University of Florida’s Shelter Program Hits $11 Million in Grants from Maddie’s FundNovember 20, 2015The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine recently received $4,192,657 from Maddie’s Fund to support the university’s shelter medicine education program. This most recent installment brings Maddie’s Fund contributions to $11,220,221 — the largest award the college has ever received for veterinary education. “This grant will allow our program to provide the necessary training to veterinarians and veterinary students with the specialized knowledge they need to take on that job,” said Cynda Crawford, DVM, Ph.D., Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program Director at the University of Florida. “Our program is the largest of its kind in the world, and thanks to Maddie, we have provided training to veterinarians now working in shelters all over the United States as well as in other countries. We are regularly consulted by shelters on how to prevent and treat diseases in their animals and to improve their well-being. We work with shelters to help their animals get adopted and conduct research that has saved the lives of countless homeless dogs and cats.” Over the past 10 years, Maddie’s Fund has made five grants totaling more than $11.2 million to the college. “This is the …
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When Breeds Cross, Hybrid Dogs AppearNovember 19, 2015Breed a border collie with an Australian shepherd and what do you get when a puppy emerges? The most popular hybrid dog in the Pets Best Insurance Services database. The pet health insurer teamed up with policy partner Farmers Insurance to determine which two purebred canines get together most frequently to produce offspring. Procreating border collies and Australian shepherds yield a hybrid known simply as a border-Aussie. Hybrids are defined as the progeny of two purebred dogs. Mixed breeds, according to Farmers, are “the offspring of two or more different dog breeds where neither the mother nor the father is a registered purebreed dog.” Mixed breeds are the most common dogs in Pets Best’s massive file of 140,000 canine insurance policies. Labrador retrievers are second, followed by hybrids. A fashionable example of a hybrid is the Labradoodle, the product of a Labrador retriever and poodle. But Labradoodles aren’t No. 1—or even No. 5—on the Pets Best list. Boise, Idaho-based Pets Best provided descriptions of the most popular hybrids from the perspectives of veterinary adviser Eva Evans, DVM, MBA, and the dogs’ owners. 1. Border-Aussie (border collie and Australian shepherd) The product of highly intelligent and agile livestock herders, …
Penn Vet Receives Challenge Match for Shelter Program Mobile UnitNovember 19, 2015The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) recently received a $150,000 challenge match from the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation to support a new mobile unit for the Penn Vet Shelter Animal Medicine Program. As such, all gifts made by Dec. 31 toward the purchase of the mobile unit will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $150,000. The medical-grade mobile clinical unit will significantly expand the program’s teaching capacity and elevate the quality and breadth of services offered to the Greater Philadelphia community, according to the university. In addition, a $225,000 gift from the Wiederhold Foundation will support two new clinical trials through the Veterinary Clinical Investigations Center at Penn Vet. “Mr. and Mrs. Wiederhold shared their lives with many animals and had great affection and respect for all living creatures,” said Susan Linker, Trustee of the John T. and Jane A. Wiederhold Foundation. “We are proud to provide this grant, which honors the Weiderholds’ legacy by helping animals in need, and inspiring veterinary students to seek ways they can personally contribute to the welfare of animals.” For details, visit the Penn Vet Shelter Animal …
Patterson Adds Voyce Pro to Veterinary CatalogNovember 18, 2015Voyce Pro, a veterinarian-managed health monitoring service for dogs, is now available through national distributor Patterson Veterinary Supply. The partnership between Patterson and Voyce creator i4C Innovations Inc. gives the manufacturer another outlet for its wellness program, which allows veterinary teams to track a patient’s vital signs away from the hospital through a high-tech collar. Voyce Pro is promoted as a way for veterinarians to manage client compliance and treatment efficacy. The Voyce collar, connected remotely, is designed to document an animal’s heart rate, resting respiratory rate, activity levels and quality of rest. Osteoarthritis, heart disease, obesity, pain and postsurgical recovery are among the conditions that may be watched, according to Chantilly, Va.-based Voyce. “The veterinary world has shown strong interest in the objective and actionable data that Voyce Pro offers,” said chairman and CEO Michael Stanfield. The service also is available directly from Voyce. Patterson Veterinary, a division of Patterson Companies Inc., is headquartered in Devens, Mass. In other news, Voyce reported Monday that more than 900 dogs newly diagnosed with osteoarthritis will take part in a research study sponsored by veterinary drug maker Zoetis Inc. The dogs will wear the Voyce monitor and their owners will contribute quality of life …
Zoetis Unveils New Drugs for Dogs, HorsesNovember 18, 2015Veterinary drug maker Zoetis Inc. is celebrating achievements on both sides of the Atlantic after winning European approval of a new flea and tick preventive and USDA endorsement of a canine flu vaccine. The Florham Park, N.J., company also announced the release of an equine leptospirosis vaccine. The flea and tick drug, Simparica (sarolaner), is a chewable tablet given monthly to dogs as young as 8 weeks. It also is indicated for the treatment of sarcoptic mange, a contagious skin disease. Zoetis described the active ingredient, sarolaner, as a new ectoparasiticide in the isoxazoline class. Simparica, approved by the European Commission, was tested on more than 800 dogs in seven countries, Zoetis reported. The drug was found “to provide efficacy for at least five weeks against ticks and fleas” and “demonstrated a rapid onset of action, killing fleas before they have a chance to lay eggs,” the company added. Simparica kills four common European ticks—Dermacentor reticulatus, Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes ricinus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus—as well as the fleas Ctenocephalides felis and Ctenocephalides canis. The tablets are expected to be released in early 2016 in dosages of 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 milligrams. U.S. veterinarians could see Simparica on …
Biogal Offers Rapid Distemper, Lepto TestsNovember 18, 2015An Israeli company this week released time-saving tests for the diagnosis of feline distemper and bovine leptospirosis. Biogal Galed Labs reported that the in-clinic PCRun Veterinary Molecular Detection Kits deliver results within 75 minutes, an improvement over waits of up to a week when polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are done in outside laboratories. The new tests confirm feline panleukopenia virus, also known as feline distemper, and bovine leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that causes miscarriages and other serious health problems in cattle. The feline test also may be used to check for canine parvovirus. The distemper test uses blood or feces samples, while the bovine test requires blood or urine. Both tests are available for research purposes only in the United States pending U.S. Department of Agriculture approval, said Lenny Small, Biogal’s vice president of marketing. Biogal previously released PCRun test kits for canine Leptospira (leptospirosis), Ehrlichia canis (canine Ehrlichiosis), Anaplasma platys (anaplasmosis), parvovirus, Leishmania and feline Mycoplasma haemofelis (feline infectious anemia). Biogal’s U.S. distributor is Phoenix-based Spectrum Labs Inc.
U.S. Unveils Canine Brucellosis Best PracticesNovember 17, 2015The U.S. Department of Agriculture is urging veterinarians to play a major role in stopping the spread of canine brucellosis, a contagious and incurable bacterial infection most often found in breeding kennels. The agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service released best practices for veterinarians and kennel operators who may encounter the disease, which causes infertility and miscarriages in dogs. The document, available at http://1.usa.gov/1N9EioA, emphasizes the need for frank discussions between practitioners and breeders on how to protect both dogs and people from the zoonotic disease. A breeder could suffer “liability and damaged reputation” if an infected dog is sold, because “these puppies and adult dogs commonly come into contact with children, older adults and other immunocompromised individuals,” the document states. People are at low risk of contracting brucellosis. The approximately 200 people infected in the United States each year display flulike symptoms and are treated with antibiotics. The agency generated the guidelines with input from seven outside veterinarians. Among them was William Fortney, DVM, director of small animal outreach at Kansas State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Veterinarians sometimes overlook brucellosis, Dr. Fortney said. “Ever since this disease was first identified, there has always been …
Smartphone App Helps Lost Dogs Get HomeNovember 17, 2015The success stories—more than 800 of them—put a smile on John Polimeno’s face. The founder and CEO of Finding Rover talks about the San Diego pet owner whose dog went missing. Having failed during a search of the local animal shelter, the owner downloaded the Finding Rover app onto her smartphone and uploaded a photo of her pet. The next day, an animal control officer picked up a stray dog and took its photo using Finding Rover. Within seconds, thanks to facial recognition software, a match was confirmed and the dog was soon back home. Frantic pet owners might search a shelter once, but “What are the odds of them going back to that shelter every day?” Polimeno said. The former construction company owner decided three years ago that there had to be a better way of reuniting lost dogs with their owners, particularly those animals lacking an identifying microchip or collar. Sitting in a Northern California coffee shop, he saw a missing-pet poster and thought of the time his dog was lost and how his kids cried as the family drove all over looking for the animal. Say ‘Cheese’ How do you get a dog to look directly into …
Texas A&M Equine Complex Honors DonorsNovember 16, 2015Representatives from various groups and colleges at Texas A&M University recently thanked the donors who helped make the Thomas G. Hildebrand, DVM ’56 Equine Complex a reality. More than 20 donors were recognized for supporting the first phase in a multi-phase effort to construct a facility dedicated to equine research, education, teaching and outreach. “The enthusiasm by the donors here today to support this initiative has exceeded even my expectations,” said Mark Hussey, Ph.D., dean and vice chancellor of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “We have set a high bar for others to reach by working synergistically—the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences — to bring us all here today.” The first phase of the complex serves as the home of the nationally ranked Texas A&M Equestrian Team and also houses classrooms, faculty space and meeting facilities. “Because of the generosity of our friends and donors and the support of the Texas A&M University leaders, we are well on our way to creating the …
Merck Plans Takeover of HarrisvaccinesNovember 13, 2015Veterinary drug maker Merck Animal Health has agreed to acquire Harrisvaccines, an Ames, Iowa, company that has led the fight against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and avian influenza. The terms of the transaction, which was announced Thursday and is expected to close by year’s end, were not disclosed. Harrisvaccines Vice President Joel Harris said he and his father, company founder and CEO Hank Harris, DVM, Ph.D., aren’t going away anytime soon. “I’m staying on in my capacity and Hank is staying on in some capacity,” Joel Harris said. “That’s as much as I want to say.” Harrisvaccines will become a subsidiary of Merck, he said. “I think the plan is business as usual as we go through the integration process,” Harris said. Privately-held Harrisvaccines focuses on food animal vaccines. The company made headlines in 2013 upon winning government approval of a vaccine against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) and this past fall for the conditional license of a vaccine targeting highly pathogenic avian influenza. PEDv has killed millions of U.S. piglets since 2013, and avian flu has led to the death or destruction of an estimated 50 million American chickens and turkeys over the past year. On the …
