Vital Signs — Sunday, October 25, 2026

"Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it." — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

(A steady clinic day is mostly that — holding firm while the waves keep coming.)

Editor's Pick

• Screwworm Spreads to Wildlife: USDA Urges Producer Vigilance as Cases Increase — Officials confirmed the first U.S. wildlife case of New World screwworm in a hunter-harvested elk in Pecos County, Texas, prompting modified quarantine zones and stepped-up wildlife surveillance; why it matters: a wild reservoir in deer, elk, or feral hogs could reinfect pastures and make containment far harder, so wound checks and fast reporting are now a wildlife job too, not just a livestock one.

In the Journals

• Review proposes response-guided precision nutrition for dogs and cats — A 2026 review argues precision nutrition should work as a feedback loop — pick a diet for a defined purpose, measure weight, stool, urine, or lab response, then adjust — with routine clinical measures ready now and microbiome, metabolomic, and AI tools still investigational.
• Case series: Superficial lipomatous hamartoma in dogs and cats is a previously unreported NLCS-like dermal lesion — Six cases (five dogs, one cat) describe benign dermal lumps made of mature fat cells disconnected from subcutaneous fat, a lesion not previously reported in dogs and cats, where histopathology is needed to separate it from lipomas and other hamartomas.
• PetVivo announces two research abstracts on Spryng for osteoarthritis in rhesus macaques — In 18 macaques with naturally occurring osteoarthritis, intra-articular collagen-elastin hydrogel (Spryng) produced statistically significant walking-speed gains in the first three weeks, while a second study in four animals found the hydrogel incorporated into synovial tissue by day 11 with minimal inflammation — preliminary, but relevant to a product already sold for joint disease in dogs, cats, and horses.

AI Watch

• From veterinary AI to pet wellness: the latest M&A deals — A roundup of September and early-October deals leads with IDEXX acquiring CoVet, the AI-native ambient-listening and clinical-workflow platform, which will stay compatible with third-party scribes and non-IDEXX practice systems while plugging into VetConnect PLUS.

The Business End

• Michigan Puts $1.4 Million Behind a Plan to Bring More Veterinarians to Rural Communities — Michigan is investing $1,392,633 with Michigan State University and the Michigan FFA Foundation in rural clinical experience, mentorship, loan-repayment guidance, and school-level veterinary science — a reminder that for rural practices, the pipeline problem is retention and ownership support, not just recruitment.

The Feel-Good Finish

• Moving guard of honour for 9-year-old rescue dog as she is finally adopted — After about 50 days waiting at the Michigan Animal Rescue League, nine-year-old Lexi got a staff-and-volunteer guard of honour on her way out the door to a new home, a cosy bed, and long naps in the sun.
• Three Veterans, Three Dogs, and a Pawsitive Path Forward — A $9,000 auction boost at a Colorado Freedom Fest helped place three rescue dogs that had faced euthanasia — Tulip, Kyra, and Princess — with veterans, each pair getting one-on-one training to build a solid start as emotional support animals.

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