University Veterinary Specialists is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Guillermo Couto, DVM DACVIM to our staff. Dr. Couto is Board-Certified by the ACVIM in both Internal Medicine and Oncology. He is well known for his accomplished 30 year teaching career at Ohio State and his reputation as a pioneer and expert in Greyhound and sighthound medicine.
Dr. Guillermo Couto was born knowing he would be a vet. “I just knew someday I would work with animals”, says Dr. Couto, even though growing up in Argentina he did not have pets due to his parents’ allergies. In 1976, that dream became a reality as Dr. Couto received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree from Buenos Aires University in Argentina. After serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Buenos Aires University, Dr. Couto moved to the United States and completed an oncology residency at the University of California at Davis. In 1983, Dr. Couto began what would be a 30-year career as a Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Services at The Ohio State University. During his tenure at Ohio State University, Dr. Couto co-authored the industry standard textbook Small Animal Internal Medicine and published over 300 publications in the areas of oncology, hematology, and Greyhound medicine.
During Dr. Couto’s career at Ohio State University he ran their animal blood bank. That is where, twenty-five years ago, Dr. Couto, met and adopted his first Greyhound, Clyde. Through Clyde and other greyhounds at the blood bank, Dr. Couto learned about the special quirks of this breed. Their kidneys, skin, ligaments, and lab work is completely different from other dogs. These are all the things that make them such great runners but make them so unique. Dr. Couto reports that 60 percent of the racing greyhounds in this country who aren’t euthanized due to injury die from cancer. This is what killed his greyhound, Clyde. Dr. Couto and his staff have developed effective chemotherapy treatments that save lives, and they’re also conducting a large-scale study to look at the genetic and environmental factors that cause cancer to be such a frequent problem in greyhounds.
In 2004, Dr. Couto launched the OSU Greyhound Health and Wellness Program. He has been actively involved and dedicated to improving the health of sighthounds through education and clinical research. After his retirement from Ohio State University, Dr. Couto founded the Greyhound Health Initiative. His involvement with greyhound health and wellness led him to Spain where he volunteers at sighthound clinics educating local veterinarians and treating patients. Dr. Couto travels to Spain three to four times a year, often bring veterinary students with him. In Spain, greyhounds are called galgos. Racing galgos is very popular in Spain but unfortunately the old and injured dogs are killed. Although, galgos adoption is not common in Spain, many of the galgos Dr. Couto works with are adopted out to other countries like the United States.
Veterinary medicine is more than a job for Dr. Couto. As his son once said to him, “you are one lucky son of a gun to be doing something that you love”. Dr. Couto jokes that his hobby is his job.
Dr. Couto brings a wealth of veterinary knowledge and education to University Veterinary Specialists. His expertise in the field of oncology and internal medicine is an asset to the staff, patients and pet owners. Welcome Dr. Couto!
