Vet Support of Gov-Owned Animals

Key Documents:
- AR 40-905: Veterinary Health Services
  - CH. 3 & 5
- TB MED 298: U.S. Army Veterinary Services
  - Addresses Veterinary Care Management for Military Working Dogs
  - CH. 1, 2, & 3

Veterinary Services Mission (4 Mission Sets)

Veterinary Public Health: Focus on health and well-being of communities.
Animal Health: Ensure health of military-owned animals.
Food Safety and Defense: Protect food supplies and maintain safety standards.
Research and Development: Innovate and improve veterinary care practices for military applications.

DOD-Owned Animals: Animals acquired and maintained by Department of Defense.
Include:
- Military Working Dogs (MWDs)
- Marine Mammals: Utilized by U.S. Navy, including:
  - Bottlenose dolphins.
  - California sea lions.
- Military Working Horses (MWHs)
- Authorized Unit Mascots:
- Strat animals on military installations:
  - Tracked for first 3 working days
- Health Assistance Animals in the Military (HAAM)
  - While enrolled in training program.
- Animals used in biomedical research, education, and training.
- Wild animals that are in confinement on military installations.

Government-Owned Animals: Animals owned by federal agencies that aren’t part of DOD, including:
1. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
2. U.S. Secret Service (USSS)
3. United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

DOD-Owned and Operated Program Dogs:
- Patrol Dogs (PD)
  - Trained for patrol duties.
- Patrol/Drug Detector Dogs (PDDD)
  - Dual-purpose dogs trained in patrol and drug detection.
- Patrol/Explosive Detector Dogs (PEDD)
  - Dual-purpose dogs trained in patrol and explosive detection.
- Explosive Detector Dogs (EDD) or Drug Detector Dogs (DDD)
  - Specialized for specific detection tasks.
- Specialized Search Dogs (SSD)
  - Trained for specialized searching duties.
- Mine Detection Dogs (MDD)
  - Specifically trained to detect landmines.
- Combat Tracker Dogs (CTD) and Multi-Purpose Canines (MPC)
  - Used for tracking and versatile tasks in the field.

Roles of Veterinary Care Officers (VCOs), GS-VMOs, and MOS 68Ts:
- Conduct Physical Examinations
- Obtain and Interpret Routine Test Results
- Prescribe, administer, and dispense medications.
- Perform surgery and anesthesia
- Conduct Comprehensive Oral Health Assessments and Treatments (COHAT).
- Take and interpret radiographs
  - Including dental radiographs.
- Hospitalize MWDs for short-term
- Provide emergency Care
- Conduct necropsy examinations
- Maintain Veterinary Health Records (VHS) in electronic medical record:
  - Veterinary Services System Management (VSSM)
  - Remote Online Veterinary Record (ROVR)
  - Deployment hard-copy (VHR)
- Ensure medical supplies and pharmaceuticals are purchased, stocked, and inventoried.
  - Supplies used for MWDs must be reimbursed to Non-Appropriated Fund (NAF).
  - Each treatment plan must be linked to specific needs of the MWDs.
  - Reimbursement must be centrally managed, and a transfer report (GOA TBA) submitted monthly to NAF Financial Services.

Veterinary Facilities Differentiated by Capabilities:
- Veterinary Clinic (VC)
  - No permanent active duty military; (Only TDY if applicable)
  - Provide wellness and preventive services (No surgery/dentistry capabilities)
  - Satellite clinics (isolated)
- Veterinary Treatment Facility (VTF)
  - Common tier for facilities
  - Staffing includes a permanently assigned VCO (2:1 technician-to-doctor ratio)
  - In-house surgical/dentistry/laboratory analysis/radiology capabilities.
- Veterinary Activity (VETAC)
  - Same capabilities as VTF
  - Includes a Veterinary Clinical Specialist (64F)
  - Increased surgical/hospitalization capabilities.
- Veterinary Center (VETCEN)
  - Same as VETAC (64F)
  - Includes Veterinary Preventive Medicine Specialist (64B)
  - May have First Year Graduate Veterinary Education (FYGVE) training.

Daily Requirements & Documentation by 68T (Performed by kennel but verified by veterinary service):
- Record:
  - Feed intake
  - Medication administration
  - Stool characteristics
  - Abnormal behavior
  - Body weight (if specified in kennel SOP)
Monthly Tasks:
- Conduct internal kennel checks on "Spot Day".
  - Administer monthly heartworm preventatives, GI parasite treatments, and flea/tick medications.
  - Record body weight
- Provide Deployment category MEMO to kennel master
- Conduct kennel inspections (recommended but not mandatory)
- Record review
Quarterly Requirements:
- Perform kennel inspections
- Conduct handler training.
Semi-Annual Physical Exams:
- RED (once a year) and YELLOW (once a year) physical exams of dogs.

Standard Diet: Hill’s Science Diet Active.
Supply Requirements: Kennels must maintain one-month supply of food.
Weight Management: An ideal weight range is established for MWDs, and diets are adjusted based on this range.
Diet Regulations: Type/amount of diet can be modified by local VCO as required
Ensure proper storage practices

Individual Critical Tasks: Specifies each soldier’s individual responsibilities set by first-line supervisor/NCO
- Found on Central Army Registry (CAR) or Soldier’s Manual and Trainer’s Guide
- Listed in Table 2-5 of STP 8-68T14-SM-TG.
Mission Essential Tasks (MET): Tasks relevant to organizational proficiency in designed capabilities or assigned missions. Each unit leader selects supporting individual tasks that bolster collective tasks.
- Mission-essential Task List (METL): Tailored group of mission-essential tasks
- Reference: FM 7-0, page 1-9.

Task Summaries: Include details on wartime performance expectations, aiding soldiers in preparing for critical task training:
- Task title, number, conditions, standards, performance steps, performance measures, and references.
Critical Task Standards: Soldiers must retrain if they do not meet established standards for identified tasks.