Anesthesia Vet Tech Group Gets MakeoverJuly 22, 2015A 182-member group of veterinary technicians certified in anesthesia has changed its name and updated its logo. The Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetists is now the Academy of Veterinary Technicians in Anesthesia and Analgesia (AVTAA). The change, announced Monday, follows a similar move by the American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia (ACVAA), with which AVTAA works closely. ACVAA until 2014 was known as the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists. “While our name has changed, our mission has not,” the technician organization stated. “We continue to be dedicated to promoting patient safety, consumer protection, professionalism and excellence in the provision of anesthesia and analgesia to veterinary patients.” AVTAA advised its certified veterinary technician specialists to use the credentials VTS (anesthesia and analgesia) or VTS (anes/analgesia). AVTAA, which started in the early 1990s as the Veterinary Technician Anesthetist Society, hosts certification tests once a year at the International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium. The 2015 conference will be held Sept. 18 to 22 in Washington, D.C. A majority of the 182 members work in the United States. The others are based in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The organization’s president is Kristen Cooley, CVT, …
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Is Your Bookshelf Bare? Enter for a Chance to Win 1 of 3 Books!July 21, 2015Enter our "A Veterinary Book for Every Clinic Sweepstakes" (AVBEC) sweepstakes! Fill out the form below for the chance to win a copy of “Essentials of Tortoise Medicine and Surgery” courtesy of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association and WILEY or "Notes on Feline Internal Medicine" courtesy of the WILEY-Blackwell or "All Creatures Great and Small and Essentials" courtesy of Macmillan Publishers. According to the publisher, “Essentials of Tortoise Medicine and Surgery is designed as a concise and practical quick reference for the busy practitioner seeing chelonians as part of their caseload. Covering everything from species identification to common basic surgery for tortoises and freshwater turtles, the emphasis is on the more common and likely diagnoses.” According to the publisher, "Notes on Feline Internal Medicine 2nd edition is part of a popular series specifically designed, through an accessible note-based style, to ensure veterinarians and students have quick and easy access to comprehensive and practical clinical and diagnostic information." For All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, the publisher says, "Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients." One entry per household. Entries close at 11:59 …
Vet Techs Flock to WVC SymposiumJuly 21, 2015WVC has already scheduled its second Veterinary Technician Symposium after luring 120 vet techs to Las Vegas for three days of continuing education. The inaugural symposium, held June 29 to July 1 at the Oquendo Center, was a sellout—and proof that demand exists for such an event, WVC officials said. The second symposium is set for June 27 to 29, 2016. “WVC could not be more pleased with the success,” CEO David Little said. “We … will continue to provide these cutting-edge and never-before-offered educational experiences, which blow the lid off of current educational practices, to all veterinary professionals.” Veterinary technicians from across the United States and Canada showed up in Las Vegas to earn up to 25 CE hours in four subjects: anesthesia, dentistry, emergency and critical care, and practice management. “[They] are able to take the skills they learned here and teach others in their practice, which strengthens the practice as a whole,” said E. David Stearns, RVT, WVC’s veterinary technician director. The symposium included a session called “Career Building 101,” featuring Kara Burns, MS, LVT, VTS. Julie Legred, CVT, executive director of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, also addressed the group. WVC …
Idexx Launches 10-Minute Test for LeptoJuly 21, 2015Idexx Laboratories Inc. today introduced an in-clinic test that can diagnose canine leptospirosis, a potentially fatal bacterial infection, within 10 minutes. The rapid diagnosis is a big improvement over the most common testing method, Idexx reported. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) is performed at university and commercial laboratories and may take up to a week to deliver results. “The SNAP Lepto Test represents an important step forward in helping veterinarians quickly and affordably detect antibodies to dangerous Leptospira infections in dogs,” said Jonathan W. Ayers, president and CEO of the Westbrook, Maine, company. Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that usually strikes dogs, cattle, horses, pigs and wildlife. The disease is frequently spread through contact with infected urine. “It most commonly affects young adult large-breed dogs that swim and run alongside wildlife hosts,” Idexx noted. “Over the past 10 years, the disease has also been found in small dogs living in urban environments, likely due to encounters with rodents and wildlife hosts who have wandered into the city.” Richard Goldstein, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, the chief medical officer at Animal Medical Center in New York City, called the new test “a key to both determining the true prevalence of leptospirosis …
Cornell Vet College to Begin Search for New DeanJuly 21, 2015Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will begin searching for a new dean within the next coming weeks, the university announced in mid July. Michael Kotlikoff, VMD, Ph.D., the Austin O. Hooey Dean of Veterinary Medicine, was recently named Cornell University’s 16th provost, which leaves the dean position open. Dr. Kotlikoff will assume his new position Aug. 1. In the meantime, Lorin Warnick, DVM, Ph.D., professor of ambulatory and production medicine, has been appointed interim dean of the vet college. Dr. Warnick has served as associate dean for veterinary education for the past eight years and director of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals for the past three years.
Veterinarians Remove Diamond Engagement Ring from Dog’s StomachJuly 20, 2015WFSB 3 Connecticut My dog once ate an entire bottle of prescription medication. That same dog thought the carpet was mighty tasty as well. While preparing dinner, a friend discovered that four uncooked chicken breasts were suddenly missing from the counter, while her dog sat on the kitchen floor looking at her. The veterinarian who treated her dog teased that he could rinse them off and give them back to her so she could finish making dinner. Dog owners and veterinarians alike have experienced this at one time or another. The animal ate something he shouldn’t have and there it is, clear as day on the radiograph. Jessica Farah, a dog owner out of Miami, Florida, was sitting at home relaxing one day while Tux, her French bulldog, played. She could hear him chewing on something and assumed it was her other dog’s collar, as Tux likes to do. Shortly after, she looked at her hand and discovered her engagement ring was missing, wfsb.com reports. After searching all over the house, Farah realized that the noise she heard was most likely Tux chewing on her ring. The following morning Farah …
Sleepypod Dog Harness Wins Top Safety RatingJuly 16, 2015One of the top dogs in the pet harness industry is trumpeting a safety achievement for big dogs: a certified five-star crash test rating for the new Clickit Sport XL. The extra-large Clickit Sport, made by Sleepypod of Pasadena, Calif., is the only travel harness of its size to receive the Center for Pet Safety’s highest score, the company announced Wednesday. The Center for Pet Safety, based in Reston, Va., tests harnesses and other pet products submitted by manufacturers. The Clickit Sport XL is designed for dogs with a chest circumference of 34.5 to 40 inches, or up to about 90 pounds. The Center for Pet Safety used a 90-pound dummy canine model and a crash sled to measure Clickit Sport XL’s durability and protection. “Our research has returned findings that [extra-large] dogs can cause significant strain on the vehicle seat belt system,” said Lindsey Wolko, founder of the nonprofit organization. “Meeting the 90-pound crash protection level is a significant achievement.” Sleepypod holds a five-star rating for the Clickit Sport in all four sizes: small, medium, large and extra-large. Winning certification of the three smaller harnesses was easier, said Michael Leung, Sleepypod’s co-founder and lead product designer. The …
VPI, Pets Best Founder Receives Lifetime AwardJuly 16, 2015Jack Stephens, DVM, who started the North American pet health insurance industry in the early 1980s, has been honored with a lifetime achievement award. The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) paid tribute to Dr. Stephens during its recent convention. “The industry in North America has not just grown and evolved because of Jack’s contributions, it literally exists because of them,” said NAPHIA executive director Kristen Lynch. “The association’s executives came up with the award as a way to recognize him formally and thank him for his unparalleled contributions.” Stephens founded Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), which made headlines in 1982 when the star of TV’s “Lassie” was enrolled as the first policy beneficiary. Within three years the company expanded from selling health insurance in California to signing up pet owners nationwide. Today, about a dozen companies insure more than 1.4 million pets across North America. Stephens left VPI in 2004 and the next year launched a competitor, Boise, Idaho-based Pets Best Insurance Services. He no longer is involved in the day-to-day operations at Pets Best but remains a board member and one of three managers. “The proudest moment of my veterinary and pet insurance career is experiencing …
Virginia Tech Honors Digital Artist for Donated ArtJuly 16, 2015The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech recently honored Ted Smusz, a communications assistant for the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, for his animal art donations. His work appears in the hospital’s examination rooms, student lounge and library. Smusz, who has been with the college for more than 30 years, is a self-taught digital photographer and editor. He turned to photography more than 10 years ago. “I can spend up to 40 hours on a photo,” Smusz said. “I’m not only sizing the photo, but also blowing it up and digitally redrawing it. I do most of it manually to save the skin texture and tone on my subjects.” Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech Ted Smusz works on a piece of digital art at a home studio. In some cases, Smusz spends up to 40 hours digitally remastering a single photo such as this one of a horse. Smusz often spends evenings in his home studio focusing on his art. In addition to a high-resolution digital camera with a variety of lenses, he also has three software programs that allow him to edit photos pixel by …
Merial Releases OraVet Dog Dental ChewJuly 15, 2015Pet medication manufacturer Merial Inc. hopes to take a bite out of the growing market for canine dental chews with the introduction of the veterinary-exclusive OraVet line. Launched this month during the American Veterinary Medical Association convention, OraVet Dental Hygiene Chews contain delmopinol, a compound commonly used in plaque-inhibiting mouth rinses for people. Merial holds the exclusive license to delmopinol for veterinary use. OraVet answers “the need for an effective, safe and easy-to-use preventive home care option to support canine oral health,” said Doug Jones, head of Duluth, Ga.-based Merial North America. The chews, formulated for daily use, are proven effective at reducing halitosis, plaque and calculus by approximately half, the company reported. The study compared dogs given the chews to those on a dry diet alone. Merial noted that dental chews promote canine health because only 14 percent of dogs receive dental care at a veterinary clinic and only 2 percent of owners brush their pet’s teeth daily. “Many pet owners recognize the importance of maintaining their dog’s oral health but aren’t always sure what to do,” said Bob Menardi, DVM, director of U.S. Veterinary Technical Services. OraVet chews are available in three sizes: small, for dogs …
