UC Davis veterinary cardiologist Dr. Joshua Stern led a team of researchers that has found a link between some popular grain-free, legume-rich dog diets and a type of nutritional deficiency and canine heart disease known as taurine-deficient dilated cardiomyopathy. The FDA took notice and issued warnings about the potential connection.
Rhyme, a 2-year-old male ragdoll mix cat, was being medically managed for a liver shunt for the past six months. That followed nearly two years of trying to discover the root of his illness, which seemed to have plagued him for as long as could be remembered. When a specialist in Rhyme’s hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia finally diagnosed the shunt, he recommended Dr. Bill Culp at the UC Davis veterinary hospital, who has been performing a minimally invasive procedure to correct shunts in dogs for many years. Luckily for Rhyme, Dr. Culp has also utilized this technique in cats when presented with a similar scenario.
Oso, a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, started dragging his back legs while on a walk. His veterinarian in Bend, Oregon—surgeon Dr. Mauricio Dujowich, a UC Davis alum—performed an MRI that revealed a massive tumor inside his spinal cord, pinching the nerves to his back legs.
The hospital is currently in the process of implementing a modern, sustainable Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) that provides cutting-edge clinical, teaching, and research imaging functions for clinicians, students, faculty, staff, referring veterinarians, and clients. The hospital’s current PACS is aging and does not allow clinicians to utilize it to the best of its abilities.
Earlier this year, K9 Officer Cort of the Fairfield (CA) Police Department was stabbed while apprehending a suspect. California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers were on site and immediately called their air division that had a helicopter in the area. CHP flew Cort to the UC Davis airport where campus police transported him about a mile to the university’s veterinary hospital.
Aero, a 7-year-old German shepherd-Belgian Malinois mix, is back in action with the Anderson (CA) Police Department as a narcotics-detecting K9 officer. Four years ago, however, he was forced to prematurely retire after a mysterious illness caused his energy levels to plummet and his muscles to atrophy. His handler, Officer Mike Hallagran, did not think Aero would survive.
Bobby, a 12-year-old male miniature Schnauzer, developed cataracts in both eyes, presumably brought on by his diabetes. While he could still sense light in his eyes, the cataracts clouded his vision to the point of essential blindness. Navigation of his home was accomplished by memory and by utilizing a heightened sense of feel, especially on the staircase.
It’s fitting that Dr. Sara Thomasy is an ophthalmologist. Her eyes light up when she talks about the breakthroughs being made at UC Davis thanks to recent acquisitions of state-of-the-art imaging equipment. Eight new pieces of imaging equipment and one new piece of laboratory technology, made possible by grants from the Center for Companion Animal Health, now allow the Ophthalmology Service to provide new levels of care.
