News

On Saturday, August 1, a call came in from the Tevis Cup: a rider had been separated from her horse, and the horse was now somewhere deep in the Granite Chief Wilderness at 7,200 feet — no road, no trail, no way in on foot or by vehicle.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office helicopter launched with NVADG technical animal rescue members Susan Marshall and Norm Rosene aboard, and flew to those coordinates. Overhead, we confirmed it: the horse was there, and still standing.

The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) welcomed 61 new house officers (44 residents, 12 interns, 5 fellows) into its advanced training programs this year. The UC Davis SVM House Officer Program is the largest of its kind in the United States with approximately 140 total house officers advancing their skills in 53 distinct training disciplines (37 residencies, 9 internships, 7 fellowships) for the 2026-27 academic year.

Sometimes, people are just in the right place at the right time. Thankfully for Aika, neurologist Dr. Christine Toedebusch happened to be in the Emergency Room at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) when the 5-year-old corgi arrived. While she was checking on another patient, Dr. Toedebusch noticed Aika from across the room.

Lu Dao, DVM ’13, was recently named the 2026 Community College Advisor of the Year by the Health Professional Student Association (HPSA). Dr. Dao is a veterinarian and the Chair of the Agriculture Department at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California. As a child, he lived across the street from the college and used the campus farm as his playground.

The Reaching Across the Causeway (RAC) Awards program, now in its fourth year, is a joint funding initiative led by the Vice Dean for Research of the School of Medicine (SOM), the Associate Dean of Research at the Weill School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), with contributions from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center.

UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine hosted the 25th Believe & Belong in Veterinary Medicine Youth Pathways event in late June. The program, created by the nonprofit blendVET Foundation, is a day-long event where underrepresented middle and high school students discover not only career paths within the veterinary profession, but build connections, and find mentors along with a sense of belonging.

This is a recap article of the Winter 2026 One Health Conference hosted by the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security.

The UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) recently acknowledged the dedication and hard work of its staff members with the annual VMTH Staff Excellence Awards. Chief Veterinary Medical Officer Dr. Michael Mison presented the awards.

The VMTH Staff Excellence Awards are divided into these categories:

Dr. Xiner Zhou has joined the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology as assistant professor of biostatistics effective July 1, 2026.

Note: This obituary is taken from Dr. Murphy's son John's LinkedIn post.

Dr. Frederick Augustus Murphy, Jr., passed away at the age of 92 on June 23, 2026, in Bethesda, Maryland, surrounded by loved ones.

A recently published paper in Marine Mammal Science documented the migratory journey of a female southern right whale (SRW) named Atenea who undertook a unique journey. After she left Península Valdés with her calf she did something unexpected.

The UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine’s Advancement team has earned three 2026 Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), receiving international recognition for the integrated fundraising and communications campaign behind the public launch of the school's Limitless Campaign to expand the Veterinary Medical Complex.

Red-tailed hawks can compensate for feather loss during molt by subtly changing their wing and tail movements, according to a new study by University of California, Davis, researchers in the College of Engineering and the Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. 

Thanks to the team approach to patient care at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH), Lucy survived a rare pregnancy complication. The 18-year-old American Quarter Horse mare was discovered to have a non-viable fetus and was treated for a potentially fatal infection and escaped development of life-threatening complications.