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In the run-up to Valentine’s Day this year, Auburn University Associate Professor Randolph L. Winter found himself mending a small but life-threatening hole in the heart of a two-month-old puppy.

The life-saving techniques that he used to delicately close the hole without opening the puppy’s chest are among those he taught last fall to fellow veterinarians over 9,000 miles away in India.

At Auburn, Winter teaches students in the College of Veterinary Medicine, conducts research related to congenital heart diseases in dogs and cats and leads the Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital’s cardiology service. 

Known in his field 

Winter, who holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Texas A&M University and a doctorate in biomedical sciences from Auburn, has headed the cardiology service since 2022. Members of his clinical team include technician Keri Harrelson and cardiology resident Dr. Kara Maneval. 

Their service is a center of excellence in the Southeastern United States in interventional cardiology. 

Sometimes called “minimally invasive cardiology,” interventional cardiology uses small tubes called catheters to diagnose and treat heart and blood vessel conditions. Compared to open heart surgery, it can lessen pain, lower the risk of complications and speed recovery, Winter explained.

Winter is especially known for his work in interventional cardiology with pediatric patients.

“Although I like helping animals with all heart disease, sometimes those with congenital heart disease that they’re born with, congenital defects, can be particularly challenging,” he said. “There are a number of different minimally invasive surgeries that we can do to make big differences in animals’ lives, just like they do in children’s.” 

Called from an early age 

Winter got his start working with animals while growing up in north Texas. He was responsible for bathing dogs and cats before their grooming appointments. While it was a physically demanding job, he found it fun.

“I could see how each dog and cat had a very different personality, and I started considering if there was a place in veterinary medicine for me,” he recalled.

Winter went on to work as a technician, and he remembers the day he was inspired to become a veterinarian. 

“A dog was brought in and looked very sick, and the doctor of the practice was busy in another room,” he said. “Without the doctor, we had to wait around to know what we were allowed to do, what we should do. At that moment, I remember thinking, ‘I wish I was the person that knew what to do.’”

A love of teaching goes global

For Winter, sharing best practices in interventional cardiology with faculty members at Madras Veterinary College (MVC) has been a natural extension of the teaching work he enjoys at Auburn. MVC is located near the city of Chennai in India’s southernmost state, Tamil Nadu.

Winter first became involved with MVC several years ago, when Professor Palanisamy Selvaraj sought him out for advice on setting up India’s first cardiac catheterization lab for animals. Selvaraj was impressed by Winter’s and Auburn’s international reputations in interventional cardiology, and he decided to spend over two weeks visiting the university in spring 2023. From Winter, Selvaraj said he gained insights on the basics of setting up and running such a lab and learned new techniques, including advanced procedures for pediatric patients.

In fall 2024, Winter accepted Selvaraj’s invitation to spend two weeks at MVC, training faculty members on interventional cardiology techniques and procedures and helping them understand how to use the equipment they had and determine what additional equipment would be needed for their planned catheterization lab.

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“I was honored to be a part of this movement, so that advanced cardiology procedures could one day be performed in India,” he said. “I’m always happy to help in any way that advances what we can do, in terms of what animals we can help and the different procedures and devices we can use.”

Winter also reached veterinary faculty members and graduates from across India as the featured speaker at the International Conference and Clinical Conclaves in Veterinary Cardiology and Interventional Medicine and the International Workshop in Interventional Cardiology in Veterinary Practice.

Making meaningful connections 

Winter said he is excited about MVC’s work to make minimally invasive veterinary procedures available in Tamil Nadu, in part because he’s seen them make a big difference in improving the quality and quantity of life for some of his patients.

The puppy he treated at Auburn in mid-February is a good example. She’d arrived at the animal hospital in heart failure, with an enlarged heart and struggling to breathe.

Within hours of her procedure, the puppy “was a completely new dog,” Winter said. “If we had not been successful, she may have only lived another three to six months. But now that we have fixed her heart defect with an interventional procedure, she will live a completely normal life. 

“As a pet owner myself, I know how meaningful the connections we make with our pets can be. It makes me feel honored to be able to help so many pet owners have more time with their pet-family members.”