What Veterinarians Need To Know About The Adequan Recall

Summary

The Veterinary Roundtable

Episode: What Veterinarians Need To Know About The Adequan Recall
Date: August 11, 2026
Hosts: Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall, Dr. Emily King, Dr. Adam Christman

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Overview

This episode of The Veterinary Roundtable revolves around recent veterinary news and listener questions, with a special focus on the Adequan recall. Dr. Duckwall, Dr. King, and Dr. Christman provide insights into the recall, discuss new regulations affecting veterinary professionals, and offer career and life advice to listeners. The team also tackles memorable listener stories, including a deep-dive into a complex veterinary case, and encourages engagement for their upcoming live show.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Podcast Updates & Community News

• Live Show Announcements ([00:40]-[02:18]):
  • Excitement for the upcoming live event in Nashville, with over 200 tickets sold and a goal to hit 300 attendees.
  • Major giveaways from Barkbox and Midmark.
  • Notable absences due to team members on maternity leave.
• Hosts Share Personal Highs and Lows ("Peaks and Pits") ([05:54]-[08:53]):
  • Illnesses, family updates, and a humorous experience with a massive bug sting (Dr. King: "I wake up in the morning. No lie. It was ginormous." [09:00]).
  • Reminder to care for personal pets as veterinarians (Dr. Duckwall: “I feel good about myself for doing that.” [07:19]).

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2. Listener Questions & Advice

Dealing with Negativity in Veterinary School ([12:10]-[15:50])

• Strategies for managing classmates with negative attitudes.
• Focus on what’s within your control:
  • Dr. King: "The only thing that you actually have control over is how you behave, how you react, your mannerisms.” ([14:03])
• Protecting happiness:
  • “If you allow people into your circle... they are not allowed to steal your happiness.” ([15:08])

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Gossip and Professionalism with Clients ([15:54]-[17:52])

• Reader Candace’s comment on the importance of not gossiping about clients.
• Dr. King: “We're here to serve. We're not here to judge.” ([16:44])
• Discussing the emotional difficulty and professionalism required in challenging situations.

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Tales from the Trenches – Lighthearted Field Stories ([18:05]-[22:39])

• Listener Sarah’s explosive anecdote about a dog’s diarrhea during a nail trim.
  • Dr. King: "You just hope it doesn't go in your eye or mouth or something." ([22:06])
• The realities and bodily hazards of practicing vet med.

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3. Veterinary News Discussion

Adequan Recall – What You Need to Know ([23:02]-[25:56])

• Key Issue: Certain bottles of Adequan canine injectable are being recalled due to possible glass shards in the medication.
• Direct Quotes:
  • Dr. Duckwall: "If you have adequate at home for your animal, take a look at those lot numbers. Because you don't want them." ([24:23])
  • Dr. King: “Don't inject glass into your animal.” ([24:28])
• Impacted Batches:
  • Canine Injection (Lot numbers: 3369, 25011), Adequan IM Injection (Lot numbers: 24416, 25265P).
• Clinical advice: Clinics are checking stock and informing clients; no affected bottles found at the hosts’ practice.
• General support for Adequan’s effectiveness and safety for both dogs and horses, with a reminder not to mix formulations.

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Non-Compete Agreements for Veterinarians ([25:59]-[29:50])

• Legislative updates in Washington and Utah
  • Washington to void all workplace non-competes (effective June 30, 2027)
  • Utah bans new non-competes for veterinarians unless they own >5% of the business.
• Hosts’ take:
  • Dr. King: "Why are you going to make it exceptionally hard for someone to make a living?" ([27:45])
  • Dr. Duckwall: “It’s too extreme where it’s at.” ([29:45])
• Reflection on how non-competes hurt both veterinarians and the wider community.

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Employee Fraud in Vet Practices ([30:01]-[33:17])

• Insights from AVMA article on the prevalence of employee theft.
• The “10-10-80” Rule:
  • 10% never steal, 10% will steal if possible, 80% are honest only under normal circumstances.
• Examples include diverting vendor rebates, not charging themselves for services, or "shrinkage."
• Economic pressures and rationalizations discussed:
  • Dr. Duckwall: “[Some people may think:] I don't get paid enough in our field in general.” ([33:07])

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4. Clinical Case Study: Chief the Dog ([33:26]-[42:30])

Case Summary

• Owner: Listener Candace Little
• Patient: Chief, 10-year-old Australian Cattle Dog mix with multiple prior health issues.
• Initial symptoms: Coughing when sleeping, gradual progression to neck edema and swelling of lymph nodes, intermittent collapse episodes.
• Diagnosis Journey:
  • Initial diagnostics (CBC, rads, cancer screening, etc.) inconclusive.
  • Eventual CT scan reveals a cranial mediastinal mass compressing the vena cava.
  • Working diagnosis: metastatic melanoma vs. benign thymoma.
  • Treatment options: Surgery (not feasible locally), chemotherapy, prednisone. Owner starts oral palladia and prednisone.
• Memorable insight: "He’s still the happiest boy in the whole wide world." ([39:43])
• Clinician reactions:
  • Dr. Duckwall: “That just goes to show how that dark, vast circle or pit. The mediastinum is a pit.” ([40:56])
  • Dr. King: “Oral chemotherapy, I mean, it really does give you some freedom, you know what I’m saying?” ([42:15])

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5. Additional Listener Inquiries

Should you get your vet tech license in “unregulated” states? ([42:56]-[46:49])

• Listener wonders if the credential and Penn Foster program are “worth it.”
• Hosts’ advice:
  • Dr. King: “Yes, do it. Yes.” ([44:28])
  • Certification may become more valuable over time, especially if laws change (e.g., title protection).
  • Business management degree + license opens career options (e.g., CVPM).
  • Higher starting salaries generally seen for LVT/CVTs.

Non-Veterinary Professional Interested in Vet Med? ([47:05]-[52:00])

• Gabriel, a graphic designer, asks whether it's realistic to switch to Vet Med.
• Hosts' nuanced reflections:
  • Dr. Duckwall: “Are you comfortable with your job and are financially comfortable with what you’re doing…and having it as a side hustle?" ([48:42])
  • Dr. King: “Get into a clinic.” ([50:04])
  • Recommendations: shadow in clinics, understand physical demands, consider melding design skills with pet care industry.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Adequan recall:

  • Dr. King: “Don't inject glass into your animal.” ([24:28])

• On negativity in school & workplace:

  • Dr. King: “Don’t let other people steal your happiness. It’s not worth it.” ([15:08])

• On gossip in practice:

  • Dr. King: “We’re here to serve. We’re not here to judge.” ([16:44])

• On workplace fraud:

  • Dr. Duckwall: “At that point, you’re just committed to be a criminal.” ([32:13])

• On following your passion in Vet Med:

  • Dr. Duckwall: “If you have that inner voice saying you’re not content...explore it, but maybe don’t commit to school right away.” ([50:58])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Live show & podcast updates: [00:40]–[02:18]
• Peaks & Pits: [05:54]–[08:53]
• Listener Q&A on negativity/classmates: [12:10]–[15:50]
• Gossip in practice commentary: [15:54]–[17:52]
• Tales from the Trenches: [18:05]–[22:39]
• Adequan recall (Main Topic): [23:02]–[25:56]
• Non-Compete agreement discussion: [25:59]–[29:50]
• Employee fraud discussion: [30:01]–[33:17]
• Chief's Clinical Case: [33:26]–[42:30]
• Licensure & career advice: [42:56]–[46:49]
• Graphic designer considering Vet Med: [47:05]–[52:00]

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Tone and Style

The episode remains friendly, candid, and supportive, peppered with relatable anecdotes and honest professional reflections. The hosts balance practical advice with humor and empathy, creating a sense of camaraderie and community among veterinary professionals and enthusiasts alike.

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For Listeners

Whether you’re a veterinary professional, student, or simply a fan of animal care, this episode delivers critical updates (like the Adequan recall), valuable career guidance, and plenty of laughs. For those who missed the full episode, this summary offers a roadmap to the most important information and memorable moments.

Transcript

[Dr. Adam Christman]

Foreign.

[Dr. Emily King]

And welcome to another episode of the Veterinary Roundtable, the podcast where we answer your veterinary related questions while having some fun along the way. If you enjoyed today's episode or a previous episode, be sure to leave us a review on your podcast provider of choice. And if you have any feedback to offer to improve the Veterinary Roundtable, let us know. Four, four, five, two. On the reviews. Courtney would be freaking out.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah, that's a decent jump. I think we were in like, four. Four something last time.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Okay, that's.

[Dr. Emily King]

That's pretty awesome.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Okay, take it. Yeah. Well done, people. Thank you. So we're having a live show in a week. I'm a little nervous and also, like, oh, my gosh, I can't think about that right now. Kind of phase. I'm in this awkward phase of being excited and not ready. Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

Because if you think about it too much, then you're, like, overwhelmed, but yet it's not things that you can take care of. Like, right now, like, you've got to just, like, wait until one we get there to do some things and then, you know, like. But there are some logistics due to the amount of giveaways. That is bananas. Like, if you saw our post from Barkbox, oh, my gosh. Like, now we. We're like, oh, my gosh. Wow. Okay. Everybody's driving with a trailer on their car.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. I mean, we're gonna have to cram some boxes somewhere because it's. I mean, you guys, there's so many giveaways. And then Harrison just told us another awesome giveaway and for Midmark, and it's just going to be wild. There's so many things for $5. Like, I kind of wish in the audience.

[Dr. Emily King]

I know, it's amazing. Then we've, you know, we're like, I think over 200 tickets. Over something. 200 something tickets. So, you know, we're trying to pack the house because it'll make it even more fun. So we're trying to get to 300 or slightly more than that. And so if you're coming to Nashville, make sure you check it out. I know you're not going to be disappointed.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

No, it's going to be so much fun. I'm so excited.

[Dr. Emily King]

I am so excited, too. As it gets closer, it's just. It's kind of like, like you said, it's like, oh, my God, that's actually happening.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

In a week.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I can't,

[Dr. Emily King]

like, I'm like, oh, wait, it is actually a week, like, starting on Saturday.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

This is when it's a Week.

[Dr. Emily King]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Down like Christmas. I'm like, okay, I have this many sleeps. I have this many work days. I have to do this, this, and this. So, yeah, it's happening.

[Dr. Emily King]

It's happening.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Okay.

[Dr. Emily King]

And you know, we're missing two of our compadres because they're having babies that

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

they keep popping out children. So, yeah. Ms. Courtney had her baby Grayson a couple weeks ago. He. Everyone's doing well. And then Ally, technically is getting induced tonight.

[Dr. Emily King]

Tonight. Yeah. And she was contemplating how to get the podcast today.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yes.

[Dr. Emily King]

When Dun and I are like, wait, what did you just say? They're taking you in and she's working today.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

So right now.

[Dr. Emily King]

She's at work right now. And we're like, okay, hold up. Like, just skip the podcast and go to the hospital. How about that? Since they're inducing you at 11 something tonight.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

And so, like, go home and take a nap. Dear Lord, do not do anything. You're having a baby tonight.

[Dr. Emily King]

I love her commitment. That's why, you know, she's a fantastic asset. And so it's. Yeah, it was pretty funny. Right on par for. For Ally, that's for sure. So they're going to be gone like 12 weeks, I think.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. Kind of depend. We left it up to them on

[Dr. Emily King]

when they want to.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

That's true.

[Dr. Emily King]

Because we have been doing some remote episodes, so that allows them to maybe join back in sooner than being in person, which is kind of nice.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

So it is up in the air. You're right.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

No pressure. We'll see. Until then, you get me and Kim

[Dr. Emily King]

Lee and we're having some more guests on, which is awesome because then we can have some information. Get some information out there to you guys. And so it's a great opportunity for us to invite people on the podcast, so we'll be doing that as well.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah, we're excited. The last guest episode was pretty cool.

[Dr. Emily King]

So it was mind boggling. I was like, what is happening? There were so many good pieces of information just from a knowledge perspective, but then just. Yeah. Wow. Holy cow.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I sent the. The link to a friend that has dachshunds, and then I sent it to a client, actually, who has three Frenchies. And I was like, this made me think. And we're friends too. But I was like, this made me think of you. Take a listen if you have time.

[Dr. Emily King]

So now what'll be interesting is if we get someone on the podcast that has an alternative viewpoint. Like, it might be interesting to see what the other side of the fence says.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. About.

[Dr. Emily King]

About this So I don't know. Little plug in there, kind of torn. Because I really want to just believe everything in that podcast.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I know. I don't want it to dim our excitement and our light. Exactly.

[Dr. Emily King]

Exactly.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

So maybe we just ride this wave for a minute.

[Dr. Emily King]

I think so. Yeah.

[Dr. Adam Christman]

Okay.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

All right. On social media at the Veterinary Roundtable, and we have a YouTube channel if you want to watch us talk at. And it's the Veterinary Roundtable, so. Boom.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay. Boom. There we go. All right. I'm Dr. Emily King.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I'm Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall. This is the Veterinary Roundtable.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay, what are your pits this week?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, gosh. I tell you what. Whatever virus hit our household, technically two weeks ago is when my kids started getting it and got the whole shebang, the fevers, whatever. And then I got hit last week on Thursday, I started feeling it. It's, like, weird and not great. Like, Charles and I keep waking up every morning hoping we feel better, and we don't. It's just, like, here. And then, you know, we have this, like, weird dry cough. It's just kind of a weird virus, so hopefully it clears up soon. And I had wicked mast. The worst mastitis I had before this hit last week. I just need to feel healthy, and hopefully it's just in time for the live show.

[Dr. Emily King]

So you just need to get yourself to Nashville, Tennessee.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. I need some sunshine and some cowgirl boots and a drink.

[Dr. Emily King]

A good time. And a good drink and a good time.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Right.

[Dr. Emily King]

What's your peak?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I would probably say. I mean, we're kind of in survival mode, but my peak is probably. I'm excited for the live show, and I'm. Phyllis is getting a dental as we speak right now, so.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Taking care of my animals.

[Dr. Emily King]

There you go. That's. That's something that sometimes we forget about as veterinarians. At least I feel like.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

So sometimes, yeah, I feel good about myself for doing that. So.

[Dr. Emily King]

Look, my dog is in here for the podcast. Do you see her?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, hi, Gaia.

[Dr. Emily King]

Look at her. Anytime I come in here, she's like, oh, I'm gonna go find a spot on the bed. So there she is.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, I still want adobe, but I'm withholding.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay, well, I'm not gonna tell you not to get one, because she's awesome, so. Okay, my. My pit is. I've been. How many. How many summers have I been up here in Tennessee, you know? And I have yet to be stung by something until this stung by something in my hand blew up the size of Texas?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, no.

[Dr. Emily King]

I Was on my walk. Walking. And I had my headphones on so I couldn't hear anything around me, right? No buzzing, no nothing. And so I'm walking, and I have my phone in my hand, and so I'm walking like this, and I don't know what it was that stung me, but it was sitting between my phone in my hand, and it stunned me. And I threw my phone on the ground, said, what? And then I looked at it. Hurt so bad. It hurts so bad when I got stung. And then I was like, okay, you know, I'm halfway through my walk, so I'm like, fine, you know, you're not stopping me from walking. I finished my walk, I go back, I put the baking soda on it with a little water, you know, to suck the, like, inflammation out. And I thought, it'll be fine. I wake up night, or I'm in the. Sleeping in the middle of the night, and I'm like, oh, man, this is really itchy.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Like, oh, no.

[Dr. Emily King]

I wake up in the morning. No lie. It was ginormous. Ginormous.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Like, around circle or your entire head.

[Dr. Emily King]

I might have to share a picture.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, you should. I want to see.

[Dr. Emily King]

Was so big. Duck wall. It wasn't even funny right now I

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

want to see it.

[Dr. Emily King]

And I should have. I should have taken Benadryl that night, but I was like, you know what? Like, I feel pretty good. Like, it's okay. Like, it's not bad, you know, Like, I lost her. Horrible.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Hold on.

[Dr. Emily King]

I'm looking for it. I'm gonna find it. Harrison, this is a big, fat picture of my. There it is. Duckwell, are you ready?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, wait, wait.

[Dr. Emily King]

I'm sending it to you. Okay, hold on.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Okay. Lost connection. And now I'm back. So I don't know if you said anything in that time.

[Dr. Emily King]

No, I'm saying that I'm sending it to you now. And don't laugh, because it looks like not even my hand.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I'm gonna laugh. I'm gonna show the screen. No, I'm waiting. Oh,

[Dr. Emily King]

can you believe that? You can't even see my knuckles. I won't tell you what I'm holding underneath my hand there, but let's just say that I was using it to, like, take away the inflammation and pain. It took days to go away. I had to ice it. I had to. It ended up going, like, all over my hand, like, down. It was crazy.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, my God.

[Dr. Emily King]

I still don't know what it was, but now I'm traumatized. So every time I go on my walk, I'm like, not wearing my headphones, so I can hear something buzzing around.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Did you, like, do Benadryl and, like, the whole gamut?

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. After it swelled up that night, then I ended up taking Benadryl during the day.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

So that it would go down like Benadryl in the morning, which actually, interestingly enough, does not make me tired.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, even you're lucky.

[Dr. Emily King]

I would have been knocked out. 50 milligrams of Benadryl in the morning, 50 milligrams at night. And then the next day, swelling started to come down.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Wow.

[Dr. Emily King]

It was bananas. I was like, oh, that was crazy.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

So anyway, like, a spider bite.

[Dr. Emily King]

It was a flying thing. When I. When I flew my. When I threw my phone down, I. I was then, like, oh, my God, I just broke my phone. But there was, like, a thingy there, like a flying thing. I don't know what it was.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Break your phone?

[Dr. Emily King]

No, it did not break my phone.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Well, that's good.

[Dr. Emily King]

So the bug didn't win. The bug did not win. So there's that.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Well done.

[Dr. Emily King]

So my peak, like yours, is that we are almost ready for the live show.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Boom.

[Dr. Emily King]

I'm ready. I'm ready to have some fun.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

We're ready. Okay, you do this one follow up on Pets have Souls episode.

[Dr. Emily King]

Oh, and this person says we should have a priest on. So I'm doing it. I'm reaching out why we have. Why we need special guests. We're going to have a priest on. Okay, let's do it. To talk about animals. Okay.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

All right.

[Dr. Emily King]

Hey. I loved Yalls last episode, and thank you for answering my inquiry. The ivermectin and deworming conversation over the new crypto Whatever parasite was super funny. Also, I'd like to ask Courtney if she had any tips and advice for going through vet tech school and dealing with people with negative attitudes in my class. I'm in vet tech school right now and have a hard time with other people sometimes. Also, I definitely think y' all should get a priest on the show. Lol. From Leila. Okay, well, Courtney's not here, but we could talk to you about it.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah, girl. I mean, I definitely had some people with some negative attitudes, and some of it was directed towards me. So all I got to say is,

[Dr. Emily King]

how did you manage that? We've talked about this before where there were some mean people in your class.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah, bullies. Like, get over yourself. Anyways, so. So I just. Essentially, they weren't part of my life anymore. So I don't know if these people are, like, directly with you or if it's just like in general where like, I don't know in what kind of like context. Are they negative because they're complaining? Are they negative because they don't want to be a team player? Are they negative because they're so super competitive? I mean, I think in any, like, just don't interact with them. And if you have to, you just show up and do what you have to do and you, it's a great learning experience for the real world because there are people you're gonna have to work with or for that are just not your cup of tea. And you have to remember why you're doing it. That's what I have to say. Remember why you're doing it and why you're there.

[Dr. Emily King]

And you don't have any control over how other people handle information, manage information, react to information. None of it. You have no control over any of it. And so I think really understanding that that's outside of your control. And like the only thing that you actually have control over is how you behave, how you react, you know, your, your mannerisms. That's all you can really focus on. Just focus on that and, and be okay. Be confident with how you're handling yourself.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

You know, I think that's, don't let it tear down your confidence and your knowledge and yeah, I mean your abilities because that's where it really will eat you away. That's where it got me for a while was it just tore down my self worth. So it's like you just can't let that happen. It's. There's so much bigger than other people's problems.

[Dr. Emily King]

Absolutely. And there's usually some underlying, there's some other issue. Right. I mean, there's so many people that think that someone else's demise is how their success comes to fruition. And it's like, no, that's just not what happens. Like someone else failing doesn't allow you to be successful. That's just not how you should view it. And I also think like, if you allow people into your circle, that you should also have the mindset those people are not allowed to steal your happiness. Like, they can contribute to it, they can be a part of it, but they are not allowed to steal it. And so don't let other people steal your happiness. It's not, that's not worth it.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Or if you're in the position, ask them like, are you okay? Do you need help? What's going on? Did I upset you? If there's something involving you, take accountability for It. But otherwise, like, if you've done those things or you feel like you had the urge to reach out and nothing comes of it, then wash your hands of it.

[Dr. Emily King]

Nothing you can do about it. Yep.

[Dr. Adam Christman]

Okay.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Follow up from the Red Flags episode. Oh, another one that just really grinds my gears is talking crap about a client. Like giving a history to a doctor and describing the client with a pissy voice or complaining that a client should know certain things. When it is our job to listen and educate, gossip about clients over anything that really just makes. Over anything just really makes me upset. And I turn into the bad guy for being the voice of reason. But I'll be the bad guy all day long if it means seeing clients in a different way. That is not negative. Candace Little. That's great.

[Dr. Emily King]

That is. That's very true. It's a really important lesson to learn. You don't want to learn it the hard way, which is talking about a client in a hallway and the client actually hears you, then calls your boss. And then your boss is like, hey, listen, man, we're here to serve. We're not here to judge. And it, you know, and it. It doesn't take away the hardship that occurs during people's days. That make that hard. That make, you know, we get it. We get that clients are hard. We get that they can be difficult, but they also are managing their own set of circumstances. Yes. That can contribute to that. And so just understanding that it's not about you, because I think a lot of times the staff and we, like, will complain because we've. It's. It's a personal, like, insult or assault on us.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Right.

[Dr. Emily King]

Like, I'm here serving you. Why can't you be happy? And it's like, okay, like that. Like, there may be something going on in their life. You know, like, you have no idea.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

You know what might be frustrated? I think it's okay to be frustrated if there's an obvious lack of care compliance. But you should not judge and you should not gossip and make fun of fun. There's a very big difference of like, I for sure have gotten a history. And I'm like, okay, like, why? You know that kind of tone where I'm like, we talked about this, or I gave you this or whatever. But yeah, at the end of the day, you shouldn't be back there and be like, oh, my God, this person sucks, or they don't care about their animal or la, la, la, la, la. So, yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. Okay. Tales from the Trenches. Okay. Okay. I'm going to read the first paragraph. You read the second one.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Okay. All right.

[Dr. Emily King]

Hello Veterinary Roundtable. It's Sarah again and thank you for your response. It gave me more encouragement that I'm on the right path. I also wanted to do a quick follow up response to Anonymous from the podcast episode. I have thought about that, but unfortunately I don't think that I will find a vet willing to open up a clinic alongside me since they would have to be the primary owners in New York. The few that I know either in school or have graduated would rather handle corporate clinics instead of private. The other ones are at retirement age and and ready for it. We actually had a clinic shut down recently because the owner passed away. He worked into his old age to keep a form of animal care available in the area. A couple positive things that we've seen is a cat rescue in operation, but on a limited emergency basis. A TN VR organization is in the works as well and and we do have urgent care, but they are only open on weekends and holidays. I'm not tossing the clinic idea out the window yet because I may run into someone along the way. Another avenue that I just thought of due to your response. Something similar to an emergency pet taxi service. Since transportation is another issue here, it's at least a consideration.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

[Dr. Emily King]

Tickets are on sale now for the Veterinary Roundtable Live at WVC Nashville 2026 where we're having the ultimate western themed night out for veterinary professionals. Join us on Sunday, August 16 for a night of absolute chaos in the best way possible.

[Dr. Adam Christman]

Hosted by Dr. Adam Christman alongside special guests Sarah Parsons and Walter Brown, this one of a kind live experience is more than just a show. It's a full on celebration of the veterinary profession and the incredible people who make it what it is.

[Dr. Emily King]

Expect an unforgettable evening featuring a special

[Dr. Adam Christman]

live Veterinary Roundtable podcast episode, an interactive game show packed with surprises, a veterinary happy hour with themed cocktails, free food and drinks, thousands of dollars in prizes and giveaways and more.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Dust off your boots, grab your cowboy hat and get ready for a night of connection, celebration and pure veterinary chaos.

[Dr. Emily King]

Tickets are limited and they will sell out, so grab your friends, grab your co workers and grab your tickets now through the link in the show notes. We'll see you at Cannery hall for the Veterinary Roundtable Live at WVC Nashville 2026.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I do have a couple tales from the trenches during my Vet Medfield experience, but this one is more light hearted for a laugh if you'd like. During my first Day as a vet assistant. I was shadowing another assistant. She was showing me the standard appointment for a nail trim on a four year old spayed Frenchie. She was doing everything right with this dog. And the dog was even, calm. Yet the moment her arm slid under the Frenchie, the dog freaked out and a stream of diarrhea came shooting out of the dog. It looked like when you throw a Mentos tab into a bottle of soda. The poop splattered onto the wall, spread onto the ceiling, and ended up on the assistant that I was shadowing. It was on her shoulder and in her hair. I was helping clean her up while she was still holding the Frenchie to have the name drum done. When the vet came around the corner and checked to check on everything, looked at me and said, welcome to Vet Med. If you stay in the field, you will end up with the pocket poop and you won't know it until you reach for your pen. Hope you all have a good one.

[Dr. Emily King]

Sarah, could you imagine reaching in your pocket?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Actually, it's funny. Is one of the. I think it was Madeline at work. She's such a doll and she's holding this dog and like the dog's outward and so it's kind of like a football hold and poop is just coming out the dog on the back of her onto her shirt. Someone was in the prepper where I was. They're like, does she know she's getting pooped on right now? And she just let it happen. It was just.

[Dr. Emily King]

It's like, you know, there's no great way sometimes to hold them that. That keeps you from getting in the line of fire.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Right.

[Dr. Emily King]

It's like, it's gonna happen.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yes.

[Dr. Emily King]

At some point. You just hope it doesn't go in your eye or mouth or something.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

There are times where I'm like examining a dog, especially a small dog on the table, and it's there for diarrhea. And I'm. The butt is like, the anus is right pointed towards me and I'm just palpating. And I feel all this squishy fluid moving around. I'm like, I'm literally in the line of fire right now. And I make a joke with the owner. We laugh, but I'm like, no, no, this could be really bad. Like, I don't know. Too bad.

[Dr. Emily King]

The sloshiness is the warning.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yes. Yeah, that'll get you. Oh, gosh.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I don't know if I've had anything. Like, I'm pretty sure I've definitely had anal glands, but that's like probably the extent of it. You got your saliva from head shaking. I don't think of it. I can't. Oh, blood. We've got the whole. The scores and surgery.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. No horror stories, I don't think so far.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay, on to news stories. There's a couple of them. One we were tossing around our doctor group chat as well, which is these adequate injections being recalled. Bottles of adequate being recalled. This is actually from DVM360 and was written on August 3, 2026. And basically there's just some bottles of Adequin that are being recalled due to like glass shards. Like pieces of glass. Right. In the, the liquid or the, in the medication, the supplement or whatever. And so they announced that and then they're recalling certain lot numbers.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. So those lot numbers for canine injection, It's a hundred milligrams per milligram, 5 mil multi dose vials. The lot numbers are 3369 and 25011. And the adequin IM injection, which is 500 milligrams per 5 mil single dose, 5 mil vials. Those lot numbers are 24416 and 25265 P. So if you have those, if you have adequate at home for your animal, take a look at those lot numbers. Because you don't want them.

[Dr. Emily King]

You don't want them. Don't inject glass into your animal.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yep. Please don't. We don't need weird reactions or migrating somewhere weird or.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

We picked the clinic. Nothing in the clinic setting had any of those lot numbers. So they're working on just doing an FYI to owners, I think.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah, I mean we use a lot of Adequin.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh yeah, it's great.

[Dr. Emily King]

I love it. Just because, I mean it's price per mil, like when you're using it, when you get down to that, like monthly, you know, dosage or even say if you have an older patient who's been on it for a while and you've increased every three weeks or whatever, it's still very reasonable from cost. You know, for therapy perspective, it's super safe.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I think it's great how safe it is. And then ultimately when you get to the once a month dosing, it's not like terrible as far as time commitment, but it's great for those young dogs who have dysplasias or get really injured and then are at risk of early arthritis. Like it's a great product to just when you don't want to commit to like long term anti inflammatory drugs, you can commit to something that hopefully helps keep those joints healthy. So I love it. I love Adequin. And it's for dogs and horses. Yeah, both.

[Dr. Emily King]

You got both. It's right.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

They're different products. Don't use your canine on your dog or on your horse, please, people. But.

[Dr. Emily King]

All right, next one. You want to do the next one?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yes. Okay, so this is from Vince and it was written on July 27, 2026 by Eddie Lau and it's titled US States Grapple with Workplace Non Competes. So basically a growing number are adopting the. Sorry, I read that wrong. Let's just go into this. Okay, let me get to the summary. So the laws adopted this year in Washington and Utah free veterinarians from employer restrictions which prevent employees who leave their jobs from taking new jobs. So non compete essentially within a certain distance. So in Washington, all workplace non competes, including ones already in place, will be void effective June 30, 2027. And in Utah, May 6, new non competes are no longer allowed for veterinarians except for those with 5% or greater ownership in business.

[Dr. Emily King]

So, yeah, what's your, what's your. We've talked about non competes before.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I think, yeah, I, I think it's fine to get rid of them. I'm not a business owner though, so I do, I understand where you have to protect to some degree. I think that's a valid thing to have that if you own 5% or greater in a business. Like, I think you should have some restriction. But it does not need to be like ridiculous miles on miles. Like, sure, protect your little boundary home territory if it's a couple miles. But yeah, what's the point? I mean, no, I agree.

[Dr. Emily King]

I mean it's like, why are you going to make it exceptionally hard for someone to make a living? Like, you know, like we have some of the specialists in our area where they got to go out of state, like, right. It's, it's just ridiculous. Like, you know, okay, I agree with you. Like maybe you shouldn't be able to be within a three mile radius or something. Like something that's very reasonable, you know, like, so you don't maybe as the business owner see this other person's sign up all the time as you're driving by every day to work or something, you know, but like, honestly, like even then, if you're doing your job, I've always felt like if you're doing your job as the clinic owner, as the veterinarian, those clients typically are attached to the Hospital and the veterinarian. You know, it takes a lot for them to walk away. And so I think focusing on your own backyard is kind of like what my mentor always told me. Like, listen, just focus on what you're doing, do what you do well. And those are things that you don't necessarily have to worry about. But I, I agree with you. I don't, I just can't. I just think it's like crazy, some of these 15 mile non competes even like they're, it's, it's, it's a little crazy.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I mean, we've seen it too, where the specialists leave the state, they're still coming back. Like, it's not like you're preventing them from ever doing their own thing here. So you're harder for them in their lives, which is more annoying and rude

[Dr. Emily King]

and, and it's not like we all get, we all know why they're doing what they're doing. So it just puts a bad taste in people's mouth. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, okay, you know, now never mind. We don't. Like, yeah, like, that was great. Thanks for doing that to us. Now you screwed us as well, like at the gp. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, so now we can't have access to this person. So now you've hurt us. You think that we're just gonna come right back to you? Like, I don't know, I think that there's a lot of like just not thinking through the ramifications.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah, I think it's too extreme where it's at. So there you have it.

[Dr. Emily King]

That's our, that's our take. I'm sure there's another version of the take.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

We are just trying to change a lot of wheels on this podcast.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay, next one is from the avma. And I thought this was really interesting because Samba of the statistics, I did not realize. Okay, so it's from the avma. The title of the article is Employee Fraud poses real Threat for Veterinary practices, written in July 28, 2026. And basically what it's saying is that you need to pay attention like your, your employees, potentially if put in particular situations, either due to external pressure, personal pressure, like you know, placed upon them outside of the veterinary clinic, or maybe even inside, it could potentially choose to not make the best decisions. And I thought that this 10, 1080 rule when it comes to employee fraud was really interesting. So according to the rule, 10% will never steal regardless of the opportunity. Another 10% will steal if given the Chance, no controls needed. And the remaining 80% will be honest under normal circumstances. But there's risk when pressure meets opportunity.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Interesting.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. Wow.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I'm imagining, like, that it can be all encompassing, right? Like, they bring their pet in and they.

[Dr. Emily King]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Don't charge themselves for.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, yeah, whatever. Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

I mean, you know, or there's, you know, like. I mean, I think that there's shrinkage, you know, like from a theft perspective, when you talk about pharmacy in large. In large clinics that aren't managed well or that aren't doing inventory counts, I think the opportunity exists. You know, there can be nefarious situations where people will take advantage of that, you know, and. And. And then it goes un. Unrecognized for, like, really long periods of time. But the story that they told of that situ. That is so much work that this person had to do to commit fraud. Like, they took the vendor rebate checks to cover the.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

The.

[Dr. Emily King]

The missing revenue, and then they did. They had stuff shipped to a different. I was like, oh, my gosh.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I know. It's like, at that point you're just committed to be a criminal. Like, you're not just like, oop, I'm in a hard time. Let me just give myself a break. Oh, you're like, I'm blind, too. Going to do something bad for my benefit.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. Yeah. Wow. It's. Yeah. Crazy. And probably just like anything else. Right. It starts out really benign, like what you're mentioning. Like, it's really easy. So then you. And then it just escalates up.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

And I think then before you know it, you're doing something really significant. I know. And criminal.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

It's listed, like, how people can rationalize it. And it's like, I could see that. Unfortunately, especially with. I mean, we all know people don't get paid enough in our field in general. And so a lot of people could probably be like, I'm gonna.

[Dr. Emily King]

I don't know.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I don't want to make up stories, but, like, I'm gonna do this because, you know, I don't get paid or buy it and.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

So.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. Nope, I get it.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Do better people. Okay.

[Dr. Emily King]

Case collections. Are you ready for this?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

No. Let's break it up. Okay.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay. This is Candace Little sharing about her own dog. It's a very interesting case.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yes. So, okay, you just.

[Dr. Emily King]

You want me to do the first. The first paragraph there, like, through the bullet points?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah, sure. We'll just stop when you feel like it, like in school. Okay.

[Dr. Emily King]

Hello, everyone. I wanted to submit a Case of my own that I thought was interesting. The listener inquiry voicemail from the most recent podcast touched my heart hearing everything Lassie did for her precious Sheltie. There have been a couple of emergencies from my own pets where I was in tech mode and went all in and wanted to be hands on. But that unfortunately means I have all this knowledge and I think the worst is happening to my babies. Example being a bleeding splenic mass when it was just a foreign body or that any sort of cough is cancer in the lungs. I also forget what normal values are and think every value, every radiograph or every diagnostic is the worst case scenario. The case I'm presenting is my own dog, Chief. This is a long one and a doozy for sure. Chief is a male neutered 10 year old Australian cattle dog mixed with a history of elevated alt and Alpine grade 2 left sided heart murmur and a gallbladder and with gallbladder sludge and has had a malignant melanoma removed from his mouth and a grade one soft tissue sarcoma removed from his back meds. Before the case, Dinamarin advanced once a day, ursodiol once a day, trazodone as needed, cytopoint and Adequin. He was on sentinel spectrum and Nexgard for prevention. He was also taking Bicox, Max Ha and greenies as supplements. In the middle of May of this year, Chief started coughing mainly just went sleeping. He coughed for a few days before I brought him in. My differentials were metastasis in the lungs, worsening heart disease or something or somehow kennel cough that was brought home by me. It was time for his recheck blood work for liver value. So I did a senior wellness panel Elite. This is a senior profile that we offer at our clinic that includes reference lab work, urinalysis, chest and abdominal radiographs and ultrasound, blood pressure and ekg. All right, you're up.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Okay. This package is about the same price as if I were to do in house blood work and just radiographs. So I wanted to be more. I wanted more answers to either eliminate possible causes or give answers. Everything was unremarkable other than his usual gallbladder sludge, slightly elevated liver values and possible bronchitis. So the doctor prescribed cough tabs to be given BID but can increase to TID if they need it. They also suggested adding Benadryl to keep him sleepy so as not to work himself up and start a coughing fit. After five days on the cough tabs, I came home for lunch and noticed that Chief wasn't excited to see me. His head was hanging low and his upper body was twitching to the rate of his heart rate. I did a quick once over, performed the pinch test on his back and then stretched his neck out and nothing seemed obvious. I brought him back to work with me to have the doctor perform an exam and and she didn't find anything obvious either except that there was something very obviously wrong with him. She went to Ben and saw some possible side effects with Benadryl so she recommended stopping that to see if he gets back to normal. And he did. We finished the cough tabs and everything was normal for about a week until I woke up one morning and Chief had the same head down twitching except now his neck had edema. I again did a quick exam and found that his mandibular lymph nodes were swollen as well. So now of course I'm thinking lymphoma. I dropped him back, dragged him back to work and we did a fast scan of the neck and the lymph nodes were indeed swollen but not big enough to safely obtain an aspirate. The edema wasn't fluid, so nothing to drain. I did a quick CBC to check if his white blood cells were elevated and an IDEX cancer screening, a cortisol test and lateral radiograph of the neck to see if there was any damage to the trachea or esophagus. Again, just thinking of any possible cause. Again, everything was normal. Cancer screening came back negative. The doctor prescribed coxib short term. He still had a small cough but decided not to do the cough tabs again. This doctor stated that if the swelling were to come back, possible sedation for a laryngeal exam or internal medicine a couple hours away to do a ct, the swelling went down and life was back to normal. We were finished with the Duroc. Derek Oxen I can't say that for about a week before an incident of collapse, I was playing with Chief in Zavaya, my other dog and Chief suddenly collapsed. Not a syncope episode, instead neurologic. Every time he tried to get back up he would fall on the right side of his body. I thought he was dying. This happened for about 30 seconds before he was able to get up and stand on his own. I checked for nystagmus and did another once over and nothing palpable was wrong with my dog. I exam. I emailed the doctor to update and she recommended making an appointment as soon as possible with internal medicine specialist at OVS in Tulsa, Oklahoma and based out of northwest Arkansas. So I did the soonest appointment was about a week out, which was great for specialty. In the meantime, we started up with derecoxib again. Okay, you're up.

[Dr. Emily King]

Started up with Derek Hu again. The day of the appointment I noticed some edema in his neck again, but not as bad as previous episodes. We once at the hospital they started with an echocardiogram and found no significant findings that would result in his symptoms other than extremely minimal backflow from the mitral valve that is indicative of his grade two heart murmur. We proceeded with a CT of the neck and chest. We were roaming books a million when we got the call that his CT was done. And we know what is causing all these problems. He has a mass on his cranial mediastinum that is pushing up on his cranial vena cava. After seeing the location, they attempted to find it on ultrasound to aspirate it, but couldn't find it the because of the negative lymphoma test that was at the bottom of our differential. So the internal medicine specialist either feels as though it's a metastatic melanoma or a benign thymoma. My husband and I cried in the middle of the bookstore. The doctor explained that they will send out a radiologist report and based on that they will see if a surgery is an option for any of the board surgeons on staff. Hey, guess what? None of the doctors feel comfortable with this procedure, which is completely fair. So the recommendations were surgery at a veterinary college in Colorado, radiation therapy that would cost upwards to 10,000, injectable chemotherapy or oral chemotherapy. Oh my gosh, I lost my place. Hold on. He also recommended starting chronic prednisone surgery and radiation was not an option for us. And I decided to do a deep dive in my plums handbook about oral chemotherapy. Palladia. And we decided to go for it. So Chief is now on palladia and prednisone. We have purchased an SpO2 and blood pressure monitor to keep on keep track of things and we have started keeping a spreadsheet of good days versus bad days. Does Chief know he's possibly has cancer? No. He's still the happiest boy in the whole wide world. Sorry for the long email, but I thought you guys would appreciate this because I've never seen anything like it. And of course it's my own dog. If you have any follow up questions, feel free to email me, call me or text me. Although I can't guarantee that I would answer because of our time difference. I have also attached his radiology report from a ct. I Love your podcast. And I wish I was going to the live podcast episode. We do too, Candace. Oh, thank you, Candice Little. Okay. Wow, man. And it's your own dog.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

That's rough, man. It's always your own dog. Always.

[Dr. Emily King]

It is a very interesting case. It's. I mean, think how much you had to dig to find the answer.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

I think yes. So when I was reading it, I felt appreciation and value behind her going and doing a CT. I wish CTs were more easily accessible for our field and GP, but they're just not, so. Anyway. But I also thought it was interesting that they couldn't find it. And that just goes to show how that dark, vast circle or pit. The media steinum is a pit. There's like, what is even the mediation, you know, it's like this ambiguous. Like, we can maybe see things on X ray, but only for lucky type of pit.

[Dr. Emily King]

And why do things like, to show up there? Like, like, of all the places, like, you know, it makes it inoperable, makes it really difficult, makes it. It's like, there's a lot of other places you could choose to grow. What's the scoop?

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Media steinem on the pushing on the freaking vena cava. Like, poor guy.

[Dr. Emily King]

Poor guy. Yeah. Wow, that's crazy.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

But they're looking at quant quality over quantity, and they're doing things to keep them comfortable. I've heard good things about palladia. I think that's great.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. Oral chemotherapy, I mean, it really does give you some freedom, you know what I'm saying? Like, I mean, just some options. It's just.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Especially in our field, I think.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah, I think it's awesome.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah, I do too. I think it's great.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay, on to listener inquiries. Here we go.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Oh, okay. Don't forget, you can text your emails to your listener inquiries, but you can now send a voicemail through the same link. If you click the link at the top of the show notes, you can either send a text or a voicemail. We love it. We love your voicemail.

[Dr. Emily King]

We love the voicemails. That's right.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Okay, I will do the first one.

[Dr. Emily King]

Okay.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Hi, vrt. I absolutely love listening to you all every week and really help keep my passion alive for what we do. I've been a vet assistant now for six years. I have bachelor, a bachelor's degree in business management. And I originally wanted to go to vet school. I applied three times, never got in. I decided not to give up, but to take a different path in vet med because I love it so much. The amount of debt and emotional toll it would take for me to apply a fourth time to was just not worth it. As I'm reaching my 30s, I know I could use my bachelor's to make more money to do anything else, but vet med is my passion. I'm halfway through vet tech school now at Penn Foster. I've seen a lot of negativity regarding them, but I have had a great experience so far. I've been able to learn at my own pace while working full time in my clinic as an assistant and a member of leadership. I'm reaching a point where I'm unsure where my career will go once I'm licensed. Will anything change? Am I worth more money? Are my skills worth more? Does my bachelor's account for anything in my state? Vet assistants can do basically anything a vet tech can do and my current clinic has zero licensed vet techs. I love schools so specializing is something I'm interested in. But there's another four years down the road. My main question and point I'm trying to get across is is it worth it to get your license in states like mine where you're not really granted any more responsibilities, roles than you already have and pay a pay raise is maybe a couple dollars an hour more anonymous.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yes, do it. Yes.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Why wouldn't you?

[Dr. Emily King]

Yes, it is. Well one, because like for example, Massachusetts just passed this huge bill where they're going to be pursuing in. In. There's a lot of things in this thing but one of them is title protection. So like who's to say that your state wouldn't in the future do something? Yep. But then also my first, my first thought when I was reading this is you have a business management degree. You, if you become a licensed technician then you can get your cvpm. And now you've got lots of different opportunities as you go through the industry over the next whatever, 15 to 20 years. So I, but I think, but you need to be licensed to, to I think really pursue that to its nth

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

degree and who's to say it's only a couple dollars more and that could add up over time, like shoot, get that raise there.

[Dr. Emily King]

I think that the research does show that the starting salaries for licensed starting pay for licensed technicians versus an unlicensed technician is definitely higher. So like you are earning more earlier now can you make the argument that a veterinary assistant with years of experience eventually will be the same pay at maybe, you know, but they didn't start out that way. So they're earning over time, you know. But whereas you as the technician, you're starting at a higher wage sooner, so your earning potential is larger over the course of the work life. Of your work life or whatever.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

And if you're spending the time and money and commitment to do Penn Foster, why don't you follow up with the test where it's all fresh, rather than waiting to. When you, what, have to do it, or you think you should do it later on. Absolutely. I would do it now.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. For sure. And we. We've had great experience with Penn Foster.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

So, I mean, bad.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

So I don't know what she's talking about.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. So I'm sure that some of it comes down. There's so much individual responsibility on the student. And so maybe if you're not the type of person who is motivated, like Devin. You know what I mean? Like, Devin was like, boom, boom, boom, like, on it, Sydney. Right. I mean, on it. Like they were. They were working through it to get through it with purpose.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

I could see where if you were like, waffling and it was year, you'd feel like the information wasn't, you know, concise or thorough because, you know, you're taking so long potentially. Yeah, I'd do it, get it done and move on.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Agreed.

[Dr. Emily King]

All right, next inquiry. Hello, Veterinary Roundtable. My name is Gabriel and I have a bit of interest. I have a bit of an interesting question for you all. I'm an avid listener and have thoroughly enjoyed all of your podcasts. Thank you. I listen to them while I work and love listening to your experiences and learning so much from the different veterinary topics you discuss. The funny thing is, I do not currently work in Vet Med. I love it. I am actually a graphic designer. However, I have always had a deep passion for animals and an appreciation for the veterinary profession. So much so that in fact, that I'm almost considering pursuing Vet Med as a future career. I've had experience working with animals in the past by volunteering at shelters and even doing graphic design work for my local shelter. Vet Med has something. Was something I was fond. I was. Oh my gosh. Vet Med was something I always found interesting but was too scared to pursue since I was worried that I was too squeamish or didn't possess the right character for the job. While I love and want to continue to do graphic design, I can't help but still feel a fascination and curiosity for Vet Med even after all these years. My question is, as someone coming from a completely non vet background, what would you recommend to someone like me who is possibly considering Vet Med. Even though it would be a drastic transition that is polar opposite to my current profession, is this something I could realistically pursue? To be honest, the whole process excites me, but is also very daunting. Either way, I will continue to listen and enjoy every podcast. I appreciate you all for your outstanding work in vet med field. In the vet med field and thank you for your time.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Gabriel, that's awesome. I wonder how you us. That's really cool. I, I mean, I don't know if we can answer it. I feel like if you have a passion that you want to do daily for it rather than being like a passion, like a hobby passion where you just learn about it, that's up to you. Like, are you comfortable with your job and you are financially comfortable with what you're doing as a graphic designer and you just like hearing about it and having like it as a side hustle of learning and volunteering? Like, I don't know if we can answer it. I don't feel like I can answer that for you because it's something where, personally speaking, I love horses. They're my passion. I love everything about dealing with them. However, I did not turn it into my career because I prioritized work, life balance and scheduling that an equine vet would have required. I'm still in vet med. It's still animal encompassing. But I guess that's how I could maybe relate to this question of saying like I have this passion but I'm not making it my everyday work for reasons that were higher priority for me. So I don't. It just kind of depends where you're at, like of curiosity, where you're at financially.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah, I mean there's a lot of people who, who pursue veterinary medicine as a second career. So I mean it's definitely possible. I think you make a lot of good points. Like how easy is it for you to go back to school, like and it be a full time job to go back to school. How easy is it to take a pay cut? How easy is it to. You know what I mean? Like, those are all things that I think, you know, you have to be okay with for sure, you know, to get to the other side of. Okay, now I get to do all these things. I guess I, I would get into a clinic. I would be, you know, spending time, like we've talked about countless times, spend time with a veterinarian, spend time at the clinic. Like, do you want to trade what you're currently doing for some ideal scenario that you've created in your Head of what it may potentially look like, because that'd be the last thing that you know.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. I think you need to get your feet on the ground in a vet clinic, because, like you said, it's completely different. You're going from computer sitting most of the time. I would assume I as a graphic designer, to, like, never sitting. You're on the computer to talk to clients and document and then get going again. It's very physically demanding, but in a good way. I mean, I couldn't sit all day and do a job. So I think if you have that, like, inner voice saying you're not content for whatever reason, or there's something pulling you to a different path in life, then explore it. But maybe don't commit to doing school right away until you know for sure.

[Dr. Emily King]

Yeah. And maybe there's a way to continue to, like, meld those two things together. Yeah. You know, graphic design and the pet care space. Like, maybe there's a way to continue to think about putting those two things together.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah.

[Dr. Emily King]

So continue to explore that for sure.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. Let us know how you found us. I'm so curious.

[Dr. Emily King]

I know, Me too. But I'm so excited to have somebody that's listening that's not in the vendor field. One, because I think it's cool.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Right.

[Dr. Emily King]

He's learning a lot of things about, you know, what's going on in our industry, which I think prepares people when they're going into veterinary clinics. So it's really cool.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Yeah. Pretty cool.

[Dr. Emily King]

Thanks for listening, Gabe.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

That's right. All right. Thank you so much for tuning into another episode of the Veterinary Roundtable. Well, are we done? Are we good? I feel like we do this transition that it's just like, boom.

[Dr. Emily King]

Well, we could say, join us at the live show. Come on. Don't forget. Make sure you're there.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

It's gonna be a party.

[Dr. Emily King]

It's gonna be a party.

[Dr. Ashlyn Duckwall]

Okay, that's good. Thank you for tuning into another episode of the Veterinary Roundtable. Remember, send in those questions and leave us a review. If you enjoyed this episode or a previous one, we'll see you next week for another episode of the Veterinary Roundtable.