Earlier this year we were proud to announce a new location for our Fetch dvm360 conferences. Taking place May 17 and 18, 2024, the Nashville, Tennessee, conference will be at the Music City Center, where attendees can earn continuing education (CE) credits while interacting and networking with peers, friends, and faculty.

 will consist of 2 full days of CE opportunities and will feature keynote presentations from Christopher Pachel, DVM, DACVB, CABC, owner of Animal Behavior Clinic, Portland, Oregon; and Natalie L. Marks, DVM, DVJ, CCFP, FFCP-Elite, president of Marks DVM Consulting. On the first day, Pachel will discuss separation anxiety cases and treatment options. Marks will present on the second day and explain how country music made her a better veterinarian, as well as share general insights about this profession.

, “I am really excited to be a keynote for the inaugural event for Fetch Nashville, and I look forward to meeting folks who may be attending a Fetch conference for the first time as well as welcoming back our regulars.”

If you are new to the Nashville area or want tips for things to do while visiting the city, here are some recommendations from our staff and faculty:

A restaurant that keynote speaker Marks is eager to visit is Big Al’s Deli in the Salemtown area. This breakfast and lunch spot is known for blending hospitality with homestyle cooking, offering a variety of classic breakfast options and Southern lunch favorites. From crispy fried catfish to zesty South Carolinian shrimp and grits, patrons can savor these dishes in an inviting atmosphere. “I’m big into comfort food and have heard Big Al’s Deli is a must-visit. I can’t wait,” she said.

Vicky Ograin, MBA, RVT, VTS (Nutrition), scientific communication specialist at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, was a faculty member for our 2023 Directions in Veterinary Medicine symposium in Nashville. She recommended visitors see the famous Grand Ole Opry, a live music venue founded in 1925. “Nashville is absolutely amazing. I’ve been there a couple of times and I absolutely love it. The Grand Ole Opry is there....There is a lot of history there,” Ograin said. 

Additionally, Broadway Street in Nashville is known for its music bars that line both sides of the street. Music from the bands can be heard from outside the bars, enticing you inside. There are many lively bars, but some recommended by 

 staff include Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar, Nashville Underground, and Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is in downtown Nashville and is often referred to as the “Smithsonian of country music,” recognized for its cultural impact, educational mission, and unparalleled collection of historically significant artifacts associated with country music. Through exhibits, publications, and educational programs, the museum imparts knowledge about the enduring beauty and cultural significance of country music to a diverse audience. Chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964, the museum operates as a nonprofit educational organization. In 2014, a $100 million expansion doubled its size to encompass 350,000 square feet, housing exhibition galleries, archival storage, retail stores, and event space. The institution also features the Taylor Swift Education Center, catering to students, teachers, and families.

Nestled between Broadway and Demonbreun streets, the Johnny Cash Museum was named the No. 1 music museum in the United States by 

 The museum offers a self-guided experience about the famous musician’s life and career 7 days a week. Inside the museum there is also Johnny Cash’s Bar & BBQ serving authentic Southern food, as well as a gift shop with Johnny Cash memorabilia.

There is an opportunity to discover and taste several kinds of whiskey on any of the Tennessee Whiskey Tours. These tours take you on a trip around Tennessee, stopping at multiple distillery locations, while educating guests about the history of the drink.

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken is famous in Nashville. The first location was off Broadway Street in 2012, but since then multiple spots have popped up around the greater Nashville area. Hot chicken is a staple in Nashville and Hattie B’s is the place to get it while visiting.

About us. Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Accessed February 12, 2024. https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/about

Johnny Cash Museum. Accessed February 12, 2024. https://www.johnnycashmuseum.com/

Articles

Recommended things to do while visiting the Music City for our Fetch dvm360 conference

A guide to chart-topping activities for Fetch Nashville

K9s For Warriors, the nation's largest provider of trained service dogs for veterans, celebrates its newest milestone in successfully matching 1000 veterans with service dogs. K9s For Warriors aims to prevent and end veteran suicide with service dogs trained to support individuals with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, or military sexual trauma. Retired Army Staff Sergeant Ryan and his service dog Frankie became the 1000th Warrior/K9 team to walk across the stage at K9s For Warriors Shari Duval National Headquarters in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

Warrior Ryan and service dog Frankie. (Photo courtesy of K9s For Warriors)

K9s For Warriors offers trained service dogs at no cost to veterans and this was one of the main reasons Ryan decided to apply to K9s after one of his mental health providers recommended the program to help him navigate his PTSD, according to the news release.

"Frankie will help provide me the support I need when in high anxiety situations, to be more emotionally and mentally available for my family. He has already significantly reduced my anxiety and provides me comfort and support in what used to be high anxiety situations,” Ryan said.

"This month marks an extraordinary milestone for K9s For Warriors as we celebrate the graduation of our 1,000th Warrior paired with a life-saving service dog—1000 unique Warrior lives saved," said K9s For Warriors chief program officer Kevin Steele. "This achievement wouldn't be possible without the unwavering dedication and support of so many – our team members, donors, partners, and incredible volunteers. Together, as we celebrate transforming the lives of 1000 veterans and their service dogs, we look to the next 1000 ready to give them their new leash on life."

Currently, it is estimated that about 20-22 veterans die by suicide every day in the United States.

 that service dogs can positively impact veterans’ stress levels. A recent study found that those with a service dog had healthier cortisol levels compared to those without a service dog.

Warrior Charlie and service dog Lady Cameo. (Photo courtesy of K9s For Warriors)

Navy veteran Charlie was one of the first Warriors to get a service dog from K9s For Warriors back in 2011 when the organization was founded. Charlie reported in the release that his first dog, Slider, made a profound impact on his life. Sadly, Slider passed away a few months ago, however Charlie reached out to K9s For Warriors to see if he could be paired again for additional support.

"If it wasn't for Slider, I wouldn't be here today. He not only helped me, but he helped my family, he helped me get my life back. I recently lost Slider, and I started going downhill fast, so I contacted K9s For Warriors, and they immediately added me into the March class. I was paired with Lady Cameo this month, and we immediately hit it off – she loves to give licks and kisses, but she also seems to know when I'm starting to have a trigger. I'm excited to go home and make my relationships with family better."

K9s For Warriors celebrates milestone achievement: 1,000 veterans paired with life-saving service dogs. News release. K9s For Warriors. March 22, 2024. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/k9s-for-warriors-celebrates-milestone-achievement-1-000-veterans-paired-with-life-saving-service-dogs-302097084.html

Military service members and veterans. Suicide Prevention Resource Center. accessed March 28, 2024. https://sprc.org/populations/military-veterans/#:~:text=Recent%20estimates%20suggest%20that%2022%20veterans%20may%20die%20by%20suicide%20each%20day.&text=To%20address%20this%20serious%20problem,place%20comprehensive%20suicide%20prevention%20programs.

Kemp J, Bossarte R. Suicide data report, 2012: Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services Suicide Prevention Program. 2012. Accessed March 28, 2024. http://www.va.gov/opa/docs/suicide-data-report-2012-final.pdf

Yankowicz S. Veterans report healthier cortisol levels from the support and companionship of service dogs. dvm360. February 15, 2024. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.dvm360.com/view/veterans-report-healthier-cortisol-levels-from-the-support-and-companionship-of-service-dogs

K9s For Warriors marks a significant achievement in its efforts to support veterans in need

Milestone made: 1000 Veterans paired with service dogs

The USDA, FDA, and CDC announced on March 25, 2024, that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was detected in cows in Texas and Kansas. Unpasteurized clinical samples of milk from the sick cattle were collected from 2 dairy farms in Kansas and 1 in Texas netted positive results and another dairy in Texas was tested through an oropharyngeal swab.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association,

 the Minnesota Board of Animal Health (MBAH) announced that HPAI was found in samples obtained from juvenile goats on a farm in Minnesota where poultry had recently contracted the virus. The owner of the farm notified MBAH after experiencing unusual deaths of newly kidded goats on his property, near where backyard poultry was placed due to its HPAI diagnosis. It's believed that a shared water source caused the goats to contract the disease.

“The detection of HPAI, first in goats and now in dairy cattle, underscores the importance of adherence to biosecurity measures, vigilance in monitoring for disease, and immediately involving your veterinarian when something seems ‘off,’” said Rena Carlson, DVM, AVMA president, in the release.

“A complete evaluation, including the collection and submission of laboratory samples and reporting to state animal health officials in a timely fashion, when appropriate, is incredibly important,” she continued.

An investigation of an illness affecting dairy cattle on farms in New Mexico, Kansas, and Texas is tied to the detection of HPAI. The sick cows are primarily older and show decreased lactation, low appetite, and other clinical signs. Based on the investigation, 10% of the affected herds were affected, and little to no associated mortality was reported. The investigation also found that on the dairy farms where HPAI was identified, deceased wild birds were also found on the properties. It was determined based on findings from Texas that the virus was introduced by wild birds.

At this time, the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) found no changes in the virus that would make it more transmissible to humans, indicating a low public risk. The federal agencies involved indicated no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that there is a risk to consumer health.

 Milk from any impacted animals is being diverted or destroyed to ensure it does not enter the food supply, and dairies are required to send only milk from healthy animals into processing for human consumption.

 Pasteurization, the process of heating liquids at high temperatures for short amounts of time, is also required for milk entering interstate commerce and inactivates bacteria and viruses like influenza.

Federal agencies, veterinary, state animal health officials, and industry partners are working to encourage farmers and veterinarians to report any signs of illness to help minimize impacts on cattle, farmers, consumers, and other animals.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza found in Texas, Kansas dairy cattle. News release. American Veterinary Medical Association. March 26, 2024. Accessed March 28, 2204. https://www.avma.org/news/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-found-texas-kansas-dairy-cattle

Goat in Minnesota tests positive for HPAI. News release. American Veterinary Medical Association. March 26, 2024. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.avma.org/news/goat-minnesota-tests-positive-hpai

Pasteurization. Virginia Department of Health. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/environmental-health/food-safety-in-virginia/milk-safety/pasteurization/#:~:text=This%20process%20was%20named%20%E2%80%9Cpasteurization

This is the first time HPAI was detected in cattle and the second time found in a ruminant

Highly pathogenic avian influenza discovered in Texas and Kansas

Data collected by the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) found that 1.3% of veterinary graduates enter equine practice and 4.5% pursue further training in equine internship positions yearly. However, within 5 years 50% of those veterinarians leave equine medicine for small animal practice or quit the profession completely.

 To help improve the industry and alleviate the shortage of equine veterinarians, the AAEP created a strategic plan to address its sustainability, including the launch of its Commission of Equine Veterinary Sustainability.

AAEP interviewed practice owners, veterinary students, and recent graduates to help identify issues within the profession and what these professionals want that improve satisfaction. One pain point identified was receiving additional money for performing emergency visits. Data collected for the American Association of Equine Practitioner’s 2022 Equine Salary and Lifestyle Survey, 42% of the veterinarians surveyed said they make no additional money from emergency visits.

Jennifer Reda, DVM, associate veterinarian at Southern Equine Service and member of the Compensation Subcommittee of the AAEP Commission on Equine Sustainability, shared that she and her colleagues used to receive a portion of the emergency fee they charged for visits, but not the entire amount. To help, the veterinarians worked with the AAEP to restructure their compensation model on emergency fees to make sure the fee goes directly to the responding veterinarians. After presenting their case to the ownership at their practice, the owner agreed to the model they created.

“Knowing that the doctor who sees each emergency will receive that whole ER fee—and ours are very reasonable—helps encourage us to get out there and see the emergencies and receive our fair compensation for the disruption it brings to our lives, evenings, nights, weekends, and families,” said Reda.

Along with the Compensation Subcommittee, a Student Subcommittee was formed to prioritize outreach to students. The subcommittee surveyed veterinary students to determine their needs and created a speakers’ bureau of practitioners to visit schools to share positive experiences. In 2023, the group visited 25 schools and plans to visit the rest in 2024.

The committee also has an Internship Subcommittee that created documents to provide students with more help when choosing an internship program. Materials were also created for the mentors to assess the progress of their interns and attract new veterinarians.

“Mentoring requires a time commitment, and while it offers rewards for that investment, it can prove to be difficult to add to a busy practice that may already be short-staffed,” said Amy Grice, VMD, MBA, former AAEP treasurer and member of the AVMA Veterinary Economics Strategy Committee.

 “Employers must ensure that the practice has the capacity to mentor a new graduate sufficiently such that patient care will not be compromised, and the associate will be satisfied enough to remain in equine practice.”

The subcommittee also held webinars in 2023 and created resource documents including AAEP’s Best Practices Guidelines, a document that provides red or green flags for internships, an internship core competencies document, and a competency feedback form among other guidelines.

A compensation survey conducted by AAEP found that on average, those working in practices work 5.3 days a week during the busiest quarter of the year and 4.4 days during the less busy quarter, leading to the creation of a Compensation Committee.

Reda and 3 other associates at their practice asked the owners for the 6 months of a 4-day work week from July to December 2023, which they approved. According to Reda, she felt more productive during a 4-day week and stopped working longer days than usual on the 4 days. To put it into perspective, Reda produced $130,000 more in the fourth quarter of 2023 than she did in the fourth quarter of 2022.

For Reda, she credits the day off to allow her to stack appointments and items to be done during business hours in one day, making her more efficient and productive on the days she was working. After experiencing this, Reda had this advice for equine veterinary professionals.

“Other practitioners in our (AAEP) Compensation Committee confirmed this trend in their practice. Many doctors working four days actually were producing more than when they were working five days, and even the practice as a whole was doing better. My advice to other associates is: Do not be afraid to ask for the change that you need. Just because it hasn’t been done before in your practice, does not mean that it cannot be done,” Reda concluded.

Along with the committee and subcommittees here, AAEP has more initiatives to help improve the equine industry, and can be found on the AAEP website.

AAEP Equine Veterinary Sustainability Initiative. American Association of Equine Practitioners. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://aaep.org/about-aaep/aaep-equine-veterinary-sustainability-initiative

2022 Equine Medicine Salary & Lifestyle Survey . Published online October 2022. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://aaep.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/AAEP_2022_Salary_Survey_Report.pdf

Lederhouse C. AAEP develops resources to recruit, retain equine veterinarians. American Veterinary Medical Association. Published March 27, 2024. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://www.avma.org/news/aaep-develops-resources-recruit-retain-equine-veterinarians?utm_source=delivra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=todays-headlines-news

The Commission of Equine Veterinary Sustainability aims to address areas in need of improvement

AAEP announces initiatives to recruit and retain equine veterinary professionals 

Lacey Rosenberg, DVM, DACT, shares her tips for a successful neonatal resuscitation

Best practices for neonatal resuscitation

In an interview with Lacey Rosenberg, DVM, DACT, an associate veterinarian for Veterinary Specialties at the Lake in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, she explained her start in veterinary theriogenology and interest in animal reproduction. She also described the technique for a neonatal resuscitation and some of the tools she uses during the Fetch dvm360 conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 So growing up, I had like pretty much every pet and my mom had this hyper fixation on breeding animals. So, we had purebred collies and we had a litter of collies. And then we like had a cat that got out and got pregnant, we have a litter of kittens...So kind of just growing up, [I was] always exposed to animals, always exposed to breeding, and really just found the science of reproduction fascinating.

Neonatal resuscitation, when we kind of think about it, from our perspective, it's after a C-section. So usually you've got a whole litter of puppies or kittens that were trying to wake up from some level of anesthesia at once. So the most important thing is really having your resuscitation area ready and having all of your tools.

Videos

, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, sits down with Celine Leheurteux, DVM, CEO and founder of EUTHABAG, to discuss a crucial aspect of veterinary care that is often overlooked: responsible home burial and pentobarbital hazards. 

Within the episode, Leherteux breaks down her professional evolution that led her to creating EUTHABAG, the veterinarians role in comforting and supporting grieving pet owners, and how veterinary professionals can educate clients on a proper burial place for their pet that does not impact the well-being of wildlife, and other pets, while also legally protecting the owners and veterinary team. 

The clients are not provided with any instructions and they do their best... for home burial, we let the clients leave with basically what is a biohazard. And other pet full of [pentobarbital] that could poison another pet or wildlife animal? So it's just a nonsense here. So I finally was like, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna contribute to my professions education and well-being because what is worse than a professional complaint? I wouldn't blame a pet owner wanting to sue somebody if he was not provided with the information that could have been. This is pretty basic, we make them sign discharge for things that are way less dangerous than that.

I never really thought about [because] I didn't have this experience, [and] I still don't so far, but it's out there. You know, I've heard about it so, what happens? I'm curious now that you're mentioned is what happens with pentobarbital in the soil over time.

It's so surprising, and we don't know. We don't think about it, because we were not provided with such critical information. So because nobody told us about it, we're like, 'well, it must be fine.' 

Podcasts

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