With the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) opening this fall, the new college at Arkansas State University is getting a head start on being part of the community.

The CVM is now offering a Large Animal Ambulatory Service (LAAS).

“A-State’s CVM is centered around serving the community, and the ambulatory service is an important way for us to provide veterinary care directly to animal owners where they are,” said Dr. Trey Neyland, teaching assistant professor of livestock practice.

Neyland said LAAS takes members of the CVM team on the road.

“Through this service, one of our large animal veterinarians travels to a client’s farm, home or facility to provide veterinary care for large animal species,” Neyland added.

Neyland, alongside Dr. Scott Reiners, teaching associate professor of equine practice, provides veterinary care for animals such as horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. For these animals, he said that this service includes a variety of options.

“We provide individual wellness and sick-patient examinations, routine herd health care, breeding soundness exams, pregnancy examinations, on-farm consultations, lameness evaluations, and certificates of veterinary inspection,” said Neyland.

So far, Neyland said, they have primarily seen horses, cattle and goats.

As the college prepares for students to join campus this fall, Neyland said LAAS helps address the need for more rural, large animal veterinarians.

“This service will play an important role in the education of our veterinary students. It will provide students across all years of their veterinary education with hands-on, real-life experience in rural veterinary medicine,” he said.

In addition to helping the community with their veterinary needs for large animals, this opportunity reinforces the importance of community-based veterinary care.

“During their fourth-year clinical rotations, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) students will have the opportunity to continue developing their clinical skills while helping provide veterinary care to animals throughout the community” said Neyland.

Work on the A-State facilities that will house the CVM is rapidly coming to a close. Construction on the 56,000 square foot facility is expected to be completed in June and the faculty and staff will move into the building in July. The project will cost $33.2 million.

School officials hope to have 120 students in the initial class. About 40 faculty and staff will be employed in the new school.

Lyon College is set to open a second college of veterinary science next year. It will locate its veterinary facility in Cabot.

Nationwide, there is a growing shortage of DVMs to fill a growing demand for services. A generation of animal care veterinarians are reaching, or are beyond, retirement age. The more than 12,500 farms in Arkansas have a growing need for vet services, as well as Arkansas’ expanding food production industry.

An estimated 10% of the state’s counties don’t have a single veterinarian and more than a dozen counties in Arkansas have some type of veterinarian shortage.