Ticks On March Across United StatesJune 21, 2013 Ticks, the tiny parasites that bedevil and sicken pets and people alike, are spreading like zombies. Predictions of a busy tick season have come true, specialists and pet owners agree. Predictions of a busy tick season have come true, specialists and pet owners agree. Like the walking dead in the new Brad Pitt movie "World War Z,” ticks are showing up in the unlikeliest of places. One predator is the lone star tick, which Michael Dryden, DVM, Ph.D., reported this week has established viable populations as far north as New York and Ontario, Canada, and as far west as Iowa and Nebraska. The pest is traditionally found in southeastern and south-central states such as Texas, Missouri, Georgia and Florida. "Lone star ticks become more and more widespread every year as they continue to infiltrate states where they have never before been present,” said Dr. Dryden, a distinguished professor of veterinary parasitology at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. The arachnid, known for a white, star-like spot on the female’s back, is an aggressive biter. It …
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1,000 Veterinary Clinics Pursue Cat-Friendly StatusJune 19, 2013More than 1,000 veterinary clinics worldwide have earned or are on track to receive the Cat Friendly Practice (CFP) designation awarded by the American Association of Feline Practitioners, the organization reported today. AAFP Cat Friendly Practice program aims to make practices more accommodating to the needs of cats and improve the animals’ treatment, handling and overall health. The initiative, unveiled in February 2012, aims to make practices more accommodating to the needs of cats and improve the animals’ treatment, handling and overall health. Deserving practices receive either Silver Standard or Gold Standard certification. Silver means a practice meets the essential criteria for a Cat Friendly Practice. Gold confirms that a practice incorporates an optimum level of criteria. A certified practice must have at least one veterinarian who is an AAFP member. "We are very proud of each approved veterinary clinic for their dedication to the CFP program in striving for improved excellence in feline care,” said AAFP spokeswoman Elizabeth J. Colleran, DVM, MS. "The feedback has been incredible. ... Veterinarians report very positive results and benefits for cats, clients and also the veterinary team.” The Hillsborough, N.J.-based AAFP launched the program in …
Bayer Animal Health Marks 50 Years In ShawneeJune 18, 2013 Bayer HealthCare LLC today celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Animal Health Division’s presence in Shawnee, Kan., and its parent company’s 150th anniversary. More than 450 employees, community and political leaders and industry partners gathered in Shawnee for a luncheon featuring speakers and an international menu. "I could think of no better way to mark Bayer’s 150th anniversary, and our own 50 years of animal health history, than by sharing a globally inspired meal with my colleagues,” said Ian Spinks, president and general manager of Bayer HealthCare’s North American Animal Health Division. "It reminds us that we are not only part of something very special here in Shawnee, but also part of a global company dedicated to science for a better life.” Bayer Animal Health makes about 100 products for companion and farm animals, ranging from Baytril anti-infectives for cats and dogs to Sebacil, which is indicated for the control of mange mites and lice in pigs. As part of Bayer Corp.’s worldwide celebration, the Bayer Cares Foundation donated nearly $785,000 to 150 …
Second Wildfire In A Year Sends Colorado Animal Rescuers ScramblingJune 18, 2013 Norris Penrose Event Center, which hosts the annual Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, is one of many facilities temporarily housing horses and other animals displaced by this week’s massive Black Forest Fire in Colorado. In a bit of déjà vu, the staff of the Colorado Springs-based equestrian center is once again looking after horses as it did in 2012 when the Waldo Canyon conflagration raged not far from where the current fire is burning. "We still have a large supply of tools, like wheelbarrows, from last year, which we just kept here under lock and key for a situation like this,” said Johnny Walker, general manager for the Norris Penrose Event Center. Even though Walker has taken in 140 horses this year as opposed to 350 last year, the Center is already at capacity. There already were 200 horses on site for a horse show and the Center’s boarding facility had another 68 horses at the time the fire broke out. History Repeats Last year, on June 26, the Waldo Canyon Fire burned through a Colorado Springs neighborhood and destroyed 346 homes and displaced people and their pets on its way to …
Arizona’s First Veterinary College On Track To Open In 2014June 18, 2013 When it opens for business next year in Glendale, the Midwestern University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will be the first and only school in Arizona to offer a DVM degree. Now, Arizonans interested in becoming full-fledged veterinarians must look outside the state. That’s because Arizona is one of 24 states without an accredited veterinary college. Pre-veterinary students can enroll in undergraduate programs at the University of Arizona or at Arizona State University but that’s about as far as it goes. But that will all change August 2014 when the Midwestern University’s College of Veterinary Science admits its first class of 100. The new veterinary college received a "letter of reasonable assurance” on May 31 from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education, the Schaumburg, Ill.-based accreditation body for U.S. and international veterinary schools and programs recognized in the U.S. The thumbs up means that the college’s plans meet with AVMA approval and recruitment of veterinary students for the inaugural 2014 class can commence. The letter of confidence is an indication that the College of Veterinary Medicine is on its way to meeting the 11 standards required by the AVMA to …
Natura Issues Wider Product RecallJune 18, 2013 The ongoing threat of salmonella contamination moved Natura Pet Products today to voluntarily recall all Innova, California Natural, Evo, Healthwise, Mother Nature and Karma dry pet food and treats bearing expiration dates prior to June 10, 2014. Natural's recalls of food made for dogs, cats and ferrets are the first in the company’s 21-year history. The action followed similar recalls issued in March and April for Natura products with earlier expiration dates. The newest recall added the Mother Nature line of biscuits. The recalls, the first in the company’s 21-year history, involve food made for dogs, cats and ferrets. Canned food is not affected. The recalled products are sold through pet stores and veterinary clinics in the United States and Canada as well as online. The Fremont, Neb., company, a division of Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, reported the latest news in a statement posted on its website. An advisory also was issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Natura’s statement noted that the company was "truly sorry” and "disappointed.” "We made this decision in part due to a single positive salmonella test …
Web Vet Launches Court Fight With Texas RegulatorsJune 10, 2013 A Texas veterinarian is challenging a state law that bars practitioners from dispensing advice to pet owners without ever examining the animal. Ronald Hines, DVM, Ph.D., began offering free email and telephone veterinary consultations through his website, 2ndchance.info, in 2002. He moved to a pay model in 2003, initially charging $8.95 and then $58 a case, according to his lawsuit, filed April 8 in U.S. District Court in Brownsville. Dr. Hines, represented by the Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Justice, alleges that the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners violated his constitutional rights to freedom of speech and due process by barring him from remotely advising pet owners in Texas and overseas. He has suspended the online practice. "This case is much bigger than me,” Hines said. "I’m fighting for the right of all Americans to be able to freely and openly share their thoughts and advice online, and for pet owners to have access to the knowledge they need to best care for the animals they love.” A spokeswoman for the Texas board declined to comment. The agency moved against the Cameron County veterinarian in March 2012, 10 years after he launched the …
Filipino Hero Dog Ready To Return HomeJune 5, 2013 About the only thing Kabang didn’t have upon her release Monday from the University of California, Davis, veterinary hospital was a cape with an oversized "S” on the back. The dog, deemed a hero in her native Philippines and worldwide for head-butting an oncoming motorcycle out of the path of two young girls, is expected to fly home Thursday after spending nearly eight months in the United States for treatment of her gruesome injuries and unrelated illnesses. "Kabang’s care at the teaching hospital was a great example of the synergistic approach we have toward veterinary medicine at UC Davis,” said team member Frank Verstraete, DrMedVet, Dipl. AVDC, Dipl. ECVS, Dipl. EVDC. "We were able to treat all of the complications that arose with the best specialists available,” added Dr. Verstraete, chief of dentistry and oral surgery at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Kabang’s snout and upper jaw were severed in the December 2011 accident. When she arrived at UC Davis 10 months later after a fundraising campaign launched by Buffalo, N.Y., resident Karen Kenngott, the veterinary team discovered other medical issues, …
Nestlé Purina Buying Petfinder Adoption WebsiteJune 5, 2013 Petfinder, being sold to Nestle Purina, touts itself as the largest online, searchable database of animals needing permanent homes. Pet adoption website Petfinder.com is being purchased by Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. in what the company called its first major digital acquisition. The transaction, announced today, is expected to be completed in July. Other details, including the purchase price, were not released. Petfinder touts itself as the largest online, searchable database of animals needing permanent homes. The database features more than 315,000 adoptable pets from about 14,000 animal shelters and rescue groups throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Everything from cats and dogs to goats and llamas is in the database. The website, owned by Discovery Communications LLC of Silver Spring, Md., has facilitated more than 22 million adoptions since it was launched in 1996 and has expanded to include pet care resources. "We value Petfinder’s existing framework, which is fully aligned with our commitment to pet welfare organizations and our belief that pets and people are better together,” said Joe Sivewright, president of …
Study Shows Mutts Genetically HealthierJune 4, 2013 The notion that mixed-breed dogs are healthier than purebreds has some basis in fact, according to research published in the June 1 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Looking for 24 genetic disorders, UC Davis researchers flagged 27,254 dogs with inherited conditions out of 90,004 dogs checked. A University of California, Davis, research team combed the records of 90,004 dogs seen at the university’s William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital over a 15-year period ending Jan. 1, 2010. Looking for 24 genetic disorders, the researchers flagged 27,254 dogs with inherited conditions. Using healthy dogs as control subjects, the researchers discovered: • No differences between purebred and mixed-breed dogs in regard to 13 genetic disorders, including hip dysplasia, hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s syndrome), hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s disease), lens luxation, patellar luxation and cancers such as hemangiosarcoma, lymphoma, mast cell tumor and osteosarcoma. • Purebred dogs were more likely to have 10 genetic disorders, ranging from dilated cardiomyopathy and elbow dysplasia to cataracts …
