PETA certifies Dove as cruelty-freeOctober 10, 2018People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has certified Dove as a cruelty-free brand.
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Morning huddles: Little effort, max resultsOctober 10, 2018While some dread attending yet another meeting, others enjoy daily get-togethers. Daily, you might wonder? Yes. Daily, brief morning huddles can save time and improve practice communication and culture.
LexaGene to unveil LX2 beta prototype for veterinary marketOctober 10, 2018LexaGene Holdings Inc., a biotechnology company that develops instrumentation for pathogen detection, plans to unveil a model of its low-cost LX2 beta prototype at the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians conference, Oct. 19-20 in Kansas City, Mo. The company's polymerase chain reaction-based technology is designed to be placed in-clinic, where it can screen samples for multiple targets simultaneously and return results in one hour. The LX2 system is low cost, leaves a small footprint and takes less than a minute to initiate automated sample processing. LX2 beta instrument features include: Ability to accept two distinct reagent panels for syndromic-based testing, where each panel is capable of detecting 28 targets (up to 56 targets total) at once Capability to process two samples at once within a footprint that measures 16 x 20 x 22 in. A one-time disposable cartridge per test "Incorporating this technology into a veterinary practice will provide better patient outcomes since the technology also looks for antimicrobial resistance, which will allow clinicians to make more informed decisions on prescribing the appropriate antibiotic," said Jack Regan, PhD, LexaGene CEO. "Furthermore, by bringing the testing in-house, practices will tap into a valuable revenue stream that …
IDEXX chief medical officer announces 2019 retirementOctober 10, 2018IDEXX Laboratories Inc. is in the market for a new chief medical officer after Roberta Relford, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM, DAVCP, announced her plans for retirement early next year. Dr. Relford, who joined IDEXX in 1996 and has served as its CMO since 2013, is leaving the company to pursue a new opportunity raising and training colts for working ranches across the U.S. "As many of you know, I have a new partner, and he and I are about to begin a fascinating and exciting new chapter in our life together," she said. "We are embarking on a new journey where we will be training colts and traveling the country. "I didn't make this decision lightly," Relford added. "I leave behind the best job and career a person could ask for. At IDEXX, I have been part of setting new and higher standards of care for pets around the world, and I can't imagine a better team with which to do this important work." Relford received her DVM from Auburn University, a master's degree from Mississippi State University, and a PhD in veterinary pathology from Texas A&M University, where she also pursued advanced training in small animal internal medicine. Check …
Pathway Vet Alliance hospital network expansion continuesOctober 9, 2018Pathway Vet Alliance, a national veterinary management group, has added 15 new veterinary practice locations across California, Texas, New Mexico, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York, Washington, and Arkansas. "Throughout this year we've remained committed to expanding our network of hospitals to new communities across the U.S. These efforts have allowed us to help more pets and provide pet owners with unparalleled care options," said Stephen Hadley, DVM and CEO of Pathway Vet Alliance. "We have exceeded our own expectations during the third quarter and hope to continue this success as we close out this year." The veterinary hospitals recently acquired by Pathway will benefit from the additional support, education opportunities, and resources Pathway offers while retaining their original team of veterinarians and veterinary professionals. Pathway is continuing to hire new team members at their headquarters in Austin and other locations in light of current growth and expected acquisitions during this year's fourth quarter. For more information, visit the company's website.
Breaking up is hard to doOctober 9, 2018The idea of owning and operating a veterinary practice with a 50-50 business partner can be pretty enticing. The two of you will share the financial burden, split the profits, and offer clients complementary professional services. You will become the closest of colleagues and the best of friends. And when difficult decisions need to be made, you will be each other’s trusted sounding boards.
Blue Buffalo offers additional diet options for adverse food reactionsOctober 9, 2018Pet food maker Blue Buffalo Co. has launched BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet HF Hydrolyzed for Food Intolerance wet dog and cat foods, along with BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet NP Novel Protein Alligator wet dog foods, formulated for pets with adverse reactions to food. HF Hydrolyzed for Food Intolerance contains salmon hydrolysate, a novel protein with a mean molecular weight of 2,000 daltons, as the first ingredient. NP Novel Protein Alligator is formulated with alligator as the first ingredient. The new wet diets complement the existing dry formulas of BLUE NVD HF Hydrolyzed Salmon and BLUE NVD NP Novel Protein Alligator. "With the launch of BLUE NVD HF and NP wet formulas, Blue Buffalo is providing veterinarians with efficacious nutritional solutions to help manage adverse food reactions, while meeting the needs of their clients," said Victoria Carmella, DVM, director of veterinary services at Blue Buffalo. "BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet formulas provide a full range of natural recipes formulated by veterinarians and animal nutritionists to enhance the health of dogs and cats that can benefit from therapeutic nutrition."
KSU, Biosecurity Research Institute researchers target African swine feverOctober 9, 2018Kansas State University researchers and the Biosecurity Research Institute have banded together to stop the spread of African swine fever virus to the U.S. The disease was reported in China in August and is positioned to spread throughout Asia and the Caucuses region of Eastern Europe. If African swine fever enters the U.S., it could cause billions in economic losses to swine and other industries, and devastate trade and international markets, animal disease experts say. There is no vaccine or cure for the disease, which causes hemorrhagic fever and high mortality in pigs (it does not infect humans). "African swine fever's introduction into China, poses an increased threat to the U.S.," said Stephen Higgs, PhD, director of the Biosecurity Research Institute. "Introduction of African swine fever virus into the U.S. would have an enormous impact on our agricultural industry. Research, education, and training at the Biosecurity Research Institute help to improve our understanding and preparedness for this threat." In 2013, the Biosecurity Research Institute became the first nonfederal facility to be approved for work with African swine fever virus, Higgs said. The university projects at the Biosecurity Research Institute are part of research that can transition to the National …
iVET360 2018 report analyzes key veterinary clinic marketing metricsOctober 8, 2018 iVET360 veterinary services company released its annual Veterinary Marketing Benchmark Report, revealing statistics and trends in veterinary marketing for 2018. In the report, the company analyzed the marketing metrics of 1,000 accredited hospitals and covered approximately 27,000 data points to highlight crucial new information for practices regarding their marketing efforts. Topics covered in the report include introducing Nextdoor as a marketing tool, stressing the importance of Google (specifically highlighting the power of Google Ads—a tool only being used by 10 percent of hospitals), proper SEO usage, all things Google My Business, and the average number of reviews a practice has across their most dependable social channels. "Along with providing marketing assistance to veterinary hospitals, our goal is to lead the way and educate the industry on the most current and relevant marketing methods," said Justin Vandeberghe, managing director of creative services at iVET360. "Hospitals often contact us looking for industry benchmarks while asking us what they should be doing, and this report outlines what that average veterinary hospital hopes to achieve." Veterinary practices can download the report and receive a complimentary digital report of their business (within 24 hours) by contacting iVET360 and providing their …
Dog DNA company discovers why huskies have blue eyesOctober 8, 2018A duplication on canine chromosome 18 is behind Siberian huskies' blue eyes, according to a study published in PLOS Genetics by Adam Boyko, PhD, founder and CEO of Embark Veterinary, and Aaron Sams, PhD, senior scientist at Embark Veterinary Inc. and colleagues. According to the authors, this is the first consumer genomics study conducted in a nonhuman model and the largest canine genome-wide association study to date (the DNA of 6,000 dogs was tested). Embark Veterinary is a DNA research company with offices in Boston and Ithaca, N.Y., and a research partner of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Boyko, Sams, and colleagues used a diverse panel of 6,070 genetically tested dogs from owners that contributed phenotype data via web-based surveys and photo uploads. They found that a 98.6-kilobase duplication on chromosome 18 near the ALX4 gene, which plays an important role in mammalian eye development, was strongly associated with variation in blue eye color, primarily in Siberian huskies but also in nonmerle Australian shepherds. One copy of the variant was enough to cause blue eyes, or heterochromia. However, some dogs with the variant did not have blue eyes, so other genetic or environmental factors are still involved. …
