Down With Live-Plucked DownJanuary 4, 2010 Many of us like to sleep under down-stuffed comforters and on soft down-filled pillows. When it’s cold, there is something special about the lightweight warmth and breathability of down-filled jackets and coats. Down fills bedding, clothing, gloves, furniture and other heat-preserving items for people. Most high-quality down for commercial use comes from the soft layer of smaller feathers that cover the skin of geese and ducks. The sourcing and production of down goes back hundreds of years. While at the American Veterinary Medical Association conference in Seattle last July, I stopped by the Animal Welfare Institute booth and picked up its fall quarterly magazine, which included an article titled “Down on the Goose and Duck Farm.” It reported on a 2009 Swedish TV documentary that estimated today’s down is provided to manufacturers either as a byproduct from ducks and geese slaughtered for meat or by live plucking. Defining the Term What is live plucking? I had to clarify this question for myself. It seemed offensive to me from the start to learn that down feathers might be plucked or harvested from live geese and ducks. Live plucking is the rapid pulling off of feathers from …
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Top Dog: Kirk Weicht, DVMJanuary 4, 2010 Dr. Kirk Weicht, winner of the ‘Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet’ contest, keeps the well-being of pet owners and staff in sight. Diana Beck’s 11-year-old German shepherd mix was ill. Having recently moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Beck didn’t have a veterinarian, so she chose the hospital closest to home, where she met Kirk Weicht, DVM. Dr. Weicht diagnosed a tumor on the dog’s uterus and performed surgery, Beck says. But even more importantly, he gently explained everything, including the fact that had the dog been spayed, the tumor probably never would have developed. (Courtesy of Margaret Bryant Photography) Three types of salamander larvae “I hate to admit it, but up until then I thought that if you spayed or neutered a pet, it would make them fat, so I had never done it,” Beck says. “Until that time I was very uneducated in responsible pet ownership. No one, up until Dr. Weicht, had educated us enough to help us extend our pets’ lives and give them a better quality of life.” Twenty-five years later, Weicht is still Beck’s veterinarian, having helped her …
Transaction To Form Butler Schein Animal Health CompletedJanuary 4, 2010 Butler Schein Animal Health has officially formed. Henry Schein Inc. and Butler Animal Health Supply first announced the planned merger on Nov. 30. The transaction closed on Dec. 31. The new company, based in Dublin, Ohio, is 50.1 percent owned by Henry Schein and 49.9 percent owned by the owners of Butler Animal Health Supply, including Oak Hill Capital Partners and The Ashkin Family Group. Combined revenue for the last 12 months was about $850 million on a U.S. General Accepted Accounting Principles basis. About 900 Butler Schein Animal Health team members, including about 300 field sales representatives and about 200 telesales and customer support representatives, will serve animal health customers in all 50 states. Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm with offices in Stamford, Conn.; Menlo Park, Calif.; and New York. The Ashkin Family Group distributes veterinary and dental products. The Jericho, N.Y.-based company is also involved in a variety of other businesses. <HOME> Butler Schein Animal Health has officially formed. Henry Schein Inc. and Butler Animal Health Supply first announced the planned merger on Nov. 30. Butler Schein Animal Health has officially formed. Henry …
Changing The World, One Patient At A TimeJanuary 4, 201012/21/2009 - Would you have euthanized this patient? 12/07/2009 - Spay a pet, save a life 11/16/2009 - How (In)competent Are You? A local colleague, Dr. L, generated quite a stir in our referral community. Her dog Ursula, a 9 -year-old golden retriever, was recently diagnosed with hemoabdomen, widespread liver cancer and pulmonary metastasis, probably all due to hemangiosarcoma. Strangely, Ursula never missed a meal, and her liver values were normal. There wasn't much to do, besides making her comfortable. I suggested to my referring vet that she look into Pawspice. Remember, dear reader, Pawspice is the concept developed by oncologist and Veterinary Practice News columnist Alice Villalobos, DVM. Pawspice is hospice care for terminally sick patients, whether they have cancer, liver or kidney or heart failure, or the owner can't afford treatment. Dr. L was mentally prepared to euthanize her right away, but Ursula perked up. After some research, she decided to give IV fluids, steroids, vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, a chinese herb called skullcap (aka Scutellaria baicalensis or baical), claimed to have some anti-cancer properties, and even an equivalent of reiki. Unfortunately, Ursula's health declined. She likely had another bleeding episode, and after 10 days, she was euthanized. The story could …
Shelter Crosses Line, Some Vets ContendDecember 30, 2009 Stanislaus County, Calif., is laying claim to the nation’s first private veterinary practice and government alliance, a project that some veterinarians see as unfair competition in the world of low-cost spay/neuter clinics. The county has one of the highest euthanasia rates in the nation, with a 35-year-old shelter that was built to house 200 animals but accommodates more than 400 on an average day. Photo courtesy of Dr. Kwane Stewart. Dr. Kwane Stewart oversees the Stanislaus County animal shelter in Central California. Of the 21,000 animals taken to the Stanislaus County Department of Animal Services from June 2008 through June 2009, 14,357 were euthanized. This rate, 68 percent, was emotionally draining for the 30 staff members and cost taxpayers $1.7 million. “We euthanize 80 to 90 animals a day in peak season,” says Kwane Stewart, DVM, the Stanislaus County veterinarian. The euthanasia rate caused public outcry for years, but 2009 was the year the county Board of Supervisors folded to the community’s request. The board approved an $8.7 million, 33,360-square-foot facility, a fully equipped hospital and housing for 567 animals. The new facility, set …
Trends In Clinic DesignDecember 30, 2009 Hydrotherapy equipment? Check. Bereavement room? Check. TVs in the waiting room? Check. Bland design? No. Building a veterinary hospital today requires detailed planning that accommodates all of a practice’s clients and modalities while leaving options for future specialty services. And it should be done, architects say, in a visually appealing and practical way while keeping individual budgets and practice needs in mind. Photo Courtesy of BDA Architecture Architecture of Albuquerque, N.M., designs post-surgical areas in which patients can recover in the open for closer monitoring. “General practitioners are trending toward offering more and more services like those found in human medicine,” says Warren Freedenfeld of the architectural firm Rauhaus Freedenfeld and Associates of Boston and Laguna Hills, Calif. “Hydrotherapy, CAT scans and MRIs all need to be considered in new designs. Basically everyone wants to pack a lot into a small envelope.” While some equipment requires a lot of room, new technology can save space. Digital radiography, for example, has eliminated the need for a darkroom and X-ray storage. Sustainable Design Thoughts of LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) often cross the minds of …
Voice For Justice: Melinda Merck, DVMDecember 30, 2009 When authorities were trying to build the infamous dogfighting case against Michael Vick, they weren’t sure exactly what to look for or how to prove it. But forensic scientist Melinda Merck, DVM, did. After excavating the graves of some of the pit bulls and analyzing their remains, she pieced together the horrific details of their deaths. Some had been hanged; others had been shot. Her expertise helped put the National Football League quarterback in prison and brought more attention to what’s becoming an important new tool in law enforcement. Now senior director of veterinary forensics at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York, Dr. Merck is on the front lines of this rapidly growing specialty, combining the techniques of human forensic science with the specialized knowledge of veterinary medicine. “It’s not about punishment or getting people put into jail; it’s about protecting the animals,” Merck says. “If we’re not the voice for that animal, who is?” On-the-Job Training In the emerging field of veterinary forensic science, Merck, 45, is a star—profiled by National Public Radio and People magazine, sought after as a speaker and consultant. …
Interview With A Suture GuruDecember 30, 2009 Suture material is the most common foreign body intentionally left inside patients. It can delay wound healing, cause infection or create an ugly scar. Choosing which suture type to use should therefore be taken seriously. In a perfect world, suture material would be strong, easy to handle, non-reactive, non-toxic and affordable. It also would offer good knot security and be reabsorbed by the body at a predictable rate once the tissue has healed. Courtesy of Dr. Phil Zeltzman Appropriate suture choice and technique are just the beginning. It is important to use an E-collar to prevent self-trauma, as in this 10-year-old Labrador, who had a hemilaminectomy for a disc hernia. But the variety of suture materials and needles can be overwhelming. We asked Thomas McMahan, sort of a suture guru, to help us untangle the web of suture materials in an exclusive interview. Q. What is your background? A. I have been involved in the medical field for the past 40 years. I am a surgical devices consultant for Novartis Animal Health, where I help educate and train veterinarians, vet students, vet technicians and sales …
Natural Vs. Synthetic VitaminsDecember 30, 2009 From holistic websites to nutritional seminars, messages bombarding consumers and the profession argue that “natural” vitamins are better than “synthetics” and often espouse the “more is better” line for orthomolecular or megavitamin therapy. Skeptics counter this by insisting that “with minor exception, molecules made in the ‘factories’ of nature are identical to those made in the factories of chemical companies.”1 They maintain that a good diet should supply all necessary nutrients. The true story builds a much more complex picture. With respect to the argument in favor of food-based vitamins, even natural sources of vitamin A in unnatural quantities produce problems like metabolic osteopathy in cats, a species with particularly high susceptibility to vitamin A toxicity.2 For precursors to vitamin A, the carotenoids, as many as nine factors influence their bioavailability when ingested in food. These variables include: • Their type, diversity and quantity. • The host’s nutrient status, genetic makeup and digestive health. • The integrity of the plant substrate when carotenoids are ingested in food.3,4 The carotenoid lycopene, which lowers prostate cancer risk, illustrates this last point. Cooking improves lycopene bioavailability because heating and homogenizing lycopene-rich tomatoes into paste disrupts …
Factors To ExtinctionDecember 30, 2009 If seeing the great animals of Africa is on your wish list, go as soon as you can! I recently led a Seminars in the Sun group to South Africa with wildlife expert Dr. Peter Brothers. His guidance and lectures gave us insight into the complexity and multilevel challenges that Africa faces to preserve its amazing biodiversity and heritage as the birthplace of man. Malayan sun bears may become extinct sooner than expected, two ecologists say. The most disturbing concept for me to absorb is the heartless process of extinction. It happened to the dinosaurs after a huge meteor hit the planet. It happens as life proceeds. It is happening now despite desperate conservation measures. Many factors come into play, such as weather, habitat loss, environmental toxins, disease, shrinking population dynamics. These factors can be analyzed to predict extinction risks and rates for endangered species. But some species may become extinct much faster than predicted because scientists have not updated the standard extinction prediction model. Alan Hastings at the University of California, Davis, and Brett Melbourne at the University of Colorado in Boulder are ecologists who believe that conservation organizations are using …
