Veterinary Medicine

Lending a hand at the Farm Show

At the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the School of Veterinary Medicine showcased its role in sustaining one of the state’s largest industries.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Eight new pups report for duty

Eight black Labrador retrievers, just 12 weeks old, are already deep into their training at the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Working Dog Center.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Side Gigs for Good, part two

In a second installment of Side Gigs for Good stories, meet four more Penn employees whose after-work endeavors go above and beyond.

Katherine Unger Baillie, Michele W. Berger

‘Invisible,’ restricted horse racing therapy may leave a trail

Shockwave therapy is used in both horses and humans to speed healing, but it can also mask pain. For the first time, researchers led by Mary Robinson and Jinwen Chen have identified several biomarkers of the treatment, the use of which is restricted in horse racing.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Three Penn faculty named 2019 AAAS Fellows

Three from Penn have been named to the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s newest class of Fellows: Carolyn Gibson of the School of Dental Medicine, Sampath Kannan of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Ellen Puré of the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Katherine Unger Baillie

This Penn heart patient is a 9-year-old boxer dog named Sophie

Sophie underwent a cardiac ablation procedure in a Perelman School of Medicine translational research lab to treat her arrhythmia—the first time a dog with her diagnosis received such a treatment. Veterinary cardiologist Anna Gelzer says of the collaboration, “It’s the best of both worlds.”

Katherine Unger Baillie

Estrogen’s opposing effects on mammary tumors in dogs

Estrogen’s role in canine mammary cancer is more complex than previously understood. New findings may help explain why dogs spayed at a young age are more likely to develop more aggressive cancers.

Katherine Unger Baillie



In the News


WHYY (Philadelphia)

Saving Philly’s bats, one DIY condo at a time

The Wildlife Futures Program at the School of Veterinary Medicine has facilitated the design and construction of wooden bat boxes to be installed in campus parks, with remarks from Julie Ellis. The project is the brainchild of Penn undergraduate Nick Tanner.

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Voice of America

Can honeybees and dogs detect cancer earlier than technology?

Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center are training dogs to recognize certain cancer odors.

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The Scientist

Dogs engage in scent-sational science to sniff out staphylococcus bacteria

Meghan Ramos and Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine and colleagues are training dogs to detect infections that accumulate on orthopedic implants after surgery.

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CBS News

Cats that fetch are more common than you might think. New study finds 41% of felines retrieve

A study co-authored by James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine finds that 41% of cats fetch.

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The Conversation

Cats and dogs both like to play fetch − it’s rooted in their hunting instincts

James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine explores just how common fetching is and what characteristics of a cat or dog and their environment are likely to predict fetching.

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Scientific American

Do cats really hate water?

Carlo Siracusa of the School of Veterinary Medicine says we tend to think cats are unique in not liking water, but there are also many dogs that do not like water.

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