Vital Signs — Sunday, October 18, 2026

18 Oct 2026 — 3 min read

"You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

You can't steer the morning's surprises, but you can decide how you meet them.

Editor's Pick

Artificial intelligence use among veterinary professionals more than doubles in 2 years — A Digitail–AAHA benchmark found 83.7% of vet professionals now use AI (up from 39.2% in 2024), but practices with a clear strategy and governance reported six times the business outcomes — and governance was the lowest-scoring dimension of all. Why it matters: the tools are everywhere now; the gap between winners and dabblers is strategy and oversight, not software.

25.4% vs 4.7% — In a UC Davis doxorubicin study, drug exposure varied 25.4% between dogs but only 4.7% within the same dog across treatment cycles. Takeaway: the same chemo dose produces wildly different exposure in different dogs, yet each dog is remarkably consistent with itself — so a single treatment cycle may be all it takes to calibrate a personalized dose. (Source: Veterinary Oncology, via Bioengineer)

Doxorubicin doses hit the same dogs differently, landmark canine study — UC Davis researchers found body-surface-area dosing produces nearly tenfold exposure differences between patients, challenging the 60-year-old dosing convention and opening the door to AUC-guided personalized chemotherapy in dogs.
Researchers advance promising therapy for fatty liver disease — A Texas A&M vet team identified MAP4K4 as a new therapeutic target and showed an experimental inhibitor (GPPD) reduced fat buildup, inflammation, injury, and scarring in preclinical MASH models with no significant toxicity so far — aimed at humans, but born in a veterinary college.
Rare Inflammatory Condition Responds to Treatment in Four Dogs — A case series on idiopathic granulomatous inflammation of the periocular structures: all four dogs with cancer-mimicking eye lesions reached complete remission on corticosteroids plus cyclosporine — a reminder to biopsy before reaching for the scalpel.
California Confirms 17th Equine WNV Case of 2026 — An unvaccinated 10-month-old Paint filly in Sacramento County developed neurologic signs Oct. 7 and is recovering, with supportive care as the only option — a timely nudge on fall boosters where mosquito season runs long.
4 New Equine Pigeon Fever Cases Confirmed in Oregon — Four confirmed plus eight suspected cases in Deschutes and Crook counties, right in peak season — fly control and no shared water buckets remain the practical play.

Artificial intelligence use among veterinary professionals more than doubles in 2 years — The Digitail–AAHA 2026 Veterinary AI Study (1,730 US/Canada professionals) found AI scribes and SOAP notes the top use case at 62.8% of AI users, while 65% of clinics bolted on AI without redesigning workflows and nearly half have no AI strategy or owner — the maturity lens to watch.
Wuufy Launches the First AI Companion Built for Both Pet and Pet Parents — New "digital twin" app pairing daily phone-camera check-ins with human and pet wearable data, giving owners a red/amber/green health light and vets a clean pre-visit summary — no diagnosis claims, but another home-data stream heading toward the exam room.

Veterinary professionals cite burnout, pay, and corporate ownership concerns in dvm360 survey — In a voluntary survey of 146 veterinary professionals, nearly 3 in 4 reported moderate or severe burnout, naming administrative burden, workload, and staffing shortages as top stressors, with compensation and corporate ownership in the written complaints — for a one-doctor practice, a retention signal to read with fresh eyes.

FDA proposes long-awaited drug testing update as the Modernization Act 3.0 nears passage — The FDA issued a Sept. 21 direct final rule swapping "animal" tests for "nonclinical" test language in drug regulations (comment period runs through Dec. 7, 2026; effective Feb. 4, 2027), while the House passed its FDA Modernization Act 3.0 version in July and the Senate still needs to act.

This Tiny Kitten's Life Is Saved By A Dog's Blood After Vets Run Out Of Options — Severely anemic type-B kitten Wind Chill had no compatible feline blood nearby, so Brooklyn vets gambled on an emergency xenotransfusion from a dog — it worked, and he's recovering with his Flatbush Cats rescuers.
Firefighters Help Deliver 15 Puppies at Georgia Vet Clinic After Pet CPR Training — A week after a Georgia ER clinic taught Cobb County firefighters pet CPR, the short-staffed team called them in to help deliver 15 rescue puppies — and one firefighter adopted a pup for his daughter.

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