Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine -

The Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) is the only veterinary teaching hospital in Indiana. It is one of the nation’s best tertiary veterinary providers, offering many service areas for wellness and specialty care. The VTH excels in the delivery of healthcare to our animal patients. A small animal hospital and a large animal hospital comprise the facility. The hospital provides veterinary students with exceptional training experiences as they prepare the next generation of veterinarians and veterinary technicians. It also serves as a primary referral center for veterinarians in the State of Indiana. Board-certified specialists and residents provide guidance with all of the case loads.

Our faculty and staff see 13,000 patient visits each year. More than 70% of those cases are referrals from practitioners.

As the VTH caseload continues to grow, so does the need to provide exceptional diagnostics and care. The success of the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital depends on the generous support of private gifts.

The Purdue University Large Animal Veterinary Teaching Hospital is the only full service, tertiary care hospital in Indiana. Our veterinary specialists provide care for large animals including but not limited to horses, goats, llamas, alpacas, deer, donkeys, camels, cattle, pigs, and sheep, etc. Our facilities include 4 wards for the housing of patients, 2 large animal surgical suites, a breezeway-area for indoor lameness evaluations of horses, and an Intensive Care/Neonatal Unit for young horses, calves, or other animals, and a separate Isolation Facility offering housing and treatment areas. This facility is equipped with video cameras in each stall for constant monitoring 24/7.

As the Purdue VTH is the only tertiary referral hospital for large animals in Indiana, the facilities and services offered must be competitive with those in the surrounding states. The current Large Animal Hospital was established in 1959 and has undergone minor renovations throughout the years to provide the highest quality care for patients. A new, modern facility and state-of-the-art equipment will provide the highest quality clinical and diagnostic support to Indiana’s equine and livestock owners.

The new large animal hospital will affirm Purdue’s commitment to:

**The equine videoendoscope that was previously listed was obtained thanks to a donation!

This fund is designed to provide financial support for veterinary medical care for seriously ill or injured pets whose owners are unable to afford the necessary medical care required for their animals.

The Companion Animal Blood Donor Program at the VTH coordinates a network of rescued Greyhounds and donor dogs and cats which give life saving blood products needed by VTH patients undergoing treatment. They make possible an animal “blood bank” that functions like a human blood bank. Healthy dogs and cats receive compassionate care while helping ill and injured animal patients in need of blood transfusions. The donated blood is used solely to provide life-saving support to more than 200 ill and injured dogs per year in the hospital.

Greyhounds are considered universal donors for their species and serve an invaluable role at our facility by providing life-giving support during treatment of canine patients in our care. A new exercise area has been constructed on the VTH property and is 1/3 acre (14,756 sq. ft.). Phase I of the project was completed in October 2009 and included six feet of fencing for two separate large pens with double-entry gates, construction of a water source and installation of a hydrant and some landscaping. Phase II will incorporate additional enhancements, including a track for running, agility equipment, an eco-friendly waste management system, and a shade structure that will create a better environment for both the animals and humans.

The Linda and William Fleischhauer Radiation Therapy Facility is Indiana’s first radiation therapy facility to treat cancer in small animals. The facility supports the College of Veterinary Medicine comparative oncology program.

The Veterinary Teaching Hospital recently received a donation of a new CT scanner from St. Elizabeth Regional Health. The computed tomography imaging system was installed in early March and is available for patient use today. The new magnetic resonance imaging machine replaces the mobile MRI unit and will accommodate both large and small animals. The CT scanner offers digital imagery for diagnosis of internal injury and disease. The CT machine is only one of three machines in Indiana to serve animal patients and the only CT and MRI available for large animal imaging. The images taken from these machines can aid in surgery and can be used to map the location of tumor for surgical removal as well as radiation therapy.

This program provides short-term emergency housing for pets owned by individuals or families in crisis. The PetSafe program is a community service offered by the VTH and meets short-term housing needs of pets. It is available to individuals or families who were involved in catastrophic car crashes, houses that were destroyed by fire, owners who have fled from domestic violence situations and pets of owners who had to abandon their homes during floods.

Emergency shelter has been provided to over 15 pets per year since 1993. There is no charge to the pet owner for services provided and families are invited to visit their pets. Services include, up to three weeks of boarding, vaccinations, food and water, and daily one-on-one attention by faculty, staff and veterinary students.

The spay/neuter program for the Almost Home Humane Society (AHHS) is a collaboration between Merial and Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine. Veterinary and veterinary technician students, supervised by a veterinary surgeon, perform weekly surgeries to neuter dogs and cats. This program provides students with surgical experience and the knowledge of working with a local animal shelter, while helping the AHHS prepare their pets for adoption.

This center is focused on the state-of-the-art treatment of the equine industry. As a part of Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine the ESMC has the facilities and expertise to diagnose and treat a variety of equine Health problems. Services include:

Cancer is a major cause of death in older pet dogs and cats. As veterinarians, it is obvious that our work is aimed at helping our canine and feline companions. Our work is also aimed at benefiting human cancer patients. This is possible because some specific forms of naturally-occurring cancer in pet dogs closely mimic that same form of cancer in humans. The Purdue Comparative Oncology Program was formed in 1979 with the goal of improving the outlook for pet animals and humans with cancer.

One of our major areas of cancer research is in the most aggressive form of bladder cancer, high grade, invasive transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). More effective ways to treat TCC in dogs have been identified. We are making progress against this disease.