The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) announced earlier this week that it has selected the recipient of the 2025 Veterinary Technician of the Year award. This award is presented to a credentialed veterinary technician who has exceptional contributions to animal health, and this year’s winner is Hannah Miller, RVT, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Hannah Miller, RVT, AAHA's 2025 Veterinary Technician of the Year

“Over 5 years, I've grown from part-time technician to lead surgery technician and interim supervisor, building a supportive culture where everyone feels valued. I'm passionate about mentoring new hires and being someone coworkers can turn to for guidance or support during tough days,” Miller said in an organizational release.

“I coordinate continuing education to keep our team confident and capable, while fostering camaraderie through team bonding events and celebrations. My goal is to create an inclusive workplace that combats burnout through kindness and empathy—essential in our field. This clinic has become family to me,” she continued.

Sarah Hickey, DVM, surgical director at Animal Care Hospital, where Miller works as a veterinary technician, nominated Miller because of her hard work and dedication to their animal hospital. Hickey stated that through formal training and her own continued education, Miller empowers herself to manage complex cases and support the team with clinical decisions confidently. Hicky also stated that Miller brings professionalism, empathy, and clarity to everything she does at work.

Miller will receive a personalized trophy, a prize package including $750, free AAHA Con 2026 conference registration, and more. AAHA also shared the following veterinary technicians as runners-up for this award

Allison Huettner, CVT, Country Hills Pet Hospital

Laura Gervasio, RVT, Everhart Veterinary Hospital

Heather Schroeder, CVT, Mesquite Veterinary Hospital

"Achieving and sustaining excellence in veterinary medicine is the guiding light for AAHA, and we are so proud to recognize how veterinary technicians support their practices and our profession to reach that goal. The skill set of veterinary technicians spans many disciplines and areas of interest, immeasurably enriching the lives of their co-workers, their clients, and their patients. It is our honor and privilege to recognize outstanding veterinary technicians every year and present this award to a truly exceptional individual," stated Jananne O’Connell, DVM, MVPH, AAHA board member.

In order to qualify for the award, technicians must be credentialed or actively pursuing credentialing, have worked at their current practice for at least 90 days, and be currently employed in a veterinary hospital. The award is also made possible by the support of Zoetis.

“I especially wish clients would see the importance of the veterinary technician for their pets. Many people think it’s the veterinarian drawing blood, monitoring anesthesia, cleaning the teeth, placing catheters, etc., but these tasks are normally the job of the technician,” Miller explained when asked what she wished people knew about her work.

“We are the face they see before the veterinarian comes in and many don’t believe that we know the importance of doing the diagnostics, preventative care, or treatments we, as a veterinary team, recommend. I try my best to inform them of the value of the treatment plan, but without the DVM title, many people still are hesitant to trust until we’ve built that valid client-patient relationship,” she concluded.

AAHA Names 2025 Veterinary Technician of the Year. News release. American Animal Hospital Association. October 12, 2025. Accessed October 16, 2025.

Dunwoodie C. Meet AAHA’s 2025 Veterinary Technician of the Year finalists and winner!. October 13, 2025. Accessed October 16, 2025. 

https://www.aaha.org/trends-magazine/publications/meet-aahas-2025-veterinary-technician-of-the-year-finalists-and-winner/

Articles

Each year, The American Animal Hospital Association honors a credentialed veterinary technician for their exceptional contributions to animal health.

AAHA announces 2025 Veterinary Technician of the Year 

Happy Friday, dvm360 readers! As the 2025 Veterinary Technician Week comes to an end, our focus on veterinary technicians is going to last the rest of the month! Be sure to check in on dvm360’s dedicated 

 on the website to stay up to date on all our coverage of the amazing work technicians do and the stories they have about their time in the industry.

Along with all of our technician content, here is what else you can find on dvm360.com from the past week:

 by HT Vista found that in the US, 62% of masses on dogs seen in veterinary clinics go undiagnosed, as well as when the number of cases in the clinic rises, veterinarians are less likely to sample masses which suggests a drop in diagnostic attention.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment 

, also known as the Asian longhorn tick, was identified in Kansas for the first time.

We dropped not one, but 2 episodes of The Vet Blast Podcast this week! We kicked off with 

, who shared his journey and career path to becoming a veterinary technician and entrepreneur. Then, 

Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CFCP, Elite FFCP-V

, joins the show after filming in Fetch Kansas City to talk about canine diabetes, both with our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA.

 (Lenivia; Zoetis), an antibody therapy for relieving pain associated with canine osteoarthritis, and received a recommendation for marketing authorization from the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products of the European Medicines Agency.

 of Vet Watch with host Christopher Lee, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, is now available on dvm360.com! In honor of National Veterinary Technician Week, Lee invited Samantha Newton, RVT, to the show for Tech Talk, where the conversation focuses on Newton's veterinary technician journey, clinical preferences, and more.

Wrap up: dvm360 celebrates National Veterinary Technician Week, and other news 

An antibody therapy for relieving pain associated with canine osteoarthritis (OA) is making advancements in international markets. The new izenivetmab injection (Lenivia; Zoetis) was recently approved by Health Canada and received a recommendation for marketing authorization from the Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products (CVMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

“Health Canada’s approval of Lenivia makes it the world’s first monoclonal antibody to alleviate OA pain in dogs for 3 months,” Rob Polzer, PhD, executive vice president and president, research and development at Zoetis, said in a news release.

In Canada, more than 2 years ago, Zoetis introduced its first monoclonal antibody targeting NGF for management of pain associated with OA in dogs: bedinvetmab injection (Librela). Izenivetmab injection binds to a different NGF site and alleviates pain for a longer period of time. The new therapy is administered subcutaneously once every 3 months, according to Zoetis.

Canine OA causes joint pain and is associated with the loss and dysfunction of cartilage. The condition poses a significant threat to the welfare of dogs. One survey of 200 veterinarians showed about 20% of all canines in North America older than 1 year in affected by OA.

Richard Goldstein, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM), DECVIM-CA, global chief medical officer and head of medical affairs at Zoetis, said that, with izenivetmab injection, the company is providing veterinarians in Canada with another tool that can help improve the quality of life for their patients. “We are pleased to introduce Lenivia as our first long-acting therapy that alleviates OA pain in dogs, leading to improved quality of life and mobility. It also provides added convenience for pet owners,” Goldstein said in the release.

In Europe, the CVMP’s positive opinion on izenivetmab injection is expected to be weighed in a decision on approval before then end of 2025. According to Zoetis, the company is anticipating a commercial release for izenivetmab injection in 2026.

“Our scientists at Zoetis are committed to deeply understanding the unique species’ biology that drives the discovery and development that ultimately helps us meet our customers’ unmet medical needs,” Polzer said in a news release.

 “The CVMP’s positive opinion for Lenivia represents another advancement in OA pain management for dogs.”

Like Canada, this novel therapy would also be Europe’s first long-acting monoclonal antibody for pain relief associated with canine, if it is approved. Bedinvetmab injection was introduced to the European market in 2021, after receiving marketing authorization the previous year.

A 9-month field study demonstrated the safety of izenivetmab injection while improving mobility and decreasing pain in dogs with OA.

 The following adverse effects have been reported: balance problems, weakness or trouble standing, decreased appetite, and vomiting or diarrhea as well as drinking and urinating more often.

In its opinion, the EMA wrote that izenivetmab injection was evaluated in 2 exploratory dose determination studies and 1 placebo-controlled clinical trial. “In the pivotal clinical trial, administration of Lenivia at the proposed dosing interval (0.05 – 0.1 mg/kg) increased the owner-assessed treatment success and resulted in overall improvement of a veterinary categorical assessment in dogs with OA for 90 days, compared to dogs that were administered placebo,” the European agency wrote.

Zoetis announces Health Canada approval of Lenivia (izenivetmab). News release. Zoetis. October 15, 2025. Accessed October 15, 2025. 

https://news.zoetis.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Zoetis-Announces-Health-Canada-Approval-of-Lenivia-izenivetmab-injection-for-Alleviation-of-Osteoarthritis-OA-Pain-in-Dogs/default.aspx

Zoetis receives positive opinion from CVMP for Lenivia (izenivetmab) to reduce pain associated with osteoarthritis (OA) in dogs. News release. Zoetis. October 10, 2025. Accessed October 15, 2025. 

https://news.zoetis.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Zoetis-Receives-Positive-Opinion-from-CVMP-for-Lenivia-izenivetmab-to-Reduce-Pain-Associated-with-Osteoarthritis-OA-in-Dogs/default.aspx

Anderson KL, Zulch H, O’Neill DG, Meeson RL, Collins LM. Risk factors for canine osteoarthritis and its predisposing arthropathies: a systemic review. 

. 2020;7:220. doi:10.3389/fvets.2020.00220

Coppock K. FDA approves first monoclonal antibody for managing OA pain in dogs. 

. May 5, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2025. 

https://www.dvm360.com/view/fda-approves-first-monoclonal-antibody-for-managing-oa-pain-in-dogs

Summary of opinion: Lenivia. European Medicines Agency Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products. October 10, 2025. Accessed October 16, 2025. 

https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/smop-initial/cvmp-summary-positive-opinion-lenivia_en.pdf

Zoetis' drug was recently approved in Canada and recommended in Europe. 

Novel therapy for managing canine OA pain gains momentum in global markets

Vet Blast Podcast episode, sponsored by Adapet, with host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, and Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CFCP, Elite FFCP-V, which dives into canine diabetes management, treatment, and monitoring 

Managing, treating, and monitoring canine diabetes

Canine diabetes remains a significant and growing concern among veterinarians and pet owners alike. On this episode of the Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, and special guest Natalie Marks, DVM, CVJ, CFCP, Elite FFCP-V

tackle the complexities of diagnosing, treating, and managing diabetes in dogs on site during the 2025 Fetch Kansas City conference.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity

All right, let's talk about clinical signs. How do they present us when they come into the hospital?

: So these diabetics usually have at least 2, 3, probably 4 of the main signs that we see, remember the 4 cardinal signs of diabetes, polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia, but they're losing weight. So most of these dogs come in with some kind of myriad or kind of cocktail of those signs. However, in some of the more advanced stages, and I'm not talking our emergent cases, our DKA's, but the ones that have been kind of slowly brewing for a while, we can see pretty significant weight loss. So they can have a catabolic state because their cells aren't using glucose, so they're using fat and muscle. So often, those spinous processes along the back of the spine are more prominent. They're losing fat pads. They're losing some of their orbital pads. So look for that. They tend to have a pretty dull skin coat and hair coat, because, of course, the skin is the first place to show disease, the last place to get energy. Some of these dogs can have some generalized weakness and lethargy. 

More advanced cases, of course, can get neuropathy. So we can get that hind limb almost kind of a paresis in a way, right? So they're kind of crouched down in the hind limb. They can be painful. We assume they have sort of that tingling sensation that we attribute right with humans with neuropathy, they don't tend to get that plantigrade stance that we see in cats, but just kind of that crouch down, think of like a German Shepherd kind of carriage. 

So all of those can be signs that we see, but again, those four cardinal signs most common. 

Well, I think most of us are pretty comfortable looking for consistent hyperglycemia with concurrent glucose area right high blood sugar in the blood, high urine glucose levels. There are concerns about stress-induced hyperglycemia in dogs, certainly not to the level in cats, but we want to have consistency of greater than 250 milligrams per deciliter of our blood sugar. And again, with that glucose in the urine. 

We can also see elevated liver values. So ALT, ALK, PHOS, GGT, we can see elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. This is a big one that I don't want people to forget about, because in some of our high risk breeds, like Schnauzers and Bichons and dachshunds, sorry.

 I know but these dogs can have an elevated level pretty significant of their triglycerides in the blood. And what that does, it creates a hyperlipemic system . So a lot of these dogs will get lipemic uveitis, which is a pretty nasty, very cloudy looking disease, which, of course, any inflammation in the eye is not good, right? Predisposes us to glaucoma. A lot of these dogs, of course, can get rapidly, kind of approaching and presenting bilateral cataracts. Cataracts, of course, also an inciting respect for for glaucoma. So we want to be looking for that as well.

 And we know that there's some challenges along the way. So share with the audience a little bit about some of the challenges that we face when you know, diagnosing diabetes.

Podcasts

Explore the latest insights on canine diabetes management, treatment options, and innovative continuous monitoring techniques in veterinary care.

My job is to watch how veterinary professionals serve clients. Most of the time, the results are downright heavenly. However, every so often, a visit could use a sprinkle of holy water. If you want to enjoy your work, delight in meeting new faces, and feel the grace of making a meaningful difference in someone’s life, beware these 7 service sins.

Thy client has traveled many a mile to reach you. Before arriving, she toppled lamps and magazine racks to capture her cat, endured the wailing it did in the car, and worried whether she’d be blamed for every shot, pill, and procedure that you doled out. Oh, and did I mention that she’s dreading a potential bill from hell?

Help this weary pilgrim by showing her the courtesy of being ready: know her name, pet’s name, reason for today’s visit, and medical history. Preparedness is more than polite; it signals competence, prevents errors, builds trust, and makes sure that congregants 

After such a journey, who do you want at the pearly gates? An angel—or a gargoyle?

First impressions color the entire client experience. Miss the mark at the start, and the whole chain is weakened. Remember, how clients feel about the 

 is shaped, in part, by their earlier encounters with the client service representative and technician.

Make sure your heavenly hosts are neat and presentable, eyes up from their screens, and voices and expressions alive with genuine interest. Harps and coronets can stay in the locker, but a warm, “Good morning, Mrs Client,” should ring out like music.

Finally, build efficient channels of communication within the team. Clients don’t mind being cared for by several providers, as long as the group delivers care as one.

No one ever prayed, “Lord, show me 3 possible paths, and I’ll figure out the rest.” People come for answers, not arrays.

When recommending care, weigh the client’s wishes, budget, and your findings. Then tell them plainly what you believe they should do. If their face clouds, invite conversation. Advice works best when it sounds like guidance, not a menu.

A hesitant client won’t be swayed by a sermon from online resources or your latest lunch-and-learn. Instead of teaching, focus on reaching. Draw out the specific reasons behind the client’s pushback or hesitation.

Remember: stories, pulled from your own experience or professional wisdom, carry more weight than lectures. After all, the only reason most of us know about leprosy is because we once heard a story about Lazarus.

The road to the vet may be long, but once inside, the path to care shouldn’t feel like purgatory. Every client handoff requires the next in line to be updated. Every pet move requires a “Come on, baby,” a treat, or coaxing from clients. These pets didn’t come here for a tour; they came for treatment. Design your service cycle with simplicity in mind. Streamline. Shorten. Save everyone’s time and energy. Even the seraphim will sing.

No client has ever prayed, “I hope this veterinary visit lasts forever.” They come for care, not eternity. More time does not equal a better experience. What clients truly want from their healthcare provider is preparation, focus, and trustworthiness. That’s not achieved with more time, but by your team’s ability to thoughtfully strategize efficient service. You have a least 4 members involved with every client service exchange. Why and what’s the best way to employ them synergistically?

Perhaps the gravest sin of all is ignoring the client with the tight smile, pout, or the storm cloud face.

In your hospital, you hold the power. Use it to open the door. Say: “Help me understand what you’re thinking, I want to help.” Or, “Talk to me. I want you to feel heard.”

Yes, it’s risky. Sometimes attempts to connect backfire, but like the road to hell, the road to trust is also paved with good intentions. However, this road, if walked with courage, leads not to fire and brimstone but to loyalty, gratitude, and relationships that feel nothing short of divine.

How veterinary technicians enhance client service, build trust, and avoid common pitfalls in veterinary care.

The 7 deadly sins of service

For Melody Martínez, CVT, a career in veterinary medicine—or even the thought that such a path existed—was not in her horizon growing up. The first-generation daughter of Afro-Caribbean immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Martínez didn’t grow up with pets or seeing people who looked like her in veterinary clinics. Her path began with a single question from a coworker in a different profession. What followed was a career that has spanned general practice, emergency medicine, and work at an animal sanctuary. These years brought both rewarding experiences and what Martínez describes as “morally distressing” encounters with systemic inequities in care. Now, Martínez works as the executive director of the Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association and is the founder and consultant of Acorde Consulting, a racial equity and organizational change consultation.

In this conversation, through personal anecdotes, Martínez explores identity, belonging, and what it takes to build a more diverse profession.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What first drew you to veterinary medicine, and how did you find your path as a technician?

 I did not grow up knowing about veterinary medicine. Unlike a lot of veterinary professionals who say, “I always knew I wanted to work with animals,” I didn't grow up with animals. I've always loved animals as a kid, [but] I didn't get my first dog until I was 14. Even then, when we would bring our dog to the vet, I never saw anyone who looked like me in the in the building or in the clinic. It never occurred to me that this could be a career path.

One of my first jobs [in college] was at an optometrist office as a medical assistant. I was looking for a different path, and it was the optician that I was working with said, “I know you love animals—have you ever considered a job in veterinary medicine?”

I [had] never considered that and so I started looking for work in that area. My first job as a client service representative (CSR) came from just that one [question].

You’re a first-generation daughter of Afro-Caribbean, working-class immigrants from the Dominican Republic. How has that shaped the way you see the veterinary profession?

 Until recently, I had not met anyone from a similar background. That tells me something about the work the profession has to do to be more inclusive—not just in general, but also [for] Latinos and Hispanic people within the profession.

My parents immigrated here in the 70s. My brothers and I were the first in our immediate family to go to college, and that first-generation working-class background had a pretty significant impact in a lot of things in my life.

One of those things was growing up with animals. My mom didn't need another mouth to feed, so getting a dog was never in the cards. She didn't grow up with dogs. She [wasn’t] looking to ensure that her kids had that that sort of relationship with animals. 

I think that that alone is [one of] the barrier to understanding the opportunities within the veterinary profession, or that they exist at all.

The other piece of that is, I grew up in a predominantly white community in the US, [and in] my elementary, middle school, high school class, I would see just a handful of people of color and maybe one other person from my similar background.

My education in the US had a huge impact on my understanding of and obsession with animals because I think that, generally, Americans have a lot of them.... The obsession with pets that we see in the US, I think that was imparted on me growing up in school.

All my friends had pets, right? And we didn't. I think that...those circumstances [growing up] shaped my desire for a dog.

I remember as a kid struggling with fitting in, or feeling like it didn't fit in. And I remember always asking for a dog. I remember that there was this underlying thing—I couldn't articulate it as a child, but as I grew up, I kind of realized what it was, and it was like, 

We're not truly American until we have a dog

For me, that's what it meant to be American. To have made it—to fit in—is you have to have an animal in your house. You have to have an animal as a family member, right?

What are some of the most challenging experiences you’ve had in your clinical roles?

 to listen to Martínez’s full answer, where she discusses her most rewarding experiences and challenges across general practice, emergency medicine, and her work at an animal sanctuary.

 Working in emergency medicine, I learned and did a lot that I never thought I would do as a veterinary technician. [But] the challenge in that area was noticing [the issues in] access to care—at the time, we weren't [yet] having this conversation.

I was noticing it in particular with poor communities. In particular, I would see people of color, immigrants who did not have the resources to provide emergency care for their pets to save their lives, and see that the options that they were presented with were not what we would have presented someone who walked in with money.

[The hospital] had...an angel fund to help with people who didn't have money. If those angel funds were gone by that time of the month, then the options were limited for the patient and for that family.

There was this one instance where I was [in the room] translating what the doctor was saying in Spanish [for a family]. There was a little girl, she looked a lot like me, and I was telling her what the issue was with her cat and telling this family that their options were basically to euthanize. That broke me.

There were many more incidences like that that were morally distressing and were tied to systemic inequities in vet med—in society.

How have those experiences influenced your perspective on the profession?

Ultimately, it wasn't just the access to care stuff that made me leave. It was also the inability of the of the practice I was working at to really see me as someone who provided bicultural perspectives, bilingual support and a more unique and different perspective than the average veterinary technician who [had] that classic, traditional veterinary background.

I was trying to articulate, “I want to work to expand access to these particular communities,” [but] that language didn't exist yet.

That was really challenging for me. It was this kind of neglect or denial of the value that I bring outside of the technical skills and knowledge. [I felt like I was] in a place where my whole being [wasn’t] being valued, and the things that I [wanted] to do in the communities, the way that I [wanted] to express myself within this profession [was] not being seen...and so I left.

What brought me back was the work that MCVMA was doing and eventually getting involved with an organization in my community that improves access to care for communities and people experiencing homelessness with their pets, or who are living below the federal poverty line or experiencing extreme poverty with their pets. Once I got involved with MCVMA, I was like, 

Technician retention and recognition are ongoing challenges in veterinary medicine. What do you think practices can do to better support technicians, particularly those from multicultural communities?

Number one: pay your technicians not just a living wage, [but] a thriving [one].

[But] it's not enough to just pay us. You've got to be able to see the 

 person, particularly for underrepresented people in vet med—whether it's people of color, Latine, Hispanic, Black, indigenous, queer people, disabled people. It is so important that the whole person is seen and valued, and that people are offered the opportunities to do work that really matters to them.

For some people, in particular those who are Hispanic and Latine, that includes being able to support our communities. And it's more than just [calling in someone] to interpret [or translate] when someone who speaks Spanish or has limited English comes in.

Not every Hispanic or Latine [person] speaks Spanish. Some people do but are not comfortable [with] interpreting medical information. 

If they are interested, what would it look like to grow the Spanish-speaking community at that clinic? Could that person be involved in opportunities that bring that community to that clinic? [Could they help] that clinic be seen as the place where Spanish speakers, Vietnamese, Creole, Arabic speakers, go to get their pet's needs met?

I think one of the ways that we need to critically understand how to retain people of color in the profession, especially technicians, assistants, support staff in general, is to ask ourselves: 

What more could they be doing? What more do they want to be doing, and how do we support that?

If there's one message you'd like veterinary professionals to take away during Hispanic Heritage Month, what would it be?

I think it's important to recognize that the person sitting before you in your clinic [or] wherever you are in vet med, may be dealing with more than just the standard challenges that we all deal with in the profession.

It’s important to recognize that to support Hispanic and Latine people in the profession, it means seeing the full person outside of their role. [It means] engaging them, offering them opportunities to do more, to grow—and noticing what other things could be impacting them. And consider, what is the role of the veterinary profession to address those potential threats, those barriers, those needs?

In this Q&A, Martínez reflects on her experiences in veterinary medicine as a person of color and on what it takes for clinics to fully recognize an underrepresented professional's "whole person."