November 2024

Welcome to the Senior Issue, packed with great information on senior care: from how to help your clients enhance the lives of their seniors through enrichment activities, to complementary medicine for seniors, to a look at some of the amazing AAHA-accredited end-of-life-care practices.

AAHA president Scott Driever, DVM, discusses the importance of being an advocate for aging patients. The Community asks for animal handling tips and tricks. This month’s Scoop headlines include: Project Street Vet tours for pets of unhoused people; USDA takes action to address wildlife rabies outbreaks in multiple states; Ophthalmologists treat white tiger with new laser technology; Novel treatment successfully cures Ragdoll cat with rare immune disease; and more!

Veterinary practices need help attracting senior pets into their clinics, and with giving clients useful, practical tips that will allow the seniors (and their caregivers) to have as easy a last chapter in life as possible.

Sheila Carrera-Justiz, DVM, DACVIM, (Neurology), clinical associate professor and neurology service chief at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, answers the 5 questions.

This month’s grand prize winner is Vicky Woods, veterinary assistant and kennel worker at Animal Medical Center, in Eustis, Florida!

What do you do when a service dog is crippled by fear and can’t do her job? That scenario played out in a recent case report in the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (JAAHA).

Pursuing the activities and education necessary to receive AAHA end-of-life accreditation can equip practice team members to provide not only medical expertise, but to offer an important layer of emotional support that can help a pet owner navigate this uncertain terrain.

Common challenges facing senior pets include reduced mobility, chronic pain, organ pathology, cognitive decline, hearing and vision loss, dental disease, metabolic disease, reduced immunity, obesity, and cancer. When it comes to treating senior pets, an integrative approach that includes some complementary therapies just makes sense.

These tips from the 2023 AAHA Senior Care Guidelines can help show that love for your clients and their senior pets.

Based on polls and census figures, the number of LGBTQ+ people in the veterinary profession will increase substantially in the next five to 10 years. This begs the question, should there be more directed mentorship and support for queer ascent in the profession?

In this competitive environment, there are special offers, seasonal “specials,” and other volume purchase discounts available to your practice. If you play your cards right, these can help clients save money while increasing your profits. But, if not properly taken advantage of, these savings may actually be reducing your practice’s profit.