Dr. Jennifer Woolf on raising awareness about veterinary forensics and the importance of asking the right questions

*TRIGGER WARNING* Some of the content in this episode may include triggers for topics including animal abuse and interpersonal violence. As a reminder, if you are a veterinary student or veterinarian, the VIN Foundation’s confidential peer-to-peer support group vets4vets® is here for you, at no cost, please know, you are not alone. Call (530) 794-8094 or visit the website to schedule a confidential Vets4Vets® session https://vinfoundation.org/resources/vets4vets/.

Listen in as VIN Foundation Executive Director Jordan benShea has a conversation with Dr. Jennifer Woolf about the current veterinary forensics landscape. Do you know your state’s animal abuse reporting laws? Does the story fit the clinical signs? Do veterinarians need to have experience in veterinary forensics to report animal abuse? In this episode Jennifer covers how animal abuse is currently handled in the veterinary profession, where she sees areas for improvement and the link between animal abuse and interpersonal abuse.

GUEST BIOS:

Dr. Jennifer Woolf Dr. Woolf received her D.V.M. and M.S. (concentration: Veterinary Forensic Sciences) from the University of Florida (UF). Over the years, she has worked in private practices and animal welfare organizations, including relief work at over 50 locations in the Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA areas. In 2014 she founded Woolf Veterinary Forensics Consulting where she lectures internationally on animal abuse, the Link, and veterinary forensics, as well as investigating and consulting on individual cases. She also works for Veterinary Information Network (VIN), behind the scenes and upfront writing articles and developing materials on animal abuse and veterinary forensics for VIN members and the general public. Additionally, Dr. Woolf is an instructor in the UF Veterinary Forensic Sciences Online Graduate Programs, has published numerous articles and a book chapter on animal cruelty topics, and was a 2018-2019 Don Low-CVMA Practitioner Fellow at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in the Anatomic Pathology Department. Dr. Woolf is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the International Veterinary Forensic Sciences Association (IVFSA), and a founding member of the Alameda County Animal Cruelty Task Force. Previously she has served on the boards of the IVFSA and the Contra Costa County Veterinary Medical Association.

LINKS AND INFORMATION:

• Animal Legal and Historical Center: https://www.animallaw.info/
• National Link Coalition: https://nationallinkcoalition.org/
• Animal Abuse and Veterinary Forensics Center on the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), VIN membership is required to view: https://www.vin.com/members/cms/project/defaultadv1.aspx?id=10129371&pid=27494&
• International Veterinary Forensics Society: https://www.ivfsa.org/
• Veterinary Forensics Sciences Online Graduate Program at University of Florida: (https://vetforensics.med.ufl.edu/)faculty mentioned:
  • Adam Stern, DVM, ACVP: forensic veterinary pathologist; co-instructor in the UF program
  • Julie Brinker, DVM, MS: shelter veterinarian at Humane Society of Missouri; co-instructor in the UF program
• National Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory https://www.fws.gov/lab/ specifically pathologists Tabitha Viner, DVM, ACVP and Rebecca Kagan, DVM, ACVP
• Dr. Jennifer Woolf Veterinary Forensics Consulting: https://www.wvfcinc.com/

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