§30-10-3. Definitions.

As used in this article, the following words and terms have the following meanings:

(a) "Animal" means any animal other than human, and the term includes fowl, birds, amphibians, fish, and reptiles, wild or domestic, living or dead.

(b) "Animal control facility" means a municipal or county operated humane society or animal shelter incorporated and organized under the laws of this state, or a humane society or an animal shelter classified as 501(c)(3) by the Internal Revenue Service, with at least one certified animal euthanasia technician.

(c) "Applicant" means a person making application for a license, certificate, registration or permit, under the provisions of this article.

(d) "Board" means the West Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine.

(e) "Business entity" means any firm, partnership, association, company, corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company or other entity performing veterinary medicine, veterinary technology or animal euthanasia.

(f) "Certificate" means an animal euthanasia technician certificate issued under the provisions of this article.

(g) "Certificate holder" means a person holding a certificate issued under the provisions of this article.

(h) "Certified animal euthanasia technician" means a person who is certified by the board to euthanize animals in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(i) "General supervision" means the supervising veterinarian is in the building where the animal is being treated, has given instructions for treatment and is quickly and easily available.

(j) "Indirect supervision" means the performance of procedures on the orders of a supervising veterinarian.

(k) "License" means a veterinary medicine license issued under the provisions of this article.

(l) "Licensee" means a person holding a license issued under the provisions of this article.

(m) "Permit" means a temporary permit to practice veterinary medicine issued by the board.

(n) "Permittee" means a person holding a permit issued under the provisions of this article.

(o) "Practice of veterinary medicine" means to diagnose, treat, correct, change, relieve or prevent any disease, deformity, defect, injury, or other physical or mental condition, of any animal, or to prescribe for or to administer to any animal any drug, medicine, biologic, apparatus, application, anesthetic or other therapeutic or diagnostic substance or technique, or to render advice or any recommendation with respect to any of the foregoing.

(p) "Practice of veterinary technology" means the science and art of providing all aspects of professional medical care, services and treatment for animals with the exceptions of diagnosis, prognosis, surgery, prescription and application of any treatments, drugs, medications or appliances, where a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship exists.

(q) "Registered veterinary technician" means a person who is duly registered to practice veterinary technology under the provisions of this article.

(r) "Registrant" means a person holding a registration issued under the provisions of this article.

(s) "Registration" means a veterinary technician registration issued under the provisions of this article.

(t) "Supervising veterinarian" means a veterinarian, licensed under this article, who assumes responsibility for the professional care given to an animal by a person authorized by this article to work under his or her general or indirect supervision.

(u) "Veterinarian" means a person who is licensed to practice veterinary medicine under the provisions of this article.

(v) "Veterinary assistant" means a person who has not met the requirements for becoming a registered veterinary technician. The duties and tasks of a veterinary assistant are instructed from and directly supervised by a licensed veterinarian, who is accountable for the veterinary assistant's actions. The supervising veterinarian is responsible for determining the ability and competence of the veterinary assistant to perform the directed task or procedure.

(w) "Veterinarian-client-patient relationship" means a relationship between a veterinarian, a client and a patient, and exists when:

(1) A veterinarian assumes responsibility for medical judgments regarding the health of an animal and the client who is the owner or other caretaker of the animal agrees to follow the veterinarian's instructions; or

(2) A veterinarian, through personal examination of an animal or a representative sample of a herd or flock, obtains sufficient information to make at least a general or preliminary diagnosis of the medical condition of the animal, herd or flock, which diagnosis is expanded through medically appropriate visits to the premises where the animal, herd or flock is kept.