Celebrating our Veterinary Heroes: Danny W. Scott, DVM, DACVP

dvm360 is pleased to present the 2023 class of Veterinary Heroes. Nominated by their peers and selected for the recognition by a committee of esteemed veterinary professionals, 15 award recipients were chosen in various veterinary industry roles and specialties in this third annual program.

The Veterinary Heroes recognition program, which is supported by Dermatology category sponsor Nextmune, celebrates the achievements of outstanding veterinary professionals who are advancing the field and making a difference in animal care. These winners will be honored on Thursday, August 24, 2023, in conjunction with a Fetch dvm360 conference in Kansas City, Missouri.

Make sure to register for Fetch Kansas City if you have not already!

Dermatology winner: Danny W. Scott, DVM, DACVP

This category is sponsored by Nextmune.

Danny W. Scott, DVM, DACVP

Danny W. Scott, DVM, DACVP, is now retired from veterinary medicine but had an extensive career in the industry. He graduated from the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1971 and then completed an internship and residency in small animal medicine at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, over the next 3 years. He later joined the faculty at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. He became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology in 1977 and founded the first Dermatology Service at Cornell in 1978.

“Since 1978, I was basically a full-time veterinary dermatologist, treating everything from elephants to mice to snakes to birds. That was me. And I had just a fantastic 45-year career and then retired 7 years ago,” Scott told dvm360 in an interview.

Scott first decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine at around the age of 15 years and then began making connections throughout the industry. He considers Robert W. Kirk, DVM, his professional role model. Kirk was Scott’s boss during his internship and residency at Cornell University.

“[Kirk] was a legend in veterinary medicine and dermatology,” Scott said. “Not only did I learn all kinds of medicine and science and interactive ways to deal with animals and their owners, but he taught me a whole lot about what it was to be a good friend and a good mentor.”

The professional accomplishment that Scott is most proud of is when he assumed the main editing role of the textbook Small Animal Dermatology after previous editors Kirk and George Muller, DVM, entrusted the responsibility to him. “I had collaborated with them for a couple editions, and then they both decided to retire and wanted somebody to carry on. And they asked me if I would do it,” Scott said. “And that was probably the most humbling experience ever. It was certainly the greatest challenge of my professional career.”

During the dvm360 interview, Scott shared his reaction to receiving the Veterinary Heroes award. “Like most awards I got in my life, I wasn’t expecting them and often didn’t even know I was in the running for them,” he said. “So it’s always kind of flabbergasting to win an award because at no time are you in it for an award—you’re in it because you love what you do and you do what you love. And your focus was never on being rewarded for that.”

Retired since 2016, Scott enjoys hiking with his wife and playing in a classic rock cover band.

“[Scott] is largely responsible for growing the specialty and interest in the field of veterinary dermatology over the past 50 years,” wrote his nominator. “He has been a mentor of many/most of the key opinion leaders in our specialty….Along with his obvious intelligence and knowledge in the field of dermatology, he is energetic, enthusiastic, thoughtful, kind, considerate, generous, and humble.”