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Dr. Bruce Whittle Honored with AAEP Distinguished Service Award

DATE POSTED:January 26, 2025

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) presented its 2024 Distinguished Service Award to Bruce Whittle, DVM, owner of Honey Creek Veterinary Hospital in Trenton, Missouri, for his longstanding leadership of the AAEP’s Essential Skills Workshops for students and his staunch advocacy on veterinary scope of practice issues.  

The Distinguished Service Award honors exemplary service to the AAEP or a similar organization to the benefit of the horse, horse industry or profession of equine veterinary medicine. Dr. Whittle received his award Dec. 10 during the President’s Luncheon at the AAEP’s 70th Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida. 

Dr. Whittle is the longtime linchpin of the AAEP’s Essential Skills Workshop in dentistry, an immersive weekend program begun in 2009 and offered approximately 20 times each academic year for AAEP student chapter members at veterinary schools across North America. Since its inception, Dr. Whittle has served as an instructor at 45 different workshops at 24 colleges of veterinary medicine. He additionally recruits AAEP members to serve as volunteer workshop instructors; coordinates with local faculty to make live horses and cadaver heads available for student training; and regularly reviews and updates the workshop curriculum so that student education is rooted in sound primary care practices.  

“Since its beginnings in 2009, Dr. Whittle has truly been the ‘captain’ of the AAEP volunteer team who makes this program a reality,” said co-nominator Dr. Kenton Morgan. “Through his efforts, Dr. Whittle has personally helped educate hundreds of veterinary students in the art and science of equine dentistry, directly impacting the health and welfare of horses and the profession of equine veterinary medicine.”  

Beyond his deep-seated commitment to veterinary students, Dr. Whittle has championed the horse and profession through his volunteer service with the AAEP and Missouri Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA), particularly on public policy and scope of practice issues. He has been directly involved in state-level legislative action to deregulate equine dentistry, and he has personally educated veterinary medical associations about the potential negative professional, ethical and healthcare effects of unlicensed veterinary practices. In conjunction, he directly participated in crafting AAEP position statements on Dentistry, Levels of Supervision, Practice of Veterinary Medicine, and Roles of Healthcare Providers in Veterinary Medicine.  

Dr. Whittle, who received his veterinary degree in 1994 from the University of Missouri, is a past president of the MVMA and a former chair of the AAEP’s Welfare and Public Policy Advisory Council. 

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