veterinary medicine

18 Stories

A Veterinarian's Admission: 'This Job Breaks You'
'This Job Breaks You.'
A Veterinarian Explains
longform
Feb 12, 2023 5:00 PM CST

'This Job Breaks You.' A Veterinarian Explains

Andrew Bullis details the stress and heartbreak of the job, one with a high suicide rate

(Newser) - In a wrenching account at Slate , Andrew Bullis writes that he never understood why veterinarians had such a high rate of suicide —until he became one himself. As the piece begins, he recalls the words of one his teachers: "I want to make this abundantly clear: If there’...

$15K for Your Cat's Kidney Transplant: Is It Worth It?

Sarah Zhang explores the question in the 'Atlantic'

(Newser) - It's a provocative question: "How much would you pay to save your cat's life?" It's also the headline of Sarah Zhang's piece in the Atlantic about people willing to pay $15,000 to get their ailing cat a kidney transplant. That's the going price...

Pup Born With Upside-Down Paws Has Life-Changing Surgery

Siggi the spotted rat terrier has finally learned to walk, and chase balls

(Newser) - A 7-month-old puppy with upside-down paws has gotten a new leash on life, thanks to a dedicated team of veterinary professionals at Oklahoma State University. CNN reports that Siggi, a spotted rat terrier, was "born an average puppy: sweet, cheerful, and extremely playful." But she'd also been...

Pet Boom During Pandemic Strains Veterinarians, Staffs

Overwork, compassion fatigue already were problems

(Newser) - During the gloomiest stretches of the pandemic, Dr. Diona Krahn's veterinary clinic has been a puppy fest, overrun with new four-legged patients. Typically, she'd get three or four new puppies a week, but between shelter adoptions and private purchases, the 2020 COVID-19 pet boom brought five to seven...

Experiment Cures Pet Seahorse
Experiment Cures
Pet Seahorse
Dec 1, 2020 6:09 PM CST

Experiment Cures Pet Seahorse

Hyperbaric chamber treatment solves gas bubble disease

(Newser) - In February, Carol Benge of Chiefland, Florida, purchased a seahorse for her home aquarium as a reward for marking five years cancer-free. She named the little black-and-silver fish Louie. As the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation, Benge, a schoolteacher, relaxed whenever she watched the 3-inch creature float around the tank...

CEO Takes Out $6M Super Bowl Ad About His Dog

David MacNeil hopes viewers donate to veterinary research

(Newser) - WeatherTech's unofficial mascot, Scout, appeared in the auto accessories company's 2019 Super Bowl ad . And the 7-year-old golden retriever is back for 2020, both because of and in spite of an aggressive cancer treatment carried out at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. Scout's owner,...

How Mozart Could Make Your Kitty's Spaying Safer

Research suggests classical music can ease feline stress on the operating table

(Newser) - Surgery isn't a calming experience—so it only makes sense that your cat would rather hear soothing strings than distorted guitars. In what has to be one of science's odder recent experiments, researchers in Portugal decided to pop a pair of headphones on a dozen cats while they...

Hermaphrodite Cat Getting Gender Assignment Surgery

Mittens will officially become male

(Newser) - Here's a sentence you probably never thought you'd read: Mittens, a hermaphroditic cat from Newfoundland, is getting gender assignment surgery. Colleen Clarke-Murphy's daughter brought the stray cat home, and when the family took it to the vet, they were told it has both male and female genitalia,...

Brazilian Alligator Gets ... Acupuncture?

It's a practice becoming more and more common with animals

(Newser) - Bino's back was killing him. He was suffering from scoliosis. He couldn't move his legs, two of them anyway, and his tail just wouldn't swish. What's an albino alligator in that sort of health bind to do? Acupuncture, naturally. Bino lives at the Sao Paulo Aquarium,...

Veterinary First: Pig Treated for Lymphoma

730-pound Nemo's procedure a success

(Newser) - Experts are seeing a bright future for cancer treatment in big animals after a 730-pound pig was successfully treated for lymphoma, Reuters reports. When 4-year-old Nemo, a pet, was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, researchers at Cornell gave his owner a warning: They knew of no...

Mankind Wipes Out 2nd Virus
 Mankind Wipes Out 2nd Virus  
Oct 15, 2010 7:56 AM CDT

Mankind Wipes Out 2nd Virus

Rinderpest's eradication 'biggest achievement in veterinary history'

(Newser) - Scientists say they have eradicated the deadly cattle virus rinderpest, marking only the second time in history that humanity has wiped out a viral disease. Smallpox was wiped out 30 years ago. Rinderpest—which originated in Asia and spread around the world with invaders from Genghis Khan onward—was capable...

Cat Walks Again Thanks to New Surgery

Experimental procedure mimics deer antlers

(Newser) - A British cat is up and walking after a first-of-its-kind experimental surgery that could have implications for human medicine, too. Oscar, who lost his back paws in a farm accident, has two prosthetics fitted directly into holes drilled into his bones at the amputation sites. The pegs were coated with...

Study of Obsessive Dogs Turns up OCD Gene

Study sheds light on OCD cause in both humans and dogs

(Newser) - Dogs that engage in compulsive behavior like tail-chasing and blanket sucking share a genetic variation, according to new research. The researchers believe the study of Doberman pinschers—a breed especially vulnerable to canine OCD—sheds new light on the causes of the disorder in both humans and animals, the New ...

Pet Health Insurance Gets Complicated, Too

With the numbers rising, all kinds of options are available

(Newser) - Health insurance for pets is getting just as tricky as insurance for humans. With the cost of pet medical care rising, along with the number of insured pets, a dizzying range of options is suddenly available—complete with choices on deductibles and depth of coverage. Some policies cover hereditary conditions...

Vet Bills Force Families to Euthanize Pets

Tough times make care harder to justify; few have animal insurance

(Newser) - The recession is having some tragic consequences for family pets. Experts say owners are delaying care, opting out of pricey treatments, and putting down pets they’d otherwise save, MSNBC reports. One shelter has seen a 20% jump in admittances. “They come straight from the vet and say, ‘...

Your Cat Will Not Smother Your Baby

(Newser) - A column suggesting that housecats murder babies out of jealousy has earned the Houston Chronicle a lot of, well, catcalls. It's not true, the paper now reports. “It’s funny that someone would still actually think that is true,” said a veterinarian and SPCA official. “That is...

Vet Helps Cat Save Face After Car Mishap

Reattachment surgery goes smoothly for kitty lacerated by car fan belt

(Newser) - Not quite done with her lives, a Boston cat is recovering from what would typically be a fatal encounter with a car, the AP reports. Edgar, a 4-year-old long-haired female, went missing from her home for 3 days last week. When she finally reappeared, part of her face was detached....

'Rattling' Dog's Diet Included Golf Balls

Black Lab's gut gives up a baker's dozen

(Newser) - Oscar the Scottish black Lab is on the mend after undergoing surgery to remove the snacks that were disturbing his digestion: 13 golf balls. "He normally brings a few home, but I had no idea he had eaten so many," Oscar's owner told the BBC. "It was...

18 Stories