Idea Exchange: Use R or L to identify smears

In a keynote address at the 2026 Fetch National Harbor Veterinary Conference, Jessica Pritchard, VMD, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), shared research showing that many owners decline vaccines because they do not think their pet needs them, and discussed ways veterinary teams can address those concerns.

Alyssa Mages, BS, CVT, FVTE, outlines key considerations for veterinary technicians during triage, from rapid patient assessment and prioritization to client communication and team coordination, in this interview from the Fetch National Harbor Veterinary Conference.

In a session at the 2026 Fetch National Harbor conference, Nathanael Oster, VMD, MBA, walked attendees through the biology, diagnosis, and treatment of the flea tapeworm in dogs and cats, including why cats are affected more often than dogs.

SNAP-P is a proposed high-impact program that would provide at least $4.4 billion in benefits to low-income pet owners at marginal cost to federal and state governments.

In a slideshow drawn from an onsite dvm360 interview at Fetch National Harbor, a veterinary oncologist and a veterinary social worker walk through how the role supports owners and staff across a pet's cancer diagnosis, treatment, and end-of-life care.

Here are this week's headlines

The five-year Big Bet for Pets initiative targets what the foundation calls a care gap affecting 50 million dogs and cats in the US, opening two new grant programs for nonprofit veterinary clinics.

A UC Davis study is investigating why Labrador retrievers develop copper-associated hepatopathy and whether blood-based tools could help identify the disease before serious liver damage occurs.