School of Veterinary Medicine

new litter of penn working dogs

A decade of advancing working dogs for the greater good

Inspired by her experience caring for working dogs following 9/11 at Ground Zero, Penn Vet Working Dog Center Director Cynthia Otto’s initial vision has grown into a thriving organization with a mission to use science to improve the breeding, training, care, and effectiveness of working dogs.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

Hands typing on a keyboard.

How to improve accessibility and digital inclusion

Tonya Bennett discusses a recent accessibility awareness panel discussion where higher education leaders focused on physical and digital access and inclusion for the more than one billion people worldwide with disabilities and impairments.

Dee Patel

A woman takes the heartbeat of a goat while two men secure the goat.

The Gambia Goat Dairy builds sustainability through community

Since its founding by Penn Vet students in 2016, the Gambia Goat Dairy has worked in partnership with Gambians to serve its community. The research and teaching farm also gives current students the opportunity to use their veterinary skills for social good.

Luis Melecio-Zambrano ・

Fluorescent microscopy against a black background shows a layer of green flecks over a mix of blue and red labeled cells

Progress toward a stem cell–based therapy for blindness

A multi-institutional effort led by researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine is taking steps to develop an effective technique to regenerate photoreceptors cells and restore sight in people with vision disorders.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

A small wide-eyed Shi Tzu holds large boxing gloves in its mouth.

A Penn Vet tale: Olive, the tiny little fighter

When Olive, the four-month-old Shih Tzu mix, became critically ill with respiratory distress, clinicians at Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital spent a week collaborating on intensive treatment.

Sacha Adorno ・

A veterinarian checks a fainting goats heart rate in a vet office.

A heart start for Milkshake, the fainting goat

When Milkshake’s vitals were dangerously compromised, a team at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center pinpointed the problem in the fainting goat’s heart, and saved her life.

From Penn Vet ・



In the News


San Francisco Chronicle

Fentanyl overdoses hit a surprising group of San Franciscans: the city’s dogs

Cynthia Otto of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that fentanyl can be absorbed across the mucous membranes in canine noses, causing dogs to face a life-threatening overdose.

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Nature

Bird flu virus has been spreading in U.S. cows for months, RNA reveals

Louise Moncla of the Veterinary School of Medicine says that the bird flu virus is clearly being transmitted to cows in some way.

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The Washington Post

How to (responsibly) let your cat outside

James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that some cats are perfectly happy within the confines of the home, while others have a greater desire to wander, explore, and investigate.

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The Washington Post

Cats aren’t jerks. They’re just misunderstood

James Serpell of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the domestic cat suffers from its legacy of being a not-quite-wild animal on the margins of society.

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Newsweek

Dog respiratory illness map update: Mystery disease spreads to more states

Deborah Silverstein of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that the dogs most at risk for respiratory illness are those with low immunity, such as young puppies, the unvaccinated, or older dogs, and potentially short-nosed breeds.

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