com/conference/fetch-long-beach

Laila Proença, DVM, PhD, MV, MSc, DACZM explains that affordable intraoral cameras plus mandatory pre- and post-extraction imaging let general practitioners perform safe, complete dental extractions.

Why do cat wag their tails? Annie Valuska, PhD, explains this behavioral cue and more in a dvm360 interview.

Interpreting feline behaviors, part 2

What does it mean when a cat wags its tail? In a 

 interview, Annie Valuska, PhD, principal scientist for the pet behavior team at Purina, discussed common behaviors that cat owners may typically see and what they can mean. The interview also discussed canine behaviors as well as which companion animal behaviors sometimes lead to pets being surrendered by their owners or euthanized.

of this 2-part video series about feline behaviors, Valuska discussed hissing, one of the most common behavioral cues, including misconceptions and what it really means.

 This second video addresses feline tail wagging as well as ear positioning, and how these behaviors can be interpreted.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Wagging tails are often misunderstood in cats as well [as dogs]. I think people take what they've learned or think they've learned about dogs and [think] ‘hey, a wagging tail is happy,’ which, as 

, is not necessarily the case, and assume that when a cat has a swishing tail that that also means that the cat is happy, but in most cases, it's quite the opposite. With cats, that big sweeping wag in a cat's tail is often a sign that they're feeling really physiologically aroused and stimulated, and it's probably not a good time to pet or approach that cat. Usually, cats that have that level of arousal or stimulation happening are not looking for pets at that time.

Another sign you can look for that can indicate that physiological arousal and maybe that the cat needs some space, is the cat's ear position, as those ears start to rotate towards the side and back of the head, which the internet calls ‘airplane ears’. Ears to the side and pointing towards the back is another sign that the cat might be feeling a little bit overwhelmed, overstimulated. Probably not a good idea to pet them at that time. Whereas if the ears are pointing forward, like a cat Halloween headband, and there's a lot of other body language indicating that the cat is feeling calm, like that tail being up in the air, maybe the tip of the tail swishing back and forth, the cat being willing to take up a lot of space, seeming very relaxed, their eyes in a nice neutral position, that is a cat that is probably safe to approach and open to some pets.

Crossley KC, Valuska A. Interpreting feline behaviors (Part 1). 

. December 17, 2025. Accessed December 19, 2025. https://www.dvm360.com/view/interpreting-feline-behaviors-part-1-