Founder and CEO, Dr. Fossum’s Pet Care
Terry W. Fossum
DVM, MS, PhD · Diplomate ACVS
Board-certified veterinary surgeon and author of Small Animal Surgery, the standard surgical textbook used to train veterinarians worldwide: five published editions, translated into eight languages, with a sixth edition forthcoming from Elsevier. A career spanning the operating room, the professorship, and the research institutes she helped build.
Degrees: DVM (Washington State), MS (Ohio State), PhD (Texas A&M)
Board-certified Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons, 1987
Small Animal Surgery: Doody’s Core Titles “Essential Purchase”; 6th edition, 2027
Scholarly publications and numerous book chapters
First Tom and Joan Read Chair in Veterinary Surgery, Texas A&M
About Dr. Fossum
Terry Fossum spent more than a quarter century in academic surgery at Texas A&M University, where she rose from assistant professor to Chief of Surgery, held the Wiley Distinguished Professorship, and was appointed the first Tom and Joan Read Chair in Veterinary Surgery. Her clinical research on the lymphatic system and chylothorax defined how a generation of surgeons approaches those diseases, and her cardiovascular program tested the DeBakey ventricular assist device in studies that helped carry it into human clinical trials.
She built institutions as well as evidence: Texas A&M credits her as instrumental in establishing the Michael E. DeBakey Institute, and she founded the Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies, later serving as the university’s interim Vice President for Research and as a Vice Chancellor of the Texas A&M System. From 2017 to 2019 she served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Energy.
Through it all she wrote and rewrote the book veterinary students learn surgery from. Today she brings the same evidence-first standard to pet owners: every guide on this site names its sources and says plainly what the evidence supports.
New from Dr. Fossum
Senior Dogs: The Essential Guide
The veterinary-textbook author’s plain-English handbook for life with an aging dog.
View on Amazon ↗Career highlights
- 1982
DVM, Washington State University
Cum laude; internship at Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital, then surgical residency and MS at The Ohio State University.
- 1987
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons
Board certification; joins the Texas A&M faculty the same year. PhD in Veterinary Microbiology follows in 1992.
- 1996-2001
Chief of Surgery, Texas A&M University
Wiley Distinguished Professor 1994-1997; Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher Award; AVMF/AKC Excellence in Canine Research Award.
- 1997
Small Animal Surgery, first edition
Mosby publishes the reference that becomes the standard surgical text of veterinary education.
- 2002
First Tom and Joan Read Chair in Veterinary Surgery
Endowed chair recognizing her surgical research program, including the DeBakey Institute cardiovascular work.
- 2007
Founder, Texas A&M Institute for Preclinical Studies
Translational institute for preclinical device and drug studies; Texas A&M System Innovator of the Year, 2008.
- 2012-2014
Interim VP for Research; Vice Chancellor, Texas A&M System
University research leadership, followed by Vice President for Research and Strategic Initiatives at Midwestern University (2014-2020).
- 2017-2019
Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Energy
Federal service under an intergovernmental appointment.
- 2019
Founder, Dr. Fossum’s Pet Care
Veterinarian-formulated supplements and evidence-first owner education.
Selected publications
From more than 100 scholarly publications and numerous book chapters. Each entry links to its PubMed record.
Chylothorax in cats: 37 cases (1969-1989)
JAVMA, 1991. A defining clinical series in feline chylothorax.
Read on PubMed ↗Thoracic duct ligation and pericardectomy for idiopathic chylothorax
Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2004. A combined surgical approach for a difficult disease.
Read on PubMed ↗Chronic survival of calves implanted with the DeBakey ventricular assist device
Artificial Organs, 1999. Preclinical work supporting the device’s path to human trials.
Read on PubMed ↗A novel aortic coarctation model for studying hypertension in the pig
Journal of Investigative Surgery, 2003. The translational cardiovascular model program.
Read on PubMed ↗Long-term outcome of gonadectomy performed at an early age or traditional age in cats
JAVMA, 2000. Broadly cited well beyond specialty surgery.
Read on PubMed ↗Botanical oleander extract effects on innate immune function in canine cells
American Journal of Veterinary Research, 2024. Current research program.
Read on PubMed ↗Media and speaking
Guides by Dr. Fossum’s
Dog dementia
Signs, stages, treatment, and daily life with CCD.
Read the guide →Dog heart health
Murmurs to heart failure, staged and explained.
Read the guide →Therapeutic dog nutrition
Kidney, heart, low-fat, and allergy diets in real numbers.
Read the guide →Dog digestion
Upset stomachs, gut health, and when to worry.
Read the guide →Cat nutrition
Kidney diets and safe home cooking, in real numbers.
Read the guide →Itchy skin
The complete workup, from fleas to food allergies.
Read the guide →Senior dog care
Aging well: mobility, kidneys, and quality of life.
Read the guide →Functional mushrooms
What the evidence supports, mushroom by mushroom.
Read the guide →CBD for pets
Dosing, safety, and the research, for dogs and cats.
Read the guide →