Brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) testing in animals.

I n today’s world of veterinary medicine, veterinary clients expect that their animals will receive high standards of specialized care (1). In companion animal medicine, clients often treat their pet as “one of the family” and expect that veterinarians also make the animal’s health a priority in comparison to revenue generated from the animal’s care (2). Companion animal owners consider their pet’s health and welfare as outcomes for the veterinary services that are provided. As such, though monetary aspects of pet health care are important to consider when devising a diagnostic and therapeutic regime and for establishing a good client-veterinarian relationship, there is a demand for diagnostic tests that promote the health and wellbeing of the veterinary patient and that aid in prognosticating disease processes (2). In veterinary neurology, it is now no longer uncommon to offer relatively noninvasive sophisticated diagnostic testing modalities that include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomographic imaging (CT imaging), and electrodiagnostic testing. However, these diagnostic tests do not replace the need to consider and/or perform the most important steps