Dog and Cat Clinic
The Dog and Cat Clinic was formed in 2003. The closest organizational predecessor of the Dog and Cat Clinic was the Small Animal Clinic which was established in 1999 through a major reorganization of clinical facilities at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (the original division of clinical workplaces by field focus was changed into a division by animal species). The clinic was created by merging the original First Internal Medicine Clinic with the Department of Surgery and Orthopaedics and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Andrology, and the newly formed unit included fields related to internal medicine, surgery and orthopaedics, radiology, and small animal reproduction.
The Dog and Cat Clinic currently represents one of the most state-of-the-art veterinary facilities for small animals in Europe and is divided into the Department of Surgery and Orthopaedics (headed by Prof. Nečas), the Department of Internal Medicine (headed by Assoc. Prof. Crha), the Department of Imaging Methods (headed by Dr. Proks), the Department of Reproduction (headed by Dr. Bartošková) and the Department of Experimental Medicine (headed by Dr. Lorenzová). In addition to human resources, cutting-edge diagnostic technology and equipment significantly contribute to high-quality professional veterinary care. As part of its professional activities, the clinic provides round-the-clock veterinary services to patients from all over the Czech Republic and, in selected specializations and procedures, also to patients from neighbouring countries. Around 10,000 patients (apart from check-ups and repeated examinations) are treated at the clinic every year and the number of hospitalized animals is also high. In addition to clinical practice and teaching, the clinic also provides advisory and consulting services for breeders and veterinarians in the Czech Republic. The clinic engages in grant projects and takes an active role in both national and international congresses and conferences.
Teaching
The Dog and Cat Clinic provides courses in master’s degree programmes in Czech and English for students of both veterinary faculties. The traditional teaching of clinical subjects, namely Injured Animals Care, General Surgery and Anaesthesiology, Imaging Diagnostics, Clinical Propaedeutics in Pet Animals, Small Animal Surgery and Orthopaedics, Internal Diseases of Dogs and Cats, Dog and Cat Diseases, are followed by clinical practical training and skills training. As part of the curriculum, the clinic offers the following restrictive elective subjects: Mini-Invasive Surgery, Case Studies, Tomographic Imaging Methods, Most Common Diseases of the Cardiovascular System, Electrocardiography and Echocardiography of Small Animals. The workplace started to provide courses in the doctoral degree programme Dog, Cat, and Pet Diseases. The academic staff of the clinic is also substantially involved in teaching at the University of the Third Age in a programme called Man and Animal. As part of its creative activities, the clinic traditionally participates in IVA (Internal Education Agency) VETUNI Brno projects with the active involvement of both undergraduate and doctoral students.
Research
In addition to clinical research in pet medicine, the research activities of the Dog and Cat Clinic are focused primarily on experimental and applied research in the development and validation of new biomaterials and nanotechnologies applicable in reparative medicine. The clinic is involved in multidisciplinary teams and as such cooperates with leading experts from a number of academic and research organizations, e.g., MU Brno, BUT Brno, AS CR, Surgical Clinics of the University Hospital Brno, University Hospital in Prague, etc. The Centre for Excellent Research of the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) led by Prof. Nečas and Dr. Proks carries out activities on the premises of the clinic.
The clinic staff participates in the project of the International Centre for Clinical Research – ICRC Brno (ICRC) led by Assoc. Prof. Crha. The clinic’s participation in the contract research, whose aim is to test new materials and procedures on the animal model, is an important part of the clinic’s research. These experiments are mainly focused on improving the health and quality of human life. Examples of this collaboration are research partnerships with Synthesia, Ella-CS, ltd., the Swedish company Arcimboldo, and the Dutch company GATT Technologies.
The Dog and Cat Clinic is located in the Pavilion of Small Animal Clinics and is the largest clinical department of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine with more than 70 employees.
It is equipped with a modern reception for patients and veterinary general clinics (surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, and gynaecology) and specialized clinics – ophthalmology, dentistry, orthopaedics, gastroenterology, cardiology, nephrology and urology, assisted reproduction, andrology, neurology, endocrinology, dermatology, oncology and haematology. The instrumentation for specialist diagnostics is an essential part of the clinic – X-ray, ECG, USG, EEG, EMG, arthroscopy, high-frequency sonography, and computer tomography. Since 2018, the workplace has also had the latest diagnostic equipment for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and now also modern analysers for rapid blood tests.
The clinic features 9 operating theatres, of which 5 for septic and 4 for highly aseptic surgical procedures. The clinic includes a modernized intensive care unit, rehabilitation department and hospitalization facilities for patients. The capacity of the hospitalization area is 77 places for dogs and 26 places for cats. In the basement of the clinic, there is a separate ward for patients suffering from infectious diseases or suspected of transmitting these diseases.
Veterinary care is provided at the clinic continuously throughout the year, 24 hours a day. In the Pavilion of Small Animal Clinics, there is also a barrier-free accessible lecture hall with a capacity of 220 seats and modern projection technology. In addition to serving as a typical clinical lecture hall, it is also regularly used for teaching the fundamental disciplines of other departments of the university. The Dog and Cat Clinic also has 6 seminar rooms with a capacity of 12–36 seats for students where clinical and demonstration classes take place. However, most practical seminars take place directly in general and specialized outpatient clinics during hospitalizations and in operating theatres.
The Dog and Cat Clinic achieved great success in research this year thanks to the project ‘Healing of large bone, tendon and ligament defects using new biomaterials’. The lead researcher of the project was Prof. Nečas. In acknowledgement of the excellent results of the project with the potential for wide application in relevant areas, this project was recommended by the Health Research Agency of the Czech Republic, and it was awarded the Prize of the Minister of Health for Medical Research and Development.
Prominent professors in the history of the clinic
Prof. MVDr. František Král – a significant representative of internal medicine, founder of dermatology, and rector of the College of Veterinary Medicine in Brno between 1931 and 1933
Prof. MVDr. Karel Šobra – a prominent internist and long-time head of the clinic
Prof. MVDr. Alois Hanslian – a significant representative of oncology, rector of the College of Veterinary Medicine in Brno between 1933 and 1935
Prof. MVDr. Karel Pardubský – the founder of Czechoslovak veterinary surgery, rector of the College of Veterinary Medicine in Brno between 1937 and 1939
Prof. MVDr. František Jurný – a prominent surgeon and author of essential textbooks on surgery, long-time head of the surgical clinic
Prof. MVDr. Emanuel Král – the founder of veterinary orthopaedics, significantly contributed to the establishment of the radiology department and completion of the surgical-orthopaedic pavilion
Prof. MVDr. Jaroslav Konrád, Dr.Sc. – a long-time representative of internal medicine, rector of the College of Veterinary Medicine in Brno between 1990 and 1994
Prof. MVDr. Ján Kottman, CSc. – significantly contributed to the development of veterinary surgery, equine orthopaedics and veterinary ophthalmology
Prof. MVDr. Ladislav Němeček, CSc. – significantly contributed to the development of veterinary anaesthesiology and dentistry, for many years he worked at the clinic as a professor emeritus
Prof. MVDr. Alois Nečas, Ph.D., MBA – a prominent representative of veterinary orthopaedics and surgery, head of the Dog and Cat Clinic, dean of FVM, vice-rector of the university and rector of the university from 2018
