April Blong, DVM, DACVECC, discusses some of the ways that pets experience serious emergency injuries, in a dvm360 interview.

Common causes of blunt trauma in pets

When animals fall from a height, early and ongoing management of blunt force trauma can help lead to a successful outcome. In a continuing education session,  "The Blunt Force Trauma Patient," at the 2025 Fetch Kansas City, Missouri, presenter April Blong, DVM, DACVECC, discussed abdominal and thoracic injuries in blunt force trauma cases as well as identifying and stabilizing possible traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. In this

, she also discussed some common ways that blunt force trauma cases occur.

Blong is an associate clinical professor at the Iowa State University Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center in Ames and the medical director at Iowa Veterinary Specialties in Des Moines. A graduate of Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, she completed a residency in emergency and critical care at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

The following is a transcript of the video:

: Our most common blunt force trauma patients are going to be hit by cars, right? All those animals, little dogs, are being carried around. They fall out of the owner's arms. That's actually blunt force trauma. That's a fall from a height, similar to if a cat had jumped off a second story balcony. Or, when I was at Cornell, we saw a lot of dogs that fell off of cliffs [while out walking].

There are all types of blunt force trauma. And so there's a lot of ways it can happen. One of the things that really stuck with me in, you know, doing the research to make this talk was that among tertiary referral centers, so like universities, trauma only accounts for about 10% of our hospital admissions. However, if we look at causes of mortality among all dogs, so juvenile and adult dogs, not necessarily senior, it accounts for about half of the fatalities that we see so trauma, and recognizing trauma and treating it is, I think, a huge potential area where we can really make some impact.

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Common causes of blunt force trauma in pets

At the 2025 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, Melissa Evans, LVT, VTS (ECC), urged veterinary teams to prioritize rapid stabilization and hands-on technician care to reduce secondary neurologic damage in emergency patients. “Technicians play a really vital role in the treatment of neurologic disease because these patients need so much hands-on care,” Evans said.

Image Credit: © Chalabala - stock.adobe.com

Evans opened by distinguishing primary injury (the initial insult from trauma, toxins, or neoplasia) from secondary injury (downstream physiologic events such as hypoxia, ischemia, edema, and increased intracranial pressure) that can worsen outcomes if not managed. “Secondary [injury] is a series of events that happened after the initial injury. This tends to result in progressive neurological damage. This can sometimes be prevented,” she said, emphasizing that early measures to maintain oxygenation and perfusion are essential.

Her practical triage advice for veterinary technicians: Secure the airway, support breathing and circulation, then perform a focused neurologic exam once the patient is stable. Mentation, from alert to comatose, is a rapid bedside metric. Evans recommended using this as both a triage tool and a trending measure during treatment.

Seizures and traumatic brain injury: Act fast, track trends

Seizures were a focal point of the session, as Evans cautioned that prolonged or repeated seizures inflict rapid brain damage and require immediate control and investigation for reversible causes such as hypoglycemia or toxins. “Oh, poor baby’s brain is on fire...that’s basically what it is,” Evans said, underlining the urgency of anticonvulsant therapy and continuous monitoring. Practical bedside interventions she recommended include audible seizure alerts (bells), continuous observation, and recumbent care with passive range of motion for altered patients.

For traumatic brain injury, Evans advised routine use of the Modified Glasgow Coma Scale as a serial tool rather than a single prognostic snapshot. “This is not a one-off. Doing this once doesn’t tell me a whole lot…. Trends are a big word when it comes to the Modified Glasgow Coma Scale,” she said, recommending repeated scoring to document response to therapy and guide escalation. She also urged careful documentation of posture and gait abnormalities to help localize lesions and inform imaging choices.

Evans outlined technician-led measures that frequently determine outcomes: spinal stabilization before movement, documenting motor function before analgesia, and selecting imaging appropriate to the suspected cause (MRI for intervertebral disc disease, CT for high-energy trauma). She stressed pain reassessment, urinary care, pressure-relief rotation, and early physiotherapy as routine priorities for spinal and recumbent patients.

On vestibular disease, she contrasted typically self-limiting peripheral cases with central disorders that often include mentation changes and carry a guarded prognosis; padded housing, antiemetics, and close neurologic checks can both comfort the patient and reveal progression.

“Understanding how to do that and understanding what we see when they come in is really important,” Evans said, framing veterinary technician training and vigilant bedside care as pivotal to improving neurologic patient trajectories.

The take-home message from the session? Stabilize first, monitor consistently, and apply focused technician interventions to limit secondary injury and give neurologic patients the best chance for recovery.

Evans M. Neurologic emergencies. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 Conference; August 22-24, 2025; Kansas City, MO.

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At Fetch dvm360 in Kansas City, Missouri, Melissa Evans, LVT, VTS (ECC), told attendees that rapid stabilization and focused nursing interventions can materially reduce secondary brain injury in neurologic emergencies.

Rapid triage reduces secondary brain damage in emergencies

Robert Merrill, DVM, wanted to be a practice owner from the moment he graduated from veterinary school. However, only being 23 years old at the time, he would go on to work for 15 years in the industry before opening Sherwood Family Pet Clinic in 1996. Now, Sherwood Family Pet Clinic in Sherwood, Oregon, has moved to its new hospital, close to where it first started.

In its new home, Sherwood Family Pet Clinic features a bright and efficient layout and was helped by the entire team in designing the new location. “I think the thing I like the most is [that] the general feel of the hospital is bright; it’s light and [efficient], so we purposefully put the doctors’ offices and the manager’s office centrally located between the examination rooms and the treatment room. We wanted to decrease the number of steps you had to take going back and forth between the treatment room and so forth,” Merrill told 

Overall, layout was important to Merrill. “One little thing is we put the laundry room off the treatment room, because that’s where most [of] the laundry is created,” he said.

Although the hospital was designed in a way that works best for the staff, clients, and patients, it still had its issues. Merrill explained that one of the most difficult things for them was finding the property that was best for them, but after years of looking, he finally found it 4 blocks down the street from where their hospital originally operated.

Throughout the process, Merrill would look at other hospitals and consider current trends in the designs to see whether they would work for him. He shared that he would also look through previous winners of 

’s Hospital Design360 Competition and see what design features he would like to implement or ones that he could do without. For example, he shared that in the design process, it was suggested that they install kiosks instead of a larger desk area for checking clients in and out of the clinic.

After discussing the plans among themselves and Merrill thinking about a friend of his who designed a hospital with a smaller front desk, the team realized they needed a bigger front desk instead of kiosks because they would not work for his practice. Clients were coming in and out of the clinic for different things, so it was important to have that larger central location. Plus, to Merrill, sometimes a fad is not the best long-term option for your clinic.

For anyone interested in building their hospital, Merrill offered this advice: “It’s a process that’s generally longer than you expect it will be, so it’s good to understand that’s going to be the case. If you’re upping your lease to stay in your current space, you probably want to give yourself more time than [what] your contractors [are] telling you, because they might say the building is going to be done on [one] day, [and] I had to add 6 months onto that. So luckily, we were renting a property in the leasehold—the leasehold improvement for the mall. It was time for me to redo my leads, and they insisted on at least 2 years. I said, 'I don’t need 2 years,' but they wouldn’t budge. As it turned out, I needed every last month to get out of that space. I got lucky that we didn’t have...termination too soon. So, that’s one bit of advice.

“I would shop hard for your loan, because there are lots of fees, and you want to have a banker you trust and [who] knows you. So, we’ve dealt with lots of bankers over the years, but that’s important,” he continued.

To conclude, when asked what he is most proud of when it comes to this award and Sherwood Family Pet Clinic, Merrill told 

 that he is most proud of his team of veterinarians and staff at the hospital. Without them, Merrill said, the business would not have grown and prospered enough to the point where they would need a new building.


Sherwood Family Pet Clinic was crowned the winner of the 3500 to 8000 sq-ft category.

2025 dvm360 Hospital Design winner: Sherwood Family Pet Clinic

Meghan Herron, DVM, DACVB, FFCV, discusses what clients should know about a cat’s actions in a dvm360 interview.

Understanding natural feline behavior

Meghan Herron, DVM, DACVB, FFCV, senior director of behavior, education, and outreach at Gigi’s, a shelter organization in Ohio, presented a continuing education session on “Feline Behavior Myths” at the 2025 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. During the talk, she debunked common notions about the behavior of cats that aren’t supported by science.

What’s one myth about feline behavior that veterinary teams can communicate to clients that might help them understand a cat’s actions? In a 

interview, Herron noted that natural feline actions can be mistaken for misbehavior. In this video, she discussed how that misconception can drive pet owners’ responses, how it affects the human-animal bond and ways to better support these pets.

: Most feline behaviors that our clients are going to complain to us about are probably normal, natural behaviors. What a lot of our clients don't realize is that the domestic cat, Felis, that is living in our homes, is almost identical to their wild ancestor, the African wild cat that is living today, and is quite the stealth predator. So it's like putting a wild animal into our homes, and if we're not prepared for that, it's going to wreak havoc naturally—and it's normal. And so, then we get our squirt bottles, or we start yelling and chasing and damaging our bond for cats that are just being cats, right? And so we got to think back: why are they doing this? And how can I create outlets for this? How can I create a resting place that's elevated, that's warm, that's more appealing than lounging on my countertops. How can I create a scratching option that is stable, that makes a mess when a cat scratches it. So there's a big visual marker there, and it is Grand Central Station of our home, so that they're not scratching up our couch, which is what's most appealing. So thinking about all these things as probably normal behaviors and really setting up our clients for success. If only they would come to us before they got that kitten so we could help them set that up [it] would be great. For now, we just work on helping them understand how to really provide outlets so they're not going haywire with it.

Understanding natural feline behavior 

In an announcement on July 31, 2025, Brakke Consulting, a firm specializing in animal health, pet care, and the veterinary industry, announced that Ronald Brakke, its founder and president emeritus, died at age 84. Brakke, a native to Forestburg, South Dakota, passed away surrounded by his family on July 30, 2025, from complications related to viral encephalitis.

Brakke earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1963 and then served in the Army National Guard from 1963 to 1971. He then went on to complete the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1983. After this, his animal health career began with Sioux Nation’s Veterinary Supply.

Ronald Brakke, founder and president emeritus, passed away on July 30, 2025, after over 6 decades in the animal health industry (Image courtesy of Brakke Consulting)

Brakke eventually joined Diamond Labs over-the-counter division, leading him to move to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Then in 1966, he joined Thuron Industries in Dallas, Texas, which was later renamed the Animal Health Division of Zoëcon. In 1975, the company promoted him to president, and he increased its revenue from $15 million to $125 million. He guided the company to become the premier supplier of insect control products for livestock and pets. After more than 10 years, Brakke then left Zoëcon to start Brakke Consulting in 1985, following the sale of Zoëcon to Sandoz in 1983.

Brakke Consulting provides consulting, market research, and recruiting services, as well as support for business development and licensing transactions in the animal health industry. It serves division leaders, CEOs, managers, stockholders, and investors for multiple leading pharmaceutical, vaccine, and pet food companies, as well as many top animal nutrition suppliers.

“Ron knew a lot of people, helped a lot of companies solve problems and grow, helped place a lot of people in new positions in animal health companies, and led many transactions for companies,” Robert Jones, PhD, president of Brakke Consulting, wrote in an email on July 31, 2025, to its subscribers. “Under his leadership, Brakke Consulting has produced 5 landmark studies that helped the animal health industry. He wanted it to be a better industry.”

 US Animal Health Industry: Its Pioneers and Their Legacy of Innovation,

 which utilized his early knowledge of the animal health industry companies, plus its founders. He was also presented with the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor’s annual Iron Paw Award to honor his 6 decades in the industry. Outside of work, Brakke owned his family farm in Forestburg, where he was a part-time resident. He also enjoyed hosting family and business associates for pheasant hunts over several weekends in the fall.

Brakke is survived by his wife Rebecca, brother Allen (Jo) Brakke, daughters Rebecca Suzanne (Mick) Moore and Rachel (Matt) Holman, and 2 grandchildren. A service was held on Friday, August 22, 2025, in Dallas.

Industry pioneer Brakke leaves lasting legacy in animal health. News release. American Veterinary Medical Association. August 20, 2025. Accessed August 22, 2025. https://www.avma.org/news/industry-pioneer-brakke-leaves-lasting-legacy-animal-health?utm_source=delivra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=todays-headlines-news

Ron Brakke, founder of Brakke Consulting passes away. News release. Brakke Consulting. July 31, 2025. Accessed August 22, 2025. https://brakkeconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Brakke-Consulting-Ron-Brakke-Passing.pdf

Ronald Brakke died due to complications related to viral encephalitis last month.

Founder of Brakke Consulting passes away at 84 

At the Fetch dvm360 Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, Jamie Kopper, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (LAIM), DACVECC (LA), assistant professor of equine internal medicine and emergency/critical care at Iowa State University, presented a lecture on acute colitis in horses. Among many other things, Kopper’s talk included common causes of colitis in adult horses, such as 

and equine coronavirus, plus the diagnostic challenges veterinarians face when managing these organisms.

may vary. Some patients may be asymptomatic carriers, appearing happy and healthy but still shedding the pathogen, whereas other horses may experience severe life-threatening colitis, sepsis, and/or endotoxemia.

 Meanwhile, others may only show mild signs of intermittent colic.

Risk factors for shedding the bacteria include stress, colic—particularly small colon impactions—and antimicrobial use. During her lecture, Kopper shared that a large percentage of the hospitalized horses with 

Kopper explained that the cause and effect of the relationship between the increased risk for shedding 

and having a small colon impaction is still unknown. Still, she advised, “If you are taking horses into your hospital and you diagnose a small colon impaction, have your radar up from a biosecurity standpoint that this may be a horse that is at an increased risk of shedding 

within your hospital or on a farm that you're working on.”

When it comes to diagnosing the bacterium, a culture and/or a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test are both “excellent” options, according to Kopper. “One caveat I will put [out] is, unfortunately, this is a disease that is known for intermittent shedding. So, we know that with 1 negative sample, there's about a 50% chance [the patient] doesn’t have it. Three negative samples, about 75% chance [they] don't have it.” To be fully confident that a patient does not have 

“When I'm submitting a single sample...I will warn the clients that if we're really wanting to rule out 

, [if] this comes back negative, we still don't have an answer yet, and it's still on our list of diseases to be concerned about,” Kopper said. “This is a disease that I will submit at least [another] 1 or 2 more samples for.”

To help clients save money, Kopper advises pooling manure samples from up to 5 horses instead of testing each horse separately. This method may be especially useful in herd outbreaks to reduce cost without losing test sensitivity.

When it comes to horses that were already diagnosed with 

, and the goal is now to confirm that they are no longer an infectious disease risk to others, a culture is the better option over a PCR test, Kopper emphasized. She explained that this is because a PCR may still continue to detect DNA from dead 

 bacteria after the horse has stopped shedding the live, infectious organism. A culture, on the other hand, only detects live bacteria.

, clinical symptoms of equine coronavirus are also varied. “[Signs] could be the mildly colicky horse with a fever, it [could] be the horse with just some soft manure, it [could] be the horse with more severe diarrhea and colitis—so a whole gamut of clinical signs,” Kopper said. She noted that a reliable PCR test is available for detecting the disease.

Unfortunately, equine coronavirus is similar to 

in more than just its varying clinical signs; affected horses also appear to exhibit intermittent shedding of the virus. “We don't have the same data worked out that we do with 

, where we can say, ‘With 2 samples, you have this likelihood of picking it up; 3, you have this percent.’ But certainly, 1 sample is probably not enough to say, ‘Absolutely, that's not what's going on.’ So this is something that you and your client really want to circle back to [if you want to] be more confident that it's not what you're dealing with,” Kopper said.

“From a biosecurity standpoint, it does appear that they shed for weeks post infection,” she said. “And I think, similar to

, it's very variable [on a farm]. We may have 1 single horse that's affected, no one else is bothered by it, and other farms where you have the [full] outbreak that you're dealing with—[many] affected horses on the farm with varying degrees of clinical signs,” she said.

Kopper J. Acute colitis in the horse. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 Conference; August 22, 2025; Kansas City, MO.

Jamie Kopper, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (LAIM), DACVECC (LA), discussed common causes of colitis in adult horses in a CE session at Fetch Kansas City.