Cornell’s Farrier Conference Celebrates 30 YearsNovember 27, 2014About 75 veterinarians and farriers attended the first day of the Cornell Farrier Conference at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the start of the conference, which ran Nov. 8-9. Several lectures were presented during the conference, including “How Material Moves” and “Farrier Tool Use and Maintenance” by Roy Bloom of Drummond, Wis. Dave Farley of Coshocton, Ohio, and Wellington, Fla., also delivered two presentations, giving his insights on shoeing the sport horse. In addition, the conference featured an exhibitor area for a variety of footcare manufacturers and suppliers. These included Delta Mustad Hoofcare Center, Farrier Product Distribution, Vettec, Soundhorse Technologies, Grand Circuit, Life Data Labs, Well Shod, Across the Anvil East, Montague Blacksmith Supply, BillThis and Stonewell Bodies. Steve Kraus, head instructor of Cornell’s farrier school, gave a presentation showing the milestones and historic pictures over the 100 years of the farrier school’s history. Cornell is the oldest farrier school in the United States, according to the university.
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Tennessee Vet School to Host Pet Memorial CelebrationNovember 26, 2014The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Social Work will host its winter Pet Memorial Celebration on Friday, Dec. 5, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, seeks to help pet owners celebrate the lives of their companion animals, both living and dead. The opportunity to gather with others who have also experienced the loss of an animal can be therapeutic, said Sarina Manifold, the staff social worker at the University of Tennessee Veterinary Medical Center. The event is an opportunity to find new ways to memorialize their pets, she added. Participants are encouraged to bring copies of photos of their pet that can be used in a memorial art project. People are also invited to bring a human-friendly food item to share that reminds them of their animal. The event will be held at the UT Veterinary Medical Center on the UT agricultural campus. Reservations are required by Dec. 3: 865-755-8839. Check out images from the past Pet Memorial Celebrations, courtesy UT College of Veterinary Medicine. brightcove.createExperiences();
Virginia-Maryland’s Vet College Welcomes New Clinical InstructorNovember 25, 2014Marcos Santos, DVM, has joined the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech as a clinical instructor of large animal surgery in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. In this role, Dr. Santos will train and supervise residents, interns and veterinary students in large animal surgery through lectures and student teaching laboratories. Santos was previously at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he completed an equine surgery internship and residency. Prior, Santos completed equine surgery internships at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Ky., and The Equine Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Study May Lead to Early Diagnosis of Feline Kidney DiseaseNovember 21, 2014An early-warning test for chronic kidney disease in cats may emerge from the development of a biomarker called SDMA. Oregon State University researchers worked with Idexx Laboratories on SDMA, or symmetric dimethylarginine, which they said can spot chronic kidney disease, a leading cause of death in older cats, much earlier than normal. Up to 35 percent of geriatric cats suffer from the disease, according to The Merck Veterinary Manual. A test based on the biomarker would allow veterinarians to identify the onset of kidney disease and order dietary changes and other therapies, Oregon State reported Thursday. Foods with lower levels of protein and phosphorus and added fish oil, antioxidants, L-carnitine and medium-chain triglycerides are known to help. “Damage from [the disease] is irreversible, but this is an important advance, in that we should be able to identify the problem earlier and use special diets to slow the disease,” said Jean Hall, DVM, MS, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine. The findings, published in The Veterinary Journal, involved a controlled study of 32 healthy but older cats, the university stated. The biomarker identified the onset of kidney disease an average of 17 months earlier and in …
Merck Launches Overseas Veterinarian ExchangeNovember 21, 2014Ten veterinarians, starting with Florida’s Link Welborn and the Netherlands’ Roeland Wessels, will travel thousands of miles to participate in the Nobivac Global Vet Exchange Program. The initiative, sponsored by Merck Animal Health’s Nobivac vaccine line, is designed to introduce veterinarians to a different culture, expose them to how veterinary medicine is performed there and share best practices. “[Merck] aims to offer a rewarding learning experience, not only for the veterinarians participating in the exchange, but also for those following through blogs and videos that will be shared online,” company spokeswoman Karin Jager said. Drs. Welborn, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, of Tampa Bay Animal Hospitals, and Wessels, DVM, MS, of St. Anna 404 Animal Clinic in Nijmegen, Netherlands, took one-week trips in November. Welborn shadowed Keiko Uchida, DVM, at Kariya Animal Hospital in Chiba, Japan, while Wessels followed Koichi Fujii, VMD, at Fujii Vet Clinic in Yokohama, Japan. Wessels reflected on his visit in a series of blog posts. One highlighted the differences between Dutch and Japanese veterinary practices: “The size of the dogs. In Japan, mainly toy breeds. The biggest dog I saw was [33 pounds], a goldendoodle. Koichi will be surprised seeing our European giants!” “Japanese vets are …
Petco Buying Drs. Foster and SmithNovember 20, 2014Retail heavyweight Petco will begin selling prescription veterinary drugs over the Internet upon its acquisition of Drs. Foster and Smith, one of the nation’s largest online sellers of pet medications and supplies. The transaction, announced Wednesday, will mark a major milestone—but not the end—for a company that started as a veterinarian-owned mail-order business in 1983 and morphed into a website operation in 1998 and a prescription drug seller in 2003. Co-founders Race Foster, DVM, and Marty Smith, DVM, will still run the company, which employs 500 people at offices, a warehouse and an outlet store in rural Rhinelander, Wis. Dr. Foster, who will hold the title of CEO, said the moment was right for a sale. “We’re been at it 31 years,” he said. “We’re busier than we’ve ever been. I think it was time, as we move into the big leagues, that we partner up with people that have more expertise, and I think the synergies we will gain with Petco will help both of us expand our health and wellness platforms.” The terms of the sale were not announced. Petco did not report any changes, and Foster doesn’t expect a shakeup. “I think the plan will be …
Better Running Robots May Stem from Research on BirdsNovember 20, 2014Running robots of the future may get its leading edge from birds, according to a new study by researchers at Oregon State University and the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College, among other collaborators. The study outlines how running birds have achieved “an impressive ability to run while minimizing energy cost, avoiding falls or injury, and maintaining speed and direction.” Studying these qualities, according to the researchers, could help design better running robots. “Birds appear to be the best bipedal terrestrial runners, with a speed and agility that may trace back 230 million years to their dinosaur ancestors,” said Jonathan Hurst, an associate professor in the OSU College of Engineering. Running birds range in size, from tiny quails to an ostrich that has 500 times as much body mass. Most, but not all, can fly, but spend most of their lives on the ground, and they don’t always look the most graceful when they run, the researchers noted. Still, the birds are able to maximize results, like saving energy and not breaking a leg. “These animals don’t care that they appear a little unstable or have a waver in their gait,” Hurst said. “Their goal is to limit peak forces, …
AVMA Helps Cat Owners With Declaw DecisionNovember 19, 2014A free client handout designed to help practitioners talk to cat owners about declaw surgery is available through the American Veterinary Medical Association. The new document, available at www.avma.org/declaw, acknowledges that declawing cats is controversial and points out that scratching is normal feline behavior and that nail caps, frequent trims and positive reinforcement training are among the alternatives to an onychectomy. The AVMA House of Delegates this past July updated the organization’s policy on the declawing of domestic cats. The policy encourages client education about the surgery and its risks and urges that the owner make the final decision in consultation with a veterinarian. The handout, titled “Declaw …. or Not?” was produced by the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee. “The AVMA hopes to help veterinarians connect with cat owners to make the best decision for their cat and household,” Animal Welfare Division director Gail C. Golab, DVM, Ph.D., wrote on her AVMA@Work blog. The website also features assistant director Cia Johnson, DVM, MS, narrating a five-minute video about declawing.
Zoetis Takes Action Amid Takeover ThreatNovember 19, 2014Facing a possible hostile takeover, veterinary drug maker Zoetis Inc. has authorized a $500 million stock buyback program and the sale of preferred shares to stockholders at a discount. Neither action is guaranteed to happen. The first is at the discretion of the Zoetis board of directors, and the second—a so-called “poison pill”—would kick in if an investor acquires a 15 percent stake in the company. Pershing Square Capital Management and its hedge fund manager, William Ackman, reported acquiring an 8.5 percent interest in Zoetis, the world’s largest animal health company. The investment was valued at $1.5 billion at the time of the Nov. 12 announcement. The right to issue preferred stock is structured to protect shareholders and the company should the board of directors oppose a takeover offer, Zoetis reported Nov. 14. The option expires Nov. 16, 2015. Chief Financial Officer Paul Herendeen called the stock repurchase program “an important tool for managing our allocation of capital, and it gives us additional flexibility to return capital to shareholders when it is not needed in the business.” The financial news company Bloomberg reported that Ackman sees an opportunity to cut costs at Zoetis and improve shareholder dividends, perhaps …
Bright Future Forecast for Veterinary ServicesNovember 19, 2014Originally published in the November 2014 issue of Veterinary Practice News Who says the veterinary business is stagnant? Not IBISWorld, an international industry research firm whose new report on U.S. veterinary services projects average revenue growth of 4.5 percent a year through 2019, more than double the expected rate of inflation. A growing U.S. pet population, heightened interest in pet health insurance and client willingness to pay for specialized treatments are chief reasons for optimism despite a slump in how often individual animals show up at veterinary clinics. Profits, as a share of revenue, won’t rise much above 12 percent in the veterinary services sector, IBISWorld reported, as consumers tighten their embrace of online and brick-and-mortar stores for ancillary products such as pet food and supplies. On the inside, veterinary professionals can expect continued consolidation as corporate and private owners of multiple practices gobble up independent clinics and cut redundant administrative and marketing costs. All in all, IBISWorld stated in its September report, the profession is, and will stay, healthy. “The veterinary services industry remained resilient over the past five years largely due to many pet owners regarding their pet expenditures as vital, thereby boosting revenue,” the analysts noted. Veterinary …
