Cornell veterinary students get hands-on experience at the Wine Country Circuit Dog Show

This year, 20 students from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine participated in the 36th annual Wine Country Circuit Dog Show, held Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 at Sampson State Park in Romulus, New York. The veterinary college has been a proud partner of the dog show since 2021.

Serving as the show’s official veterinary care provider, Cornell brings together leading canine experts from across the veterinary college’s clinical consultation units — including the Cornell University Hospital for Animals (CUHA) and the Cornell Margaret and Richard Riney Canine Health Center (RCHC) based in Ithaca, New York, and the Cornell University Veterinary Specialists (CUVS), based in Stamford, Connecticut.

The dog show’s mentor program pairs Cornell veterinary students with breeders, judges and exhibitors from kennel clubs. The program was started in 2021 by Sue Hamlin, a now-retired administrative manager at Cornell’s Baker Institute for Animal Health. Inspired by a similar program at Tufts University, the mentorships help familiarize veterinary students with some of the 200 breeds the American Kennel Club recognizes as purebreds, Hamlin said.

In addition to the students participating in the mentorship program, another group shadowed Cornell veterinarians who provided free medical care to show dogs and answered questions from owners.

While shadowing neurology resident Dr. Patti Lawler, veterinary student Hannah Flamme saw an English lab come into the vet tent with a paw laceration that happened before the competition. Despite administering antibiotics, his owners were concerned that it wasn’t healing. Flamme said Lawler quickly got down on the ground to do a physical exam and let her check out the paw.

“Luckily, it was at a point that we didn’t really have to do very much,” Flamme said. “But I think they were just happy to hear from a veterinary professional that the injury wasn’t something that had to be treated urgently. It gave them peace of mind that they were doing the correct thing for a very prized show animal.”

Flamme said she thought her experience at the dog show would prove valuable in her future career as a small-animal general practitioner.

“I know that I will have clients in the breeding and showing industry someday,” Flamme said. “I now have a greater appreciation for what they do and the time and energy and care and compassion that goes into what they do.”

Written by Laura Gallup.