Reader Mailbag #1
You asked, I answer!!!
Dear Readers,
Today’s post is loooooong overdue: last November, I asked you all to post questions in an “Ask Me Anything” session on Chat. You raised some great topics, so let’s dig in!
“What was your favorite experience as a professor? Best part about teaching? Most impactful students?”
This question comes from fellow veterinarian
who writes the newsletter.I’d say my favorite thing about being a teacher is watching vet students and residents grow professionally, attain independence, and start contributing to the field on their own. I’ll periodically hear back from former students thanking me for helping them master a tricky concept or providing a reference that got them an internship or residency. This past fall I watched several residents I mentored on my traveling locum blocks deliver outstanding case presentations to a packed room at the annual ACVP/ASVCP conference. And a number of my former trainees are now already respected vet school faculty members and in leadership positions in industry. Seeing them succeed and thrive is a reminder of why I do this.
I will say every teacher has times when they wonder if they’re making a difference. I got pretty good student reviews at Auburn, but the few negative ones would always stick with me. Especially the random and occasionally funny ones! Best/worst review I ever got on the anonymous student survey:
"Dude acts like he's gonna be department head one day, but looks like an off-brand Ted Mosby" 😅
(I assure you that was a verbatim quote)
“What role will One Health approaches play in addressing current and future societal needs?”
This is a great topic broached by
, former dean of the Ohio State and UC Davis vet schools. For those who aren’t familiar with the term:“One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at the local, regional, national, and global levels—with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.” (CDC page)
There are *so many* ways DVMs can work with physicians and public health agencies and researchers. Here are just a few:
Disease Prevention and Control
One Health is vital in the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases, which are diseases that can spread between animals and humans. Approximately 75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic. Effective management of these diseases requires a collaborative approach among veterinarians, physicians, ecologists, and public health professionals. Some examples I’ve written about include the “tropical disease” Leishmania becoming endemic in the US and the connections between feline coronavirus and COVID-19.
One example where we missed this opportunity for collaboration was when West Nile Virus hit the US for the first time and the veterinary pathologist Dr. Tracey McNamara (one of my vet school professors) tried to alert the authorities, who did not pay attention. Could we have prevented WNV from establishing a foothold in North America? We’ll never know for sure, but ignoring it gave us no chance:
“Tracey McNamara is a renowned veterinary pathologist who is widely regarded as having identified West Nile Virus in 1999 while leading the pathology program at the Bronx Zoo. Dr. McNamara says she’s not surprised to see what appears to be history repeating itself because America has not made any significant structural changes to its health surveillance capabilities since her West Nile work: “The flip side of preventing pandemics is looking at animals,” she explained. “Yet, the United States does not have a comprehensive animal health surveillance network. That’s a stupefying, critical, and ultimately remediable lapse.” (source)
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
AMR is a growing global threat, and the One Health approach is crucial in tackling it. The misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans, animals, and agriculture contribute to the rise of resistant strains of bacteria. A One Health approach facilitates coordinated actions to monitor and reduce antibiotic use across various sectors. Fortunately, we have gotten some good news on AMR recently: AI may be able to provide us with some new antibiotic weapons in this fight.
Food Safety and Security
Ensuring safe and sustainable food sources is essential for global health. Veterinarians play a critical role in preventing outbreaks of foodborne illness like E. coli by inspecting slaughterhouses and overseeing herd health on farms. One Health approaches can help in understanding and managing the interfaces between animal health, plant health, and food production systems, thus ensuring food safety from farm to table.
Environmental Conservation
Environmental health is a critical component of the One Health concept. Changes in the ecosystem, such as deforestation, climate change, and pollution, have direct and indirect effects on human and animal health. One Health initiatives can drive public education efforts about the links between human, animal, and environmental health. This awareness can lead to behavior changes that support health and sustainability, such as reducing meat consumption, promoting responsible pet ownership, and advocating for environmental protection.
What’s your favorite dog breed?
Growing up, my family always had cats and I was definitely more of a “cat person” by default. I also had some fear of dogs as I had been bitten by a neighbor’s German Shepherd as a kid. This started to change in college when I worked a number of odd jobs to rack up animal experience hours for my vet school application. One of these was caring for Labrador Retrievers who were training to be service dogs, they made me fall in love with those sweet, gentle pups. Then in vet school, I liked working with other breeds that were friendly and “chill,” like Golden Retrievers and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. I also really like Pomeranians because they look like fluffy little bears, though this answer got my teased as an intern 😝
However, many of these purebred dogs come with well-known hereditary health problems, like cancer, heart disease, and neurological problems. To me, adopting mixed breed dogs from a shelter (like the Humane Society of Tampa Bay!) is so much better from both a health perspective and providing homes to an animal in need, so today I would probably repeat the cheesy expression “My favorite breed is RESCUE”
“Adopting mixed breed dogs is so much better from both a health perspective and providing homes to an animal in need”
Do you have pets of your own? Details, please! Also, who is your favorite? (I’m a big believer that we all have one)
Yes, like any good vet, we have a small horde of furry critters running around our house! We have two young cats who were littermates (I previously wrote about Bert’s color point mutation and whether or not orange cats like Ernie are crazy), an Alabama street dog named Jack that is part dachshund, chihuahua and Jack Russell Terrier, and a fake “Golden Retriever” named Brooklyn—we always suspected she was a mutt, and the Wisdom panel DNA test confirmed she is 50% Pyrenees, along with Chow, Beagle, and a touch of Golden. They are a great crew, and fortunately they all get along well with each other 😊
As for a favorite, I would have to say that was Phoenix, my sassy long-haired black barn cat I adopted from a dairy farm in college and had from 2007-2022. Since he crossed the 🌈 bridge, I would say I ❤️ them all equally and appreciate each of their unique personalities.
That’s it for this first edition of Reader Mailbag! I enjoyed getting your questions and coming up with the answers. I hope more folks continue to write in for future Q&A sessions like this one 🤓
Great answers to all the questions.
I had a German Shepherd / Irish Setter mix who was a someone’s back yard accident. Great friendly dog more GSD in terms of training.
Since then I have had “pseudo rescues” Australian Shepherds returned to breeders who had re-homing policies. One was missing a tooth and could not be a show dog. Current Aussie was returned for being “reactive”. He and I are now certified as a therapy dog and handler. (TDI)
Loved your first mailbag! You answered my question, too 🤗