Service Dogs And Welfare

September 2, 2020

“Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life,” the saying goes.  Ironically, this adage does not apply to the service dog that was never given the choice in the first place.  Therein lies our obligation to ensure these extraordinary animals do, in fact, love their jobs.  At a minimum, service dogs should always remain safe from the daily risks encountered when assisting individuals with disabilities.  Dr. Zenithson Ng will provide a unique glimpse into the life of a service dog and reveal opportunities for stakeholders to assure the welfare of these animals when he gives the Elanco Human-Animal Bond Lecture during the virtual Purdue Veterinary Conference Tuesday, September 22 at 5:30 p.m.

Dr. Ng’s lecture, “A Day in the Life of a Service Dog: A Welfare Perspective,” sponsored by an endowment from Elanco Animal Health, will be hosted virtually and kick-off the 2020 Purdue Veterinary Conference.  The event will be open to the public.  Attendees will just need to click here to join the zoom meeting.

Dr. Ng is a clinical associate professor of canine and feline primary care at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. He received his DVM from Cornell University and then completed an internship at the ASPCA, and an ABVP residency combined with a master’s degree in human-animal bond studies at Virginia Tech. Dr. Ng’s clinical interests include behavior, dentistry, preventative medicine, management of chronic disease, and shelter medicine. His research interests span all aspects of the human-animal bond including the effect of human-animal interaction on both humans and animals, the veterinary-client relationship, and stress reduction in both veterinary and animal-assisted intervention settings.

The virtual Purdue Veterinary Conference, September 22-25, will offer three days of high quality tracks covering equine, exotics, industry innovations, one health and emergency preparedness, practice management and communication, ruminant, small animal, swine, and topics of interest for veterinary nurses.  Attendees can earn up to 24 hours of continuing education, and will have access to a virtual exhibit hall.

This year’s conference would not be possible without the generosity of these sponsors:  IDEXX, Banfield Pet Hospital, the Indiana Board of Animal Health/Indiana State Department of Health, Nutrena, Purina, Zoetis, Elanco, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, and Coyne Veterinary Services.