Dayson Judd practices haltering a horse on a model with guidance from lead veterinary technician Abigail Matzdorff (Image courtesy of the University of Arizona).

Dayson Judd was 3 years old when his family welcomed home Tilly, a miniature schnauzer. Dayson, who was lonely now that his sister started kindergarten, found a new best friend in Tilly, and soon, the duo began playing together. Through Tilly, Dayson learned how veterinarians took care of animals, inspiring him at a young age to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.

Since then, Dayson Judd worked hard to complete steps toward his goal and now in his senior year, he will graduate from Tanque Verde High School and attend the University of Arizona. He hopes to enroll in the W.A. Franke Honors College to earn a degree in veterinary sciences with hopes of attending the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine.

However, unlike most inspiring veterinarians, Dayson was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 8 months old after he presented to his doctors with a persistent cough, but his doctors were able to manage his symptoms, according to an organizational release.

 At age 7, his health took a turn and he began to have more frequent hospital visits and dozens of medications and treatment plans. According to Dayson Judd, he was in the hospital 15 times between the ages of 7 and 12 due to low lung function.

 Before his teenage years, Dayson Judd joined a drug trial for Trikafta, causing an immediate improvement in his health.

Now, as Dayson Judd prepares to begin his college career, Make-A-Wish Arizona, PAWS Veterinary Center, and the University of Arizona collaborated to grant his wish of becoming a veterinarian for a day.

"His first response was to give his wish away to help someone else," said Chet Judd, Dayson's father.

 "He's a very empathetic person. We support him in whatever career field he wants, but choosing veterinary medicine makes perfect sense to me, as far as his personality. He cares for animals. He's a great person."

Dayson Judd kicked off his day with a tour of the college, College of Veterinary Medicine, where he was given a stethoscope and scrubs. He then went on to meet with Julie Funk, DVM, MS, PhD, dean of the school, Alex Ramirez, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, PhD, associate dean for the academic programs and faculty affairs

and Shannon Salinas, JD, associate dean of student affairs. The school officials explained to Dayson Judd more about the profession, shared their own experiences, and answered questions he had about college. After this roundtable, he was invited to attend assistant professor Elaine Norton, DVM

MS, PhD, DACVIM-LA, class and reviewed coursework with a second-year veterinary student.

"The College of Veterinary Medicine is all about fulfilling our students' dreams of becoming veterinarians," Funk said.

 "We are so excited to share our college with Dayson and are excited to learn about his passion for veterinary medicine. I am hopeful that visiting the college further assured Dayson's interest in becoming a veterinarian, and through meeting our faculty and students, he feels that veterinary medicine is home, the place to build a career. We would love for Dayson to be a future University of Arizona VetCat."

In 2020, the College of Veterinary Medicine opened its doors and became the first and only public veterinary school within Arizona and differs from the normal curriculum of other veterinary schools because its curriculum spans 3 years not the traditional 4 years.

Dayson was also invited to meet and shadow Randy Aronson, VMD, CCRT, CVMA, co-owner of PAWS Veterinary Center where he met with patients, discussed treatment plans, and worked in the center’s lab. After all of these experiences, Dayson believes he is ready to begin his journey into veterinary medicine to help treat pets, like his childhood best friend Tilly.

"Today was better than I could have imagined, it's just amazing," he concluded. "The connections I have made, the people I have talked to, have all been amazing. It's helped a lot, and I am very excited."

UArizona partners with Make-A-Wish Arizona for “veterinarian for a day” experience. The University of Arizona. Published March 14, 2024. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://news.arizona.edu/story/uarizona-partners-make-wish-arizona-veterinarian-day-experience

First College of Veterinary Medicine class set to graduate. News release. The University of Arizona. Published August 16, 2023. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://news.arizona.edu/story/first-college-veterinary-medicine-class-set-graduate#:~:text=The%20state's%20first%20and%20only,the%20workforce%20one%20year%20sooner.

Articles

Seventeen-year-old Dayson Judd was able to experience veterinary school for a day

Veterinary college partners with Make-A-Wish Arizona

Lacey Rosenberg, DVM, DACT, explains the best treatment approach for pyometra

Treating pyometra

In an interview with Lacey Rosenberg, DVM, DACT, an associate veterinarian for Veterinary Specialties at the Lake in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, she explained how to combat pyometra—a severe infection of the uterus that can cause an overflow of bacteria and pus, during the Fetch dvm360 conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 Our treatment of choice for pyometra is spay. We've got a pus filled uterus, [so] we want to get rid of the uterus [and then] we get rid of the infection. We will medically manage these patients at times if they're stable. So if the cervix is open, if they're bright, alert, and responsive, if they're feeling good, still eating, still acting okay. And then the other important thing to that is that if I feel that there's still a good prognosis for future fertility, because in cases of pyometra, there is underlying uterine pathology. We're going to worsen the prognosis for them having subsequent litters.

Videos

Co-presenters Temple Grandin, PhD, MS; and Marty Becker, DVM, took to the keynote stage on Day 3.

The Fetch dvm360 Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, has wrapped up for 2024. Held March 15-17, the event featured more than 115 live continuing education sessions in nearly 30 tracks. Throughout the weekend, 

provided live coverage of our keynote addresses and other lectures. Our continuing coverage of Fetch Charlotte, including interviews with faculty, can be found here: 

https://www.dvm360.com/conference/fetch-charlotte

The following articles spotlight the each of the 3 morning keynote sessions presented during the conference:

How do you contribute to your clinic’s culture?

Day 1 keynote speaker Shawn McVey, MA, MSW, explained how to first evaluate yourself and then apply that awareness to your workplace culture

https://www.dvm360.com/view/how-do-you-contribute-to-your-clinic-s-culture-

Day 2 keynote speaker, Ernie Ward, DVM, CVFT, lectures on the power of challenges and how to use change to your advantage

https://www.dvm360.com/view/how-to-flourish-with-a-growth-mindset

Practicing with care for the emotional well-being of animals

Temple Grandin, PhD, MS, and Marty Becker, DVM, partnered on Day 3 to address fear and pain in animals with methods to help patients be more comfortable during veterinary care visits

https://www.dvm360.com/view/practicing-with-care-for-the-emotional-wellbeing-of-animals

The morning keynote sessions presented during the conference are spotlighted.

3 must-reads from Fetch Charlotte 2024

Life-saving surgeries for animals will now be sponsored through a new initiative by Cresilon Inc, a biotechnology company for hemostatic medical devices. The philanthropic program, VETIGEL Gives, aims to help animals in critical need of surgery in cases where pet owners are experiencing financial hardship.

Nearly 30% of pet owners in the US experience barriers to veterinary care with financial challenges the most common reason, according to a news release. As many pet owners are having difficulty covering the costs of veterinary care, animal euthanasia rates for shelter pets have increased in recent years, reaching a 3-year high in 2023.

“Cresilon’s mission has always been to save lives, so we started VETIGEL Gives to help pets and animals that need life-saving procedures,” Matt Lewis, vice president of sales at Cresilon, said in the release.

 “We are proud to be giving back to the animal community through this new philanthropic initiative and encourage veterinarians across America and pet parents in need of financial assistance to nominate animals in critical need of surgery.”

VETIGEL Gives will fund 2 surgeries each month in 2024 with up to $2500 for each surgery. The program relies on veterinarians nominating animals for pro-bono surgery. Nomination forms are found on the 

. After receiving nomination forms, the program’s veterinary team will choose 2 surgeries for each month that will receive funding. VETIGEL Gives will then work with the nominated veterinarian to plan for payment to be directly sent.

The philanthropic program is named for Cresilon’s hemostatic gel product that is designed to immediately stop bleeding in animals. VETIGEL is used by veterinarians around the world during surgical procedures and to treat patients in emergency situations such as trauma wounds.

According to Cresilon, amputations, tumor and mass removals, liver biopsies, cleft palate repairs, and dental extractions are some of the surgical procedures that rely on VETIGEL.

 “VETIGEL has been used by thousands of veterinarians thus far and is proven to help patients heal and recover faster while helping veterinary clinics and animal hospitals save time, reduce operating costs, and improve patient outcomes,” Lewis said in a news release.

Cresilon launches “VETIGEL Gives” to sponsor life-saving surgeries for animals in need. News release. Cresilon Inc. March 13, 2024. Accessed March 18, 2024. 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cresilon-launches-vetigel-gives-to-sponsor-life-saving-surgeries-for-animals-in-need-302087608.html

VETIGEL Gives. VETIGEL Hemostatic Gel. 2024. Accessed March 18, 2024. 

Cresilon announces distribution agreement for VETIGEL with Penn Veterinary Supply. News release. Cresilon, Inc. August 22, 2023. Accessed August 28, 2023. 

https://vetigel.com/blogs/news/cresilon-announces-distribution-agreement-for-vetigel-with-penn-veterinary-supply

Biotechnology company Cresilon Inc has launched VETIGEL Gives to help animals in critical need and their owners

New philanthropy program will sponsor life-saving veterinary surgeries

Jb Minter, DVM, MS, DACZM, shares how he got his start in zoo medicine and what led him down this path

A passion for zoo medicine

Jb Minter, DVM, MS, DACZM, director of Animal Health at the North Carolina Zoo, told 

 in an interview, about why he decided to pursue veterinary medicine, and specifically follow his passion for wildlife and exotic animals. He explains the many options he was faced with and how he ultimately landed at the North Carolina Zoo.

 I was always the one I was finding the lizards and the snakes and the turtles, and was always in the ditch looking for some type of critter that I could bring home. And that kind of sparked my interest in wildlife. I think, 

Okay, well, I really like doing these types of things.

 But as you get older, and you start to develop out what is a career, what is a path that you can do with animals? The biggest thing that came to mind was I could be a veterinarian. Okay, well, that makes sense. In my experience, with veterinarians growing up, were that they did dogs and cats.

I went to undergraduate at Virginia Tech, which is out in the mountains of Virginia. So that exposed me to more of a rural background, more of a rural setting. I was an animal science major, so my experience there was very much not dogs and cats, but cows and horses and pigs and things of that nature. I really developed a fondness for cattle. Cattle and horses and those types of animals. And I was like, 

well, maybe dogs and cats are not what I want to do

, maybe I what I want to do is large animal medicine.

I decided to pursue that master's degree in wildlife biology. So I moved out to Utah and I pursued it and finished a master's degree in wildlife biology working with wild canids.

Kristin Welch, DVM, DACVECC, discusses the importance of veterinary trauma care and immediate patient assessment

Trauma care assessment

Kristin Welch, DVM, DACVECC, criticalist and founder of DVM STAT Consulting, presented the lecture “Revolutionizing trauma care: advanced techniques for triage, severity assessment and stabilization” at the 

2024 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Charlotte

, she said the presentation was created to help veterinarians in a broad group of practices—from single-doctor general practices to emergency and urgent care practices—feel more comfortable assessing patients with trauma.

Welch discusses some immediate diagnostic techniques, one of the main focus areas of the lecture, in this video. She also shares a recent trauma case that demonstrated to attendees how ultrasound can quickly and easily aid in trauma diagnostics.

The following is a transcript of the video:

Trauma patients are always a big stressor. They give you a huge surge of adrenaline. And you sometimes only have minutes to make decisions that are critical in whether or not that patient lives. And, so, we focused a lot on the immediate diagnostic techniques that can be used to help save their lives. Cageside ultrasound, immediate diagnostic bloodwork, and how to put those little pieces of the puzzle together as part of your minimum database to make sure that you have a good idea of whether this patient has emergent injuries that need immediate surgical stabilization, whether a patient has emergent injuries that can be medically stabilized, or whether they have a combination of injuries, where those nonemergent injuries can be dealt with later, once you've focused on hemodynamic stabilization, fluid therapy, oxygen therapy, transfusion therapy.

One of the really neat moments during the talk was when we talked about who in the room has ultrasound that they can use, and almost everybody's hand went up. And the follow up question was ‘who uses ultrasound as part of their trauma triage diagnostics,’ and only about 40% of the room raised their hands. And I had a case, just this past week, it was a dog that had been hit by a car. And, so, I had some videos from just this past week, showing in real time, how quick it is and how easy it is for every doctor in that room to pick up their ultrasound and use it to do a global fast scan on these trauma patients. And after I showed all of those videos, I asked again, if this is something that everybody feels like they can start trying to do on every one of their patients. And everybody's hand went up.

For more coverage from Fetch Charlotte, visit our dedicated conference news page at

Kristin Welch, DVM, DACVECC, criticalist and founder of DVM STAT Consulting, discusses diagnostic techniques, one of the main focus areas of her lecture at Fetch Charlotte.