Midmark Animal Health Announces 'Bring It!' PromotionMay 3, 2016Midmark Animal Health has announced the launch of its “Bring It!” promotion. Veterinarians and veterinary facilities can receive cash incentives and an onsite anesthesia-monitoring course for CE credit when they purchase select veterinary equipment through July 31, 2016. During this promotion, rebates and incentives are available with the purchase of the following products when purchased through an authorized Midmark Animal Health dealer: Matrx Anesthesia Machines (excluding VMR) Midmark UltraClave® Automatic Sterilizers Cardell Touch Vital Signs Monitor Masimo CO2 Module (Masimo Multigas also accepted) 255 Single LED Procedure Light 255 Dual LED Procedure Light Customers who purchase a qualifying Matrx Anesthesia machine with a Cardell Touch Monitor and Masimo CO2 Module can receive a free Anesthesia Monitoring 101 course valued at $1,150. The Anesthesia Monitoring 101 course provides veterinarians and credentialed technicians the training needed to operate and maintain monitoring and anesthesia equipment. Veterinarians and credentialed technicians who complete this session will earn four hours of CE credit. For more info, go to midmarkanimalhealth.com/BringIt
SPONSORED CONTENTBringing Light Home: How Super Pulsed Laser Therapy Enhances Pet HealingOver the past two decades, laser therapy has seen tremendous growth in veterinary practices. What was once considered an alternative therapy is now an integral part of mainstream veterinary care, particularly in rehabilitation, dental, and preventative medicine. +
OVC Takes Part in Bone Cancer Clinical TrialMay 3, 2016The University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College recently entered an 8-year-old Rottweiler named Cujo into a clinical trial headed by the U.S. National Cancer Institute’s Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (NCI COTC). It’s the first such collaboration between the college and the NCI COTC. The study, funded by the Morris Animal Foundation, will include about 160 dogs from 21 veterinary teaching hospitals across North America. Researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of the therapeutic agent rapamycin for treating osteosarcoma in dogs by delaying or preventing metastases. The trial is expected to last about eight to 12 months. “This is exciting for us,” said Paul Woods, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, a veterinary cancer specialist at OVC and co-director of U of G’s Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation. “Our goal is to improve the dogs’ quality and quantity of life while living with cancer.” Dogs, especially large breeds, develop osteosarcoma 10 times as often as humans, according to the college. OVC’s Animal Cancer Center sees up to three new osteosarcoma cases each week, the college further noted. “We’re not sure why it’s so common in large dogs,” Dr. Woods said. Despite aggressive treatments …
Dog Regains Mobility Thanks to UC Davis NeurologistsMay 2, 2016Not too long ago, Leah, a 4-year-old female Border Collie, got loose from her owner and went missing for the night. When a local veterinary facility found her the next day, the staff immediately called her owner and informed her that Leah had been injured. She had a facial laceration that might have been from a deer kick. Otherwise, she appeared normal, and so her wound was repaired, and Leah was on her way home. Two days later, however, Leah became acutely non-ambulatory. She had minimal motor function in all four limbs, and was unable to sit up on her own. Leah was then hospitalized with a suspected case of tetanus. She was treated with an anti-toxin and other supportive care and monitored. Her severe tetraparesis did not improve for three weeks. Leah’s veterinarians no longer suspected tetanus and were much more concerned that she might have a spinal cord injury. That was when they referred her to the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis. Once at UC Davis, specialists in the Neurology/Neurosurgery Service performed a …
AVMA Poster Celebrates National Pet Week with 'A Life of Love' PosterMay 2, 2016To celebrate the special bond between people and their pets and mark the 35th anniversary of National Pet Week (NPW), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), with support from Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets, are offering veterinary clinics complimentary copies of the Lifetime of Love poster during National Pet Week. This special event is held May 1 through 7. "This poster is a beautiful reminder of the bond we share with our pets throughout our lives," said Dr. Joe Kinnarney, president of the AVMA. "At Purina we believe pets and people are better together, so we're excited to team up with the AVMA to celebrate National Pet Week and the joy pets bring to our lives," said Purina veterinarian Dr. Kurt Venator, DVM, PhD. "It's important for pet owners to remember that veterinarians play a vital role in enriching the bond between pets and people, and this celebration is a great reminder." "Everyone loves their pets. But not everyone is aware of what their pet needs from them," Kinnarney said. "That is why each day of National Pet Week® focuses on an essential action vital to achieving a Lifetime of Love." Veterinary experts joined …
Registration Open for Henry Schein Animal Health’s 2016 Veterinary Technology SummitMay 2, 2016Henry Schein, Inc. announced today that it has opened registration for Henry Schein Animal Health’s 2016 Veterinary Technology Summit. This event that will help veterinary practices increase their practice management software usage and improve practice efficiency and profitability. The summit will take place October 19 to 21 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn. Attending veterinarians and their staff will receive hands-on software training classes for the company’s AVImark, ImproMed Infinity, and ImproMedTriple Crown software programs, as well as informative sessions on practice management tips and insights. Sessions will focus on strategies for going paperless, implementing wellness plans, managing inventory, using electronic medical records and many other topics relevant for veterinarians, practice managers and staff members. “We see that a majority of veterinary practices in the U.S. own practice management software, yet most typically use only 20 percent of its capabilities,” said Chris Dollar, president of Henry Schein Global Animal Health Practice Solutions. “Greater software usage provides a variety of benefits for veterinary practices, such as capturing and billing charges that otherwise may be missed, improving the quality of patient care, and even having more time during the …
NC University Researchers Design Hardware, Software that can Train DogsMay 2, 2016North Carolina State University researchers have developed and used a customized suite of technologies that allows a computer to train a dog autonomously, with the computer effectively responding to the dog based on the dog’s body language. “Our approach can be used to train dogs efficiently and effectively,&rdquo犀利士 ; said David Roberts, an assistant professor of computer science at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work. “We use sensors in custom dog harnesses to monitor a dog’s posture, and the computer reinforces the correct behavior quickly and with near-perfect consistency.” “Because the technology integrates fundamental principles of animal learning into a computational system, we are confident it can be applied to a wide range of canine behaviors,” said Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and co-author of the paper. “For example, it could be used to more quickly train service dogs. Ultimately, we think the technology will be used in conjunction with human-directed training.” The dog harness fits comfortably onto the dog and is equipped with a variety of technologies that can monitor the dog’s posture …
April 2016 Issue: Letters to the EditorApril 29, 2016Hybrids, Mixed Breeds, Blends and Purebreds When I read that “hybrid is defined as the progeny of two purebred dogs” [“When breeds cross, hybrid dogs appear,” January 2016], I had to check the cover of your publication to make sure that I was reading a professional publication called Veterinary Practice News and not some lay press pet magazine of puppy photos and feel-good dog stories. Our clients already are confused enough about the definition of purebred, crossbred, mixed breed and mutt without muddying the waters further by making up new definitions to words that already have long-standing scientific meanings. A hybrid is the progeny of two different species. Dog breeds are artificial constructs from selective breeding directed by humans. As a veterinarian, I have my personal reservations about the wisdom of selective breeding and its impact on the overall health of purebred animals, but I do know that breeders work to select across many generations to produce the breed traits desired, a process that is regulated by breed associations and peer reviewed through judging and showing. Some breed associations have been on the forefront of developing tests to reveal genetic disorders in …
Letters to the Editor: May 2016 IssueApril 29, 2016Confronting a Complex Issue I am compelled to write in response to your article “Confronting Suicide” [March 2016] by Dr. Lou Anne Wolfe. First, I would like to say that I do not know any of the deceased referenced in the article, and I write only of my personal experiences as a veterinarian. The article not only misrepresented veterinary professionals but also discredited the profession by stating that veterinarians “are not used to failing” as one explanation for suicide. I would venture to guess that most veterinarians would agree that that statement is a gross misrepresentation of the problems we face and in no way begins to explain why someone would take his or her life. It’s not about failing; it’s about real problems inherent in veterinary medicine. For example, there is a complete lack of a support system among veterinary professionals, particularly if one is a solo practitioner, like me. For those of us involved with rescues and shelters, there’s the endless stream of neglected and homeless animals, what sometimes seems like a hopeless animal overpopulation problem, compassion fatigue, long hours and intense physical demands, juggling client money …
Tennessee Vet College to Host Equine Podiatry ConferenceApril 29, 2016The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine will host its third annual Equine Podiatry Conference in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 21. The conference is geared for veterinarians and farriers. Continuing education credits are available. Topics will include body condition scoring, Palmar Foot Pain and farrier techniques for managing the condition. A pre-conference workshop covering the anatomy and physiology of the foot will be held May 20 from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Speakers slated for the conference: Scott Plesant, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, a professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. He is a board-certified surgeon and currently serves as Director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s Equine Podiatry Service, as a member of the Equine Field Service Section, and as the college’s Equine Extension Liaison. His clinical and research interests include equine podiatry, lameness and nutrition. Travis Burns, a lecturer and the chief of Farrier Services at Virginia Tech. He attended farrier school at the North Carolina School of Horseshoeing and received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from North Carolina State University. Burns worked at the university’s College of …
Florida Veterinary Student Named 2016 National Winner of the Bayer Excellence in Communication AwardApril 28, 2016Bayer Animal Health today announced that Brittany Martabano, a senior from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, is the national winner of the Bayer Excellence in Communication Award (BECA). Brittany was selected from entries representing 27 veterinary schools, which were awarded a total of $70,000 in scholarship funds through the 2016 competition. Over the last four years, Bayer has provided a total of $232,500 in scholarship awards through the BECA communication program. Incorporating effective communication skills in veterinary practice, as well as other medical professions, has long been recognized as one of the main tasks in delivering comprehensive medical care to patients. BECA, established to recognize effective communication in the veterinary profession, rewards veterinary students who are executing this critical core skill that needs to be taught and learned to the same degree as other clinical skills. The competition challenged students to submit a filmed interview between themselves and a veterinary client in a clinical setting. A panel of faculty judges at each participating school selected a winner using a scorecard developed by nationally renowned …
