In times such as today, vets are taking their time to hire specialists to provide extensive care for pets.For many years, vets didn’t have many specialists in their facilities and it caused pet examinations, and other events to take longer than normal. With these specialists present, pets are attended to quicker and provided with more expert care.
According to the American Veterinary Medicine Association, the following are the Veterinary Specialists:
- Anesthesia
- Animal Welfare
- Behavior
- Dentistry
- Dermatology
- Emergency and Critical Care
- Internal Medicine: Cardiology, Neurology, Oncology:
- Laboratory Animal Medicine
- Microbiology
- Nutrition
- Ophthalmology
- Pathology
- Pharmacology
- Poultry Veterinarians
- Preventive Medicine
- Radiology
- Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Surgery: e.g., Orthopedics, Soft Tissue surgery
- Theriogenology
- Toxicology
- Veterinary Practitioners: Avian Practice, Equine Practice, Beef Cattle Practice, Feline Practice, Canine/Feline Practice, Exotic Companion Mammal Practice, Food Animal Practice, Dairy Practice, Reptile and Amphibian Practice, Swine Health Management
- Zoological Medicine: veterinarians who work with zoo collection animals, free-living wildlife, aquatic species and companion zoological animals
How do Veterinary specialists assist the General Practitioners?
A wonderful example of how specialists contribute to the welfare of our canine companions;
My friend’s dog needed help from a specialist. A tiny Poodle she called Jenny had an unusual, progressively worsening case of head pain; she lacked interest in her environment and became withdrawn and disoriented. After her own rigorous workup including radiographs, blood, urine, and neurological tests She was still unsure of what was causing her very worrisome signs. So off she went to a Specialist in Veterinary Radiology who was equipped with a CT Scanner and a full complement of computer interfaced diagnostic instrumentation.
After assisting in a few hours of state-of-the-art veterinary medical diagnostic imaging she had the diagnosis. Jenny had abnormally formed bones near the base of her skull that was affecting the cerebrospinal fluid circulation and was causing a buildup of pressure deep within her brain. The specialist suggested a plan of therapy and within days we had our little princess back to normal.
Without the assistance of that Specialist in Veterinary Radiology no amount of effort on her part, or reliance on 32 years of experience dealing with hundreds of thousands of patients, would have enabled her to make the proper diagnosis.
I encourage every dog owner to take control of their pet’s health care by discussing fully with your veterinarian any questions you have about your pet’s health; you should expect, and deserve to get, understandable responses. Always be ready to seek the advice of a specialist if it seems that your veterinarian has reached an impasse in establishing a diagnosis for your dog’s condition.
