From the editor
Since our last newsletter I have had the opportunity to participate in several CE events including a trip up the Snake River with one of our WSU cardiologists, Dr. Ryan Baumwart, who presented on feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. I also managed to land the moderator gig for some of the exotic presentations at the recent WSVMA Pacific NW conference. And over the past year I have had the opportunity to listen in on the ongoing small animal neurology webinar series that one of our WSU neurologists, Dr. Karen Kline, has been presenting.
In each case I have been exposed to content well outside of my comfort zone and seemingly disconnected to anything I do on a day-to-day basis. But I have to admit that it has been enjoyable and enlightening to broaden my horizons while looking for areas of overlap that might inform the work that I do. It can be all too easy to simply stay in my lane and miss unexpected learning opportunities. This is one of the reasons I enjoy the role of Director of Extension—it brings with it the expectation that I will pay attention to the diversity of veterinary practices and practitioner areas of interest. I bring this up because we have a full slate of upcoming CE offerings with diverse topics starting with the Fall Conference that will be held November 8th from 9:00 a.m. – noon both online and here at WSU. We will be following that with our Winter Conference in Spokane on January 10th from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. And keep in mind that the Spring Conference is just around the corner. It will be held from March 27th – 29th, 2026 and as always will kick off with the Bustad Distinguished Lecture. This year we are lucky to have Dr. Katy Schroeder joining us from the University of Iowa. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and holds certifications from PATH International as an Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning and Therapeutic Riding Instructor. Dr. Schroeder will speak to us regarding The Dynamics of Reciprocity: Perspective-Taking in Human–Horse Interactions and Its Impact on Well-Being. I am already looking forward to her talk as it certainly falls outside my area of focus but will undoubtedly broaden my horizons. On that note, I hope that this finds you well and that you discover something new and unexpected within the rest of this edition of our newsletter!
Stories in this issue
- Burden of Disease An area of interest to me that falls outside our normal frequency measures of disease is the concept of summary measures of health.
- The heroes within I mentioned in my opening editorial that I was recently exposed to content well outside of my comfort zone. Hang onto your hats, because I am about to bring small animal medicine into the conversation!
- A New Strategy for Heat Stress Abatement in Preweaned Dairy Calves New literature regarding heat stress abatement from the Journal of Dairy Science.
- Liver Abscesses, When Dairy and Beef Square Up Against a Common Problem Liver abscesses (LA) continue to represent a major challenge in beef production systems, with significant economic and welfare implications.
- WSU Ag Animal Faculty Research Updates, October 2025 This collection features recent research on dairy cow health, nutrition, and productivity, with studies exploring metritis, microbial supplements, milk supply security, and feed efficiency.
- WSU College of Veterinary Medicine senior paper highlights, October 2025 Explore veterinary student studies covering reproductive efficiency, neonatal calf care, oxytocin use, high-altitude disease, and humane euthanasia in cattle.