Merck Animal Health, AVMF, Announce Scholarship WinnersApril 4, 2016Merck Animal Health and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) have announced the recipients of the 2016 Merck Animal Health Veterinary Student Scholarship Program. Thirty-four second- and third-year veterinary students from around the world each received a $5,000 scholarship. “As a company rooted in science, we recognize and value the vital role veterinarians play in our world,” said Scott Bormann, vice president of Merck Animal Health, North America. “Veterinary students’ future success is dependent on the educational foundation that we help them build. The support we offer now will not only benefit them, but also the animals and people they will impact during their careers. Merck Animal Health is proud to help support these deserving students in their educational pursuits.” AVMF, the charitable arm of the American Veterinary Medical Association, has a 53-year history of supporting veterinary students to help offset the financial burdens that accompany veterinary medical education. “The AVMF is devoted to ensuring the future of veterinary medicine by identifying and supporting remarkable students,” said Deborah Harp, CFRE, AVMF executive director. “We are honored to partner with Merck Animal Health to support these veterinary students with their education, as …
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Vet Assistant Saves Choking German ShepherdApril 1, 2016A veterinary assistant is being called a hero after he saved a choking German shepherd. German Shepherd Nadia was out playing fetch with her owners when she swallowed the ball. When she passed out, her owners rushed her to the Fort Smith Animal Emergency Clinic in Fort Smith, Ark. Veterinary Assistant Justin Rouse, just arriving to start his shift, met them in the parking lot. “I saw some emergency flashers on their SUV and the back hatch was opened up, so I pulled in real quick, and I saw their dog kind of, I could see that it was kind of laying there, you know, it was lifeless,” Rouse told 5News. Rouse realized that the ball was still in the dog's throat. “I could feel the ball, so I pushed behind it and pushed up, and it lodged it out,” he said to 5News. After that, he took Nadia into the clinic for oxygen. When Nadia came to, aside from an irritated throat, she was fine. Nadia's owners were shocked and "mind-blown," according to 5News. Rouse said in his eight years working at the clinic, this was the …
Sea Turtle Undergoes Hyperbaric TherapyApril 1, 2016A sea turtle is claiming the No. 1 spot as the first nonhuman to be treated in the United States in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle. Veterinarians are hoping to compress internal gas bubbles that are keeping the turtle from diving and staying underwater. According to the Seattle Aquarium: “The 70-pound olive ridley sea turtle, named Tucker by aquarium staff who have cared for him since December, is undergoing tests at the Seattle Aquarium this week to determine if ridley sea turtle, named Tucker by aquarium staff who have cared for him since December, is undergoing tests at the Seattle Aquarium this week to determine if hyperbaric therapy—which involved breathing 100 percent oxygen for about 2 ½ hours—corrected his buoyancy problem. The turtle cannot be safely released back into the Pacific Ocean until he is able to dive normally, which is important for him to find food and avoid predators and other threats, such as boats.” Virginia Mason, Seattle Aquarium partner to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help rescued sea turtle recover. It is believed to be the …
ConsumerAffairs, VETgirl's Justine Lee Partner Up to Create Dog Dangerous Foods ToolApril 1, 2016ConsumerAffairs.com has released an interactive tool for pet owners, which shows what happens in a dog’s body when it consumes 10 of the most dangerous (or thought to be dangerous) foods. It also covers when pet owners shouldn’t be concerned, and when they should call the veterinarian. The free tool was built by ConsumerAffairs research team with the help from VETgirl founder and CEO, Dr. Justine Lee. Lee is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology. The foods covered include some of the following: Chocolate Chewing gum Grapes Moldy food Bread dough Macadamia nuts Coffee beans The tool was created using guidelines from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Dr. Lee worked closely with the ASPCA, and was able to get great information from them. “The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is the oldest and most well-respected animal poison control centers in the world,” Dr. Lee said. “It was founded back in 1978 and is the only non-profit animal poison control center in North America. It is …
Virginia-Maryland Steps in to Fund Lifesaving SurgeryApril 1, 2016Mary Lou would have been euthanized had it not been for the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, which not only accepted the 8-week-old mixed-breed puppy as a patient but underwrote the full cost of her surgery and care through the Compassionate Care Fund. The situation was bleak when Mary Lou was referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Blacksburg, Va. Her jaw had been fractured on one side and pulverized on the other when a cow stepped on her. Mary Lou was referred by a humane society in Summers County, W.Va., which likely would have had to euthanize her had Virginia-Maryland not intervened, said volunteer Beth Vuolo. Mary Lou made it through surgery and was adopted after she recuperated. The Compassionate Care Fund is used hundreds of times a year to help injured animals like Mary Lou. Donations help pay for surgery and other expensive treatments for animals whose owners are unknown or unable to pay. The Veterinary Teaching Hospital provides $70,000 to $80,000 in aid every year. Animal lover Garnett Smith is one of the fund’s biggest donors. “I just wanted to make sure if someone had love …
Texas Vet College to Offer Voyce Pro Wellness Monitoring ProgramApril 1, 2016Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences will begin offering the Voyce Pro Wellness Monitoring Program to all patients beginning in April. This will be the first veterinary college and teaching hospital to offer the technology, created by i4C Innovations Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Intersections Inc. Voyce Pro enables remote observation of canine patients’ biometric data, including resting heart and respiratory rates, intensity of activity, quality of rest and calories burned. The data will be used to drive better patient health and practice outcomes, according to the company and college. “As an organization, we strive to shape tomorrow’s veterinarians while providing our clients an unmatched patient experience, and integrating the latest advancements in veterinary medicine and technology is essential to our success,” said Eleanor M. Green, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ABVP, the Carl B. King dean for veterinary medicine at the college. “We look forward to incorporating Voyce Pro into our hospital and benefitting from the remote monitoring and objective data provided by this exciting new program.” The partnership between Voyce and the college developed as a result of the …
Merck Unveils Diabetes AppMarch 31, 2016Merck Animal Health is throwing a bone to U.S. pet owners and the hundreds of thousands of diabetic dogs and cats by offering the free Pet Diabetes Tracker app. “To help ensure the longterm health and well-being of a pet, successfully managing the various facets of the disease and treatments is critical,” said Madeleine Stahl, DVM, associate director of scientific marketing affairs at the Madison, N.J., veterinary drug maker. The Pet Diabetes Tracker enables owners to use a smartphone or tablet computer to input daily information, such as blood glucose levels, food and water intake, body condition and weight—all factors in keeping a pet’s diabetes in check. The app also allows the pet owner to track insulin dosages, set reminders for when to re-administer doses or reorder insulin, and send status reports directly to the veterinarian. Merck Animal Health. Screenshot of app. “I think pet owners, especially those with a newly diagnosed pet, will find this app an incredibly useful tool because it puts all the pertinent diabetic health information at their fingertips,” Dr. Stahl said. The app may be downloaded from
Kindred Hopeful of Potential for Equine, Feline DrugsMarch 31, 2016Kindred Biosciences Inc. is pushing to bring two new drugs to market: Zimeta (dipyrone injection), for treating fever in horses, and KIND-010, for weight management in cats. The Burlingame, Calif., company announced the filing of the effectiveness section as part of Zimeta’s New Animal Drug Application (NADA). All remaining technical sections were expected to be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the end of March. It’s potentially good news for equine practitioners. “Dipyrone will be very familiar to seasoned veterinarians,” said Peter Morresey, BVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACT, a veterinarian with Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. “While never approved in the United States, dipyrone enjoyed widespread usage for control of fever and pain before withdrawal from the market in 1995. “If approved, it will be available again in the United States in an FDA-approved formulation,” Dr. Morresey added. In other news, a field test using 32 cats showed the effectiveness and safety of KIND-010 for the stimulation of weight gain in cats under clinical conditions. At the second week of the field study, the mean weight of …
Wisconsin Vet Student Wins 2016 AAAP Poultry ScholarshipMarch 31, 2016The American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) Foundation recently awarded Maria K. Arendt, a DVM/Ph.D. student in the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine’s Comparative Biomedical Science graduate program, a $1,000 poultry scholarship. Arendt plans to work as a poultry veterinarian after graduation, according to the school. She hopes to participate in research and contribute to the development of novel therapeutics for improvement of poultry health, growth and production, the school further noted. The scholarship, which was established in 2011, provides funding for students pursuing an education and career in poultry medicine. Arendt’s mentor for her doctoral degree is Mark Cook, Ph.D., a professor of animal science in the UW College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
A 'Chastity Belt' for Dogs?March 31, 2016It might sound like a 15th century solution to a 21st century problem, but amid the clamor for pet owners to get their dogs spayed or neutered and prevent unwanted litters comes a device that’s basically a chastity belt for female dogs. Dexter Blanch, owner of Shreveport, La.-based Highly Favored Creations, invented the Pet Anti-Breeding System, or PABS, as a fabric patch that covers a female dog’s nether region and is affixed using a series of straps. If pet owners knew of the problems linked to early spaying, Blanch said, they might be inclined to welcome PABS as a stopgap until their dogs are older. He cited studies that point to the possibility of shorter life spans, joint disorders and increased cancer risk in female dogs spayed before 18 months old. The dog-owning public has been slow to embrace PABS, which Blanch launched in 2013 as a way to protect one of his favorite female hunting dogs, who he might want to breed one day, from randy males. “Perhaps … the proponents of traditional early spay and neuter practices don’t trust American …
