Summer 2010 - College of Veterinary Medicine

S ummer 2010
The University of Tennessee • College of Veterinar y Medicine
KNOWLEDGE
The Spirit of Aslan,
“The Great Lion,”
Roars On
When Aslan, a 10-year-old golden retriever,
died in 2004 from complications of splenic
cancer in the veterinary hospital at the UT
College of Veterinary Medicine, the late
Mr. Lindsay Young, an animal lover and
extraordinary philanthropist, lost a loyal
friend and companion. Young was with his
beloved dog when Aslan passed away in the
hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. Attending
clinicians, veterinary technicians, students
and community friends could palpably feel
the loss.
the Aslan Intensive Care Unit opened,
serving as a spectacular tribute to the
unwavering companion of a man whose
kindness touched many lives throughout
our community.
In the ICU, animals suffering after severe
acute illnesses, accidents, or those recovering
from complicated surgeries receive aroundthe-clock care. As the caseload expanded
and became more complex, the previous
ICU became severely cramped and
inefficient. Many times, it became filled
beyond capacity with patients as attending
clinicians, licensed veterinary technicians
and students provided the intensive care
needed for recovery.
C O M PA S S I O N
DISCOVERY
The Aslan ICU and emergency teams are
now housed in a larger, modern facility that
better serves current and future teaching
and patient needs. Space has more than
doubled, and includes specialty care areas
such as a procedures room, separate feline
and canine ICU wards, an emergency triage
ward and an anesthesia recovery ward, each
with immediate access to radiology imaging
services.
All this is possible because the community
that Young so willingly supported wanted
to provide a tangible tribute to him and his
beloved Aslan. The Aslan Intensive Care
Unit will affect the lives of many companion
animals in the years to come.
In memory of Aslan, and in tribute to
Young, Mrs. Christine “Teenie” Hayworth
(a longtime friend of Young's, veterinary
client and college board member) launched
a challenge: she would match dollar-fordollar every gift received up to $100,000
toward the $300,000 fundraising goal to
expand and upgrade the ICU to increase
the hospital’s ability to care for more
beloved patients and to provide the best in
high quality medical intensive care.
Young passed away in 2006, but the
grassroots effort to renovate the ICU
continued. Supporters raised more than
$300,000, enabling the college to begin
renovations in the fall of 2009. In February,
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Cutting the ribbon at the Aslan ICU opening are (l to r): Mark Williams and Debbie Black of the
Aslan Foundation; CVM Dean Jim Thompson; Lindsay Young McDonough; Christine "Teenie"
Hayworth; Dr. Scott Rizzo of Louisville, KY; and CVM's Drs. Ralph Harvey and Bob DeNovo.
Animal Advocate Wins
National Award
A University of Tennessee leader in animal
welfare has received a national award for her
work at the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Teresa Jennings, program director of CAIT
(Companion Animal Initiative of Tennessee),
received the Hill’s Animal Welfare &
Humane Ethics Award for advancing
animal welfare through extraordinary service
and furthering humane principles, education
and understanding. She led CAIT from a
grassroots organization that began with the
Nine Counties: One Vision initiative to a
statewide resource and educational force
for improving animal welfare in Tennessee.
Jennings established a spay/neuter hotline
that provides information on low-cost
services and has been instrumental in
creating collaborations and partnerships
throughout the industry to further humane
principles.
She was also instrumental in establishing
a veterinary services option as part of
the mayor’s initiative to the homeless
population in Knox County. In helping
the state humane association and the state
animal control association consolidate their
annual meetings, she has obtained funding
to secure national-level speakers covering
innovative topics such as compassion fatigue
and safely decontaminating animals found
in illegal methamphetamine labs. Working
with the UT College of Law, Jennings has
compiled and edited a book listing all laws
pertaining to animals in Tennessee. The
book is updated yearly with the assistance
of students in the College of Law.
Jennings, who jokes the only thing she had
ever won was a Walkman cassette years ago
for an Easter egg coloring contest, says the
work to make animals’ lives better is never
over, but it is rewarding. “I can’t describe the
feeling I get when I look at people and realize
we’ve made their lives a little better. We’ve
made a difference. Every critter counts,
whether it belongs to the millionaire, the
homeless person, or is being watched by a
caretaker of a feral cat colony.”
Teresa "T" Jennings, with Miss Lilly.
For more information about CAIT, visit
www.vet.utk.edu/cait
Veterinary Social Work will offer Pet Loss Support Groups during the
summer in the Family Room at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine.
The sessions will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., July 20, and August
3 and 17. The second meeting each month will be dedicated to using art
to help people through the healing process. For more information about
the free meetings, call 865-755-8839 or visit www.vet.utk.edu/socialwork.
The college is located at 2407 River Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996.
The Eyes Have It!
Our ophthalmology service participated in the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists’
annual ACVO/Merial National Service Dog Eye Exam event in May. In an effort to promote the
importance of eye health in animals that we as a society depend on every day, our ophthalmology
team members donated their time during this public service event. Guide dogs, handicapassistance dogs, detection dogs, and search and rescue dogs selflessly serve the public, and it’s
important that their eyes are healthy and any medical issues are caught early. Links to stories in the
local media can be found on the UTCVM Facebook page.
At Your Fingertips
Our referring veterinarians are integral
members of the patient’s veterinary medical
team. In an effort to enhance this partnership,
UTCVM has created the VolVet Portal, a
way for referring veterinarians to access
real-time information on the status of
patients they have referred to us. To learn
more about the portal, veterinarians should
visit www.vet.utk.edu.
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Expanded Service
Now Offered
The UT Equine Hospital is now accepting
appointments for high-field Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI). This powerful
tool provides high-quality images that will
help the clinician provide a more targeted
therapeutic treatment plan for your horse.
Contact Dr. Jim Blackford at 865-7558235 for details.
UT Knoxville
Chancellor’s Awards
2010 Public Service Award
Knox County to care for the abused animals
of battered women. Fear for a pet’s safety
can be a powerful reason why battered
women do not leave a relationship—an
issue now addressed because of Strand’s
guidance. She has played a critical role
in training mental health professionals
on animal-related issues often found in
domestic violence situations. In 2004, a law
gave judges the option of referring convicted
animal abusers to mandatory counseling. At
the time, Strand was the only person in our
area certified to offer these services. Since
then, she has arranged local workshops for
mental health professionals from across the
state to prepare them to provide this courtmandated counseling.
2010 Research and Creative Achievement
Dr. Elizabeth Strand
This year’s UT Alumni Association Public
Service Award goes to Elizabeth Strand,
clinical associate professor in the College of
Veterinary Medicine and founding director
of the veterinary social work program.
This program was the first in the country
to define veterinary social work as a subspecialty. Through her leadership and vision,
Strand helped establish the first program in
Have you “herd”
about our Field
Service?
In addition to emergency work and disease
outbreak investigations, the UTCVM Field
Service is placing more of an emphasis on
production medicine during farm visits.
Faculty and students examine all aspects
that contribute to the well-being of the herd:
nutrition, housing and even management of
the breeding/calving season. The end results
are enhanced learning for the students,
better-educated clients, and in many cases a
more efficient and productive operation. As
part of their experience, students on the field
service rotation write letters to the producers
following farm visits explaining what was
done, what was found, and in many cases,
the letter also includes recommendations for
producers that can increase their bottom line.
The new emphasis is designed to teach the
students to see beyond the immediate animal
and help producers become more efficient.
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Dr. Hildegard Schuller
derivatives. She hypothesized that the
components of tobacco smoke bind to
nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which are
now known to be expressed throughout the
body and can have profound effects on cell
behavior.
Hildegard Schuller, distinguished professor
of pathology, has been studying the effects
of environmental carcinogens for 35
years. She has developed vast expertise
in the mechanisms of how normal cells
are transformed into cancer cells by
the components of cigarette smoke, in
particular nicotine. Schuller made the
discovery that lung cancer cells express
receptors that bind to nicotine and its
We would also like to congratulate Dr.
Casey LeBlanc on receiving the Excellence
in Teaching Award, and UTCVM Class
of 2010 students, Emily C. Pearman on
receiving the Top Graduate Award and Jody
F. Thomas for Academic Promise.
UTCVM Field
Services
Equine Specific Services:
865-974-8387
•Dental work (including mechanical teeth
float)
•Endoscopy, Insurance exams
Equine and Food Animals:
•Lameness workup (including digital
X-ray capabilities)
•Herd Health/Production Medicine:
Blood work, deworming, health papers,
herd disease investigations, nutrition
evaluations and recommendations,
vaccination.
•Acupuncture
•Field Restraint:
Anesthesia, portable chute, etc.
•Field Medicine & Surgery:
Gastrointestinal,musculoskeletal,
reproductive, wound management, etc.
•Reproduction:
Artificial insemination, assess fetal sex,
breeding soundness exams, pregnancy
exams (including ultrasound), etc.
•24-Hour Emergency Care:
Birthing assistance, choke, colic, down
animal, founder, wounds, etc.
Your Field Services Team (left to right): Brian
Whitlock, DVM, PhD, DACT; Maria E
Prado, MV, PhD, DACVIM; Matt Welborn,
DVM, MPH, DACVPM; Amy Plummer,
DVM, DACVS; and Betsy Coffman, DVM
(intern).
Join UTCVM It’s not all black
and white!
on Facebook.
In an effort to expand our referral services,
the UTCVM radiology department has
added a new Web-based, teleradiology
service. Teleradiology is a way to share
digital images and has been used extensively
in human medicine to allow radiologists
all over the world to interpret imaging
examinations and share information.
UTCVM has partnered with veterinary
teleradiology group DVMinsight to make
the referral process more convenient. After
a short set-up process, veterinary clinics
that have made the transition to digital
radiography can now send in any referral
radiographs via the Web, with just a few
simple clicks. Please call the radiology
section at UTCVM at 865-974-5806
or visit our website (www.vet.utk.edu/
radiology/film) for more information.
Like a Rock! Starting a new UTCVM
tradition, the Class of 2010 painted “The
Rock” one afternoon before graduation. Go
VOL VETS!
Is your vet a UTCVM alum? Want to highlight your vet in our alumni e-newsletter?
Send information to meganmcmurray@utk.edu
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
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College of Veterinary Medicine
2407 River Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-4550
The
of Veterinary Medicine
SPAY/NEUTER HOTLINE
•1-866-907-SPAY
UT is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/
Section 504/ADA/ADEA Institution
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KNOXVILLE, TN