Two livestock professors at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine are taking leadership roles on the Board of Regents of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). Dr. Munashe Chigerwe is the current ACVIM President. As President, Dr. Chigerwe serves a one-year term that is the second year of a four-year leadership commitment, extending from initial election as President-Elect, and, upon conclusion of service as President, to Chair and Immediate Past Chair.
Morgan, a 5-year-old female Alpine goat, was approaching her fourth kidding when mastitis was discovered on her udder. The infection (generally caused by bacteria in the environment or trauma) was severe enough to cause Morgan’s pregnancy to become non-viable, losing all four of her kids.
At 9 months old, Onyx is already an experienced show animal. His family has been showing sheep as a hobby for nearly a decade, and Onyx is the latest addition to their flock. Unfortunately, the award-winning Natural colored Hampshire cross sheep became acutely ill at a recent show.
“After traveling to a show, I could tell Onyx wasn’t feeling well that evening, but I wasn’t terribly worried,” said his owner. “But on a walk the next morning, he went down abruptly and could not get back up.”
Equine and livestock specialists at the UC Davis veterinary hospital’s Large Animal Clinic constantly seek to optimize standard of care. With advancements in research, collaborative treatments, and innovative procedures, they continue to raise the bar.
Dr. Sam Barringer (DVM ’91) was named the 2023 Consultant of the Year by the Academy of Veterinary Consultants (AVC), a national organization of livestock practitioners who provide high quality continuing education on topics related to livestock health.
Aria Brecheisen was exercising her 4-H goat Captain America (Cap) when she witnessed him drop to the ground and vocalize in pain. Cap, a 6-month-old Boer goat, continued to lay down straining in pain every few steps as she tried to walk him back to the barn.
Chime, a 1-year-old Holstein heifer, was fresh off a win at a local fair this past spring—with another show just a month away—when she began to show signs of abdominal discomfort or colic, and abnormal fecal production.
Social Issues, a 7-year-old Saanen doe goat, has a rich history as a champion show goat and a valuable member of owner Scott Bice’s small genetic show herd, Vineyard View Dairy Goats. She has won “Best Udder in Show” at the California State Fair several times and is also a national champion. Her milk has been used for products of Bice’s sister’s company, Redwood Hill Farms, makers of goat yogurt and kefir. But when Social Issues was recently diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer) on her udder, her future was in jeopardy.
UC Davis Graduate Studies recently honored 34 faculty members with Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Awards, including Dr. Jeffrey Stott, a professor in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, and member of the Graduate Group in Integrative Pathobiology.
The Schuler Ranch in Yuba City is a small beef cattle operation with about 25 head of shorthorns. The 2020 calving season started out as normal as any calving season of the past, with four healthy calves being born, including a set of twins. When the next group of cows calved, five of their newborns became ill at the same time. It was clear that something devastating could be going through their small herd and could wipe it out quickly. After onsite veterinary services could not save one of the sick calves, they rushed the four others to the Large Animal Clinic (LAC) at the UC Davis veterinary hospital.
