Top 10 Most Read Veterinary Practice News Facebook Posts of 2015December 30, 2015From canine breed-specific considerations for anesthesia to comparing notes about the vet medicine struggle, here's what the Veterinary Practice News Facebook group was reading in 2015. 1) 5 Times the Vet Medicine Struggle Got a Little Too Real Laugh so you don't cry. 2) 2014 X-Ray Contest Winners Animals will eat just about anything. The proof is in the radiographs. 3) What to do When You Make a Mistake in Your Vet Clinic Use the "TEAM" approach. 4) Top Veterinary Technician Schools & Education Thinking about becoming a vet tech? Here’s a sampling of vet tech schools and programs to look into. 5) Veterinary Students Pose for Charity Calendar Proceeds from the $20 calendar benefit Cornell University Hospital For Animals' Patient Assistance Fund. 6) Vet Fired After Bragging of Killing Cat ‘My first bow kill’ was how …
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Top 10 Veterinary Practice News Articles of 2015December 29, 2015What were you reading in 2015? Check out the top articles on VeterinaryPracticeNews.com of this year: 1) 2015 X-Ray Contest Winners Find the winners for the 2015 X-ray contest on Veterinary Practice News. This year’s contestants were truly unbelievable! 2) 2014 X-Ray Contest Winners Animals will eat just about anything. The proof is in the radiographs. 3) What You Need to Know About Sexual Aggression In Neutered Cats In the absence of testosterone, a cat's masculine behavior is not inactive, simply less active. 4) Vet Fired After Bragging of Killing Cat ‘My first bow kill’ was how Dr. Kristen Lindsey allegedly described a cat’s death. 5) How To Treat The Rare And Deadly Nasal Cancer In Dogs And Cats Nasal passage cancer generally develops very insidiously in older pets, so find out the signs of this disease and how to treat it. 6) Texas Moves to Discipline ‘Bow Kill’ Vet Dr. Kristen Lindsey committed an unidentified violation, the Board of …
UGA to Host Shelter Medicine SymposiumDecember 29, 2015The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine will host the 8th annual Shelter Medicine Symposium on Feb. 6. The event—designed for veterinary professionals and others involved with shelter medicine in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina—will focus on best management and medicine practices for local and regional animal shelters. “The mission of this symposium is to provide an opportunity for those practicing shelter medicine to share their ideas and collaborate with one another and learn from professionals in the industry,” said Cher Hung, president of the UGA Shelter Medicine Club. “Our hope is that it will help improve the quality of shelter medicine in Georgia and beyond. “We are extremely excited about the positive feedback we have received from previous symposiums. Last year, we had a record-breaking 300 registrations, and it just shows how much our symposium is growing each year and how important shelter medicine is.” Scheduled conference speakers include: Gerryll Hall, DVM, lead veterinarian for Merck Animal Health; Michaela Austel, DrMedVet, Dipl. ACVD, a dermatologist at North Georgia Veterinary Specialists; Andy Moorhead, DVM, Ph.D., an assistant research scientist in the college and …
WesternU Veterinary Dean Receives Public Policy Advocacy AwardDecember 24, 2015Phillip Nelson, DVM, Ph.D., dean of Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine, recently received the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) 2016 Senator John Melcher, DVM Leadership in Public Policy Award. The award will officially be presented at the AAVMC’s 2016 Annual Conference, March 4-6, 2016, in Washington, D.C. The award is given to current or former faculty, staff or students at an AAVMC member institution to recognize leadership in public policy that advances veterinary medical education and success in advocating for veterinary medical education on a national or international scale. Dr. Nelson has been very active in the AAVMC’s advocacy efforts, serving on numerous committees, including the Advocacy Committee, according to WesternU. Through the AAVMC, he has participated in “Hill” visits for more than a decade, developing relationships with governmental decision makers and lobbying Congress to address pressing issues such as the Veterinary Medical Student Loan Repayment Program. “The AAVMC is always pleased to recognize outstanding educators in academic veterinary medicine,” said AAVMC Executive Director Andrew Maccabe, DVM. “These are extraordinary people who exemplify excellence and inspire others through their commitment and visionary dedication …
Soring Crackdown, Other Proposed Laws on AVMA’s RadarDecember 22, 2015The American Veterinary Medical Association has identified numerous pieces of federal legislation, including competing bills that address the soring of horses, as high-priority items for its Governmental Relations Division. The organization reported Dec. 15 that it will devote resources to lobbying for the approval or defeat of nearly a dozen proposals winding through Congress. Leading the animal welfare section in AVMA’s “Legislative Agenda for the 114th Congress” is the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act, an amendment to the Horse Protection Act. A previous version died when the last Congress failed to act. The new PAST Act, introduced in the House by veterinarian and U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, would outlaw soring devices such as boots, collars and chains that cause a high-stepping, unnatural gait in performance horses. The bill also would make the actual act of soring illegal and increase civil and criminal penalties. The legislation is up against another bill, the Horse Protection Amendments Act, which purports to target soring but which AVMA’s assistant director of governmental relations, Elise Ackley, DVM, compared to a smokescreen. The competing legislation was introduced by politicians representing Tennessee and Kentucky, two states at the center of the walking horse show …
Four Paws Helps Injured Bulgarian DogDecember 22, 2015A stray dog that lost a lot of skin in a fight with another animal is recovering after a three-hour autologous skin graft procedure. The operation was performed Dec. 18 in Sofia, Bulgaria, at a veterinary clinic operated by the animal welfare group Four Paws International. The 3-year-old dog, named Johnny, was missing a chunk of skin from his back when he was brought to the hospital in late October. Ruling out the possibility of a burn injury, veterinary staff reached out to Four Paws science director Sabine Hartmann, DVM. Dr. Hartmann then contacted Austrian wound expert Dieter Ponweiser, who agreed to help Johnny for free. Ponweiser brought with him the CelluTome Epidermal Harvesting System, manufactured by Texas-based Kinetic Concepts Inc., to transfer epidermal micrografts from Johnny’s shaved underside to the wound site. “The main advantage of this method is that the recovery period is much shorter in comparison to a conservative treatment, much less painful compared to classic skin transplants and there is no risk of infection,” Four Paws reported. Before the operation Johnny was given drugs and daily bandage changes, a routine that caused him “a lot of stress and pain,” according to Four Paws. …
Penn Vet Working Dog Center Patrol School Celebrates First GraduateDecember 22, 2015The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) Working Dog Center Patrol School recently celebrated its first dog graduate, a 19-month-old German shepherd named Rookie. Previously, all law enforcement K9s from the Center attended patrol school at other facilities, the school noted. “By holding our own patrol school, we’re able to provide continuity of positive-reinforcement training,” said Cindy Otto, DVM, Ph.D., executive director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center. “Our hope is that, with our expertise and training methods, we can produce the next generation of top-notch law enforcement K9s.” Rookie started patrol school in early November with her partner, Officer Jeffrey Seamans of the Lower Merion Police Department. The team will now receive advanced training in explosives detection. At the patrol school, Rookie and Seamans worked together on searches, odor imprinting, agility, obedience, hard-surface tracking, direction and control, criminal apprehension, environmental conditioning and article searches. The pair completed more than 400 hours of training and will continue to do monthly in-service training at the center, according to Penn Vet. “It was a very positive experience at the Working Dog Center,” said Officer Seamans. …
Wisconsin Lifts Ill Baby Crane Back to HealthDecember 18, 2015University of Wisconsin veterinary staff have bid farewell to a young sandhill crane they saved from possible death. The crane, then a sick baby, was spotted in late July in Cherokee Marsh, a wetland in Dane County, Wis. The bird walked with difficulty, drawing the attention of an observer and a team from the Humane Society’s Four Lakes Wildlife Center. Blood work and radiographs done on the captured crane revealed a couple of problems. “We quickly discovered this baby crane had high levels of lead in her bloodstream as well as what looked like a metal washer stuck in her stomach,” said the wildlife center’s Brooke Lewis, CVT. The crane, nicknamed B.C., was taken to the Special Species Health Service at Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine. It was there that clinical assistant professor Christoph Mans, DrMedVet, Dipl. ACZM, suggested using endoscopy to remove the obstruction. “The endoscopic procedure is noninvasive and faster and safer than surgery, so it’s the treatment of choice for removal of foreign bodies from the stomach of most birds,” Dr. Mans said. The procedure was performed by veterinarians Lily Parkinson, DVM, and Tatiana Ferreira, DVM, MS, Ph.D., and certified veterinary technicians Terri Gregson and …
AAEP’s Las Vegas Wager Pays OffDecember 18, 2015What happens in Las Vegas sometimes returns to Las Vegas. Six years after setting an attendance record, the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ annual convention was back at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in early December, and so was the crowd. The organization reported that 7,394 veterinary professionals, students, exhibitors and guests attended the 61st annual convention, just 158 people shy of the record set in 2009. Some 135 hours of continuing education credits were offered over five days. “Dispensing educational content that is current and implementable in everyday practice is the hallmark of a productive meeting,” said AAEP’s executive director, David Foley. Installed as president was Kathleen Anderson, DVM, the owner of Equine Veterinary Care in Fair Hill, Md., who replaced Texas A&M University Professor G. Kent Carter, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM. The other officers are president-elect R. Reynolds Cowles Jr., DVM, of Earlysville, Va.; Vice President Margo Macpherson, DVM, of Gainesville, Fla.; and treasurer Jack Easley, DVM, of Shelbyville, Ky. New directors include Amy Grice, VMD, of Virginia City, Mont., and Dan Keenan, DVM, of Crosswicks, N.J. A number of people were recognized during the President’s Luncheon. Distinguished Educator (Academic Award): Virginia Reef, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. …
Innovative CT Scanner for Horses DebutsDecember 18, 2015Standing up for horses, a New York company has introduced a computed tomography (CT) system that permits whole-body scans of upright and moving equine patients. The Equimagine system uses two or four robotic arms to capture high-resolution, high-speed images from any direction within as little as five to 15 seconds. One of the first installations is planned at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center, where surgery chief Dean W. Richardson, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, said the system can be used to diagnose fractures. “We believe that the technology will allow early identification of horses with incomplete occult fractures in areas that can proceed to catastrophic failure,” Dr. Richardson said. Equimagine, manufactured by Four Dimensional Digital Imaging (4DDI), is designed to generate CT, fluoroscopic and bone-density images and conduct tomosynthesis, dynamic video radiography imaging and digital radiography. A major benefit, 4DDI President George Papaionannou said, is that equine patients are not anesthetized and may be scanned in load-bearing positions such as standing or walking and running on a treadmill. The system will save practitioners “hours and logistical nightmares” compared with the use of traditional equipment, he said. CT scanners often require the use of anesthesia so patients remain still, but …
