Exotics Expert: Marla Lichtenberger, DVMOctober 28, 2009 Marla Lichtenberger was 22 and had never been on an airplane when her parents dropped her off at the Milwaukee airport as she headed for veterinary school half a world away. This was in the late ’70s, when female veterinarians were less common. A few years earlier, a high school counselor had flatly told her to pick another career, something more suitable “for a girl.” Her home state of Wisconsin had no school of veterinary medicine at the time, and she had not been one of the few out-of-state students granted admission in neighboring Minnesota. At the suggestion of an Indian-born veterinarian she had worked for, Lichtenberger looked into veterinary schools in India. Soon, she was jetting to Punjab Agricultural University, where, after struggling with malaria and dysentery, strikes that idled classes for months at a time and a rabid water buffalo, she earned her DVM degree in 1985. “It was quite an adventure,” says Lichtenberger, Dipl. ACVECC. “But I would never give up this experience. It made me grow up very fast, and it gave me an incredible background.” For one thing it gave her early interest and experience in working with exotics, which, …
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A New Perspective: Joel Pasco, DVMOctober 28, 2009Once he got over the shock that his cancer was terminal, Joel Pasco, DVM, realized that he had two choices. Dr. Joel Pasco with his five dogs at home. He could get depressed, feel sorry for himself and wait to die. Or he could stay positive and pack as much life as possible into each remaining day. To the California veterinarian, it was no contest. Told last year that he had as little as 12 months to live, Dr. Pasco, 62, decided to surround himself with family and friends. He would continue to pursue hobbies that brought him joy, like painting, sculpting, fishing and bonsai gardening. And, as long as he could, he would continue to practice veterinary medicine, the profession he’d loved for more than 30 years. Dr. Pasco with a tortoise patient. “People ask me, ‘Why are you working? You should be retired,’ ” Pasco says. “But my answer is, ‘I love what I do. I love my animal patients and I love my human clients, and my life would be very empty if I could not continue to do this.’ ” Life-Changing Moment The diagnosis came late last summer. A cancerous tumor …
Paging Dr. Green: Matt Rooney, DVMOctober 28, 2009 Of all the “green” features at Aspen Meadow Veterinary Specialists in Longmont, Colo.—the energy-efficient lighting, the recycled building materials, the on-site composting—which one gets the most initial attention from clients? The toilets. Dr. Matt Rooney is pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification for his clinic. Courtesy of Jon Orlando Photography They have a dual-flush design: Push one lever for a regular flush of solid waste, push the other to get a low flow for liquid waste. Common in Europe, such water-conserving toilets are rare in the U.S. “That one takes some explaining,” says clinic owner Matt Rooney, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS. “Americans are very inquisitive, and we found out that at first a number of people were pushing them both. We had to put up little signs so people would know what to do.” Educating people about sustainable technology, not just toilets, is part of the plan at Dr. Rooney’s hospital. In turning a car dealership into an 8,400-square-foot clinic, Rooney aimed to be as environmentally friendly as possible. In fact, the veterinarian is working to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for the …
To Protect And Serve: Gary Riggs, DVMOctober 28, 2009 A pair of jaguars at the Akron, Ohio, zoo produced a litter of three cubs in 2005, one more than the mother could care for. So Gary Riggs, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, the zoo’s director of veterinary services, took home the rejected baby. He and his wife, Denise, hand-raised the tiny jaguar, getting up for middle-of-the-night feedings and checking on it pretty much around the clock. At 6 months old, the cub, named Maya, returned to the 50-acre zoo, eventually landing at the San Antonio Zoo. Dr. Riggs with an avian patient. That would be the end of the story, except it wasn’t. Dr. Riggs, 53, had been at the Akron Zoological Park for more than 20 years as it grew from a handful of mostly North American exhibits to more than 800 North American and exotic animals. Long interested in animal conservation, Riggs found himself profoundly touched by having cared for Maya so closely. He and Denise wanted to do something more. So in 2006, working with a handful of volunteers, the Riggs' started the non-profit organization Wild4Ever, a wildlife conservation foundation dedicated …
Richards Honored For Lifetime MentorshipApril 17, 2009 The Cat Writers’ Assn. recently named the late James Richards, DVM, the recipient of its 2007 Shojai Mentor Award, which recognizes a Cat Writers’ Assn. member who goes beyond mentorship duties by offering guidance, encouragement and support to fellow members. Dr. Richards, who was director of the Cornell Feline Health Center at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, was a spokesman for feline health and awareness campaigns. The most recent was the KNOW Heartworms initiative, which aims to tackle myths of feline heartworm disease. He also founded the Cornell Feline Health Center Veterinary Issues Award. The award, renamed in his honor, encourages writers to undertake difficult stories on the topics of technological or medical advances, research or innovations in feline veterinary medicine. Richards died in April to a motorcycle accident in New York. <HOME>
Equine Vets Enter Hall Of FameApril 17, 2009 Two veterinarians who have helped raise the level of care for horses have been inducted into the International Equine Veterinarian Hall of Fame, sponsored by the American Farriers Journal. G. Kent Carter, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, chief of medicine at Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, has been working in conjunction with farriers for more than two decades. He also established an instructional rotation dedicated to equine lameness at the college. Jay Merriam, DVM, operates the referral clinic Massachusetts Equine Clinic in Uxbridge, Mass., which specializes in sports medicine and equine podiatry. He also initiated a clinical internship program linking his practice with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. <HOME>
Mizzou’s Dr. Cook Wins National HonorApril 17, 2009 James Cook, DVM, Ph.D., director of the Comparative Orthopedic Laboratory at the University of Missouri, has been named the grand-prize national winner of the “Thank Your Vet for a Healthy Pet” essay contest for going above and beyond when it comes to caring for animals. “I’ve been fortunate to receive a number of different awards in my career, but this award is probably the most meaningful,” Dr. Cook said. “I want my work and my life to make a difference in people’s lives and animals’ lives. “In these cases, making a difference in a dog’s life made such a difference in these special people’s lives, and this award helps me always remember that and be motivated by it.” Cook, who was also the Midwest regional winner, was chosen from more than 1,000 nominations made by pet owners throughout the country. All the vets received attractive certificates recognizing their nominations. The contest to recognize America’s best veterinarians was sponsored by the Morris Animal Foundation of Denver; Merial Ltd. of Duluth, Ga., and BowTie Inc., publisher of Veterinary Practice News, Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy magazines. Michael Ray of Deltona, Fla., was one of Cook’s nominators. …
Mark Morris Jr. Honored With Lifetime Achievement AwardApril 17, 2009 Hill’s Pet Nutrition of Topeka, Kan., posthumously honored Mark L. Morris Jr., DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVN, with the 2008 Mark L. Morris Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award. “Dr. Morris truly established his own legacy by taking his father’s vision and turning it into reality,” said Mary Beth Leininger, DVM, director of professional affairs for Hill’s. “He has made a difference in millions of animals’ lives and changed the way the entire veterinary profession thinks about nutrition.” At the time of his death in January 2007, Morris had developed more than 130 nutritional products. In recognition of his lifetime of service, Hill’s will donate $20,000 to the Morris Animal Foundation in his name. The award was established in memory of Morris’ father and is presented annually at the North American Veterinary Conference. <HOME>
Pathobiologist RecognizedApril 17, 2009The American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology recently presented John Harvey, DVM, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, a lifetime achievement award. Dr. Harvey, a former president of the clinical pathology society, discovered and named the Ehrlichia platys organism that infects platelets in dogs and, along with co-workers, first recognized and reported four inherited erythrocyte enzyme deficiencies. <HOME>
Eli Lilly And Co. Names New CEOApril 17, 2009 Eli Lilly and Co. President and Chief Operating Officer John Lechleiter, Ph.D., will assume the role of chief executive officer on April 1. He replaces CEO and Chairman of the Board Sidney Taurel, who spent nearly 37 years with the company. Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly is parent company of Elanco Animal Health in Greenfield, Ind. <HOME>
