The Clinical Nutrition Service of the Foster Hospital for Small Animals offers in person and telephone appointments to pet owners and case consultations to veterinarians throughout the country. Common services the Clinical Nutrition Service provides are:

• Optimal commercial diet selection
• Nutritional plans for pets with medical conditions such as kidney disease, heart disease, cancer and gastrointestinal disease
• Assistance with nutritional management of pets with multiple medical conditions
• Assisted (tube) feeding programs
• Customized home-cooked diet formulations

The Clinical Nutrition Service at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University is led by board-certified veterinary nutritionists, Dr. Lisa Freeman, Dr. Cailin Heinze, and Dr. Deborah Linder, with nutrition resident, Dr. Jessie Markovich.

A new addition to the Clinical Nutrition Service is the Tufts Obesity Clinic for Animals. One of the first of its kind in the United States, the Tufts Obesity Clinic, led by board-certified nurtritionist Dr. Deborah Linder, is focused on developing comprehensive weight management programs for pets with previously unsuccessful weight loss programs, special dietary needs or comorbid conditions.

Please visit the Tufts Clinical Nurtition Service website for more information.

Clinical Nutrition Service

Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
200 Westboro Road
North Grafton, MA 01536

Contact:  Clinical Nutrition Service Liaison: Ellen Baker
Phone: (508) 887-4696
Fax: (508) 887-4363

Current Clinical Trials

Several nutrition-based clinical trials are ongoing at the Foster Hospital for Small Animals.  Please contact us to learn more enrolling patients from your hospitals. Visit the Tufts Clinical Trials website at www.tufts.edu/vet/clinical_trials.

• The role of diet on the progression of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (cats with asymptomatic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)
• Cats’ Assessment Tool of Cardiac Health (CATCH) Questionnaire in cats with congestive heart failure (cats presented to Tufts for first-time episode of congestive heart failure)
• A novel drug to combat cardiac cachexia in dogs with congestive heart failure (dogs with congestive heart failure and moderate to severe cardiac cachexia)
• Upcoming trials on safe and effective weight loss interventions.