Texas Court Rejects Claim For Emotional Damages In Death Of PetApril 8, 2013 Overturning an Appeals Court ruling, the Texas Supreme Court on April 5 reaffirmed a 122-year-old declaration that pets are personal property and that owners of a deceased animal may not sue for emotional or sentimental damages. The Texas Veterinary Medical Association applauded the decision, saying that had the appellate ruling stood, the cost of ownership and care of a pet would become prohibitive for many people. The case stemmed not from veterinary malpractice but from a Fort Worth animal shelter's mistaken euthanizing of a mixed-breed dog. The animal, Avery, had been picked up as a stray and was tagged to be held until his owners, Kathyrn and Jeremy Medlen, could pay the required release fees. Shelter worker Carla Strickland erroneously put Avery on a euthanasia list, and he was killed before the Medlens returned. A trial judge dismissed the Medlens' lawsuit because of the century-old court ruling, but the case was revived on appeal in 2011, creating what the state Supreme Court called “a novel--and expansive--tort claim: loss of companionship for the wrongful death of a pet.” Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice Don R. Willett …
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Owners Fond Of Mixed-breed Pets, Royal Canin Survey FindsApril 5, 2013 Dog and cat owners agree on at least one thing: They like mixed-breed pets. A wide-ranging survey conducted for pet food maker Royal Canin found that 28 percent of dog owners and 40 percent of cat owners identified “mixed breed” as their favorite type of cat or dog. While the numbers may not be dramatic, the responses were the highest overall. Labrador retrievers were the second favorite among dog owners (15 percent), followed by the German shepherd (10 percent). Cat owners selected the tabby—not a true breed—at 20 percent, followed by the Maine Coon (15 percent). Choosing an actual canine or feline companion was a different matter all together. While an animal's temperament was the starting point for both groups, 55 percent of cat owners took appearance into account as the second factor and 62 percent of dog owners looked at size. “It's interesting to learn how different cat and dog owners can be when choosing, and making decisions for, their pets,” said Dr. Brent Mayabb, DVM, manager of education and development at St. Charles, Mo.-based Royal Canin. “Whatever factors come into play, understanding an …
PurinaCare Selling All 12,000 Pet Insurance Policies To PethealthApril 4, 2013 Pethealth, based in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, will pay up to $800,000 for the PurinaCare policies. The transaction is expected to close May 1. The sale makes financial sense for PurinaCare and parent company Nestlé Purina PetCare, spokeswoman Jill Winte said. “It's a business decision based on economics and months of careful analysis,” she said. PurinaCare policies will be honored until renewal time, Winte said. Policyholders will be allowed to transition to a similar Pethealth policy if they choose, she added. PurinaCare, which wrote its first policy in 2008, employs about two dozen people, most of them in San Antonio. Some employees may be able to transfer to Nestlé Purina's Partners in Wellness program, Winte said. Partners in Wellness helps veterinary practitioners create customized preventive-care plans. Idexx Laboratories Inc. of Westbrook, Maine, is a program partner, providing consultants to develop diagnostic protocols and practice work flow for practices. Nestlé Purina handles client billing and administrative tasks. About 1 million pets are insured in North America, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Among the largest providers …
Stem Cells Might Help Intestinal HealingApril 4, 2013 One of the latest developments in equine colic and gastrointestinal research, according to Anthony Blikslager, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVS, is his lab's study of isolating stem cells in the intestine, with the idea of ultimately using them to repair injured tissue after colic surgery. Dr. Blikslager is a professor of surgery and gastroenterology at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He and his lead researcher, veterinary surgeon Liara Gonzalez, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, a Ph.D. candidate, are studying stem cells from normal intestine and intestine that has been resected to understand what happens during intestinal ischemia. Ultimately, the goal is to take stem cells from resected intestine and return them to the anastomosed section of intestine to hasten mucosal recovery. Although resected intestine is likely to be severely injured, stem cells are relatively protected deep within the mucosal crypts and may therefore be available for use. “No one has done this before in horses,” Blikslager says, “Perhaps not in any other species. It's entirely new research.” The intestine is “highly organized,” he says, “so we know where to look for the stem cells.” Promoting Self-renewal Blikslager is hoping that the normal stem …
Salmonella Threat Leads To Limited Recall Of Bravo Frozen Pet FoodApril 4, 2013 Bravo voluntarily recalled a limited amount of raw frozen foods for dogs and cats Wednesday because of their potential to be contaminated with salmonella. The Manchester, Conn., manufacturer recalled 231 cases that were distributed nationwide. The three formulas have specific best-by dates. “This recall is being issued out of an abundance of caution,” the company stated. “While these products tested negative for pathogens by an independent third party prior to distribution, they were run on the same day or an adjacent day to a product that tested positive for pathogens. The product that tested positive has been 100 percent contained and is not subject to this recall.” The recall involves: • 5-pound Chicken Balance frozen raw diet tubes with “best used by” dates of 3-6-15 and 3-12-15 imprinted on the side of the plastic casing. Twenty-six and 36 cases of each were distributed, respectively. • 2-pound Chicken Blend frozen raw diet tubes with the “best used by” date of 3-21-15 imprinted on the side of the plastic casing. Sixty-seven cases were distributed. • 5-pound Beef Blend Burgers bags with “best used …
Round Up Those Pet X-raysApril 3, 2013Entries are now being accepted for the eighth year of Veterinary Practice News' “They Ate What?” x-ray contest, once again sponsored by Sound-Eklin of Carlsbad, Calif. The contest highlights the dietary indiscretions committed by veterinary clients' dogs, cats, birds, snakes, guinea pigs, cows and horses. “We're looking forward to sharing in our readers' varied X-ray experiences again this year,” said Marilyn Iturri, editor of the magazine. Entry deadline is June 30. Winners will be announced in the September 2013 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Two digital single-lens reflex cameras will be awarded as prizes. Over the past seven years, the improvement in quality of radiographs submitted to the contest is readily apparent. “The growth of digital radiography has been obvious in the entries," Iturri said. “The subjects have always been interesting, but the clarity and detail that come with digital technology have made them striking.” Entries don't have to have been made by the newer technology, but they must be submitted by email. So at the very least practitioners will need to take digital photos of their qualifying films. Email radiographs to VPNeditor@luminamedia.com. The submitter must include his or her name, the clinic …
Animals May Play Bigger Role Than Toys In Aiding Autistic ChildrenApril 2, 2013A study by Marguerite O'Haire, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Queensland in Australia, and three other researchers found that participants demonstrated more social behaviors such as talking, looking at faces and making tactile contact when in the presence of animals compared to toys. “The presence of an animal appears to encourage socialization among children with autism and their peers,” O'Haire said. “When with an animal, children with autism smiled and laughed more often, were more talkative, and looked at people's faces more than they did when with toys.” The study involved 33 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 66 typically developing peers. Groups of one ASD child and two peers were recorded playing with toys and then with two guinea pigs. Researchers found that ASD children displayed more pro-social behaviors and positive effects when in the presence of animals compared to toys and less frowning, crying and whining. An estimated one in every 50 U.S. children has ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study was published in late February in PLOS …
Tick Populations To Explode In 2013March 28, 2013 For a number of reasons, tick populations in many areas of the country will likely explode this year, according to several parasitologists, so veterinarians should be vigilant about discussing preventives with clients. “There has been an increase in tick populations over decades, but in the last 10 years, they have really exploded,” explained Susan E. Little, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVM, Regents professor and Krull-Ewing chair in veterinary parasitology at Oklahoma State University. “And it is not just more ticks, it is more ticks in more places.” There are many reasons that ticks and the diseases they carry spread: Warmer winters; Suburbanization, which brings together people, wildlife and ticks; An increase in white-tailed deer; Migratory birds that carry ticks to new areas; A movement toward the preservation of open space and the replanting of trees; and The use of fewer insecticides. Winters in the United States have been milder than they were 20 or more years ago, when long periods of harsh weather used to kill off many ticks, explains Michael W. Dryden, DVM, Ph.D., university distinguished professor in veterinary parasitology at Kansas State University. “Without the deep, hard, cold winters, we don't have the winter …
Zoetis, AABP To Award $5,000 Scholarships To Bovine StudentsMarch 28, 2013 Some $385,000 has been handed out over the past four years to 77 students enrolled in U.S. veterinary colleges. The application deadline is June 15. More information is available at foundation.aabp.org/zoetis. “Students should take advantage of this opportunity to reduce their debt and focus on their studies,” said M. Gatz Riddell Jr., DVM, executive vice president of AABP. “While reviewing applications, AABP and Zoetis look to support well-rounded veterinary students—those that not only excel in the classroom and clinical work but are also involved in industry-related activities.” The scholarship program is administered by the AABP Foundation with the assistance of the Amstutz Scholarship Committee. Among 23 students awarded the scholarship in 2011 was Claire McPhee, DVM, a North Carolina State University graduate who now works at Udder Health Systems in Bellingham, Wash. “Receiving this scholarship decreased my debt load, which allowed me to focus on finding a job that was a good fit for me,” Dr. McPhee said. The 2013 winners will be announced before the AABP Annual Conference, which is scheduled for Sept. 19 to 21 in Milwaukee.
Toward A Standard Of Care For PainMarch 27, 2013 In his autobiography “What I Have Lived For,” humanitarian Bertrand Russell reflected on his past, writing: “Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. … Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. … I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.”1 Many veterinarians similarly experience unbearable pity for the suffering of animal kind. Unlike Russell, who longed to reduce suffering but could not, we hold in our hands, hearts and minds a dramatic capacity to intervene on behalf of animals and lobby for better treatment, whether in the feedlot, the research lab or in the veterinary clinic. We can upgrade standards of care from within our profession or wait for them to be imposed by public pressure. For better pain management in particular, science supports it, caregivers want it and we can provide it. Ethics of Pain It's …
