Atlanta Veterinary Skin & Allergy Clinic

Tuskegee University is the only Historically Black University to offer the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.). Established in 1945, The TUCVM was established to train and educate African-Americans at a time when opportunities to study veterinary medicine were minimal due to segregation and other racial discriminatory activities. At that time, the TUCVM was one of 10 veterinary schools in the U.S. and it is estimated that there were fewer than five African-American veteri...narians in the South (or perhaps anywhere) at that time. There were five graduates in the first class and included one female that completed the program with the DVM degree in 1949. Although the first veterinary class in 1945 contained students who were exclusively African-Americans, significant strides have been made over the years to become the most diverse and inclusive veterinary school in the U.S. which has served a singular role in expanding diversity in the veterinary profession. The TUCVM has educated about 70 percent of the Nation’s African-American veterinarians, and about 10 percent of Hispanic/Latino veterinarians. In addition, the TUCVM accepts and graduates of other groups, including American Indians, Asians, and Caucasians. See more

Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine produces more than 70 percent of African-American veterinarians in the United States. Despite the modest percentage of African-Americans in veterinary medicine nationwide (about 2%), Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine continues to recruit, retain, and graduate an unequivocal percentage of the nation's practicing African- American veterinarians and 10% of Latin veterinary practitioners. In addition to Black... students, Tuskegee’s Veterinary School enrolls Asian American students, Native American students, caucasian students and international students. Indeed, Tuskegee’s College of Veterinary Medicine seeks not only to increase the African- American presence in this field, but to be inclusive and play a significant role in educating underrepresented groups needed to address the growing veterinary needs in a diverse national and global population. The college is fully accredited by the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Paving the way for women - Alfreda Johnson Webb (1923-1992) The first African American Woman Veterinarian Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb was born in 1923 in Mobile, Alabama. After completing a bachelor of science degree at the Tuskegee Institute (now TuskegeeUniversity) she enrolled in the first class at the Tuskegee Institute School of Veterinary Medicine in 1945. In 1949, Dr. Johnson Webb graduated as the first African American woman to graduate from veterinary school, becoming the first African American woman licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the US.

I learned a lesson with regard to race that I never forgot: how people feel about you reflects the way you permit yourself to be treated. If you permit yourself to be treated differently, your are condemned to an unequal relationship. Frederick D. Patterson Our celebration starts by honoring Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson. Dr. Patterson acquired a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1923 (at the young age of 22), and a Master of Science degree, in 1927, both from Io...wa State University and later earned a Ph.D. degree from Cornell University. In the late 1930’s Dr. Patterson defied the political, social and financial odds by winning for Tuskegee a federal contract to establish a flight school and full airbase in Tuskegee. In an effort to train black aviators, the U.S. Army Air Corps established a training program at Tuskegee Institute, using Moton Field. That accomplishment led to the development of the training base at Moton Field for the legendary Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Dr. Patterson so loved the art of flying that he became a pilot himself and continued the skill and hobby for many years. In 1935 at the age of 34, Dr. Patterson was appointed President of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (later Tuskegee Institute; now Tuskegee University) and served in this capacity until 1953. In 1943, Patterson founded the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), and in1944 founded the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tuskegee Institute. Dr. Patterson was also the visionary founder of the School of Engineering and the School of Nursing at Tuskegee University. Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine has graduated approximately 75 percent of the United States' black veterinarians. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan awarded Dr. Patterson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. https://uncf.org/pages/frederick-douglass-patterson-2 Patterson Hall By Skegeepedia - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30055555

2020 marked the 75th anniversary of Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has a proud heritage with many graduates taking their place in history by their dedication to excellence and to the profession. Many are unsung heros who have lived their passions and made contributions because it was in their DNA to do so. In honor of Black History Month and to celebrate our own, we have chosen to highlight our legacy by sharing with you some milestones and spotlighting a few of our awesome TUCVM alum. We hope you enjoy and welcome your comments as you take this journey with us. Look for the first post on February 1st!

We Are In OUR NEW SPACE! - https://mailchi.mp//avsac-in-the-era-of-the-corona-pandemi

AVSAC in the ERA of the Corona Pandemic - https://mailchi.mp//avsac-in-the-era-of-the-corona-pandemic

Good article! I don't agree with everything said but most of the points are good ones. Look for an email from me (or a followup post here if not on our email list) with updated info on our new location as well as some finer points regarding this article. Stay well! https://vetmed.tamu.edu//bathing-our-furry-friends-can-re/

Supporting our extended AVSAC family during these challenging times. We have moved but our phone and email contacts are the same as we ready our new location. Remember to use our Vetsource online pharmacy for medication refill requests. You can access it easiest through our website at www.atlantaskinvet.com and clicking on online pharmacy. We want you to stay safe and to know that we are here for you!

WE'VE MOVED! Our contact email and phone numbers remain the same. - https://mailchi.mp/da790438c848/weve-moved

Happy Birthday to our sweet April!

Merry Christmas from AVSAC!

Maddox and Zuri help decorate the clinic then put on their best holiday duds. "Santa Claus is coming! See how good we are?"

If looks could kill LOL! Sometimes words just aren't necessary.... . I love my patients!!

Happy Vet Tech Week!

Celebrating Sam....BEST VET TECH EVER!

Zuri and April are handling the front desk! BEST Client Care Coordinator and Good Will Ambassador !

I am sharing the latest report from the FDA on Grain Free Diets and DCM (thanks Donna Scowden!) https://www.fda.gov//fda-investigation-potential-link-betw Here is what I responded when asked whether it changed my mind about one of the foods listed. If you want to know my full opinion, please (re)read the article I published here on Facebook.... Dr. Pat GREAT article Donna - thank you so much for the link! It really doesn't change my mind tho.... Natural Balance is a huge brand and is eaten by a lot of dogs and cats. For my food allergic patients, it is one of the best for convenience for the pet owner (a BIG thing!) as well as being a clean diet for the allergic pet. I do recommend ADDING the meat protein of choice to the diet to offset the concern of too much plant -based protein. The food I do have concern about and have stopped recommending as much is Zignature. For some patients there are few choices short of a home cooked diet though, so again ADDING the preferred, non allergenic MEAT is a potential fix. Of the 515 dogs reported in the FDA study, Natural Balance represents 2% of the total, which is fairly small. The article doesn't say how long any of the foods/brands were fed (a life time or a week) before the diagnosis was made, and it does not say what the 80+ dogs NOT on a grain free commercial diet were eating (home cooked that is also grain free or Purina Dog Chow) when their diagnosis was made. As I said before, I am not for or against "Grain Free" because it is simply a marketing gimmick and tells me nothing. Having said that, the research being done here is quite stunning and it means that the FDA and the Veterinary Community are taking the issue quite seriously. The pet food industry is a gazzillion dollar industry LOL, so somebody better figure this out before pet owners mutiny!