Heard It On The RadioMay 27, 2014 The other day I'm driving in my car, listening to my favorite morning radio program, and the DJ starts talking about a survey of pet owners performed by VPI* (Veterinary Pet Insurance). The first bit of data nearly made me choke—it reported that 70 percent of pet owners say "I will do whatever it takes…" I kept listening. What is "whatever"? Well as they broke down the remaining 30 percent into money categories (some would pay up to $5,000, some would pay up to $1,000, and others may only pay up to $500) it became clear that they were talking about a financial investment in the health of their pets. So obviously, that 70 percent of pet owners would pay "whatever it takes" for their pets' sake. Now I don't know about you, but this statistic flies in the face of most of what I've seen in veterinary medicine. In fact, I often joke that if a pet owner says "Do whatever it takes, money is not an issue," it's because they don't intend to pay you anyway! (Sadly, this is from being burned from past history.) We understand that families have to prioritize their money. …
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Video: A Day At The Races: The Real Life Of A Racehorse VeterinarianMay 23, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @VetPetNews. Like a lot of little girls, Kathryn Papp, DVM, grew up loving horses. A veterinarian who specialized in treating racehorses seemed like a dream job. She'd get to be with the animals she loved so much every day. The reality of her career choice was a nightmarish conflict between what the job actually involved and her sworn professional oath of preventing suffering of animals and protecting them. Could she inject the horses she was there to take care of with the medications and painkillers they didn't need? Could you if you were in her place? Or would you agonize over it day after day? Dr. Papp was in agony. "Every day, I almost quit," she said, according to NBC News. "Every day, I decide I don't want to see 2-year-olds that haven't even run yet be euthanized in a dirt pit at the back of a racetrack because somebody trained them too hard, medicated them too much, pushed them too far." Relying too heavily on medication so the horses can continue to race and train is often …
New Webinars To Focus On Organic LivestockMay 23, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. If you're interested in working with organic livestock, the webinars from Ohio State University are for you. The Ohio State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, in conjunction with the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA), is offering a series of webinars for veterinarians and other professionals interested in working with certified organic farmers. "The objective of this educational series is to help veterinarians and their clients design best herd health management practices that comply with federal and state regulations and organic standards when considering the health and well-being of the animal," said Gustavo M. Schuenemann, assistant professor, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Ohio State, and OSU Extension veterinarian in the OSU press release. There are three webinars in total: • June 23: CSI for Dairy: On-Farm Audits to Assess Risk. • July 10: Certified Organic Livestock Standards. • Oct. 1: Organic Livestock Inputs. Each webinar starts at 1 p.m. There will also be a certified organic dairy tour …
Vet Shares His Story Of Putting His Dog To SleepMay 23, 2014 Douglas Palma, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM) spoke in empathetic tones when any of his clients lost a pet. But he couldn't truly feel that empathy. He had never gone through that loss. As a veterinarian, Dr. Palma dealt with the difficulty of euthanasia every day. Part of his job is to help clients come to the best decision regarding their pets, and to help them when that decision involves loss. Chances are the day that decision was made will be stuck in his clients' minds for years to come. Three years ago this August, Palma received a call at work from his wife Eileen. Their beloved yellow Lab-Border Collie mix hadn't eaten that morning. A pet skipping a meal may provoke concern in some pet owners; some may wait to see if their dog eats later on then opt to take them to the vet that evening or perhaps even the next day. But Palma's response was a little more urgent. "Bring him to the hospital," he told Eileen, according to ABC News. It's been said that parents who are also doctors hear their child cough and fear …
VIDEO: Ontario Veterinary College LaunchesMay 22, 2014 Follow Jessica Pineda on Twitter at @parrotsandvets Students at Ontario Veterinary College will be blogging about their experiences in their externships starting on May 21. Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) has started a new social media project where five of their DVM students will blog about their experiences in their externships. The externship is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Northern Development in partnership with the Northern Producers Animal Health Network. "The Externship Course is a critical part of the student veterinarian's training," said Dr. Elizabeth Stone, the dean of Ontario Veterinary College. "The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of Rural Affairs recognize that this hands-on training with both food animals and companion animals is vital to DVM students. Not only do they have an opportunity to apply the skills they've learned, they'll do so both in a clinical setting and on farms, allowing them to practice their diagnostic and problem-solving abilities in a real-world setting." Some quick facts about the OVC externship: 120 OVC DVM students must complete an eight-week …
PetSmart Joins Petco In Eliminating Chinese Pet TreatsMay 22, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Chinese-made dog and cat treats are on the way out of two of the nation's largest sellers of pet supplies. PetSmart reported late Tuesday that the Phoenix-based chain will no longer stock Chinese dog and cat treats as of March 2015. The announcement came hours after Petco stated that it would stop selling such items by the end of 2014 because of concerns over the safety of jerky treats that have drawn the scrutiny of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. PetSmart and Petco each operate more than 1,300 stores nationwide and together enjoy an approximately 30 percent share of the U.S. pet supplies market. A possible connection between jerky—much of it made in China—and thousands of reported pet illnesses or deaths has occupied FDA investigators for the past seven years. The agency announced last week that 1,800 additional complaints had been counted since October 2013 but that its experts remained stumped in their search for a possible link to jerky treats. PetSmart did not provide a specific reason for pulling Chinese treats off …
New Drug Company, Provetis, Enters Veterinary MarketMay 22, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Four animal health veterans have formed a start-up company dedicated to the development of veterinary drugs for companion and production animals. The new company, Provetis, is headquartered in St. Louis and is working with TetraGenx, an established Montreal research and development company, on the first five products. The Provetis team is led by: • CEO Brad Butler, who also oversees the animal health company Creative Science LLC. He is the former chief operating officer of Ceva Animal Health's U.S. division. • Chief operating officer and product development director Kevin McDonnell, the founder and president of TetraGenx. • Chief scientific officer Hosein Hojabri, Ph.D., a TetraGenx vice president. • Executive director of special projects Radek Romanowski, DVM. He founded the Canadian animal health company imRex Inc. The relationship with TetraGenx is key, Butler said. "Provetis will access and use the capabilities of TetraGenx and its 40 employees, state-of-the-art facilities and track record of producing impressive revenue," he added. Five products in the pain, antibiotic and parasiticide categories are under development, Provetis reported. "In addition, the company is …
Henry Schein Buys 60% Share Of Equine Company SmartPakMay 22, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The SmartPak management team will have a partial stake in the company upon its sale to Henry Schein Animal Health. Veterinary products distributor Henry Schein Animal Health will expand its equine offerings through the purchase of SmartPak, a supplier of horse supplements and supplies. Dublin, Ohio-based Henry Schein reported today that it will acquire 60 percent of SmartPak and that the private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners and SmartPak's current management team will own the balance. The value of the transaction, which is expected to close in June, was not disclosed. "We are fortunate to be acquiring a majority ownership position in a fast-growing company with a deep commitment to equine health and keen expertise in sales and digital marketing to those who care for horses," said Stanley M. Bergman, chairman and CEO of parent company Henry Schein Inc. SmartPak was started in 1999 in Plymouth, Mass., with the introduction of a patented feeding system designed to ease the administration of nutritional supplements and medications to horses. The company has expanded its catalog over the …
Drug Companies Back Stricter Antimicrobial UseMay 22, 2014A U.S. Food and Drug Administration plan to phase out the use of medically important antimicrobials in livestock feed and drinking water has won the overwhelming support of the veterinary drug industry. The FDA reported March 26 that 25 companies would request the withdrawal of drug approvals received for food production uses and transfer the remaining therapeutic uses to the oversight of veterinarians. Besides healing sick animals such as cattle, poultry and hogs, the drugs sometimes are used to improve feed efficiency or enhance growth. The voluntary strategy is outlined in Guidance for Industry 213, which the FDA developed in its campaign to reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance in animals and people. The companies that signed on make virtually all of the over-the-counter drugs used in the feed and water provided to food animals. Among the drug makers are industry heavyweights such as Elanco Animal Health and Zoetis Inc. and smaller companies like Cross Vetpharm Group Ltd. and Pennfield Oil Co. Only one company declined to sponsor Guidance 213. An FDA spokesperson, citing confidentiality, declined to identify the holdout. Guidance 213 gives the drug companies three years to voluntarily revise FDA-approved labels by removing production indications and bringing therapeutic …
Video: Fire Departments Receive Pet Oxygen Masks From VeterinarianMay 21, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. In the dead of night an alarm begins to blare. Woken from a deep slumber, you're disoriented, and it takes a few seconds to fully register the sound. It continues to blare. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Realizing what it is, you spring out of bed. Smoke is clouding your vision and you can feel the warmth of flames before you see them. You quickly gather your family and race to get out of the house. Once outside, you count your family, make sure everyone is there, rush to a neighbor's house to have them call for help. Before the sirens of the fire department's engines come roaring to your home, you remember: "My dog is in there!" You are faced with a dilemma: go in and save him or wait outside for the fire department. The sirens are within earshot now, but the smoke and flames are also becoming more pronounced. You hear his desperate barking and you believe he is begging you to save him. You start to run back into the house, your family at once shouting at you to stay and …
