Each year, the Veterinary Health Center’s three specialized hospitals care for about 17,000 hospitalized animals and thousands more on farms. Many of these animals come from the Columbia area for primary and emergency care, while others are referred by veterinarians throughout the Midwest for our specialized services. Working alongside faculty and staff, veterinary students, interns and residents in postgraduate training participate in each phase of clinical care.
Small Animal Hospital
Equine Hospital
Food Animal Hospital
VHC Wentzville
NEWS
VHC Cardiologists Mend a Broken Heart
Topher had a lot of heart. The 3-month-old Labrador-pit bull puppy had been consigned to oblivion, abandoned in a dumpster in southwest Missouri. He managed to stay alive long enough to come under the protection of Rescue One, a state-licensed, foster-based animal rescue in Springfield, Missouri. But, there was a problem. His belly would rapidly fill with fluid. Rescue One staff took Topher to Seven Hills Veterinary Clinic in nearby Nixa, Missouri. “The vets at Seven Hills could drain the fluid off and get him feeling more comfortable, but then his belly would refill with fluid pretty quickly,” said Stephanie…
Rehabilitation Training Helps Veterinary Neurologist Improve Care
One would consider Daniela Mauler well educated. She has studied in Germany, Austria and Belgium. She is a board-certified specialist in veterinary neurology and an assistant teaching professor in the Veterinary Health Center at MU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Yet, her passion for improving the outcomes of her patients led her back to school. She decided to earn a Canine Rehabilitation Certificate. “I started doing rehabilitation services while I was a vet student in Germany,” Mauler says. “I always thought it was very valuable for neurology patients. Then, I became a neurologist and worked here with Stephanie Gilliam, our rehab…
Dogs with Lymphoma Sought for Clinical Trial
The Oncology Service at the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center is seeking canine patients with B cell lymphoma for a clinical trial. The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of agents that modify gene expression (6-thioguanine or azacitidine) when used prior to standard chemotherapy. Currently, remission duration and survival time in dogs with lymphoma has remained static when receiving multi-agent chemotherapy. The investigators hope using these drugs in an altered fashion from standard chemotherapy protocols will be safe in dogs and elongate remission durations and survival times. The researchers also expect to find new roles for these drugs…
Big Cat Spay Offers Unique Learning Experience
Clinicians at the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center routinely perform spay and neuter procedures on dogs and cats, but when the patient is a full-grown Bengal tiger, the work day is anything but ordinary. On Wednesday, Feb. 7, Zahara, a 7-year-old tiger from a Missouri animal park, was brought to the VHC to be spayed. Upon Zahara’s arrival at the VHC, Assistant Professor Alex Bukoski, DVM, PhD, DACVAA, and anesthesia resident Kelsey Fisher, DVM, anesthetized the big cat and placed a breathing tube to administer oxygen and anesthetic during the surgery. Assistant Teaching Professor of Small Animal Surgery Jill…
Fighting Disease and World Hunger: New PET/CT Scanner Opens at the University of Missouri
The University of Missouri has a new weapon in the fight against disease. That same tool also will prove crucial to the fight against world hunger. Housed in a new imaging core in the College of Veterinary Medicine, the combination positron emission tomography (PET) scanner and computed tomography (CT) scanner—the PET/CT system—will improve accuracy and speed in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disorders and Lou Gehrig’s disease, as well as provide new capabilities for plant science research. Fighting Cancer “As one of only a handful of universities in the nation with a School of Medicine and a College…
Raj and Liz: Lives Devoted to Serving Others
Raj is a greyhound who became a canine blood donor at MU’s Veterinary Health Center. After serving and saving fellow pooches, he retired as a donor and was adopted by a College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) student. Now, Raj, along with his pet parent, Liz, is helping humans as a P.A.L.S. therapy dog. ***** The Veterinary Health Center (VHC) at MU’s College of Veterinary Medicine sees thousands of cases every year. The Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Service (SAECC) operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and treats an average of 16 cases per night. Just…
MU College of Veterinary Medicine Opens Large Animal Ambulatory Facility
The veterinary medicine service that is home on the range now has a new home, following the grand opening on Friday, April 21, of the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center’s Large Animal Ambulatory facility just south of Clydesdale Hall. The building provides space for offices and a classroom ― with room to grow ― on the upper level. The lower level offers garage bays for the ambulatory vehicles: fully stocked trucks that go out to farms to diagnose and treat the medical and surgical needs of animals within approximately a 40-mile radius of the university. “When you grow, you…
Veterinary Motion Analysis Lab Could Lead to Better Treatments for Small Animals, Orthopedic Procedures in Humans
Diagnosing and treating service dogs and companion animals with orthopedic injuries can be challenging for clinicians and owners. Often, observable limps or the occasional whine may be the only clues for veterinarians when assessing arthritis or soft tissue injuries in pets. Now, using cutting-edge technologies, veterinarians at the University of Missouri are revolutionizing the diagnosis and treatment of small animals with musculoskeletal injuries. The Motion Analysis Laboratory (MAL), which opened earlier this year at the MU Veterinary Health Center, is one of the most technologically advanced veterinary gait labs in the Midwest. Techniques and practices learned in the MAL also will help inform scientists and…
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