Duty To Treat Animals Depends On State LawsAugust 27, 2012 How many times have you seen a patient with a serious but treatable condition that your client just refused to treat? Have you ever felt that the lack of treatment bordered on cruelty or abuse? The law may agree with you. Every state in the union has a statute that addresses animal cruelty. Obviously, state laws differ, but at least some of them require some level of veterinary care for animals. Others do not come out and explicitly require veterinary care, but those laws have later been interpreted to require such care by the courts. In general, there is no duty to help others under the common law. Certain relationships create a duty of care such as that between a parent and minor child. But without some sort of state “good Samaritan” statute, one is legally allowed to walk right by a stranger bleeding to death on the sidewalk. Similarly, one can, under the common law, ignore the distress of one’s own animal. Any legal duty to treat an animal thus arises from state law, specifically the state cruelty statute. For example, Minnesota law states that “No person shall overdrive, overload, torture, cruelly beat, neglect, …
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KC Animal Health Symposium Slated For MondayAugust 23, 2012 Guy Palmer, DVM, Ph.D., Dr.Med.Vet., of Washington State University, and James L. Cook, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACV, Dipl. ACVSMR, of the University of Missouri, Columbia, will deliver the keynote speeches at the 2012 Animal Health Research Symposium on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, in conjunction with the CVC Kansas City convention in Kansas City, Mo. Dr. Palmer, a regents professor of pathology and infectious diseases and director of the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health at Washington State, will discuss global innovations in animal health. Dr. Cook, a distinguished professor and director of the Comparative Orthopaedic (sic) Lab at Missouri, will talk about building bridges between laboratory medicine and orthopedics. Other scheduled speakers include Philip Bergman, DVM, MS, Ph.D., of the Katonah Bedford Veterinary Center in Bedford Hills, N.Y.; Wayne Carter, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, of the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute; Paul Dale, M.D., Fellow ACS, of the University of Missouri; Marvin Grubman, Ph.D., of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York; T.G. Nagaraja, M.V.Sc., Ph.D., of Kansas State University and Linda Rhodes, VMD, Ph.D., of Artana Therapeutics in Kansas City, Kan. …
Scottish Vet School Offers Online Degree In Conservation MedicineAugust 22, 2012The University of Edinburgh Royal School of Veterinary Studies in Scotland will enroll the first students in an online conservation medicine program this fall, the university reported. The program is targeted at international veterinarians and intends to provide them with the skills required to be effective practitioners of conservation medicine and enable them to develop solutions to ecological health issues. Starting in September, veterinarians will study part time for one to three years to earn a certificate, diploma or master’s degree. The first class includes veterinarians from Cyprus, France, India, North America, Rwanda, Turkey and the United Kingdom, the university reported this week. “Conservation medicine needs biologists, ecologists, public health specialists and vets to work together, but while a lot of vets are keen to become involved, there is limited training in this area,” said Anna Meredith, Vet.M.B., Ph.D., Cert.L.A.S., D.Zoo.Med., a professor of zoological and conservation medicine at the school. “This is why we wanted to run such a course that could be accessed by vets from all over the world.” The school appointed Dr. Meredith to head the program. She also is involved in research related to …
Animals Do It Better Than MenAugust 20, 2012 Did you know that the Great Wall of China is visible from Space? Well, I'm sorry to tell you that it's a complete urban legend. Think about it. The wall may be long (5,500 miles), but it is not that wide (about 20 feet). There are structures much wider than the Wall, and they are not visible from space!* But here is something amazing that is visible from space. And it is not man-made. It is animal-made. Actually beaver-made. In 2007, researcher Jean Thie discovered (by accident) a gigantic beaver dam that is about half a mile long (2,800 feet). To appreciate how incredible that is, imagine that the average beaver dam is around 20 feet long. The Alberta dam is twice as long as the Empire State Building, or more than twice as long as Hoover dam, or more than eight football fields long! I guess it's only fair, since it is located in Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta, which happens to be the largest National Park in Canada. The record for the world's largest beaver dam was previously held by a 2,100-foot-long structure in Three Forks, Montana. The dam is located in …
Florida Looking For Next Veterinary DeanAugust 17, 2012 The University of Florida’s search for a new veterinary college dean will take another step forward Sept. 14, 2012, when a committee meets to review initial applications for the job. Top administrators from the university’s Academic Health Center and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences formed a search committee to recruit a replacement for Glen Hoffsis, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM. He is scheduled to retire July 1, 2013. The committee met July 23, 2012, to outline criteria for selecting the next dean. The members were asked to find a candidate who has a strong vision for the college during tough economic times, can strike a balance among all missions of the college, and can interact with the many constituencies associated with the college and the university. “Dean Hoffsis has done an excellent job serving the college and the university during his six years at UF,” said Teresa A. Dolan, DDS, dean of the College of Dentistry and committee co-chairwoman. “When he retires, he will leave the college in a position of strength and poised for growth, making the deanship an attractive opportunity for a strong academic leader in veterinary medicine.” Helping lead the search …
Progress In Treating FIP ReportedAugust 15, 2012 Feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP, has long been a diagnosis without hope. But a new medication shows promise, and a cutting-edge genetic breakthrough might be within reach. Niels Pedersen, DVM, PhD, and Al Legendre, DVM, PhD, spoke of hope to a crowd of nearly 200 veterinarians, cat breeders and cat lovers at the recent 33rd annual Winn Foundation Symposium in Reston, Va. Dr. Pedersen is director of the Center for Companion Animal Health and the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Legendre, Dipl. ACVIM, is a professor of internal medicine and oncology at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, Knoxville. Once clinical signs occur, FIP has been considered fatal. Most instances of FIP occur in kittens, and it happens a lot, or at least more than previously suspected. According to Pedersen, one in 100 to one in 300 of all cats under ages 3-5 succumbs to FIP. The incidence can be five to 10 times greater among young cats coming from catteries and shelters. A Difficult Disease Since 1963 when FIP was discovered, there had been little real progress affecting the lifespan of those who are diagnosed. …
Pets Best Debuts Feline Illness Insurance PlanAugust 15, 2012 Pets Best Insurance launched a low-premium, illness-only feline insurance plan targeted at budget-conscious cat owners, the Boise, Idaho, company reported today. The plan does not cover accidents but does provide coverage of up to $4,000 annually and $10,000 over a cat’s lifetime. An entry-level plan starts at under $4 a month, the company reported. A quote from the company’s website for a $1,000 deductible, 70 percent reimbursement, illness-only policy for a 1-year-old, mixed-breed cat in California ran $2.11 a month. According to the Pets Best website, the new plan includes coverage for: • Cancer • Hyperthyroidism • Diabetes • Chronic renal failure • Acute renal failure • Hepatic lipidosis • Cholecystitis • Feline asthma • Pancreatitis • Pneumonia • Heart disease • Intestinal foreign body • Hypothyroidism • Pyothorax • Chylothorax • Arthritis • cquired cataracts • Feline infectious peritonitis (only if vaccinated) • Feline leukemia virus (only if vaccinated) • Anemia and clotting disorders • Mast cell tumors As of Aug. 7, …
Debra Horwitz, DVM: Sharing The Passion Of Behavior MedicineAugust 15, 2012 Debra Horwitz, DVM, Dipl. ACVB, not only has a passion for helping clients with their pets’ behavioral issues, she has a drive for educating other veterinarians to do the same. Dr. Horwitz has had a referral practice for behavioral problems in companion animals since 1982 and moved her practice, Veterinary Behavior Consultations, to St. Louis in 1986. Throughout the years, she has actively worked toward educating both pet owners and veterinarians on behavior topics. On the vet side, for instance, Horwitz speaks at national and international veterinary meetings, serves on several advisory boards for corporations and publications related to animal behavior and is a behavioral consultant on the Veterinary Information Network. Her work in educating pet owners has also spanned various avenues, including Nestlé Purina’s “Ask the Vet” as a Kitten Chow Mentor, local lectures through the Humane Society of Missouri and writing articles for consumer publications. Horwitz says she has always liked animals and knew early on that veterinary medicine would be a good fit. “I’m that cliché,” she says. “I wanted to be a vet from the time I was pretty young.” Horwitz received her DVM from Michigan State University College of …
American Humane Survey Determines Why Some Don’t Own PetsAugust 14, 2012The cost of pet ownership, a lack of time to care for a cat or dog, and grief over an animal’s death are among the main reasons people don’t have pets, according to the first phase of an American Humane Association survey. The association’s Animal Welfare Research Institute in Washington, D.C., which is conducting the ongoing “Keeping Pets (Dogs and Cats) in Homes Retention Study,” also found a strong dislike for cats among more than one-third of people who do not own pets. “There are still significant hurdles to overcome in helping to keep more of these healthy, adoptable animals out of the nation’s shelters,” said Patricia Olson, DVM, chief veterinary adviser at the institute. “Using the data gathered and the work to be done in future phases of this study, we hope over time to decrease pet homelessness and relinquishment.” The 1,500 people who completed an online survey were broken into those who had “never owned a dog or cat as an adult,” those who had “previously owned a cat but not within the past 12 months” and those who had “previously owned a dog but not within the past 12 …
Walmart Launches Store-Brand Premium Dog FoodAugust 14, 2012 Walmart, the Bentonville, Ark.-based discount giant, jumped into the premium pet food market today with its own brand, Pure Balance. Available exclusively in more than 2,900 Walmart stores, the retailer’s first ultrapremium dry dog food contains a blend of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids and is free of soy, wheat, corn, artificial colors, preservatives and chicken byproducts. “Our customers told us they wanted to be able to feed their dogs a dry food made with pure ingredients without having to make a special trip to the pet store,” said Jody Pinson, vice president of pets at Walmart. “We listened and are excited to offer Pure Balance...at a price our customers can afford.” The new offering wasn’t cause for alarm with B.C. Henschen, co-owner of Platinum Paws, a holistic pet store and grooming salon in Carmel, Ind. A Walmart store is two miles away. “In our store, education remains the most important thing to assist in selling pet food,” he said. “If a formula looks great, with no fillers, byproducts and such, but has a price that is far lower than the average food …
