The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech will open its doors to the public during its annual Open House from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 9. Visitors will learn about veterinary medicine and the college through tours, demonstrations, and lectures.

The Open House will take place on the college’s Blacksburg campus at 245 Duck Pond Drive and will feature guided tours of its 270,000-square-foot complex, which includes the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and the Veterinary Medicine Instruction Addition. Parking will be available in the large fenced commuter/graduate parking lot off Duck Pond Drive (known as “the Cage”).

For the first time, food trucks offering local and regional dining options will be available in the parking lot in front of the veterinary college. As in years past, veterinary students will lead hour-long tours every 15 minutes beginning at 10:15 a.m.

The family-friendly event will feature activities designed for children, such as horseshoe painting and an anatomy lesson with a painted horse. Third-year students will help “surgically repair” stuffed animals that children bring (limit one per child) to a Teddy Bear Repair Clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Lectures and information sessions will address topics ranging from low-stress cat handling to radiology to what prospective students need to know about applying to veterinary school. Demonstrations will cover numerous topics, such as small animal ultrasound.

A silent auction with gift certificates and merchandise from local merchants will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with winners announced at 2:15 p.m. Auction items can be purchased by cash and check only.

Also new this year, several student organizations will team up to provide an instructional event from 1 to 3 p.m. on how to recognize and handle common dog and cat emergencies and how to perform CPR. The Student Chapter of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (SCVECCS), Virginia Veterinary Medical Association, and Companion Animal Club are partnering on this event with support from the Lisa Marie Tedora Memorial Fund, which was established in memory of the Class of 2000 alumna. Sign up will be available at the SCVECCS booth at the Open House.

Veterinary paraprofessionals and first responders will have an opportunity to learn how to intervene with common veterinary emergencies as well as CPR training during a second lecture from 3 to 6 p.m. Sign up for this event is available online until April 2 and will not be available during Open House.

For biosecurity and health safety reasons, no animals will be allowed in the building or hospital areas during Open House. In the event of rain, outside demonstrations and activities may be canceled.

The veterinary college is hosting the Open House with support from the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association, which previously hosted the event, along with the majority of the college’s student organizations. Members of the Student Chapter of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians will collect dog food and toy donations for a local animal shelter. Student organizers also are partnering with a local shelter to showcase animals that are available to adopt or foster.

The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine is a leading biomedical teaching and research center, enrolling more than 700 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, master of public health, and biomedical and veterinary sciences graduate students. The college is a partnership between the land-grant universities of Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland. Its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, features the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and large animal field services which together treat more than 79,000 animals annually. Other locations include the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Virginia, and the Gudelsky Veterinary Center in College Park, Maryland.

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