Human-Animal Bond

Down With Live-Plucked Down

January 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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Factors To Extinction

December 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 …

Balancing Motherhood And Veterinary Practice

December 30, 2009

When building Coast Pet Clinic/Animal Cancer Center (Coast) in 1977 I was only 29 years old. We designed the upstairs with a big conference room and a full kitchen and bathroom that opened to a spacious room that could serve as a day care facility for babies and small children. But the children did not come to our practice, not until this century. A Chance to Help African Orphans As I write this, I’m getting ready to lead a group to South Africa to see Dr. Peter Brothers, a wildlife veterinarian who leads Brothers Safari. So I am making a special plea to readers to help feed orphaned African children who have lost parents to the AIDS epidemic. These children have nothing. In Malawi alone, 2 million of its 12 million people are orphans. Please join me in sending donations to Nourish the Children at NourishTheChildren.com. Nourish the Children had nutritionists from my alma mater, the University of California, Davis, create a special fortified food called Vita Meal to nourish starving children. In addition, …

Opinion: Let’s Reform Health Care For A Better Tomorrow

October 26, 2009

Health-care reform would be especially good for our profession, as practice owners and employers wouldn’t have the financial burden and social obligation of carrying health insurance for their employees. Many veterinary hospitals, like other small businesses, don't always have the money or the will to offer health coverage as a benefit. One of my former receptionists, Martha, had health-care insurance during the six years she was on my staff. Then she went to work at another hospital that did not provide health insurance. When Martha developed symptoms of a urinary tract infection, she delayed going to see the doctor because she and her husband were saving for a house and she was uninsured. Six weeks later, she did go to the doctor and was told she had advanced cervical cancer. Martha died in three days. She was only 32 and had been married for 10 years. Everyone who knew Martha was upset that she put off seeing the doctor because she didn’t have health insurance. This is a sad but true story. Many people believe that not having insurance isn't a good excuse for not getting yourself checked out if a problem comes …

Dealing With Daily Dilemmas

August 21, 2009

I received some responses regarding my August column about “Food Inc.,” a documentary film released this past summer. No doubt, there are animal welfare issues in the field of food animal production that will put some veterinarians at odds with other veterinarians. Part of my job is to raise awareness of issues that affect our profession and how we serve society. The information quoted in my article came from the documentary. The first Bustad Award Winners’ Reunion took place during the AVMA convention. It was organized by Dr. William McCulloch and hosted by Larry Norvell, president of the Delta Society. No other single event has attracted as many Bustad recipients in one room. From left are: Drs. Jane Shaw from the Argus Center at Colorado State University, James Harris from Tasmania, Brian Forsegren (this year’s recipient) from Cleveland, Caroline Shaffer from Tuskegee, Marv Samuleson with VARL, Dr. Alice Villalobos, Bill McCulloch from Washington, Gen Kato from Japan and Marie McCabe from Arkansas. I recommend that all veterinarians see the movie because some of your clients most likely will see it. California had …

Some Disturbing Food For Thought

August 6, 2009

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that food-borne illness affects 76 million Americans annually; 325,000 adults and children become sick enough to be hospitalized and 5,000 die. Reading List “Fast Food Nation,” . “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” . “Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System,” Daily headlines often include stories about: Food poisoned with e. Coli and Salmonella. . Pesticides and feedlot runoff causing pollution by methane and greenhouse gas emissions. . Food animal and immigrant labor abuses. . World hunger, malnutrition, obesity and the diabetes epidemic becoming rampant. The documentary film “Food Inc.” shows how industrial food is making people sicker, fatter and poorer, and how it negatively affects the environment, the economy and workers’ rights. David Servan-Schreiber, MD, Ph.D., in his well-documented book “Anticancer,” confronts the hazards of our traditional Western diet. Thirty million Americans are …

Why Is Deception So Common?

June 30, 2009

It has always bothered me when doctors and nurses blandly tell dying human patients that they will be “OK.” I am also bothered when I hear veterinarians and their support staff tell pet owners that their pet is going to be “all right” despite a poor prognosis looming overhead. We may feel guilty if we take away a person’s hope, but should we lie about reality? Deception is all too common a habit in the human health care field, but should veterinarians also support the false hopes of their clients? Should frank lies come straight from health care professionals who encourage terminal patients to thrash in the gears of the “mindless machinery” of medicine? Is there harm in giving clients the truth about their pet’s actual condition and probable prognosis, at least as a reality check? If veterinarians follow the pediatrician model, we need to inform the “parents” about their pet’s condition. Are physicians and veterinarians too blunt when they inform us with the statistical prognosis? Is there a more compassionate way to say, “You have six months to live”? How can this difficult information be gently delivered to the family without ripping their hearts out and …

Praising Our DVM Authors And Icons

June 10, 2009

The world fell in love with veterinarians as they read James Herriot novels, but today things are different. In fact, life in the fast lane and in cities worldwide finds many pet owners seeking help at larger veterinary hospitals with multiple associates who often refer them for specialty care at mega-practices. The contemporary sick-pet story no longer has the quaint James Herriot-style feeling. Pet owners who encounter high-tech veterinary medicine have a quite different experience. But the human-animal bond remains the same. The bond is the mortar, grout and glue that holds together the foundation of our profession. Modern veterinary authors are stepping up to tell today’s story. We can wistfully look back to the good old days, but we must read the new DVM authors, inspired by Herriot, who write about our evolving profession. We need to acquaint ourselves with the newest generation of veterinary authors who address their books to the public, such as Nancy Kay, Nick Trout, Tami Shearer, Debra Eldredge, Robin Downing, Shannon Nakaya, Elizabeth Hodgkins, Baxter Black, Marty Becker, Robert M. Miller, yours truly and many others too numerous to mention here. Our clients have the opportunity to witness the …

Nature’s Phenomenally Cruel Side

April 17, 2009

On April 25, a great white shark attacked David Martin, DVM, UC Davis class of ’76, around 7 a.m. Dave was swimming 150 yards off shore with nine friends in wet suits. They were triathlon training in Solano Beach, Calif., not far from Dave’s house. Experts think the shark mistook him for a seal. Dave yelled, “Shark!” before he was pulled under. The shark did not stay around. Dave’s friends brought his lifeless body to shore. Dave’s legs had deep bite wounds that severed his femoral arteries and veins. He most likely bled to death within a few minutes. This shocking attack was covered extensively in news outlets. It made me think of other animal attacks that hit the news: the sting ray that killed Steve Irwin; the tiger shark that bit the arm off young Bethany Hamilton while she was surfing; the alligator that attacked a golfer and dislocated his shoulder; the chimp that attacked a visitor at a primate shelter; the tiger bite that ended the Siegfried & Roy show; the bear that killed one of its trainers; the zoo tiger that killed a taunting boy; and the captive orca that attacked its handler at …

Power Of The Bond Reinvigorates UC Davis