Animal Care & Welfare News

What's Age Got to Do with It? Caring for Geriatric Horses

The idea that age is but a number is as true for animals as it is for humans. Horses, especially ponies, are routinely living to the mid-twenties and even thirties. Often, the equines still enjoy life, work, or performing into their third decade.

Penn Vet Launches Mobile Clinic

In 2016, there were 50,000 animal intakes in the Philadelphia region’s animal shelters. The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) Shelter Medicine Program provides clinical care support to several of these shelters and works to reduce the number of animals entering them to begin with. The program is about to increase its regional reach and impact with the Penn Vet Mobile Clinic, a new 40-foot-long facility-on-wheels that will help more vulnerable animals.

Big-hearted Quarter Horse Fights through EPM to Finish Strong

“Allie Kat is the friendliest, sweetest horse. She loves everyone,” said Tracy Barbeito about her six-year-old Quarter Horse. But the mare’s big-hearted nature isn’t always a good thing. Because the performance horse “loves to please,” her charming personality can make it hard to know when she’s not okay. It took an alarming head tilt a little more than a year ago to alert Allie’s caretakers that something was amiss with the horse’s health.

Specialized Surgery Gets Goliath Back to the Farm

Steve and Leah Jefferson were looking for a way to protect their 38 chickens from roving coyotes on their 10-acre farm in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Goliath was their answer. The Great Pyrenees joined the family in the spring of 2017, when he was just eight weeks old. The Jeffersons quickly realized the “flock dog” would be spending as much time indoors as out.

Equine Field Service on the Beat for Clydesdale Cops

Clydesdale cops Spartan and Julio help keep the peace in northern Delaware, so the horses’ massive bodies must always be up to the task. With their human riders, the equine officers police parks, neighborhoods, and community events as members of the New Castle County (NCC) Mounted Patrol Unit.  When recent eye issues bothered both horses, their sergeant called New Bolton Center’s Equine Field Service.

Shelter Medicine Program Expands Shelter and Community Outreach

Every year, 6.5 million stray or surrendered animals enter shelters, 1.5 million of them are euthanized. In Philadelphia, the city’s shelter alone admitted 19,000 animals last year.

Enter Penn Vet’s Shelter Medicine program with a mission that includes keeping animals from ending up in shelters at all. The program helps improve the lives of the city’s most at-risk animals. And early next year it will start covering more ground with a mobile clinic.

Solving Sports Medicine's Trickiest Mysteries

Penn Vet’s Dr. Elizabeth Davidson loves a good horse mystery. She and her team of equine Sports Medicine experts at New Bolton Center have solved many cases of ‘just not right’ horses, athletic animals who aren’t performing well but don’t have any obvious clinical complaints.

Physical Rehab Helps "Rock Star" Ranger Walk Again

One day, your young dog is wagging and running around; the next, he’s barely able to move. Cory Laslocky lived through this nightmare a few months ago.

Dr. Virginia Reef to Unravel Cardiovascular Complexities During AAEP’s 2018 Milne Lecture

Acclaimed equine cardiologist and ultrasonography pioneer Virginia B. Reef, DVM, DACVIM, DACVSMR, will help practitioners determine the significance of murmurs and arrhythmias and the resulting ramifications for their treatment and management when she delivers the Frank J. Milne State-of-the-Art Lecture on Monday, Dec. 3 at the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ 64th Annual Convention in San Francisco, Calif.

Surviving the Storms

Since Hurricane Katrina, displaced pets and their families have captured the attention of animal lovers everywhere. Some of the most heart-wrenching stories are of people separated from their four-legged family members. Penn Vet’s Dr. Sue McDonnell and Dr. Carlo Siracusa talked to Knowledge@Wharton SiriusXM Business Radio about how animals respond to weather emergencies and what owners, caretakers, and concerned citizens can do to keep them safe.

New Bolton Center Experts to Explore Innovations in Imaging, Neurology at October First Tuesday Lecture

From planning advanced orthopedic surgeries to guiding successful cardiac procedures, Penn Vet’s robotics-controlled standing computed tomography (CT) system has propelled clinical diagnosis and treatment for many large animal patients who have walked through New Bolton Center’s hospital doors.

New Penn Vet Lecture Series Brings Companion Animal Expertise to New Bolton Center Community

Starting this October, the expertise of Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital comes to New Bolton Center in a new series that connects the surrounding pet-loving community with the latest breakthroughs and techniques for small and companion animals.

A Pain in the Paddock

Stephanie Rzeplinski grew up around horses in rural Pennsylvania. Since age 4, she’s ridden and cared for the animals daily—so when her 13-year-old gelding, Robbie, fell ill, she immediately noticed something was wrong.

Cat-tastrophe

At only two months old, Bridget the kitten has had a lot of close calls. She was thrown from a stranger’s car off the South Street bridge in Philadelphia—where she landed, miraculously unharmed—and was rescued by her current foster owner, Ariel Smith, who named her after the ordeal. After a few weeks in the relative safety of Smith’s apartment, though, Bridget ran headfirst into yet another death-defying situation.

Connect with Leading Equine Clinicians at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center during the 2018-2019 First Tuesday Lecture Series

From innovative surgical imaging to advancements in laminitis research and care, hear from Penn Vet’s leading equine care experts at the 2018-2019 First Tuesday Lecture series hosted by New Bolton Center located in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Senior Senator's Triumphant Return

Senior Senator has been called “one of the craziest horses that ever looked through a bridle.” But a serious accident in May 2017 temporarily dampened some of the eight-year-old gelding’s fiery, unique personality, nearly ending his racing career. While defending his 2016 Maryland Hunt Cup title at the 2017 race, the Thoroughbred and jockey Eric Poretz tumbled at the third fence in the notoriously challenging four-mile timber course.

Progress in addressing a severe skin disease that affects dogs and humans

Think of the skin as a kind of raincoat for the inner organs. With its densely packed layers of cells and lipids, it keeps foreign substances from leaking in and keeps water from leaking out, preventing dehydration. But in certain skin disorders, this barrier breaks down, and problems arise.

Treating Orthopedic Injury Makes Dog and Owner Comfortable

During a casual conversation, a dog park friend once advised New York City resident Leslye Alexander to take her dog Olivia to Penn Vet in an emergency. “I never thought I would need it,” said Alexander. “But then Olivia was injured.”

Dr. Michael Mison Answers Ten: Surgical Oncology, Ah Ha Moments, and Summiting Kilimanjaro

As a child, Dr. Michael Mison’s parents encouraged him to be a physician. Drawn to animals and science, Mison knew early on that he would indeed go into medicine but focus on animals instead of humans.

Dr. Dean Richardson to Discuss Equine Anatomy, Fractures at Rescheduled First Tuesday Lecture

On Tuesday, June 19, 2018, join renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dean Richardson as he presents “Stories About Horse Fractures,” as part of the First Tuesday Lecture Series at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center.