Welcome back to Vet Sessions! We hope everyone had a restful holiday season. In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Dr. Scott Weese, a veterinary internal medicine specialist and the Chief of Infection Control at the Ontario Veterinary College. An expert in infectious and parasitic animal diseases, Dr. Weese joins us to discuss his well-known Worms & Germs Blog and its new podcast counterpart. Our infectious disease focus this week is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), as Dr. Weese explains what it is, which ticks transmit it, and how to recognize it in practice, including real-world cases that first raised concern about RMSF in Ontario. We hope you enjoy this informative conversation!

In part one of this two part episode, Sarah Bernardi, RSW, MSW, shares her journey as a veterinary social worker, exploring the emotional complexities faced by pet parents and veterinary teams and the vital role of compassionate support. We also highlight the new Pet Trust digital resource, a special guide designed to help people navigate grief and pet loss, offering invaluable information on coping with loss, accessing pet loss resources, and preparing for end-of-life decisions with care and understanding. We hope this conversation brings comfort, insight, and support to anyone who listens.

In this episode of Vet Sessions, Dr. Omar Khan sits down with Dr. Kate Wycherley, who is an Assistant Professor in Small Animal Primary Health Care and Experiential Learning in the Department of Clinical Studies at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC). Dr. Wycherley explores the inner workings of OVC’s dental program and shares how students are trained in foundational dental skills, the common oral health issues encountered in clinical practice, and why dentistry is such a critical—yet often overlooked—component of comprehensive veterinary care, all through the lens of her experience as both a clinician and an educator.

In this episode, Dr. Lynn Henderson joins us to talk about the growing field of community medicine and how it’s helping reshape both veterinary care and education. She shares her experience working as the director of the Kim and Stu Lang Community Healthcare Partnership Program (CHPP) at the Ontario Veterinary College. This program gives veterinary students real-world experience in community-based care throughout all four years of the DVM program. We get into how CHPP helps students connect with underserved populations, better understand the social factors that impact health, and learn what it really means to build trust and make a difference outside the clinic. This conversation highlights the importance of bringing healthcare beyond the clinic and into the communities that need it most.

Join Dr Shannon Gowland as she chats with OVC Graduate Dr Nicole Iarusci. Nicole shares her insights about the challenging experience of failing the NAVLE exam, finding the support and inspiration to start studying again and the approach she used to pass on her second attempt. It is a reassuring listen for anyone who has worried about failing the exam and how to support ourselves and our friends when we don't succeed the first time.

Welcome back to a new season of Vet Sessions! Thank you listeners for continuing to support us, we can't believe we are starting Season 5! This week, we are joined by special guest Dr. Paul Woods, a leading veterinary oncologist and professor at the Ontario Veterinary College. A graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College, Dr. Woods has built an impressive career spanning clinical practice, advanced training in oncology, and groundbreaking cancer research. He co-founded the Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation and played a key role in developing the Mona Campbell Centre for Animal Cancer—Canada’s most comprehensive animal cancer treatment and research facility. In this episode, we’ll focus on canine mast cell tumors, including how they're diagnosed, treated, and what current research means for the future of care. We hope you enjoy!

Have that one patient who can't seem to lose weight no matter what you try? This week we have two guests, RVT Shoshana Verton-Shaw and Dr. Adronie Verbrugghe to talk about OVC's new Hill's Pet Nutrition Weight Care Program! The Ontario Veterinary College is launching a holistic referral weight care clinic, encompassing both physical rehabilitation and nutritional counselling to help your patients meet their goals. The new Hill’s Pet Nutrition Weight Care Service will launch alongside the existing OVC Health Science Centre’s Fitness and Rehabilitation service within the Hill’s Pet Nutrition Primary Health Care Centre at the OVC. Any veterinarian in Ontario can refer patients to this program! Tune in to the last episode of Season 4 for more information!

Ever wonder how the tests we perform on patients came to be? Join Dr. Omar Khan and Dr. Geoffrey Wood as they discuss microRNA's and ground-breaking investigation into their use in developing tests for osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma in dogs. Dr. Wood is the Assistant Co-Director at the Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation and a board certified veterinary pathologist. He is also currently an Associate Professor at the Ontario Veterinary College. Tune in to hear more about how this work could revolutionize early cancer detection, monitoring, and treatment decisions in veterinary oncology.