James M. Lewis

The emotional cost of defending oneself in a state-board investigation sometimes runs deep.

Lexington, Ky. - For the last five years, Dr. William A. Rood, co-founder and director of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, has been doing some proselytizing - seeking to convert as many young veterinary students as he can to the practice of equine medicine.

The illegal sport of dog fighting has yet another dark side - one that a Mississippi veterinarian knows all too well.

With the number of client complaints on the rise, more veterinarians sooner or later will have to answer to their state regulatory boards.

Veterinarians might consider it a source of pride to be ranked consistently as one of the nation's most trusted professions, but earning that honor doesn't come without effort.

Fort Collins, Colo. - Two dozen of the nation's top experts in equine medicine identified five key areas of lameness research that should get priority attention during the next five to 10 years.

Some responses were strident, others more straightforward - and a few pushed the decibel meter to the max.

Columbus, Ohio - A veterinarian who is also a state lawmaker plans to offer an amendment to pending animal-protection legislation that would take pets away from abusive owners.

During the initial five-year operational phase, the center will focus on diagnostics and orthopedics.

Veterinarians are trusting souls - some perhaps too trusting for their own good, according to an expert on practice-safety issues.

DVMs assist law enforcement, animal-welfare groups in crackdown efforts

Few DVMS in this study reported using personal protective equipment.

Avian flu may be a risk to some veterinarians, but it's not among the most common daily hazards that all DVMs and their employees face.

Brooklyn, N.Y. - Pet owners too busy to take their animals to a veterinary clinic may have thought they'd found the perfect solution: A "veterinarian" who made house calls, offering to pick up ailing cats and dogs and return them after treatment.

Ithaca, N.Y. - Patient care and life in general are moving on at the Feline Health Center, part of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, but people who work at the center agree things haven't been the same – and probably won't be for quite some time – since the death of the center's director, James R. Richards, DVM.

Horse injuries at the nation's racetracks might be reduced significantly if track veterinarians and officials had better informational tools in making pre-race assessments of horses and track conditions, experts say.

Veterinarians are seeing fewer cases related to the nation's ongoing pet-food crisis and hundreds are participating in an online survey they hope finally will solve the mystery of what caused so many pets to become ill and die.

Ithaca, N.Y. - It's nice to be No. 1, but Dr. Michael I. Kotlikoff, incoming dean of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, doesn't want to overplay the fact that U.S. News and World Report recently rated Cornell's veterinary program as the nation's best in its 2008 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools."

Leesburg, Va. - Virginia Tech's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center resumed full operations, including inpatient and emergency care, after a quarantine of nearly six weeks, imposed by the Virginia State Veterinarian's Office, was lifted April 2.

Washington - An improved system of tracking pet-food ingredients from the point of origin to the point of utilization, a better system of reporting contaminants and a truth-in-labeling initiative are steps that might go a long way toward preventing another pet-food crisis of the magnitude the nation is experiencing.

After more than six weeks, the story surrounding the nation's largest pet-food recall still doesn't have an ending.

St. Paul, Minn. - More than three decades in the academic realm of veterinary medicine are drawing to a close for Dr. Jeffry S. Klausner, dean of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, as he prepares to become president and chief executive officer of New York City's prestigious Animal Medical Center (AMC) on July 1.

Recent veterinary graduates with a yen to open their own practice often face what might seem an insurmountable barrier.

Princeton, Mass. – A large number of New England veterinarians are actively supporting a new program through which service dogs are trained specifically to assist disabled combat veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

National Report - A tidal wave of telephone calls from worried pet owners flooded veterinary practices nationwide last month after nearly 1 percent of all the pet food sold in the United States was recalled and later reported to have been contaminated with a rodent-killing toxin.

Associates with a yen to open their own practice often face what might seem an insurmountable barrier.

Lexington, Ky. - Not even a team of horses will be able to keep Dr. Kent Allen, a Middleburg, Va., DVM who specializes in equine sports medicine, away from this city three and a half years from now.

Kennett Square, Pa. -- Many patients leave caregivers with indelible memories, but none like this one.

Barbaro's eight-month stay at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's New Bolton Center had a dramatic effect on the work environment at the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals and other school facilities.

Finding a good mentor is key to a graduate's career success.