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August 2025 e-News
Your August MOC Update
Sonnya Dennis, DVM, DABVP (Canine & Feline Practice), MOC Chair
Join the Party! The Canine & Feline Journal Club team is looking for a couple of new members! Please contact the CF Team Leader, Amy Nichelason, at aenichelason@gmail.com for more information.
Tip from your MOC Chair: There are how-to guides with screenshots and tips on the ABVP MOC webpage, https://abvp.com/diplomates/moc/. Check them out and let the MOC Committee know if there is anything that you would like added to help you out!
QUICK LINKS
MOC webpage, Journal Club, add me to the Google Group/Listserv!
Technical issues with Prolydian?
If you have a simple technical issue please contact Prolydian at support+abvp@prolydian.com before emailing info@abvp.com.
Question about your MOC? Contact your MOC RVS Vice Chair first. The email addresses are below and in the MOC Handbook.
Diversity Equity Inclusion and Wellbeing (DEIW) Corner
Nik Weber, DVM, DABVP (Canine & Feline Practice, Avian Practice), DEI Chair
The Vital Role of Veterinary Social Workers in Accessible Veterinary Care
Veterinary social work (VSW) is emerging as a vital link in making veterinary care more accessible and compassionate for all. VSWs bridge the gap between medical care and emotional support, helping pet owners navigate the stress of difficult decisions, cope with grief and loss, and access available resources. They also provide essential support to veterinary teams, addressing compassion fatigue, burnout, and workplace stress.
This work is particularly important as our profession navigates the realities of serving an increasingly diverse client base, including the asset-limited, income-constrained, employed (ALICE) population—within a field that remains predominantly white. By integrating principles of One Health and Incremental Veterinary Care, VSWs help reduce barriers to care, combat economic euthanasia, and ensure more pets stay with the families who love them.
Through their commitment to both human and animal well-being, veterinary social workers foster a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable veterinary care model—one where compassion is not just a value, but a daily practice. Veterinary Social Workers have been found in general practice, emergency practice, and shelter settings.
Have you considered working with a veterinary social worker in your daily practice?
Want to learn more:
- Blackwell MJ. Chapter A: Access to Veterinary Care, A Gateway to Family Health and Social Equity. In: Kemba M ed. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Veterinary Medicine. 2025
- Access to Veterinary Care: Barriers, Current Practices, and Public Policy, a project of the Access to Veterinary Care Coalition. December 2018 https://www.maddiesfund.org/assets/research/access-to-veterinary-care-report-2018.pdf
- The University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Social Work: https://vetsocialwork.tennessee.edu/.
ABVP Foundation Update
Jerry Rusch, DVM, DABVP (Beef Cattle), Outreach Chair
The ABVP Foundation's focus is raising money to fund expenses for
students to attend the annual Symposium. For 2025, we have raised
$10,000 of our $20,000 fundraising goal. To help us achieve our goal,
please donate by using the QR code below. We are a 501c3 entity, so
donations are tax deductible. We were able to send 7 student fellows to the
2025 Symposium in San Antonio. Our goal for 2026 is to fund 10 fellows.
Like last year at Symposium, we will be having another silent auction at the
2026 Boston Symposium. If you have something you would like to donate,
please contact Chris Griffin, Jerry Rusch, Raj Singh, Gary Thompson or Nik
Weber.
ABVP Companion Animal Pain Management Fellowship Applications
Mike Dutton, MS, DVM, DABVP, CE Chair
CAPM is accepting applications from interested ABVP Diplomates to start the 1 year training course. More details can be found below:
If you are interested, please email Mike Dutton.
Join us for a Disaster Response Tabletop Exercise
Sponsored by ABVP
Is your shelter ready for a disaster? Join us for this interactive session where you and your colleagues will participate in one of the tabletop exercises each based on a shelter affected by a disaster that also impacts the community they serve. After a brief review of disaster response infrastructure and the four phases of emergency management, participants will work in small groups to discuss options and make decisions about how best to respond as their scenario unfolds. The session will wrap up with an overview of each scenario and a group discussion about lessons learned that can help with future disaster planning efforts in shelter medicine.
Hosts:
- Elise Gingrich, DVM, MPH, MS, DACVPM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice)
- Jeanette O’Quin, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice)
- Jonathan Chapman, DVM, MPH, CPH, DACVPM
Date: October 2, 2025
Time: 6:00 PM Eastern / 5:00 PM Central
Duration: Up to 3 hours
Registration is required and closes on August 28, but is FREE! This session is RACE approved.
Register here!
Canine & Feline Speakers Needed
Greg Lisciandro, DVM, DABVP (Canine & Feline), DACVECC, Canine & Feline Regent
The Small Animal Regents, Drs. Rick Wearing (Year 1), Greg Lisciandro (Year 2), recently posted on the Canine & Feline listserv and are soliciting speakers for the 2026 ABVP Boston Symposium and future events. If you have already sent by email, we have your information. We will send out confirmations in the next 10-14 days of all in our Speaker Bank.
If you are interested in being considered an ABVP Canine & Feline Speaker and included in our Speaker Bank, you must send us all the following, anything incomplete will not be considered.
- Short Bio (< 250 words)
- Professional Headshot (JPEG)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Topic Title and Short
Description of the Talk (3-5 sentences)
Note, complete your "Titles and Descriptions" on a single Word Document File.
Please email Greg Lisciandro and Rick Wearing. Thank you and looking forward to ABVP Boston 2026!
71st Annual AAEP Convention
Manuel Himenes, DVM, DABVP (Equine), Equine Regent
Hello fellow Diplomates! I hope you all had a great fourth of July, spending time with friends and family.
Hope to see many of you at the AAEP breakfast in December and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Dates: December 6-10, 2025
Location: Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO
Breakfast will be on December 8th from 7:00 AM - 8:00 AM in room 202 for ABVP Equine Diplomates. For more information about the AAEP Conference, please visit their website.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Support a Fellow ABVP Diplomate
Lee Morgan, DVM, DABVP (Canine & Feline)
We’re proud to share that Dr. Lee Morgan has published his own book, Four Thousand Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod. Join us in celebrating his achievement and order your copy today!
ABVP VIN Rounds
ABVP is happy to partner with VIN to make Rounds available to all ABVP Diplomates. You must be a VIN member and/or an ABVP Diplomate to attend. Those who attend the live session earn 1 hour of CE credit. Sessions are also recorded for viewing later with NO CE credit attached.
Save The Dates!
Thursday, September 4, 8 PM Central Time
The Old Cat With Weight Loss and Normal Bloodwork
Brittany Cacciottoli, DVM, DABVP (Feline Practice)
If you have not received access to VIN, please email VIN directly at rounds@vin.com. ABVP cannot assist with access since Rounds are on the VIN platform.
If you are a newer Diplomate and interested in presenting, please email vinrounds@abvp.com. Each lecture is about 50 minutes long and you will need to keep an eye on your lecture's message board after the lecture for a couple of weeks. VIN will pay you for your lecture. ABVP will help you with your lecture by assigning you a mentor, if you would like.
Residency and Job Postings
Don’t forget that ABVP has classified listings for open positions all over the world!
December 31, 2025
- Final date to be called a Diplomate for those who failed to MOC on time
January 15, 2026
Credentials deadline for both Initial Applications and Re-Applications. All documentation must be submitted online by 11:59 PM Central Time
Swine Health Management Entry Exam registration and fee deadline. Registration must be completed online account by 11:59 PM Central Time
Semi-Annual Residency Logs deadline. Logs must be submitted online by 11:59 PM Central Time
April 9-12, 2026
- ABVP Symposium, Boston, Massachusetts
July 1, 2026
- 2026-2027 Diplomate and Emeritus Diplomate fees payable
July 15, 2026
Semi-Annual Residency Logs deadline. Logs must be submitted online by 11:59 PM Central Time
MOC Renewal Applications deadline
