Melinda Frye To Head Colorado State Veterinary SchoolMay 28, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. A Colorado State University professor who worked as a registered nurse before earning her veterinary degree has been promoted to lead CSU's Professional Veterinary Medicine Program. Melinda Frye, DVM, MS, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, will take over in July as associate dean in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. In her new role, Dr. Frye will oversee a veterinary school that U.S. News and World Report ranks as the nation?s third best. She will replace Dean Hendrickson, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, who is stepping down to return to teaching and equine surgery. Frye earned her veterinary degree from Colorado State in 1996. The four-year DVM program enrolls about 138 students annually. "Dr. Frye has an impressive and diverse range of experiences and achievements that will benefit our students and our veterinary program," said Mark Stetter, DVM, Dipl. ACZM, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. "Beyond her admirable credentials in teaching, research and clinical service, it's wonderful to have an accomplished woman in a role that so visibly demonstrates what our students can do in science, medicine and the …
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First VS Cases Of 2014 Confirmed In TexasMay 28, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Five Texas horses have been quarantined after being diagnosed with vesicular stomatitis, a contagious viral disease of livestock that last appeared in the state in 2009, the Texas Animal Health Commission reported today. Vesicular stomatitis (VS) is rarely fatal but brings economic losses when the movement of infected or exposed animals is restricted. Some states and countries may bar the importation of susceptible animals living in affected states. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the infection in the five Kinney County horses—the first cases in the nation this year. The National Veterinary Services Laboratories identified the virus as the New Jersey serotype. VS, which resembles foot and mouth disease, is believed to be spread by sand flies and black flies. The disease may cause lesions in the mouth, tongue, muzzle, teats or hooves of mainly horses, cattle and swine. Sheep, goats and llamas are sometimes affected. Most infected animals recover within three weeks. No specific treatment is recommended other than supportive care such as softened feeds, according to The Merck Veterinary Manual. The five Texas horses …
Jurassic World Veterinarians Have An Official (Fictional) PatchMay 28, 2014 Follow Jessica Pineda on Twitter at @parrotsandvets pic.twitter.com/BskormLiFL Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) May 27, 2014 Even the genetically-cloned dinosaurs need their veterinarians, as shown in this image from the director of Jurassic World, Colin Trevorrow. There seems to be a lack of veterinarians in fiction (Wikipedia only has 11 listed, with the most well-known on the list being Doctor Dolittle. GoodReads has 14 books that feature veterinarians. There's been several movies with fictional veterinarians (most notably Doctor Dolittle again). What do you think? Who is your favorite fictional veterinarian? Were you inspired by them? Previous: Shortage of Apoquel Allergy Drug to Last Into 2015 Click here for more Veterinary Practice News. <HOME>
Shortage Of Apoquel Allergy Drug To Last Into 2015May 28, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The new canine anti-itch drug Apoquel is in such high demand and short supply that some veterinarians are unable to prescribe it. The manufacturer, Zoetis Inc. of Florham Park, N.J., reported that the shortage may continue until mid-2015, about 18 months after the only Janus kinase inhibitor formulated for veterinary use hit the U.S. market. Apoquel (oclacitinib tablet) is given twice a day for the control of itching associated with allergic dermatitis and the control of clinical manifestations of atopic dermatitis. A clinical trial of dogs suffering from allergic dermatitis found that the drug was effective within 24 hours. The drug's success—Apoquel may be given once a day for maintenance purposes after two weeks—has dog owners and veterinarians eager to try the medication. But some practitioners, like Tim Hunt, DVM, of Bayshore Veterinary Hospital in Marquette, Michigan, can't get their hands on it. "I would like to try Apoquel, as all the info seems to be glowing, but have been unable to get any," Dr. Hunt said. "I have clients asking often about this drug but have not been …
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. …
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 …
