LSU School of Veterinary Medicine

12/12/2025

Congratulations to all LSU Vet Med students on the completion of finals week! Groups of students are gathering on the front lawn this morning to celebrate as we head into the holiday season.

12/10/2025

Here’s a little of what we at accomplished together in 2025: More than 21,000 patient visits in our hospital, including 1,928 wildlife cases. LSU Diagnostics performed 62,699 tests. Our outreach efforts saw more than 7,000 visitors for tours, Open House, the Great Rover Road Run, Animals in Art, and our Artist-in-Residence program. We examined 1,221 shelter animals and performed 533 surgeries at shelters. Our community of 635 veterinary students, 86 graduate students, 67 interns and residents, 366 staff members, and 126 faculty members = 1 extraordinary team.

12/09/2025

Dr. Holly Schwarzman, small animal rotating intern in the LSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, has been named LSU Vet Med Community Champion of the Month for November. The Community Champion of the Month program acknowledges the amazing work our students, staff, and faculty do every day and celebrates extraordinary individuals. Congrats, Dr. Schwarzman!

12/05/2025

A Good Samaritan found this injured great horned owl in Port Allen, La., and brought her to our Wildlife Hospital of Louisiana. She suffered from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic seizures likely due to being hit by a car. Wildlife clinicians called in our neurologist, Dr. Colleen Embersics, for further evaluation. The owl has now been weaned off of anti-seizure medications and is doing well! Next will be flight testing to make sure she can fend for herself in the wild and ultimately be released. We are so pleased she is poised to take flight once again!

Our goal is always the same: to heal, rehabilitate, and return these animals to their natural habitats. Plans are in motion for a new Wildlife Hospital to provide much-needed space to treat our approximately 1,600 cases per year. If you’d like to know more about the new Wildlife Hospital initiative, email tevans@lsufoundation.org

12/03/2025

LSU Vet Med welcomes Dr. Taylor Strickland as our new assistant professor of food animal medicine and surgery. Dr. Strickland earned her DVM from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and has established herself as a rising leader in food animal health. Her clinical work has earned multiple awards, underscoring her commitment to high-quality care. Welcome to LSU Vet Med, Dr. Strickland!

12/01/2025

Announcing the 2025 Animals in Art Award Winners! We are delighted to share the winners of the 31st Annual Animals in Art exhibition hosted by LSU Vet Med. This year’s show featured stunning artwork by a diverse group of artists, all celebrating the beauty, spirit, and importance of animals.

Thank you to every artist who submitted, and congratulations to the award winners. Your work inspires connection, empathy, and respect for the animal world.

Interested in viewing the show? Visit our website for details.

lsu.edu/vetmed/events/animals_in_art_online.php

12/01/2025

The latest issue of UPROAR, the magazine of LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, is full of engaging stories that you can read now. We will highlight individual UPROAR stories that bring to life our missions here at LSU Vet Med.
https://issuu.com/lsuschoolofveterinarymedicine/docs/uproar_magazine_-_fall_2025

11/29/2025

Dr. William Jenkins has passed away. A veterinarian, mentor, and leader, Dr. Jenkins served as dean of LSU Vet Med from 1988-1993 before assuming executive leadership roles at LSU. Our thoughts are with his wife, Peggy, and the Jenkins family.

It is with deep sadness and profound respect that the Board of Supervisors, President Wade Rousse, Executive Vice President James Dalton, along with the entire LSU family mourn the passing of Dr. William L. Jenkins. He was the consummate Tiger, a visionary leader and a beloved member of the LSU family whose life and career shaped our university for decades.

Dr. Jenkins was born on a farm in South Africa and earned his veterinary medicine degree at the University of Pretoria before coming to the United States and receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 1970.

He joined the LSU family in 1988 as Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, marking the beginning of his long and distinguished tenure our university. In 1993, he became Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and was named Chancellor in 1996. In 1999, he became System President, a role he served with honor and dedication. He retired as President Emeritus in 2007, but returned from retirement to serve again as Interim President of the System and Interim Chancellor of the Baton Rouge campus during a crucial transitional period (2012–2013), demonstrating once more his deep and unwavering commitment to the LSU community.

A scholar as well as an administrator, Dr. Jenkins taught at both professional and graduate levels, delivered more than 200 lectures nationally and internationally, authored over 60 scientific articles, and co-authored a textbook on veterinary pharmacology.

Dr. Jenkins was a mentor, a bridge-builder, and a believer in the power of higher education and its ability to transform lives. He leaves behind a legacy visible in the strength of LSU’s institutions, the excellence of its academic and veterinary medicine programs, and the countless students, faculty, and staff whose lives he influenced.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Peggy, their children and grandchildren, and all who mourn his passing. Arrangements and opportunities to pay tribute to Dr. Jenkins will be shared when available.

Today, we remember and celebrate a remarkable life defined by service, compassion, leadership, and unwavering dedication to LSU and to the people of Louisiana. May his legacy continue to inspire future generations of Tigers.

11/29/2025

“Blue Dog & Friends Painting on the Lawn” brought together more than 100 people on a glorious autumn evening. Co-sponsored by LSU Vet Med, LSU Museum of Art, and Companion Animal Alliance, it was held in conjunction with LSU MOA’s exhibition, “A Bayou State of Mind,” which includes the works of Louisiana’s iconic Blue Dog painter, George Rodrigue. We love bringing together members of our community, including adoptable dogs!

11/27/2025

This Thanksgiving, we give thanks for the LSU Vet Med community and for everyone who helps us advance animal, human health, and biomedical research year-round. We’re grateful for your trust, your partnership, and your heart for our mission.
Happy Thanksgiving from LSU Vet Med!

11/25/2025

Bug Mushroom, a 2-year-old pug, was found along a roadside unable to walk in a rural area north of Shreveport. Ninna’s Road to Rescue brought her to Benton Animal Hospital, where Dr. Susan St. Pierre identified severe spinal malformation. Dr. St. Pierre referred Bug to LSU Vet Med Neurology service, where clinicians formulated a complex surgical plan complicated by the high risk of placing even the smallest implants into a narrow corridor within the 9 lb. dog’s spinal bones. There was a risk that the implants could puncture the lungs, the spinal cord, or result in significant life-threatening hemorrhage if not performed with absolute precision, according to Dr. Colleen Embersics, who performed Bug’s surgery. The benefits and risks of this procedure were explained to the rescue, and they immediately approved surgery to give Bug a chance to walk again.

Surgery was successful, and Bug is expected to move closer to walking over the next 4-6 weeks. House Officer Camryn Davis, pictured with a flyer she created, described how people can help support Bug. Yan Zermeno, fourth-year student, took Bug home as a medical foster. He said she tries to use her back legs more each day and is the perfect patient. We’re pulling for you, Bug Mushroom, and know that you are receiving the best possible care from your entire team at LSU Vet Med and Ninna’s Road to Rescue!

11/24/2025

Puppy owners: We are running a clinical trial to study whether osteopathic manipulation (gentle manual therapy that aims to rebalance structures in the body) can strengthen the DA2P vaccine response in unvaccinated puppies. We are enrolling 8-week-old puppies for a series of five visits over 91 days.

Participants receive:
• Free vaccines
• Free bloodwork
• Free osteopathic treatments

Help advance veterinary medicine while your puppy receives exceptional care. A link to enrollment details is in the comments.