VVMAINFORMATION
VVMASTAFF
TalyaGeorge
Executive Director
talya@vvma.org
VictoriaStaples
Associate Director victoria@vvma.org
SamanthaTeunis
Association Coordinator admin@vvma org
vvma
SUBMISSIONDEADLINE
MEMBERASSISTANCEPROGRAM &WORK-LIFESERVICES
The VVMA partners with McLaughlin Young and offers a wonderful benefit for VVMA members. The Member Assistance Program & Work-Life Services are available to VVMA members and their immediate family.
Reasons to use the MAP include: financial planning, marital difficulties, parenting, stress, depression, work-related concerns, alcohol and drug use/abuse, grief and loss, or preventative.
OFFICERS
BrianNeumannDVM President
SherriGard,DVM
President-Elect
BretVanLear,DVM Vice President
CourtneyConroy,DVM
Secretary-Treasurer
NathanielBurke,DVM Immediate Past President
DIRECTORS
RebeccaBeamer,DVM Southwest VA & VASART OPENPOSITION
Fredericksburg
JaclynClement,DVM Piedmont
CarolineEckstrom,DVM Northern VA
EdwardFallin,DVM Central
BomHarris,DVM VAFAP
KielHausler,DVM
Prince William ChristopherHussion,DVM Loudoun OPENPOSITION
Southside VMA
ShellyMcDaniel,DVM VAEP
VirginiaNewman,‘25
Student Representative
NolanProck,DVM Coastal
AllisonSparks,DVM
Appalachian
JamieStewart,DVM
Blacksburg Area
A’ndreaVanSchoick,DVM
Shenandoah
AshleyNelson,DVM
Blue Ridge
CourtneyWiegard,DVM
Roanoke Valley
C.GarrettWood,DVM
Jefferson
AVMAREPRESENTATIVES
LaurenMaxey,DVM Delegate
TerrySwecker,DVM Alternate-Delegate
President’s Message BrianNeumann,DVM
Happy Spring to the VVMA!
It is hard to believe that a quarter of 2025 is already behind us, but I am thrilled to be able to start planning for the warmer months ahead. The VVMA has had a wonderful start to this calendar year.
In Richmond, we had a very successful Day at the Capital and legislative session, highlighted by the Governor signing bills in the house and senate that will extend the veterinary sales tax exemption at least through 2028. Our lobbyists and legislative committee have been working tirelessly on this bill extension, among dozens of other bills affecting our profession within the state of Virginia. We are incredibly lucky to have so much talent to advocate for our best interests! Please see pages 14-18 for a 2025 legislative session update.
Our 2025 Annual Virginia Veterinary Conference was an absolute hit! Headlined by a phenomenal keynote speaker, our own Dr. Melinda McCall, we had a stellar lineup of presentations and CE that has sparked rave reviews. We had over 300 veterinarians and 135 LVTs in attendance this year, along with a very strong roster of sponsors. Among other highlights, the VVMA bid farewell to one of our strongest industry partners, Timothy McKissick of Boehringer-Ingelheim, with an incredible retirement party. The VVMA has been lucky to have had Tim as a friend and an advocate for so many wonderful years. We also celebrated and recognized the remarkable career of another irreplaceable industry friend, Marsh Davis of Dechra.
For the rest of 2025, the VVMA wants to focus on relationships within the many different populations of the state profession, including:
LVTs: We would like to make sure that we are aligned on a position with the looming Mid-Level Practitioner movement. We intend to come up with a position statement, as well as finding avenues to elevate and leverage our incredibly talented LVTs in practice and give them the runway to maximize their skills and expertise.
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President’s Message BrianNeumann,DVM
VeterinaryStudents: We intend to galvanize our relationship with the veterinary school and search for more ways to support them during their journey. We will have several lectures and visits planned in Blacksburg to ensure that the student body is aware of the importance of organized veterinary medicine upon graduation.
RecentGraduates: We will continue to foster and grow our state’s Power of 10 program as well. Over the last 10 years, this program has become one of the strongest throughout the country, and as a result, our state organization has flourished. We have several graduates that are emerging as leaders on our state board, executive committee, and within the AVMA.
We will continue to work tirelessly to represent our profession in Richmond upon the next legislative session, and we will keep the state membership up to date on all relevant legislation that affects how we practice
It is an honor to be able to lead the VVMA in these initiatives, among many others during the next calendar year. I want to serve as a resource for each one of you, so please do not hesitate to contact me, as well as our talented team at VVMA headquarters
I wish everyone a fantastic spring and summer, filled with career satisfaction and some well-deserved rest and relaxation. I look forward to communicating with you all throughout the year and being able to represent the best profession in the state of Virginia!
Sincerely,
Brian Neumann, DVM 2025 VVMA President
MeetYour2025Officers
VVMAOfficers
atthe2025
Virginia Veterinary Conferenceat
theHotel
Roanoke& Conference Center
PRESIDENT
BrianNeumann,DVM
PRESIDENT-ELECT
SherriGard,DVM
VICEPRESIDENT
BretVanLear,DVM
SECRETARY-TREASURER
CourtneyConroy,DVM
Veterinary Team Member
Mentor of the Year
Commercial Representative
Marsh Davis, LVT
Veterinary Service Distinguished VA Veterinarian Paul F Landis VA Veterinarian
Dr Jeff Smith
Dr Jay Margolis
Dr Steve Karras
Friend of the VVMA
Animal Hero
Victoria Staples Bueno
UpcomingWebinars
ProvidedbytheDCVMA,joinTimMcFillin,PresidentandFounderofMedical AdvisorsGroup(MAG),foraninformationalwebinaraboutstudentloan managementandfinancialplanning.Q&Adiscussionwillbeheld. 6:00-7:00pm|Zoom
OverviewofTechnicianScopeofPractice Register
PresentedbytheVABoardofVeterinaryMedicine,thiswebinarwillreview thescopeofpracticeforLVTsandveterinaryassistantsandwhattheyare permittedtodointheveterinarypractice
7:00-8:00pm|Zoom TheABCsofOwningYourOwnPractice Register
Comelearnwhatittakestosetupyourownveterinarypractice!We’ll coverthelegalperspectiveofsettingupyourpractice,aswellaswhen youshouldcallanattorneytoassistwithproblemsthatmayarise 7:00-8:00pm|Zoom
NOVAEducationalFoundation: VeterinaryTechnologyStudentGrants
Each year, 4 to 8 students at Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) receive assistance from the Dr. Tregel Cockburn (Professor Emerita) Veterinary Technology Student Grant Program. This grant helps support graduating veterinary technology students by aiding them with entry into their chosen profession as an LVT in Virginia. Thegoalofthisfundistohelpremovefinancialbarrierstobecominglicensedand encouragegraduatingstudentstotaketheirnationalboardexamassoonasthey areeligible.
This grant is administered via the NOVA Education Foundation, in Annandale, VA. The full-time faculty and LVTs select the recipients and the students are acknowledged publicly at the Veterinary Technology program’s annual pinning/graduation award ceremony in May.
Theamountofeachgrantawardedfromiscurrentlyupto$590.00tobeusedby studentrecipientstoreimbursethemforthecostsofanyorallofthefollowing:
Veterinary Support Personnel Network online instructor-led Veterinary Technician
National Exam preparatory course – cost $120.00
American Association of Veterinary State Boards and PSI testing services
Veterinary Technician National Exam practice examination with diagnostic report
– cost $50.00
American Association of Veterinary State Boards Veterinary Technician National Examination – cost $355.00
Application fee to the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine for Veterinary Technician licensure – cost $65.00
OnlineGifts: Clickhere to make an online donation
CheckDonations: Payable to the “NVCC Educational Foundation”, and include your fund name on the memo line. Please mail to: 4001 Wakefield Chapel Rd, Suite 275, Annandale, VA 22003
ViaPhone: Donors may call (703) 232-3023 during weekday business hours
NOVAEmployees: Donate via payroll by clickinghere
EstatePlanning: Clickhere and review the link and/or contact NVCC by phone or email to discuss
QualifiedCharitableDistributions: Please direct the gift to the NOVA Foundation at the mailing address above. EIN number: 51-0249730
AdditionalWays:Matching gifts through your employer (clickhere), gifts of stock or donor advised funds (please contact NVCC)
Thank you for your consideration and support!
Any additional questions about these grants or their purpose, please contact Dr. Tregel Cockburn at (571) 446-7701 or tmc2775@email.vccs.edu.
ReliefVeterinarians
KimDanoff,DVM (571) 212-5024 | kimdanoff@gmail com
Serving: Northern VA, Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties
JaclynErwin,DVM (408) 691-7192 | info@qualcareveterinaryrelief.com
Available in: Northern VA
KarolineFalcone,DVM (847) 902-1045 | karefalc@gmail.com | falconeveterinaryrelief.com
Available in: Northern VA
ToddHarrell,DVM (757) 932-7900 | harrellrelief@gmail.com
Serving: Williamsburg, Newport News and surrounding areas
MatthewKelcourse,DVM (941) 416-8992 | vvrs2020@yahoo.com
Available in: Southeastern VA/Hampton Roads area
ToshaStarke,DVM (540) 239-8714 | info@allfourpawsvetrelief.com | allfourpawsvetrelief.com
Available in: Northern VA
2025LegislativeReport
The 2025 Session saw the introduction of 2,399 bills and resolutions - a staggering number for a 45-day "short session " As always, it was a busy legislative session for the VVMA!
SUCCESSONMAJORINITIATIVES
TheVVMAwassuccessfulinourefforttoextendtheexemptionfromsalesand usetaxonprescriptionmedicinesanddrugsadministeredordispensedto patientswithinaveterinarian-client-patientrelationshipthroughJuly1,2028. Without the legislation this Session, this exemption would have expired on July 1, 2025. While we would have liked the exemption to extend through 2030 (when all sales and use tax exemptions are set to expire), it was both money committee staffs' and legislators' decisions to have all tax exemptions passed this year extend only through 2028 There are several legislative work groups and commissions looking at a major overhaul of Virginia's system of taxation; sales and use tax exemptions are a part of this discussion. The VVMA legislative team will be working through these study groups to bring this issue forward as part of the overhaul discussion, with a goal by the end of the next sunset to have a path forward for a permanent exemption analogous with the human drug exemption.
We appreciate our House and Senate patrons, Delegate Alex Askew (D-Virginia Beach) and Senator Todd Pillion (R-Abingdon) carrying this critical legislation (HB 1698 and SB1369) for the VVMA. Both bills passed their committees and house floors on unanimous votes—a real testament to both the support of the initiative and a thorough advocacy effort by the VVMA legislative team.
The other victory this Session was the passage of HB2303 (Delegate and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Alphonso Lopez, D-Arlington) and SB921 (Senator Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell). These bills direct the State Veterinarian to establish a large animal veterinary grant program no later than July 1, 2026, to provide grants to increase or stabilize the number of large animal veterinarians practicing in areas of the Commonwealth that have been identified by the State Veterinarian as having a shortage. The legislation also requires the State Veterinarian to annually select up to four large animal veterinarians from a pool of applicants to participate in the program and to develop, in consultation with the Board of Veterinary Medicine and relevant stakeholders, selection criteria for applicants to participate in the program. Finally, the bill requires the State Veterinarian to submit a report evaluating the extent to which the program has helped to address the shortage of large animal veterinarians in the state to the Board and the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources no later than July 1, 2030 The provisions of the bill were contingent on funding in at least the House or Senate budget; both budgets included $450,000 to get the directives of this legislation underway.
This legislative success builds on action by the General Assembly in the 2024 Session to create a two-year study with the goal of identifying ways to attract and incentivize large and food animal practices in rural areas of Virginia. The VVMA has participated in this study and we will continue to be a part of all efforts going forward.
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2025LegislativeReport
In a budget year where the competition for funding was fierce between major legislative initiatives by both parties, this was one of the few items to receive unanimous and bipartisan support.
It is encouraging that legislators of both parties realize the critical role veterinarians play in keeping livestock healthy and the food supply safe. A number of partners helped spearhead this effort, including the Virginia Farm Bureau (who kindly hosted most of our meetings), the Virginia Agribusiness Council, the Virginia Cattlemen's Association, the Virginia Dairymen's Association, and the Virginia Poultry Federation. We appreciate the collaborative spirit and in addition, the assistance of our State Veterinarian, the Board of Veterinary Medicine and the Virginia Department of Health in tackling this issue.
ANIMALLEGISLATION
Many of the animal-related bills we identified at the beginning of Session were killed or simply not taken up by the committees of jurisdiction. The legislation that did not survive crossover:
HB1814, Animal Cruelty Conviction List
HB2379, Changes to Dangerous Dog Statute
HB2622, Increasing Civil Penalty for Not Reporting Found Companion Animals
HB2143, Enhanced Safety Requirements for Animal-drawn Vehicles
HB2409, Changes to the Right to Farm Act
The bills that did survive crossover were amended from the introduced version Several of these bills were either amended or vetoed by the Governor, so it was a particularly active Reconvened Session for bills of interest. It isn't often that we are tracking bills from January through April, so this session was exceptional in this regard!
HB2313/SB1051 by Delegate Alphonso Lopez (D-Arlington) and Senator Adam Ebbin (D- Alexandria) were introduced to address the deaths of several dogs at a commercial boarding operation in their districts. The bill that passed the Senate (the House bill will be conformed on the Senate side) allows an animal control officer to enter and inspect any animal boarding establishment (defined in 3.2-6500), except establishments or facilities regulated by the Board of Veterinary Medicine, with the consent of the owner or person in charge, upon receipt of a complaint or twice annually at their discretion, to ensure compliance with state animal care laws and regulations. If the owner refused entry, the ACO must obtain a warrant as provided for in §3.2-6568. The bill was amended in the Senate Courts Committee to address concerns about ACOs entering home-based boarding kennels without a warrant if the owner denied entry. The VVMA sought our exemption early in the Session, and both patrons supported our request. The exemption for establishments already licensed and inspected by DHP held throughout the entire process. Despite the amendments, the Governor recommended that this bill be turned into a workgroup managed by the State Veterinarian. Both bodies sustained the Governor's recommendation. It is anticipated VVMA will be part of this workgroup.
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2025LegislativeReport
SB903 (Senator Bill Stanley, R-Franklin) passed the Senate and House on a unanimous vote. This bill clarifies what information a pet shop is required to keep in their records upon receipt of dogs the shop offers for sale.
The record must include:
The date on which the dog was taken into custody; 1
The date the record was created; 2.
A description of the dog, including the species, color, breed, sex, approximate age, and approximate weight of the dog; 3.
The location where custody was taken; 4.
The name and address of the person from whom the dog was obtained; 5.
Any license or rabies tag, tattoo, collar, or other identification number carried by or appearing on the dog; and 6.
The disposition of the dog. 7.
The records must be maintained for at least five years and made available for public inspection upon request. A summary of the records must be submitted annually to the State Veterinarian. The premise of the amended bill was to require pet shops to submit a disposition report to VDACS similar to what public and private shelters submit at year end Civil penalties up to $5,000 may be assessed for violating the reporting requirement and would be brought by the Attorney General, not the locality. The Governor slightly amended this bill - basically rewrote the bill in a more succinct manner; his "clean up" amendments were sustained by both bodies.
The other pet shop bill, SB916 by Senator Saddam Salim, D-Fairfax, was amended to create a work group at VDACS to study the information collected by pet shop owners on the dogs and cats offered for sale and how that information is shared with customers. It was amended to be complimentary to the new requirements of SB903, and scaled down from its original intent to require enforcement of pet shop regulations at the local level. After passing the Senate unanimously, the bill was killed in the House Agriculture Committee after crossover.
SB907 by Senator Stanley required any animal testing facility operated by a state agency that no longer has need for a nonhuman primate in its possession to offer the primate for release to a certified sanctuary after consultation with the facility's attending veterinarian. The bill allowed an animal testing facility to enter into an agreement with the certified sanctuary to implement the release of the primate. This bill comes out of the recent decision by Eastern Virginia Medical School to euthanize four female baboons rather than accept an offer of sanctuary. The baboons had been used for repeated Caesarean sections (a fifth baboon died in surgery) and rather than even evaluate the potential for retirement to sanctuary, the decision was made by EVMS to euthanize. The bill as introduced required sanctuary but was amended down to evaluate each animal to determine if they were physically/physiologically suited to retirement. The bill strikes the balance for a decision-making process that allows for the most humane treatment of each individual animal, whether it is sanctuary or euthanasia As amended, EVMS supported the bill The VVMA offered guidance on the compromise bill and supported the final language This bill passed the Senate unanimously and the House on a vote of 75 Y - 21 N.
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2025LegislativeReport
SB1000 by Senator Richard Stuart simply raised the reimbursement rate for livestock and poultry killed by predators from $750 to $1,000 and $10 to $25 respectively. The bill had no opposition and passed the Senate and House unanimously.
SB1125 by Senator Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax) was filed in response to the ongoing investigation at the Natural Bridge Zoo and the discovery of that zoo's sale of a number of unweaned giraffes to private collectors and non-accredited roadside zoos around the country. The Senator worked with the the Department of Wildlife Resources and the Attorney General's Office to draft a bill that will allow accredited facilities to exchange unweaned animals for educational or conservation purposes while prohibiting the illegal sale of unweaned exotic species for purely commercial gain. The Senator worked with the Metro Richmond Zoo to ensure the language would not negatively impact AZA or ZAA accredited facilities or their programs The bill passed the Senate on a party-line vote despite a letter of support sent by the Metro Richmond Zoo; it appears the Republican legislators from that part of the state have been influenced by the opposition from the Natural Bridge Zoo and made the bill a caucus issue. There may be additional amendments in the House to further tighten the language of the bill. The VVMA participated in a meeting with Governor Youngkin's policy staff, who are well aware of the details of the investigation at Natural Bridge Zoo. There was a push by some Republicans for a Governor's veto of the bill. Unfortunately, the Governor did veto the bill and that veto could not be overridden. We will no doubt see this bill again next Session.
Finally, SB1127 by Senator Boysko required any animal testing facility to make USDA inspection reports publicly available within 30 days of receipt. Additionally, relevant incident reports and documents generated during or as a result of internal or external reviews, plus any USDA official warning notice of alleged violation, settlement agreement or stipulation, administrative complaint, decision or order, or any other enforcement record, should also be publicly available within a 30 day window. Current law subjects only inspection reports and relevant USDA incident reports and documents be publicly available. The bill also allowed an animal testing facility to omit information from public disclosure if it is exempted under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The legislation was a product of the FOIA workgroup established by the 2024 General Assembly to look at disclosures of animal testing documents by state universities conducting animal research. The bill as amended was not opposed by state universities including VirginiaTech. With some minor amendments, this bill passed the Senate and House unanimously.
Pictured on the right: VVMA members visiting with Virginia State Delegate Higgins after our 2025 Day at the Capitol event
