Hill’s Unveils Combination Diets for Dogs, CatsApril 28, 2015Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. has launched two-in-one recipes for overweight dogs and cats. The Topeka, Kan., food manufacturer reported Monday the release of Prescription Diet Metabolic + Mobility Canine and Prescription Diet Metabolic + Urinary Feline. While both are formulated to help pets shed pounds, the canine recipe also is intended to support joint health and the feline version to enhance urinary health. Hill’s is marketing the two diets, which come in kibble and canned varieties, as the first foods designed for the treatment of common concurrent health conditions. “Concurrent conditions are difficult to manage successfully, often requiring multiple treatment options,” said Ellen Lowery, DVM, Ph.D., MBA, Hill’s director of U.S. professional and veterinary affairs. “Sometimes it creates the challenge of deciding which condition to focus on first, when really the only way to effectively treat both is to work together.” Both veterinary-exclusive recipes build upon the 2-year-old Metabolic Prescription Diet, which is formulated for weight loss and weight maintenance. The new canine diet adds attributes of the j/d Mobility formula and the food for cats utilizes c/d Multicare, which works to dissolve struvite stones. Both new recipes were tested in feeding trials. Metabolic + Mobility for dogs …
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N.C. State Gets $16 Million From Longtime PatronApril 28, 2015Randall B. Terry Jr. keeps sharing his wealth with the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine long after his death. The late newspaper publisher and philanthropist’s foundation this month donated $16 million to support student scholarships, research work and faculty endowments. The gift follows millions he gave or raised before his 2004 death and the $20 million his foundation pledged toward construction of the Randall B. Terry Jr. Companion Animal Veterinary Medical Center, which opened in 2011. The R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation has agreed to match other donations, potentially doubling the latest gift’s impact, the university reported. “Randall always said he liked to use money to make money,” said Susan Ward, who serves on the university board of trustees and is a former president of the North Carolina Veterinary Medicine Foundation. “He’d say, ‘Let’s use it as a challenge gift, a matching challenge.’ We’d use that to attract other donors who would want to join in his efforts.” Terry initiated contact with the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1998, when one of his nine golden retrievers, Nike, became sick and was treated at North Carolina State. He later presided over the North Carolina Veterinary Medicine Foundation, …
Virginia Tech’s Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center Names DirectorApril 28, 2015Michael D. Erskine, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (equine), has been named director of Virginia Tech’s Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center. The center, located in Leesburg, Va., is a campus of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. Dr. Erskine’s new position became effective April 25. He had been serving as interim director since May 2013. “Over the last 18 months, I have worked closely with Dr. Erskine and others from the college to conduct a comprehensive review and planning process with the goal of developing a more sustainable business model for the equine medical center,” said Cyril Clarke, BVSc, Ph.D., dean of the veterinary college. “He has been instrumental in moving forward several high-priority projects that already are making a positive impact on the center’s performance and financial standing. I consider him to be very well-qualified to serve the college in his new position.” Erskine most recently practiced with Damascus Equine Associates in Mount Airy, Md., a group of private ambulatory equine practitioners who serve a wide variety of clients and their horses in Maryland and the surrounding area. He has a special interest in sport and pleasure horses. “He has been a veterinary practice owner for …
Learn at Your Leisure About Pet NutritionApril 27, 2015Veterinary professionals who can’t get to Miami for the Hill’s Global Symposium on pet nutrition can see what they missed by logging in to the Virtual Event Center. The symposium, held today and Tuesday and sponsored by pet food manufacturer Hill’s Pet Nutrition of Topeka, Kan., is designed to teach veterinarians and veterinary technicians about nutrition and concurrent conditions such as arthritis, obesity and lower urinary tract disease. The lectures and discussions presented during the symposium may be viewed—or watched again by attendees—for free at www.hillsglobalsymposium.com through June 30. Question-and-answer sessions also will be available. Event organizer Heather Berst, VMD, acknowledged the potential inconvenience of long-distance trips. “Time is so often a critical issue in busy practices, and taking a few days out to travel and attend the symposium is, unfortunately, just not possible for some veterinarians and key team members,” Dr. Berst said. The virtual event is designed to ensure that anyone interested in learning more about pet nutrition can do so. “Nutrition plays a key role in managing pet health,” said Jolle Kirpensteijn, DVM, MS, Ph.D., Hill’s chief professional relations officer. “Recommending the right food for pets suffering from multiple conditions is an …
UC Davis Establishes Fund to Aid California K-9 OfficersApril 27, 2015The University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and the U.C. Davis Police Department have established the Faithful Partner Fund to assist with the medical costs of treating K-9 officers and search and rescue dogs injured in the line of duty. Specifically, the fund is available to dogs on active duty in California law enforcement and search and rescue units, including police and sheriff departments, California Highway Patrol, military and federal agencies. Preference will be given to dogs needing emergency care for injuries sustained in the line of duty, as well as dogs suffering from serious illnesses or conditions, the university noted. The financial support is for medical treatment at the U.C. Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “With the growing recognition of the vital role that K-9 law enforcement officers and search and rescue dogs play in our society, there is an increasing demand for these animals to receive the highest level of veterinary care available,” said Matthew Carmichael, chief of the U.C. Davis Police Department. “We are fortunate to have one of the best veterinary hospitals in the world right here on the U.C. Davis campus.” The Faithful Partner Fund is initially funded by matching $25,000 contributions …
Study Confirms Benefits of Pedicle Tie SpaysApril 24, 2015High-volume sterilization clinics may save time and money using a pedicle tie procedure when spaying cats, according to a first-of-its-kind study. Kirk Miller, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, a clinical instructor at the Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, teamed up with four other researchers to compare the feline pedicle tie (PT) to traditional pedicle double ligation (PDL). They found that PT was safe, posed a very low risk of additional bleeding and slightly reduced the patient’s anesthesia time. Surgery took about two minutes less in PT cases. “Saving two minutes may not sound like much, but when you do thousands of these procedures every year, like we do, it can add up in savings of both time and money,” said Dr. Miller, who practices with the Oregon Humane Society in Portland. “Over the course of a year this may free up about two weeks of time for both the surgeon and anesthetist. “That increased efficiency means we can serve more animals, provide the care they need and make them eligible to find new homes.” The researchers performed ovariohysterectomies using the PT technique on 2,136 cats. They determined that the pedicle tie was effective at stopping blood flow through …
Virbac Introduces Flea, Tick Killer EctoAdvance PlusApril 23, 2015Frontline Plus, the popular flea and tick spot-on from Merial Ltd., has new competition. Virbac Corp. this week launched EctoAdvance Plus, which contains the same active ingredients—the insecticide fipronil and the insect growth regulator S-methoprene—that are found in Frontline Plus. Virbac did not release price information but stated that EctoAdvance Plus is a cost-effective alternative to Frontline Plus. “We feel that EctoAdvance Plus will allow veterinarians … to offer effective flea and tick protection for dogs and cats at a much better value to their clients,” said Robert Daily, vice president of marketing for Virbac’s U.S. operations in Fort Worth, Texas. Like Frontline Plus, EctoAdvance Plus is indicated as a monthly treatment to kill fleas, flea eggs and flea larvae as well as ticks and biting lice on dogs and cats. Virbac is manufacturing EctoAdvance Plus under a license from Meridian Animal Health of Omaha, Neb., which sold a similar topical medication, EctoAdvance, until running into patent issues in 2011. EctoAdvance Plus will be sold exclusively through the veterinary channel, a company spokesman said. Frontline Plus is supposed to be purchased from veterinarians but is found on retail shelves, according to critics, because some practitioners sell their stock to …
Missouri Vet College to Hold Pet Memorial on May 2April 23, 2015To honor the lives of animals that have passed, the Together In Grief, Easing Recovery (TIGER) program will host its third annual Companion Animal Memorial Event at 11 a.m. May 2 at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. The TIGER program was launched in an effort to help people work through their emotions after losing their pets. The program assists with many aspects of companion animal loss, including family counseling, resources to help people cope with the loss of an animal and training for veterinary clinicians and students. “Memorialization is a very special part of the grief process,” said Francesca Tocco, who designed the program. “It can be comforting to be in a room with like-minded individuals who recognize that a pet can be a family member and a best friend.” Tocco is a doctoral candidate in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing and the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI) at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. Speakers at the event will include Carolyn Henry, DVM, associate dean for the CVM Office of Research and Graduate Studies and a professor of veterinary oncology, and Chad Johannes, DVM, medical director for Kansas City, Kansas-based Aratana Therapeutics Inc., …
Arizona Vet Dies, Husband ChargedApril 22, 2015The husband of Arizona veterinarian Kerman Dubash has been charged with first-degree murder and domestic violence after she was removed from life support. Dr. Dubash, DVM, MS, the co-owner of Pusch Ridge Pet Clinic in Oro Valley, a suburb of Tucson, died Monday night at a hospital. She was 50. A memorial service is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Tucson. Emergency personnel were called to Dubash’s home April 12. She was found unconscious after an apparent assault, police stated, and CPR was performed. Her husband, former veterinarian George A. Majewski, 62, remains in custody. His license was revoked in 2010 after run-ins with a client and with administrators at the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. A psychiatrist who examined Majewski described him as suffering from severe mental illness and bipolar disorder. He also experienced post traumatic stress disorder after defecting from communist Poland, the psychiatrist reported. Kerman Dubash’s profile on the Pusch Ridge website called her “an avid hiker” who “truly enjoys exploring the wide open spaces of Arizona with her family.” A 1986 graduate of Bombay Veterinary College in India, she earned a master’s degree from Ohio …
Hartz Unites Pet Owners in Flea, Tick FightApril 22, 2015The Hartz Mountain Corp. today launched a campaign aimed at getting cat and dog owners to think about battling parasites, but the manufacturer of over-the-counter flea and tick products isn’t necessarily trying to drive business to veterinarians. The promotion, titled “No F&T,” focuses on the importance of year-round flea and tick protection. One spokeswoman is Laguna Hills, Calif., veterinarian and Internet radio show host Bernadine Cruz, DVM, who says a strategy of prevention can save pet owners money. “I have a special interest in flea and tick care for dogs and cats,” Dr. Cruz said. “When applied consistently, pet owners can safeguard their animals and their homes year-round, eliminating costly veterinary office visits for infestation and help protect the health of their pets and family.” Hartz makes a variety of pet products, including collars, shampoos and sprays designed to kill fleas and ticks. The monthly spot-on medication UltraGuard Pro (etofenprox) is formulated for cats and dogs. Lance Hemsarth, senior director of research and development at the Secaucus, N.J., company, spoke about flea infestations in announcing the campaign’s launch. “Only 5 percent of the problem is addressed when consumers treat the adult fleas they can actually see,” Hemsarth said. “That means …
