UC Davis has a large and successful School of Veterinary Medicine. If someone doesn't know much about UCD, it's likely that they know it has a world class vet school. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is the largest of the nation's 30 public veterinary institutions and California's only public veterinary school. UC Davis's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital features both small and large animal clinics. Many of the text books on veterinary medicine are written by UC Davis professors.
The UC Davis Vet School bounces around among the top 3 spots for vet school rankings. In 2011, it was ranked by US News and World Report as number 2 after Cornell.
In 2011, the vet school broke ground on a new building, Vet Med 3B, which opened in April 2013 and houses many research laboratories and the One Health Institute. This was the eighth and final addition to the vet school in a $350+ million expansion that began in 2000.
Departments and Groups
This list is incomplete
Trivia
- A UCD professor discovered the link between a taurine deficiency in cat diets and specific type of heart disease. This groundbreaking work has lead to better cat foods.
- Davis has a fistulated cow. They are used to learn about bovine digestive processes. This, like a few other vet medicine subjects, has been a source of some contention from animal rights groups.
- UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine was set on an "accelerated inspection schedule" (meaning they would have to be reevaluated sooner than normal) due to a 1998 AVMA inspection that deemed their classroom facilities too old and inadequate. The school started work on a few new buildings with brand new state-of-the-art equipment. On March 9th, 2005 UCD School of Vet Medicine regained full accreditation after meeting the AVMA requirements set for vet schools. Aggie article
- The Shah of Iran used to send his beloved Persian cats yearly to UCD's Vet Met Teaching Hospital back in the 70's.
- There is a tri-state (California, Nevada, Arizona) emergency helicopter service that actually transports animals across state lines directly to the VMTH. This business is not directly connected to the University or its Veterinary School.
- Their newsletter is called The California Waggie.
- Second year vet students run the Mercer Veterinary Clinic for the Homeless located in Sacramento.
- Until budget cuts shut it down in 2009, the vet school ran a Pet Loss Support Hotline.
