§ 2401. Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Animal” means any animal other than a human and includes fowl, birds, fish, and reptiles.

(2) “Board” means the Vermont Board of Veterinary Medicine created under this chapter.

(3) “E.C.F.V.G.” means American Veterinary Medical Association Education Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates.

(4) “Licensed veterinarian” means a person who is validly and currently licensed by the Board to practice veterinary medicine in Vermont.

(5) “Practice of veterinary medicine” means:

(A) for a consideration, to diagnose, treat, correct, change, relieve, or prevent animal disease, deformity, defect, injury, or other physical or mental conditions; including the prescription or administration of any drugs, biologic, apparatus, application, anesthetic, or other therapeutic or diagnostic substance or technique and the use of any manual or mechanical procedure for testing for pregnancy or for correcting sterility, or infertility, or to render advice or recommendation with regard to any of the acts described in this subdivision (A);

(B) to represent, directly or indirectly, publicly or privately, an ability and willingness to do any act described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (5);

(C) to use any title, words, abbreviation, or letters in a manner or under circumstances that induce the belief that the person using them is qualified to do any act described in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (5), except where such a person is a veterinarian;

(D) to perform a dental operation on an animal.

(6) “School of veterinary medicine” means a college of veterinary medicine approved or accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

(7) “Disciplinary action” or “disciplinary cases” includes any action taken by a board against a licensee or applicant premised upon a finding of wrongdoing or unprofessional conduct by the licensee or applicant. It includes all sanctions of any kind, including obtaining injunctions, issuing warnings, and other similar sanctions and ordering restitution.

(8) “Financial interest” means being:

(A) a licensed veterinarian;

(B) a person who deals in goods and services that are uniquely related to the practice of veterinary medicine; or

(C) a person who has invested anything of value in a business that provides veterinary services.

(9)(A) “Dental operation” means:

(i) the application or use of any instrument or device to any portion of an animal’s tooth, gum, or any related tissue for the prevention, cure, or relief of any wound, fracture, injury, or disease of an animal’s tooth, gum, or related tissue; and

(ii) preventive dental procedures, including the removal of calculus, soft deposits, plaque, or stains or the smoothing, filing, or polishing of tooth surfaces.

(B) “Dental operation” does not mean the use by any person of cotton swabs, gauze, dental floss, dentifrice, toothbrushes, or similar items to clean an animal’s teeth. (Added 1981, No. 67, § 1; amended 2007, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 22; 2013, No. 114 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2017, No. 48, § 17.)