A veterinary specialist is a veterinarian who has sought additional training to develop advanced credentials, qualifications, and expertise in the field. These veterinarians are certified by veterinary specialist organizations recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). There are many veterinary specialties including Internal Medicine, Neurology, Oncology, Cardiology, Emergency and Critical Care, Surgery, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Radiology, Anesthesiology, Dentistry, and Behavior among others. Veterinary specialists represent a major force in the future of veterinary medicine.  [less]

Your pet is part of your family and relies on you to provide a veterinary team that is able to help with all of their needs and health conditions. The needs of your pet may range from routine vaccinations and check-ups to treatment of serious and potentially life threatening conditions. Just as your physician uses referrals to a specialist to diagnose and treat certain conditions, your family veterinarian may recognize a health problem in your pet that requires advanced care and will refer you to a board-certified Specialist. With the compassion and care of your family veterinarian, their support staff, and a Board-certified specialist, the goal is to provide the best quality of care for your pet.  [less]

Becoming board-certified in veterinary medicine is a rigorous process requiring approximately four years of advanced training after completion of veterinary school. Following completion of undergraduate training and four years of veterinary school to become a veterinarian, a board certified veterinary specialist has to complete an internship and residency in their specialized field. They must meet specific training requirements which are closely supervised to ensure consistency in training and adherence to high standards, and they must pass rigorous examinations to achieve board-certification.  [less]

Along with your pet, a specialist would appreciate if you could bring all pertinent information regarding the previous care of your pet including radiographs, ultrasound reports and images, a copy of pertinent medical records, and laboratory test results. It would also assist the specialist if you could bring any medication that your pet is taking.  [less]

Referral to a specialist is considered by your family veterinarian in the following situations: when your pet’s disease is uncommon, complicated, or Referral to a specialist is considered by your family veterinarian in the following situations: when your pet’s disease is uncommon, complicated, or undiagnosed after standard testing, when you would like an informed second opinion of your pet’s condition, when the outcome of the current treatment is not going well or as expected, when your pet requires a sophisticated procedure that is only offered by a specialty hospital, or when your pet can benefit from 24 hour monitoring and care provided by a referral hospital.  [less]

Your family veterinarian can give you information about the veterinary specialists in your area. The web site acvim.org can also provide additional information.  [less]

Specialists in Small Animal Internal Medicine, also called Internists, have advanced knowledge of internal diseases in dogs and cats in the following disciplines: 1) Gastroenterology which includes diseases of the esophagus, stomach, intestine, colon, pancreas, liver, and gall bladder/biliary tract; 2) Nephrology/Urology which includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra; 3) Hematology which includes diseases of the red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and clotting system; 4) Immunology which includes immune-mediated and immunodeficiency diseases; 5) Endocrinology which includes diseases such as Addison’s disease, Cushing’s disease, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes; 6) Infectious diseases which includes bacterial, fungal, rickettsial, viral and parasitic diseases; and 7) Respiratory disease which includes diseases of the nasal cavity, larynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs. In addition, these specialists may have equipment not generally used by your family veterinarian. Internists have discovered, diagnosed, treated, and prevented some of the most common and not so common diseases in dogs and cats.  [less]

The ACVIM is a non-profit organization founded in 1972 that is dedicated to improving the lives of animals and their owners. They achieve this goal through education, training, and certification of specialists in veterinary internal medicine as well as through discovery and dissemination of new medical knowledge. The ACVIM also works to increase public awareness of advances in veterinary medical care. The ACVIM is the international certifying organization for veterinary specialists in small animal internal medicine, large animal internal medicine, cardiology, oncology, and neurology. The ACVIM has more than 1,800 members who are board-certified veterinary specialists, also called ACVIM Diplomates.  [less]

You can support their work by making donations to the ACVIM Foundation. The mission of the ACVIM Foundation is to advance animal health through discovery, education, and communication. The ACVIM Foundation helps to make advancements in veterinary internal medicine, allowing such things as the development of better nutrition for animals, the development of better preventive care, and the development of more sensitive screening tools to detect disease. This Foundation is making a difference every day in the lives of animals thanks to the contributions that they receive. Since humans and animals share so many health conditions and also share a remarkable bond with one another, a contribution to the ACVIM Foundation can benefit animals as well as humans. The web site acvimfoundation.org can provide additional information about the foundation.  [less]

There are a lot of dietary options out there and if she does not like one particular diet, another similar diet is usually commercially available to help manage her condition. If she does not like any of the commercially available diets for her condition, you can also try a home-cooked diet. Home- cooking for your pet is a lot more work than buying a commercial diet, but can be the solution to your problem. It is VERY important, however, that the diet is complete and balanced. If you are interested in this option, you can contact the nutrition service at the nearest university veterinary hospital to balance the diet for you (there is a consultation fee for this service). There are some web-sites (such as Balanceit.com) which can balance home-cooked diets for you but are not designed for pets with special medical problems.  [less]