JAAHA is Now the Official Journal of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners

For those of you who were unable to be at the Diplomates’ business meeting at Symposium, you missed an important announcement. After conversations spanning the last couple of years, we have officially partnered with the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, and the journal will be our official publication for ABVP.

One of the most important points of the collaboration was to have ALL of our RVS groups recognized in this journal. JAAHA has historically been for small animal practitioners, but that wasn’t going to work for our extremely varied specialists. I’m so excited that we have this opportunity to be recognized more widely as a specialty board, and even more excited that it will
provide a platform for our residents and Diplomates to publish.

Since JAAHA is focused on practitioners, the main stipulations for publication are: is this interesting to practitioners, is it well written and high quality, and is there merit to this information for practitioners? To me, this sounds like the whole backbone of what we all do.

All ABVP Diplomates in good standing will have free access to JAAHA, and will have a discounted rate for submitting papers. This will be our journal - let’s make it diverse and interesting and practical!

There will be a slow(ish) rollout to having all of our RVSs represented in the journal, with the main rate limiting factor being section heads to loosely screen submissions and gather reviewers. I’m looking for section heads for Small Animal (Feline, Canine/Feline, Shelter), Exotics (Avian, RA, ECM, Fish), and Large Animal (Equine, Beef, Dairy, FA, Swine). We are also looking for reviewers, but I need to get the section heads in place first. There was a great response for reviewers at Symposium, but if you contacted me there, please reach out again so I have everything in one place. If you weren’t at Symposium but this sounds like a great job for you, please let me know. I’ll be gathering names and organizing a meeting sometime in the next month or so.

I’m really looking forward to seeing our name and logo on this journal, and can’t wait to work
with all of you to start the ball rolling.

Please contact me at rucinsky.mach@gmail.com if you are able to help with this.

Renee Rucinsky, DVM, DABVP (Feline)

In Memory of Dr. Larry Gene Dee

Dr. Larry Gene Dee was a man of uncommon intellect, deep faith, quiet generosity, and enduring devotion. To those who knew him as a husband, brother, uncle, colleague, mentor, teacher, or friend, he leaves the memory of a life lived with purpose and steadiness. To the veterinary profession, he leaves something even larger: a standard of excellence shaped not only by mastery and achievement, but by humility, service, and care for others.

Larry grew up in a family whose name became woven into the history of animal care in South Florida, and he helped carry that legacy forward with distinction. At Hollywood Animal Hospital, working alongside his father and brothers, Larry helped build a practice widely respected for its depth of knowledge, breadth of service, and unwavering commitment to animals and the people who loved them.

Larry’s professional accomplishments were extraordinary, but they never fully captured the measure of the man. He was encyclopedic in knowledge, a gifted clinician, surgeon, and diagnostician whose memory and command of the scientific literature inspired awe in students and peers alike. He became a Charter Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners and remained board-certified until his retirement in 2017. Over decades, he published scientific papers, delivered presentations, taught as a clinical instructor and as an adjunct faculty member. Among his many professional achievements, Larry was elected by his peers to serve as the President of the Ridge Veterinary Medical Society, the President of the Broward County Veterinary Medical Association, the President of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association, the President of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, the President of the American Animal Hospital Association, and the President of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association. He mentored many veterinarians to pursue excellence in veterinary medicine, as ABVP diplomates, and as leaders of the profession. He could recall a journal article by page and column, and was also someone who would make sure that someone far from home had a place at the family Christmas table. In those memories, Larry appears not only as a giant in veterinary medicine, but as a kind and thoughtful person whose generosity was personal, practical, and lasting.

We remember Dr. Larry Gene Dee with admiration, gratitude, and affection. His life reminds us that greatness is not measured by accomplishment alone, but by the good one does for others and the integrity with which one lives each day. He healed animals, elevated a profession, strengthened institutions, supported countless colleagues, and loved his family faithfully. His was a life of substance and service, and his memory will continue to bless all who were fortunate enough to know him.