Standards and Guidelines for Detection Dogs

Dr. Otto is a tenured associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. As a board certified specialist in Veterinary Emergency Medicine she served as an attending clinician in the Penn Vet Emergency Service between 1991 and 2014. During that time she had a special interest in sepsis (including peritonitis and parvovirus), trauma and disaster medicine. As a result of her deployment with PA-TF1 (a Federal Urban Search and Rescue Team) to hurricane Floyd and 9/11, she initiated a longitudinal study of search dogs that worked at 9/11 and was inspired to create to the Penn Vet Working Dog Center. Her experience with these amazing canine athletes motivated her to become a board certified specialist in Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (DACVMR-canine). She currently serves as the executive director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center where she oversees the care of the detection dogs in the program and provides rehabilitation and conditioning for police and other working dogs. She has published over 60 peer reviewed articles, numerous book chapters and is an internationally recognized speaker in both emergency medicine and working dog medicine. She was named Pennsylvania’s 2002 “Veterinarian of the Year” and received an Alumni Recognition Award in 2006 and the OSU Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2008 from the Ohio State University and a top 20 finalist in AVMF’s America’s Favorite Veterinarian.