Soring Opponents Get Another Chance To Enact Nationwide BanApril 12, 2013 The American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners today renewed their call for an end to soring, the intentional infliction of pain in Tennessee Walking Horses, spotted saddle horses and racking horses to produce a high-stepping, unnatural gait. The earlier bill, HR 6388, was introduced in September but died in committee. The latest effort, HR 1518, or the Prevent All Soring Tactics Act, was introduced Thursday as an amendment to the Horse Protection Act. HR 1518, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., would: • Make illegal the act of soring or directing another person to cause a horse to become sore. The Horse Protection Act merely bans showing, transporting or auctioning a horse that is sore, not the actual practice. • Prohibit the use of action devices such as boots, collars, chains and rollers that encircle or are placed upon a horse's leg. Protective and therapeutic devices would be permitted. • Increase the civil and criminal penalties for violations. • Give the U.S. Department of Agriculture more control over the licensing, training and assigning of …
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Alabama Accepts AAHA Accreditation in Lieu of State InspectionApril 11, 2013Alabama veterinary clinics that pass an American Animal Hospital Association inspection will be exempt from redundant state inspections, official said. The new policy makes Alabama the first in the nation to accept AAHA accreditation in place of a state inspection, saving time and money, said Robert E. Pitman, DVM, president of the Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. “It can be considered a member benefit of AAHA and encourage other hospitals that may be considering AAHA membership to take the big step,” Dr. Pitman said. “Also, it allows for more efficient use of our evaluators' time by not having to inspect member hospitals that exceed state standards.” AAHA, based in Lakewood, Colo., has more than 900 standards for how animal hospitals should be run. “I am so pleased that Alabama recognizes the rigorous nature and the standard of medical excellence required to meet the AAHA accreditation standards,” said Kate Knutson, DVM, the organization's president. “We applaud Alabama and would encourage any other states to follow their lead.” A state surveyor will still visit every three years, but clinics that passed an AAHA evaluation will be exempt from a formal inspection. …
Free Eye Exams To Be Offered To Service Animals In MayApril 9, 2013 Board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico are preparing to provide free eye exams in May to thousands of service animals. Advance registration is available through April 30 at www.ACVOeyeexam.org. Owners will receive a registration number that may be used when scheduling an appointment with a participating ophthalmologist. To qualify, patients must be working service animals certified by or enrolled in a formal training program. The sixth annual National Service Dog Eye Exam event is sponsored by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) and the animal health company Merial Ltd. of Duluth, Ga. “Our hope is that by checking their vision early and often, we will be able to help a large number of service animals better assist their human friends,” says Stacee Daniel, executive director of the ACVO. Among the groups supporting the effort are the American Society of Veterinary Medical Association Executives and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). “Service animals are one of the best examples of the benefits that the human-animal bond brings to people, and they need excellent vision to …
Texas Court Rejects Claim For Emotional Damages In Death Of PetApril 8, 2013 Overturning an Appeals Court ruling, the Texas Supreme Court on April 5 reaffirmed a 122-year-old declaration that pets are personal property and that owners of a deceased animal may not sue for emotional or sentimental damages. The Texas Veterinary Medical Association applauded the decision, saying that had the appellate ruling stood, the cost of ownership and care of a pet would become prohibitive for many people. The case stemmed not from veterinary malpractice but from a Fort Worth animal shelter's mistaken euthanizing of a mixed-breed dog. The animal, Avery, had been picked up as a stray and was tagged to be held until his owners, Kathyrn and Jeremy Medlen, could pay the required release fees. Shelter worker Carla Strickland erroneously put Avery on a euthanasia list, and he was killed before the Medlens returned. A trial judge dismissed the Medlens' lawsuit because of the century-old court ruling, but the case was revived on appeal in 2011, creating what the state Supreme Court called “a novel--and expansive--tort claim: loss of companionship for the wrongful death of a pet.” Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice Don R. Willett …
Owners Fond Of Mixed-breed Pets, Royal Canin Survey FindsApril 5, 2013 Dog and cat owners agree on at least one thing: They like mixed-breed pets. A wide-ranging survey conducted for pet food maker Royal Canin found that 28 percent of dog owners and 40 percent of cat owners identified “mixed breed” as their favorite type of cat or dog. While the numbers may not be dramatic, the responses were the highest overall. Labrador retrievers were the second favorite among dog owners (15 percent), followed by the German shepherd (10 percent). Cat owners selected the tabby—not a true breed—at 20 percent, followed by the Maine Coon (15 percent). Choosing an actual canine or feline companion was a different matter all together. While an animal's temperament was the starting point for both groups, 55 percent of cat owners took appearance into account as the second factor and 62 percent of dog owners looked at size. “It's interesting to learn how different cat and dog owners can be when choosing, and making decisions for, their pets,” said Dr. Brent Mayabb, DVM, manager of education and development at St. Charles, Mo.-based Royal Canin. “Whatever factors come into play, understanding an …
PurinaCare Selling All 12,000 Pet Insurance Policies To PethealthApril 4, 2013 Pethealth, based in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, will pay up to $800,000 for the PurinaCare policies. The transaction is expected to close May 1. The sale makes financial sense for PurinaCare and parent company Nestlé Purina PetCare, spokeswoman Jill Winte said. “It's a business decision based on economics and months of careful analysis,” she said. PurinaCare policies will be honored until renewal time, Winte said. Policyholders will be allowed to transition to a similar Pethealth policy if they choose, she added. PurinaCare, which wrote its first policy in 2008, employs about two dozen people, most of them in San Antonio. Some employees may be able to transfer to Nestlé Purina's Partners in Wellness program, Winte said. Partners in Wellness helps veterinary practitioners create customized preventive-care plans. Idexx Laboratories Inc. of Westbrook, Maine, is a program partner, providing consultants to develop diagnostic protocols and practice work flow for practices. Nestlé Purina handles client billing and administrative tasks. About 1 million pets are insured in North America, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Among the largest providers …
Stem Cells Might Help Intestinal HealingApril 4, 2013 One of the latest developments in equine colic and gastrointestinal research, according to Anthony Blikslager, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVS, is his lab's study of isolating stem cells in the intestine, with the idea of ultimately using them to repair injured tissue after colic surgery. Dr. Blikslager is a professor of surgery and gastroenterology at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He and his lead researcher, veterinary surgeon Liara Gonzalez, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, a Ph.D. candidate, are studying stem cells from normal intestine and intestine that has been resected to understand what happens during intestinal ischemia. Ultimately, the goal is to take stem cells from resected intestine and return them to the anastomosed section of intestine to hasten mucosal recovery. Although resected intestine is likely to be severely injured, stem cells are relatively protected deep within the mucosal crypts and may therefore be available for use. “No one has done this before in horses,” Blikslager says, “Perhaps not in any other species. It's entirely new research.” The intestine is “highly organized,” he says, “so we know where to look for the stem cells.” Promoting Self-renewal Blikslager is hoping that the normal stem …
Salmonella Threat Leads To Limited Recall Of Bravo Frozen Pet FoodApril 4, 2013 Bravo voluntarily recalled a limited amount of raw frozen foods for dogs and cats Wednesday because of their potential to be contaminated with salmonella. The Manchester, Conn., manufacturer recalled 231 cases that were distributed nationwide. The three formulas have specific best-by dates. “This recall is being issued out of an abundance of caution,” the company stated. “While these products tested negative for pathogens by an independent third party prior to distribution, they were run on the same day or an adjacent day to a product that tested positive for pathogens. The product that tested positive has been 100 percent contained and is not subject to this recall.” The recall involves: • 5-pound Chicken Balance frozen raw diet tubes with “best used by” dates of 3-6-15 and 3-12-15 imprinted on the side of the plastic casing. Twenty-six and 36 cases of each were distributed, respectively. • 2-pound Chicken Blend frozen raw diet tubes with the “best used by” date of 3-21-15 imprinted on the side of the plastic casing. Sixty-seven cases were distributed. • 5-pound Beef Blend Burgers bags with “best used …
Round Up Those Pet X-raysApril 3, 2013Entries are now being accepted for the eighth year of Veterinary Practice News' “They Ate What?” x-ray contest, once again sponsored by Sound-Eklin of Carlsbad, Calif. The contest highlights the dietary indiscretions committed by veterinary clients' dogs, cats, birds, snakes, guinea pigs, cows and horses. “We're looking forward to sharing in our readers' varied X-ray experiences again this year,” said Marilyn Iturri, editor of the magazine. Entry deadline is June 30. Winners will be announced in the September 2013 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Two digital single-lens reflex cameras will be awarded as prizes. Over the past seven years, the improvement in quality of radiographs submitted to the contest is readily apparent. “The growth of digital radiography has been obvious in the entries," Iturri said. “The subjects have always been interesting, but the clarity and detail that come with digital technology have made them striking.” Entries don't have to have been made by the newer technology, but they must be submitted by email. So at the very least practitioners will need to take digital photos of their qualifying films. Email radiographs to VPNeditor@luminamedia.com. The submitter must include his or her name, the clinic …
Animals May Play Bigger Role Than Toys In Aiding Autistic ChildrenApril 2, 2013A study by Marguerite O'Haire, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland in Australia, and three other researchers found that participants demonstrated more social behaviors such as talking, looking at faces and making tactile contact when in the presence of animals compared to toys. “The presence of an animal appears to encourage socialization among children with autism and their peers,” O'Haire said. “When with an animal, children with autism smiled and laughed more often, were more talkative, and looked at people's faces more than they did when with toys.” The study involved 33 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 66 typically developing peers. Groups of one ASD child and two peers were recorded playing with toys and then with two guinea pigs. Researchers found that ASD children displayed more pro-social behaviors and positive effects when in the presence of animals compared to toys and less frowning, crying and whining. An estimated one in every 50 U.S. children has ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study was published in late February in PLOS …
