Abstract
Editor:
Throughout my veterinary career I have been on a losing crusade to have the names of animal breeds cited in grammatically correct fashion. I feel strongly that veterinarians should use animal-related terms properly. In the July issue of Veterinary Pathology, the article by Lobo et al on Estrela mountain dogs is particularly egregious. The only portions of animal breeds that should be capitalized are words that are otherwise proper nouns. Thus, German shepherds, Bernese mountain dogs, Dalmatians, Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, Doberman pinschers, dachshunds, English bulldogs, boxers, Ayrshire cattle, longhorn cattle, thoroughbred horses, Shetland ponies, and so on, are the correct terms. Some are not so obvious and need to be researched, such as cairn terriers and papillons. Cairn refers to a pile of rocks and not a place. Papillon is French for butterfly.
Additionally, canine, ovine, and so on are adjectives, not nouns. Thus, I did not examine a canine; I examined a canid or a canine heart.
I am not a grammarian, but I am bothered by the deterioration of language usage, not only by veterinary students with whom I have worked for the past 30 plus years but especially by professional journals. This is not a problem peculiar to Veterinary Pathology. Many journals and lay publications have use capital letters to denote breeds of animals. They also routinely refer to a canine or feline incorrectly. In my opinion, veterinary journals should lead the way in promoting the proper use of animal-related terms.