Bites, scratches, back strain, and other injuries from handling patients are, unfortunately, often considered an accepted part of the veterinary profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterinary services rank third among occupations for non-fatal injuries. The results include not only physical pain and psychological distress, but also time off work, overtime costs, and ultimately burnout, all of which can compromise both staff wellbeing and patient safety. The question is, how do we change what’s become an accepted norm?
Chewy to buy Modern Animal, upping veterinary clinic count
VIN Foundation
Chewy, an online retailer of pet products like medications and food, has deepened its recent foray into providing veterinary care by agreeing to acquire the practice chain Modern Animal. The purchase will boost Chewy’s practice count to 47 locations across the United States; 18 that Chewy has built since 2024 and the 29 owned by Modern Animal. The sale, for an undisclosed price, is expected to be completed later this year pending customary closing conditions, including a regulatory review.
NY Hope: Training next responders
Cornell University
This fall, students Alex O’Leary ‘26 and Merelis Ortiz ’26 stepped into the high-paced world of New York Hope, a 3.5-day humanitarian response simulation held at the New York State Preparedness Training Center in Oriskany, alongside Dr. Danielle Eiseman, Associate Director of the Cornell Health Impacts Core. Together, their participation helped lay the groundwork for Atlantic Hope—an international humanitarian and public health exercise that will be revived and hosted at Cornell on May 28–31, 2026.
Breakthrough takes big step toward safe, reversible male contraception
Cornell Chronicle
Cornell scientists have taken a major step toward developing a safe, reversible, long-acting and 100% effective nonhormonal male contraceptive, considered the holy grail of male contraception. A proof of principle study in mice, six years in the making, shows how targeting a natural checkpoint in meiosis, the process by which sex cells reproduce, safely stopped sperm production.
VectorED Network vector-borne disease survey
VectorED
The VectorED Network (https://www.vectorednetwork.org), a CDC Training and Education Center focused on vectors and vector-borne disease education are performing a needs assessment survey to better understand how veterinary professionals engage with clients and communities on vector-borne disease education. As part of this needs assessment, you are being asked to complete a brief survey because of your experience in the field of veterinary care. We are focusing on veterinary professionals in the Mid-Atlantic and the Ohio River Valley region. Please take 10–15 minutes to complete the survey here: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1O0MN0X18YbJtIy. This effort will help us: Identify gaps in resources and training for veterinary professionals, Develop practical tools to support client communication on vector-borne diseases and Better understand the role of veterinary teams in protecting both animal and public health.
Arkansas State to start enrolling students this fall
AVMA
Arkansas’s first four-year veterinary college is one step closer to becoming accredited by the AVMA Council on Education (AVMA COE). Arkansas State University (A-State) College of Veterinary Medicine announced April 3 that it received a letter of reasonable assurance following the council’s meeting March 14-17. The decision is based on a comprehensive site visit that took place January 4-8 in Jonseboro, Arkansas. A-State is the second-largest public university in the state.
SAVMA Symposium highlights North Carolina’s Wolfpack
AVMA
Over three days, the 2026 Student AVMA (SAVMA) Symposium brought almost 650 students to North Carolina State University (NCSU), home of the Wolfpack. They say wolfpack is more than a nickname, as the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine plays a key role in supporting conservation efforts in North Carolina, where the last wild red wolves live. Organizers tapped into that unique pride when coming up with this year’s theme, “Howl of Fame,” according to NCSU third-year veterinary students Alexa Stine-Walker and Kaitlyn Harbor, who were also the 2026 symposium general managers.
What’s going on with medetomidine?
DVM360
Medetomidine—also known as “Rhino Tranq”—is dominating headlines. Most recently, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), alongside the CDC, released a joint Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory warning of increasing reports of medetomidine in illicit fentanyl.
The cost of public judgment in veterinary medicine
EquiManagement
A few months ago, Zach Loppnow, DVM, saw a racehorse trainer demanding “accountability” for a veterinarian in a social media post. The veterinarian had declared a horse lame and scratched it from a race. An onslaught of comments followed, ignoring the context, clinical reasoning, and risks. The thread became a forum to air every negative experience people believed they’d had with veterinarians or regulators.
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