Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts University

12/15/2025

Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University invites applications for Chair of the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences. The chair, reporting directly to the dean, will lead the department in developing a collaborative strategic vision for the department that aligns with the school’s Strategic Vision 2030.

Learn more and apply: https://apply.interfolio.com/176633

[📸: Jeff Poole, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine]

12/14/2025

Snow pretty on campus today.
❄️
[📸: Jeff Poole, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine]

12/12/2025

Haley, a Golden Retriever, has osteosarcoma and had one of her legs amputated. She is participating in a clinical trial aimed at improving survival for dogs with this type of bone cancer at Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals. Dr. Cheryl London notes, "The combination of vaccine and oral immune therapy has had astounding results. Some dogs have survived for six to eight months, compared to what is normally 60 days after cancer cells enter the lungs. We’ve seen some tumors shrink, others have stopped growing and some have had a remarkable regression.”

Watch the video: https://www.telegram.com/.../dog-takes-part.../87692300007/

Over 50 dogs are participating in a clinical trial to study osteosarcoma that could lead to the development of a new treatment for humans. See link below ⬇️ bit.ly/4iRl09h

12/11/2025

Let’s try this again…needed to lower the frame rate to make Apple happy. Video is not in slow motion now!

2025 at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine was a year where our community of healers, innovators, and learners worked together to care for and support each other, our patients, and all those who rely on us. We learned along the way, helped where we could, and smiled as often as possible. [🎥: Jeff Poole, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine]

12/10/2025

A new robot is on the job at Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals. The new Tru-D (Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfection), affectionately known as R-Tru-D-2, is taking infection prevention to the highest levels.

"We're really grateful that we can increase the level of cleaning and protection because infection prevention is a growing issue and concern as we recognize more resistant organisms transmitting between people and animals. This is the standard of care in human hospitals, and it needs to come more into veterinary spaces. I'm excited that we can start to use this tool to help support both research efforts to show when it is most effective and help keep our patients safe."
Dr. Claire Fellman, internal medicine specialist and pharmacologist

Read more: https://vet.tufts.edu/news-events/news/new-robot-job-foster-hospital

[📸: Jeff Poole, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine]

12/09/2025

PAW Lab’s Teen & Dog study, the first longitudinal study to examine the impact of pet dogs on teens with social anxiety, published in the October 2025 edition of PLOS One.

"This study was the opportunity to pull together the different pieces we've looked at in previous studies, but in a much more comprehensive way to get more depth.I have thought from the very beginning that we needed a longitudinal study of how adolescent development links to pets because we don't have that data. This allows us to follow families for a multi-year period, and we can see these transitions that we don't get to see in other types of study designs."
Megan Mueller, A08, G10, VG13 (Ph.D.)
PAW Lab Director

Read more: https://vet.tufts.edu/news-events/news/paw-labs-teen-dog-study-recognized

[📸: Jeff Poole, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine]

12/09/2025

Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine works to advance the health and well-being of animals and people in our changing world. It’s our strategic vision. Our veterinarians, house officers, veterinary technicians and assistants, veterinary students, and staff are working daily to make a difference.
Expertise.
Dedication.
Compassion.

12/06/2025

At Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, D.V.M. students must complete two spay surgeries during their third year. It can be intimidating. But, the experience is a defining milestone during vet school when they make their first incision into a live animal. It marks their transition from classroom learning into clinical medicine.

Here's how they get ready: https://now.tufts.edu/2025/12/04/how-veterinary-students-prepare-their-first-surgery

[📸: Alonso Nichols, Tufts University]

12/04/2025

URGENT:
A Boxer mix was brought into our hospital by Shrewsbury Police early this morning. The dog was found on Main Street in Shrewsbury and is critically ill. If this is your dog, please call Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals immediately at 508-839-5395.

Thank you.

12/03/2025

First snow of the season yesterday. ❄️

[📸: Jeff Poole, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine]

12/03/2025

Recently, Cummings School’s Luke and Lily Lerner Spay/Neuter Clinic partnered with the Massachusetts Animal Fund (MAF) and VCA Westboro Animal Hospital to host a clinical continuing education event. Drs. Laurence Sawyer, V99, director of the clinic, and Yuki Nakayama, V14, mentored newer veterinary school graduates who work at Massachusetts VCA hospitals, supporting them on how to perform efficient cat spays. The students completed the online component of the course prior to the in-person session.

The event was designed to not only give students hands on experience, but also to assist MAF with their backlog of over 750 animals needing spay or neuter services. Each student spayed up to 6 cats from the MAF waitlist at no cost to the owners. The event was all about learning and helping.



[📸: Jeff Poole, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine]

12/02/2025

The Franklin Park Zoo in Boston welcomed a newborn male Masai giraffe in early August. The calf struggled to nurse. After unsuccessful attempts to bottle-feed him, the calf was transferred to Cummings School's Hospital for Large Animals (HLA).

"Dr. Bedenice [HLA Internal Medicine team] is a wealth of knowledge and support. She has seen giraffe calves previously and managed their cases, so we knew that this calf was going to receive the care he needed. We had full confidence in her and in the rest of the clinicians and support staff at Tufts."
Dr. Brianne Phillips, associate veterinarian at Zoo New England's Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo

Read more: https://vet.tufts.edu/news-events/news/newborn-giraffe-franklin-park-zoo-treated-hla

[📸: Taylor Coester and Ananya Mahalingam-Dhingra]