Penn Vet To Host Working Dog ConferenceAugust 12, 2011 Cindy Otto, DVM from the University of Pennsylvania’s Working Dog Center, will host a working dog conference Sept. 7 through Sept. 9 at the Pearl River Hilton in Pearl River, N.Y. The University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Working Dog Center 2011 International Conference titled, "Defining, Developing and Documenting Success in Working Dogs," will feature experts discussing topics regarding puppy selection and development, performance testing, certification and physical conditioning of working dogs. “Our mission is to share the knowledge available to improve the health, breeding and performance of working dogs,” Dr. Otto says. “Only about 30 percent of the dogs bred become successful working dogs and I hope the discussions from the conference will lead to improved solutions in ensuring their success on the field.” Otto monitors the health of the SAR dogs that participated in recovery operations for the World Trade Center and other sites related to Sept. 11, 2011 events. Out of 300 dogs that responded, about 25 percent are still living. The conference will take place in conjunction with ‘Finding One Another,’ a 10th anniversary tribute to the search and rescue (SAR) community of Sept. 11, 2011 whose efforts include paying tribute to the …
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AHS Offers Plan For Heartworm Management During Immiticide ShortageAugust 11, 2011UPDATE: The FDA has granted Merial approval to import limited quantities of Immiticide from Europe. Click here to read this story. The American Heartworm Society (AHS) board and scientific committee has released an interim heartworm management plan to help veterinarians deal with heartworm cases in light of Immiticide being unavailable for the time being. “With Immiticide unavailable, veterinarians will need to take steps to carefully manage their heartworm-positive patients,” said Wallace Graham, DVM, president of AHS. “As the primary source of information on heartworm prevention and treatment for the veterinary practitioner, we have provided veterinarians with recommendations for appropriate patient care.” The goals of the interim plan endorsed by AHS include reducing potential pathology from the infection, maintaining the health of the heartworm-positive dog until it can be appropriately treated and preventing additional heartworm infection of the patient. Dr. Graham said the goal of this plan is not to eliminate the infection, but to manage the patient until Immiticide is available. The AHS plan entails pretreatment of heartworm-positive dogs to prevent shock and careful administration of a macrocyclic lactone heartworm preventive, followed by clinical observation for a minimum of eight hours. …
WestVet Performs First Hip Resurfacing Procedure In DogAugust 10, 2011 The WestVet Animal Emergency and Specialty Center in Garden City, Idaho is reportedly the first U.S. veterinary hospital to successfully perform a hip resurfacing procedure in a dog as a less invasive alternative to total hip replacement. The patient, who recently underwent the hip resurfacing procedure, is an English springer spaniel. After exhibiting mobility issues including stiffness and pain, Riggins the dog was examined by Jeff Brourman, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, owner and chief of staff at WestVet Animal Emergency and Specialty Center. Dr. Brourman has been investigating the adaptation of the human procedure into veterinary medicine and determined Riggins was a good candidate for the procedure. Brourman and Sean Murphy, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, performed the procedure on Riggins. The dog recovered well from the procedure and is now able to ambulate comfortably. Riggins the dog recently underwent a hip resurfacing procedure, as a less invasive alternative to total hip replacement. “If the procedure continues to be successful, it may become a good alternative to total hip replacement in certain dogs suffering from hip dysplasia,” Brourman said. Brourman says he plans on performing more hip resurfacing procedures …
Rich Wins Oxbow AwardAugust 10, 2011 Oxbow Animal Health named Gregory Rich, DVM, owner of the West Esplanade Veterinary Clinic in Metairie, La., as the winner of the 2011 Oxbow Exotic Mammal Health Award. The annual award is presented to an animal health professional advancing the field of exotic mammal medicine and care. Dr. Rich was presented with the award on Aug. 7 at the 2011 AAV/AEMV/ARAV conference in Seattle, Wash. “We could not be more excited to recognize Dr. Rich and his contributions to the field of small exotic medicine,” said John Miller, president of Oxbow Animal Health. “Dr. Rich has gone above and beyond the call of duty time and again, putting the health and wellbeing of animals first and foremost in everything he does. It is our hope that the Oxbow Exotic Mammal Health Award may serve to recognize Dr. Rich’s continued legacy of compassion and commitment to animals of all species and sizes.” Rich was a member of the Louisiana State Animal Response Team and Deep Water Horizon/BP Oil Spill Wildlife Response Team, as well as the Jefferson Parish animal welfare committee and South West Veterinary Symposium continuing education program. Rich received the Outstanding Alumnus …
University Of Pennsylvania Vet Researcher Receives GrantAugust 10, 2011 The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF) awarded Brett A. Kaufman, PhD, assistant professor department of animal biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, a $120,000 grant to study the role mtDNA copy number control plays in the development of disease. Dr. Kaufman’s grant was also selected for the UMDF Chairman’s Award for the top grant this year. “Our aim is to make a rapid and fundamental impact on our understanding of mtDNA regulation in disease,” Kaufman said. “This work will increase our knowledge of molecular mechanisms regulating mtDNA copy number, and potentially, mitochondrial gene expression. With the technical support of collaborators and our departmental expertise, our lab is uniquely situated to conduct the experiments that will answer important questions about mtDNA content control.” Kaufman said this work will allow researchers to better understand the mtDNA depletion syndromes and other complex diseases whose pathogenesis involves mtDNA deletion or depletion, such as neurodegenerative diseases. “We are happy that Dr. Kaufman’s project was selected for UMDF Research Grant funding in 2011,” said Charles A. Mohan, Jr., CEO, executive director of UMDF. “We are excited about the project and we …
USDA Wants $14M From Congress For Livestock Tracing ProgramAugust 9, 2011 The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today issued a proposed rule to establish general regulations for improving the traceability of U.S. livestock moving interstate that entails asking Congress for a $14 million annual stipend to fund the new program. Tom Vilsack, agriculture secretary, and John Clifford, DVM, chief veterinary officer for the United States, says using a flexible method of traceability that is low cost and is federally implemented will decrease time and finances needed by reducing the number of animals involved in investigations when animal disease events or intentional food-animal tampering occurs. “I have listened carefully to stakeholders throughout the country about how to reach effective animal disease traceability in a transparent manner without additional burden,” Vilsack said. “We are proposing a flexible approach in which states and tribes can develop systems for tracing animals that work best for them and for producers in their jurisdiction. This approach offers great flexibility at the state and local level and addresses gaps in our disease response efforts.” Vilsack said past “one size fits all” approaches to tracing agriculture animals resulted in only 30 percent producer compliance. Under the proposed rule, …
Gookin Wins Excellence In Feline Research AwardAugust 9, 2011 Jody L. Gookin, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, is the winner of the 2011 Excellence in Feline Research Award from the Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. Dr. Gookin is credited with the identification of Tritrichomonas foetus as a cause of diarrhea in domestic cats. Along with colleagues, she worked for more than 12 years to establish its pathogenesis, develop diagnostic tools and find an effective treatment for the infection, according to a statement from the foundation. The award consists of $2,500 and a crystal cat, the Winnie. Vicki Thayer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, Winn Feline Foundation president, made the announcement and presented the award at the American Veterinary Medical Association conference. Gookin received her DVM degree from the University of California at Davis, and her PhD in gastrointestinal physiology at North Carolina State University (NCSU). She is an associate professor in the department of clinical sciences at NCSU. She received a Winn Feline Foundation research grant in 2007 to study the prevalence and risk factors for venereal Tritrichomonas foetus infection and another in 2009 to study the prevalence, identity and antimicrobial susceptibility of Enterococcus spp. infection in kittens. In 2011 Gookin was awarded …
Fighting The Battle Of The BulgeAugust 8, 2011 Around 2004, every time Ernie Ward, DVM, found himself among a group of fellow lecturers at a veterinary conference, he’d bring up the same topic: Had anybody noticed how many overweight animals they were seeing in their practices? The question always drew a few jokes. “Oh, look, the skinny vegetarian wants to talk about fat cats,” Dr. Ward recalls—but nobody ever seemed to take the question seriously, despite Ward’s persistence. It might have gone nowhere, except that one day a friend issued a challenge: Quit talking about obese pets and do something about it. So he did. In 2005, Ward, now 44, founded the nonprofit Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. Among other things, the organization helped launch an annual pet-obesity awareness day, and an annual survey that this year suggested that more than half of American dogs and cats were overweight or obese. This data has helped focus national attention on the problem, including high-profile coverage in such media outlets as The Wall Street Journal. “There are just a handful of people who have no additional training beyond veterinary school, who don’t pursue specialized clinical research, who still become hugely impactful in veterinary medicine,” says Steve …
10 More Tips For Dealing With LumpsAugust 8, 2011We continue our discussion about cancer surgery with Stephen Withrow, a surgical oncologist at the Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center in Fort Collins. Dr. Withrow is double boarded in surgery and internal medicine (oncology). In the July installment, Dr. Withrow emphasized the importance of preoperative diagnostics (FNA, biopsy, imaging, etc.), establishing a relationship with a good pathologist and creating a solid team of like-minded people when dealing with cancer surgery. The godfather of cancer surgery kindly shared 10 more pearls to improve the care of your cancer patients. Last month we discussed 10 ways to deal with lumps and bumps. This month, we continue that discussion and discuss 10 more tips for dealing with lumps and dumps. 11 Blood Products Massive resections such as canine thyroidectomy or liver lobectomy may lead to severe hemorrhage. Such surgeries may not be as successful without blood products. Whole blood, packed red blood cells, platelet-rich plasma and fresh-frozen plasma have enabled us to provide far superior care. We can either treat a patient pre-emptively if we know there is a preoperative deficiency, or intra- or postoperatively if unexpected bleeding occurs during surgery. 12 Become Aware Both the veterinary community and pet owners …
Vet Says Owner’s Affection Aided In Dog’s RecoveryAugust 4, 2011 Marcella Harb-Hauser, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, at the Pet Emergency and Specialty Center of Marin in San Rafael, Calif. treated Ann Krcik’s 5-year-old Airedale terrier Shayla after a leptospirosis diagnosis. When the dog was admitted for treatment, Krcik asked Dr. Harb-Hauser if spending time with her pet might help her recovery. “I’m a firm believer that pet parents play an integral role in helping their pets heal,” Dr. Harb-Hauser said. “Just like humans, if pets are less stressed, they heal faster.” Krcik visited several times a day. “They let me sit on the floor with this 65-pound-dog on my lap, and just worked around me,” Krcik said. When the dog seemed to be improving, additional tests showed the leptospirosis was now affecting the dog’s lungs and the disease suddenly became life threatening. Harb-Hauser told Krcik that they had done all they could medically. Afterwards, as Krcik was holding Shayla on the floor of the hospital, the dog struggled to breathe. “It was bleak,” Krcik said. “At one point, I couldn’t feel her breathing at all. I thought this is it; at least I’ll be holding her as she passes on. I …
