Levitan Moves To PetWatchApril 17, 2009 PetWatch Animal Hospitals Inc. of Urbana, Md., has named Diane Levitan, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM, its chief medical officer. She will oversee medical operations, including university collaboration, continuing education programs, standards of care programs, medical advancement and community outreach. Dr. Levitan built and served as the director of The Center For Specialized Veterinary Care on Long Island in Westbury, N.Y., a referral hospital that allows owners to stay overnight with their pet during hospitalization. The center is also now partnering with PetWatch, which is building a network of 24-hour emergency, critical care and referral hospitals. “Like [the center], we believe in working closely with pet owners and referring veterinarians and inviting them to be a part of their pet and patient’s care,” said L. Peter Smith, chief executive officer of PetWatch. “Taking Dr. Levitan from her role at CSVC and expanding it to the entire PetWatch network is a natural fit.” <HOME>
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Holistic Approach To VaccinationApril 17, 2009 Christina Chambreau, DVM, a holistic veterinarian with Healthy Animals, Healthy People in Sparks, Md., says responsible pet owners should be given the option of a titer versus vaccinating, or wait longer between vaccines. “If a veterinarian is concerned about being penalized when a vaccine is forgone, they can always have the client sign a document relieving the veterinarian of malice if the animal does (however unlikely) contract the virus,” Dr. Chambreau says. “If you talk to 100 holistic vets, 90 would say vaccines cause problems. I have conducted in-house, long-term tests to determine ailments–to find problems would occur a couple of weeks after being given a vaccine. “The problem is, in the U.S. we want results fast–have the dog vaccinated and check it off the list. But issues don’t always happen in 48 hours and by the time a problem does occur, vaccines aren’t considered as a culprit. If we have a cough, we take cough medicine and expect it to be cured immediately, but things don’t work that way in reality and things don’t always go wrong immediately, either.” Chambreau says 70 percent of the chronic problems she treats are caused by vaccines and …
Hill’s And Iams Post Mixed Quarter ResultsApril 17, 2009 Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. of Topeka, Kan., recently reported that its revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 reached an all-time record of $573.2 million, an increase of 13.5 percent from the year-ago period. Unit volume increased 4 percent, pricing increased 11.5 percent and foreign exchange was negative 2 percent. Prescription Diet j/d Canine contributed to sales in the U.S. veterinary channel. New products contributing to sales in the U.S. specialty channel include Science Diet Nature’s Best Canine and Feline and the relaunch of Science Diet Puppy and Kitten foods with improved formulas, including higher levels of antioxidants. New pet food products contributing to international sales include Science Plan Nature’s Best Canine and Feline, Prescription Diet w/d Canine and Prescription Diet r/d Canine. Year to date, Hill’s reported revenue of $2.1 billion, compared to revenue of $1.9 billion in the year-ago period. Overall, Hill’s parent company Colgate-Palmolive Co., reported net income of $497 million on revenue of $3.7 billion for its fourth quarter, compared to net income of $414.9 million on revenue of $3.6 billion in the year-ago period. Year to date, the company reported …
Eklin Acquires Merlin Digital Technology From BanfieldApril 17, 2009Eklin Medical Systems of Santa Clara, Calif., recently acquired Merlin Digital Technology from Banfield, The Pet Hospital of Portland, Ore., and has agreed to develop digital imaging equipment for Banfield's network of hospitals. All assets associated with Merlin's imaging products will be included in the sale to Eklin. "The acquisition of Merlin will allow us to add a number of new products to our line and to begin delivering a more fully integrated solution to Banfield and its many hospitals," said Gary Cantu, founder and chief executive officer of Eklin. This acquisition will allow us to create a retrofitable digital capture product for practices of all sizes," said William Hornof, Eklin's chief medical officer. "Applying Eklin's resources and know-how to the Merlin product line will significantly increase image quality, consistency and overall ease of use." <HOME>
Decision Making And Old CatsApril 17, 2009 I am frequently pulled into the decision-making process for old pets. One of our elderly feline patients named PP had successful brain surgery twice over the past five years. At both surgeries the neurologist removed a large meningioma. PP was 18 years old when the tumor recurred. Her family declined further diagnostic work up (MRI) because they did not want her to undergo a third surgery at her advanced age. PP was circling, blind, very tense, unable to use her litter box and in a two-month decline. The family was ready to euthanize PP but they met Dr. Katalin Grant, who referred them to me for an end-of-life care consultation. Six months have passed since then and PP is nearly back to normal. She responded to our Pawspice program's palliative brain tumor and immunonutrition protocols. The family could not be more pleased. Their other family cat is PP's 17-year-old offspring. He is on subcutaneous fluids for chronic renal failure. The decision-making process is alive and well for these families. But for many pet owners, their decisions can be greatly influenced or practically dictated by paternalistic doctors. Paternalism is abused when the attending doctor …
Helping Clients With The Long GoodbyeApril 17, 2009 I want to share some insightful notes from Kimberly Fox, a pet caregiver who is providing pet hospice care for Rennie, her 12-year-old, 90-pound golden retriever. Rennie developed a rapidly growing mass involving his entire right pelvis. His case was considered inoperable bone cancer after a surgical consult. Kimberly was shocked. The Golden Retriever Club of America reports that 67 percent of large males and 57 percent of large females die of cancer. The scenario for Rennie is not unusual. What is very special about Rennie's case is that we are being given a most personal perspective by a devoted pet caregiver. She is making comments on needed and wanted professional service, which is evolving in veterinary medicine as a viable option for pet caregivers who feel inclined to care for their best friend until the end. Dr. Rachel Jones of Marina Pet Clinic referred Kimberly and Rennie to our new Pawspice care service at the Crossroads Emergency Care Clinic in Norwalk, Calif. Kimberly felt the need for expertise in management of the end of life care issues that were facing Rennie. She came in for consultation, pain management and palliative care. We were …
Texas Seeks Comments On Rabies RulesApril 17, 2009 The Texas Department of Health Services has proposed changes in the current rabies control rules to ensure compliance with the Health and Safety Code and is seeking comments from veterinarians. Deadline for comments is Sunday, Sept. 30. Some of the proposed changes relate to reporting human exposure to rabies, facilities for the quarantining or impounding of animals, quarantine method and testing, vaccination requirement, and the interstate and international movement of cats and dogs into Texas. Some veterinarians feel that an exemption rule is missing. The proposed changes, as well as the original bill, do not allow for the use of veterinary discretion when administering the rabies vaccination in sick or senior pets. “I am not anti-vaccine but my concern is that there are going to be some very rare exceptions where the veterinarian should be allowed the discretion not to vaccinate the dog or cat again for rabies,” said Bob Rogers, DVM, of Houston, who has played an active role in working to reform outdated rabies laws. Some of Dr. Rogers’ concerns about re-vaccination pertain to dogs that have had immune-mediated hemolytic anemia …
VESPA To Hold Mix-and-Mingle At IVECCSApril 17, 2009 The Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Practice Assn. will be hosting a mix-and-mingle event on Saturday, Sept. 29, from 6 p.m.–7 p.m., at the 13th International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium, which takes place Sept. 26-30 in New Orleans. VESPA welcomes anyone involved in emergency or specialty practice, including veterinarians, veterinary technicians, receptionists, managers and owners. The event is being sponsored by Webster Veterinary Supply, of Sterling, Mass. See program materials for meeting location or visit IVECCS for conference information. <HOME>
Barbaro Memorial Fund Backs Laminitis ResearchApril 17, 2009 The National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s subsidiary, NTRA Charities, recently handed out $90,801 in support of laminitis research. The money was distributed from the NTRA Charities Barbaro Memorial Fund, established in memory of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who succumbed to laminitis in 2007. One new and two continuing research projects will be funded. The new study, “Effect of Digital Hypothermia on Inflammatory Injury in Laminitis,” by James Belknap, DVM, Ph.D., of Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is a two-year project funded for $82,109. The continuing projects, which will collectively receive $8,692, are “Targeting 5-HT in Equine Laminitis,” by Douglas Allen, DVM, at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and “Treatment of Equine Laminitis with Doxycycline,” by Susan Eades, DVM, Ph.D., at the Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Both continuing studies, which originally were funded with $100,000 from the Barbaro fund to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation in 2007, are on schedule to complete research papers for peer-reviewed scientific journals. <HOME>
New American Humane Division Focuses On Human-Animal BondApril 17, 2009The American Humane Assn. has created a new division with the hopes of enhancing people's understanding about the important connection between people and animals. The Human-Animal Division, which bridges the organization's existing Animal Protection Division and its Children's Division, will focus on programs surrounding issues such as animal-assisted therapy, pets and women's shelters and humane education. Initiatives include enhancing health care services and education by providing direct services of trained animal-assisted therapy teams; developing new humane education curricula for use in elementary and college classrooms, as well as for professionals and parents; and incorporating the organization's growing public education about The Link (the correlation between animal abuse, family violence and other forms of community violence) and American Humane's new Pets and Women's Shelters (PAWS) Program, which helps domestic violence shelters accommodate their residents' pets onsite. American Humane also plans to convene a national summit on the human-animal bond. It will look into forming an animal-assisted therapy coalition involving various other independent programs. <HOME>
