Penn Vet Wins AAVMC Communications AwardJune 4, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews Successfully spreading the word about the goings-on at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine paid off with an increase in hospital visits and donations. The national and international exposure also brought recognition from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, which today honored Penn Vet with the organization's first Communications Excellence Award. A team of judges that included communication professionals selected Penn Vet's communication program for its work in advancing academic veterinary medicine and the profession, inspiring a higher level of performance, fostering collaboration among member institutions, and sharing content with AAVMC. Leading the effort was Penn Vet?s director of communications, Ashley Berke. She and her team got Penn Vet into thousands of media stories in 2013 through outlets such as ABC, NPR, Fox, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. They developed a regular CNN feature on the impact of animal health on human health. Their redesign of the school website increased visitor retention by 13 percent and new visits by 12 percent. On the social media front, Penn Vet's Facebook …
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Co-inventor Of Flair Equine Strip Has Nose For BusinessJune 4, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews There?s no question who Ed Blach, DVM, MS, MBA, will be rooting for Saturday when 11 contenders burst from the starting gates at the Belmont Stakes. Dr. Blach's eyes will be on California Chrome, who will be chasing horse racing's Triple Crown while wearing the equine veterinarian's invention: a Flair nasal strip. The idea behind the adhesive device, similar to the Breathe Right nasal strip for people, is to hold open a horse's airway, reducing exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. The Breathe Right strip was already on the market when Blach was lying back one night in 1997. "I sat up in bed at 3 in the morning, and I had this idea," he said. "Why hasn't anyone developed a nasal strip for horses?" Colorado State University Eli sports a Flair nasal strip, the same kind California Chrome will wear at the Belmont Stakes. The 1984 Colorado State University alumnus teamed up with Jim Chiapetta, DVM, JD, then a patent attorney after working with Blach in the mid-1980s at Littleton Equine Medical Center in …
Dogs Sprout New Jaw Thanks To UC Davis ResearchJune 3, 2014Dogs missing part of their jaw because of an injury or disease someday may grow a new one through procedures being perfected at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Two veterinary oral surgeons — Frank Verstraete and Boaz Arzi — have successfully reconstructed most of the lower jawbone in three dogs over the past year using refined techniques, the university reported. Among the beneficiaries was Hoshi, a 10-year-old female collie who went to a Montana veterinarian last summer because of swelling in her mouth and extremely bad breath. The veterinarian diagnosed a type of cancer called squamous cell carcinoma and removed diseased bone and tissue from the front of Hoshi's mouth. UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine A CT image of Hoshi’s skull shows the titanium plate used to form her new jawbone, along with the new bone growth behind the plate. Wanting to do more for Hoshi, owner Katy Harjes took her to UC Davis, where she was examined by Drs. Verstraete and Arzi. The veterinarians had already begun working with UC Davis biomedical engineers to regrow segments of canine jawbone lost to injury or tumors such as squamous …
WVC Names Top CE Speakers From 2014 ConferenceJune 3, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews Western Veterinary Conference attendees who sat through more than 1,000 hours of educational programming in February got their chance to speak this week with the announcement of their choices of the 2014 Continuing Educators of the Year. On the list was Karyn Gavzer, MBA, CVPM, who was honored for the second consecutive year for her performance on practice management topics. Gavzer, a consultant who owns K&G Marketing & Training Inc. in Springboro, Ohio, is the former director of marketing for the American Veterinary Medical Association and is among fewer than 150 Certified Veterinary Hospital Managers (CVPM) in North America. The other honorees were: Avian and Exotics: Tammy Miller Michau, DVM, MS, MSpVM, Dipl. ACVO. She practices at BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Florida and is a former assistant professor of ophthalmology at North Carolina State University. Equine: David G. Pugh, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACT, Dipl. ACVN. An Alabama-based consultant, speaker and author, he formerly taught at the University of Georgia and at Auburn University. Food Animal: Dan Posey, DVM, Dipl. ABVP. He is a …
Nestle Purina, Pet Owners Settle Dog Treat LawsuitJune 3, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Nestle Purina PetCare Co. has reached a proposed $6.5 million settlement with dog owners who claimed that the manufacturer's Waggin' Train and Canyon Creek Ranch treats sickened or killed their pets. The class-action settlement, which awaits a federal judge's approval, would allow any U.S. pet owner who believes the company's Chinese-made products harmed their dog to be reimbursed not only for the treats they purchased but for any veterinary and post-death expenses incurred. The amount available to pet owners would be significantly less than $6.5 million once attorney fees, administrative expenses and other costs are deducted. The law firms representing the class plaintiffs will ask the judge to approve up to $2.15 million in legal fees. The settlement would become the latest chapter in a seven-year-old saga over potentially tainted pet treats. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported in mid-May that 5,600 dogs, 24 cats and three people had became ill after eating pet jerky treats, many of them made in China. More than 1,000 dogs died. Whether Chinese-made treats …
Treating Wildlife In The Concrete JungleJune 2, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews Massachusetts, a state roughly the size of 5 million acres, is home to six million people and a rising number of wildlife, including reptiles, mammals, amphibians, fish and birds. As people begin to take over the areas that were previously only home to the wildlife, the creatures begin to enter the people-populated areas. When that happens, the results can be harmful to the animals. One such animal, a snowy owl, competed with a jet's downdraft at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts and lost. Luckily, he was not entirely defeated. A Massachusetts Audubon Society rescuer brought the owl to the Tufts Wildlife Clinic in North Grafton. As is often the case with the animals they treat, the Tufts veterinarians had a decision to make: either fix the owl's broken wing or euthanize the creature. This time, the decision was easy. Euthanasia was not an option. They were determined to save the snowy owl. Veterinarians
Free Webinar on Foraging and Enrichment For Pet BirdsMay 30, 2014 Follow Jessica Pineda on Twitter at @parrotsandvets Lafeber and LafeberVet is hosting a webinar on parrots entitled "Foraging and Enrichment for Birds.” The webinar will be presented by M. Scott Echols, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (Avian Practice). According to the Lafeber press release on the webinar, "Wild birds spend more than 50% of their day foraging and feeding, particularly during the morning and evening hours. In this live interactive web-based course, Dr. Echols reviews foraging as a natural behavior and discusses how lack of foraging can negatively affect behavior in captivity. Multiple animal video examples (avian and otherwise) will be used to demonstrate important enrichment concepts. Basic principles will be highlighted with the end goal to get people to start thinking about ways to enrich the lives of captive animals, especially birds.” Echols is a well-known veterinarian in the avian community. He practices throughout the United States in various hospitals and veterinary schools. He is an adjunct professor at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, and he is also the creator of several educational DVDs, including "Captive Foraging" by Avian Studios. Dr. Echols is a frequent lecturer at …
Oklahoma State Adds 2 Endowed Veterinary PositionsMay 30, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The Oklahoma State University veterinary school has grown to 16 endowed chairs or professorships with the appointments of faculty members Melanie Boileau and Todd Holbrook. Dr. Boileau, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, was named the McCasland Clinical Professor, and Dr. Holbrook, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVSMR, will fill the June Jacobs Endowed Chair in Veterinary Medicine, the university reported Thursday. The dean of the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Jean Sander, DVM, MAM, Dipl. ACPV, called the addition of two endowed positions "phenomenal." "These positions provide resources to faculty members to allow them to pursue their fields of interest for the betterment of veterinary medicine and ultimately animal and human health," Dr. Sander said. "We are forever grateful to our donors who make this possible." The McCasland Foundation, named after Oklahoma oilman and philanthropist T.H. McCasland, funded Boileau's professorship. She is an associate professor and the food animal section chief at the Veterinary Medical Hospital. Her research interests include a non-antimicrobial treatment for infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis and the …
Lyme Disease Likely Millions Of Years OldMay 29, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. If the Companion Animal Parasite Council had been around 15 million years ago, its annual forecast may have been the same as today's: a high risk of tick-borne Lyme disease. Oregon State University reported today that researchers in the College of Science looked closely at fossilized amber to discover ticks and spirochete-like cells that resemble Borrelia, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease in dogs, people and other mammals. Borrelia are so prevalent in modern-day life that 1 in every 130 U.S. dogs was infected in 2013, according to a Banfield Pet Hospital study. The Oregon State findings, published in the journal Historical Biology, arose from Dominican Republic amber that dates to 15 million to 20 million years ago. "Ticks and the bacteria they carry are very opportunistic," said paleoentomologist George Poinar Jr., MS, Ph.D., a professor emeritus in the department of integrative biology. "They are very efficient at maintaining populations of microbes in their tissues and can infect mammals, birds, reptiles and other animals." Ticks outweigh mosquitoes as vectors of disease, Poinar said. "They can carry bacteria that cause …
PHOTOS: Vets Treat Kids' Stuffed Animals For CharityMay 29, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Smitt/Thinkstock My bear once lost an eye, the thread (stuffed animal veins) was hanging from his face. My brother's bunny had a hole in his ear, the blood (stuffing) spilling out. One of our parents would kiss it, put a bandage on it. But we both knew our stuffed pets needed veterinary attention. What if they developed a fever or tummy ache? They had to be taken to the vet immediately. Thanks to the Sacramento Zoo, children with ailing stuffed animals were able to do just that. On Saturday, May 24, 2014, the zoo held its second annual Stuffed Animal Vet Clinic. This year, they raised money for the Sacramento Police Canine Association. The $600 raised at the event benefitted Bodie, a police dog in need of veterinary services and recovery. Photo Courtesy Sacramento Zoo A reception table for check-in was set up on the Veterinary Hospital Lawn. Checkups, at a fee of $3 per animal, were held at vet stations. The vet …
