$24 Million Settlement Reached In Pet Food Recall CaseMay 17, 2010Canada-based Menu Foods and other companies that were involved in last year’s massive recall of pet foods have agreed to pay a combined $24 million to pet owners. The settlement, which was outlined in papers filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Camden, N.J., still needs court approval. A hearing has been scheduled for May 30. Under the settlement, the companies will pay all of the pet owners’ documented expenses for the injury and death of their pets as a result of consuming the recalled products, Reuters reported. The recalls were first announced in March 2007 after dogs and cats became ill or died as a result of eating the tainted food. The contaminants were discovered to be melamine and cyanuric acid, which were in ingredients from China that went into pet food in the United States. <HOME>
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$24 Million Menu Foods Settlement Gets Preliminary OKMay 17, 2010$24 Million Menu Foods Settlement Gets Preliminary OK$24 Million Menu Foods Settlement Gets Preliminary OKpet food recall, settlementThe U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has given preliminary approval for a $24 million settlement agreement involving last year’s massive pet food recall.The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has given preliminary approval for a $24 million settlement agreement involving last year’s massive pet food recall.newslinePosted June 2, 2008, 9:02 p.m., EDT The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has given preliminary approval for a $24 million settlement agreement involving last year’s massive pet food recall. Canada-based Menu Foods was slapped with more than 100 class-action lawsuits after dogs and cats became ill or died as a result of eating the tainted food. The contaminants were discovered to be melamine and cyanuric acid, which were in ingredients from China that went into pet food in the United States. The settlement agreement creates a settlement fund that will allow pet owners to potentially recover up to 100 percent of all economic damages, subject to certain limitations. The fund, administered by a neutral claims administrator, will be available to persons in the United States and …
Southern California Wildfire CoverageMay 17, 2010 10/25/2007 - Many Pet Hospitals Escape SoCal Fires Although 11 large fires wildfires are still burning across in Southern California, the Santa Ana wind event is over, making it easier for firefighters to contain them... More >> 10/24/2007 - Vet Clinic in the Burn Zone is Spared Rancho Bernardo Veterinary Clinic lies in the heart of the burn zone of what is being called the Witch Creek fire in central San Diego County, Calif. The clinic is owned by Robert Chung, DVM... More >> 10/24/2007 - Banfield Mobile Unit to Aid in Southern California Fires Banfield’s mobile emergency pet hospital is getting ready to assist with pet emergencies related to the fires taking place in Southern California. An exact location where the mobile unit will be set up... More >> 10/24/2007 - UPDATED: Available Resources for Fire Victims With fires taking over the southland, several Web sites are providing information about assisting people and pets affected by the California wildfires. More >> 10/23/2007 - Southern California Equine Evacuees in Need of Supplies Since mandatory evacuations began in …
Who Cares About The Diagnosis?May 15, 2010Siouxsie is a 9-year-old female standard poodle who presented with dysuria and stranguria. Her diagnostic workup, which included an abdominal ultrasound, revealed an obstructive mass near the neck of the bladder. Traumatic catheterization and cystoscopy were unsuccessful at getting diagnostic biopsies. Exploratory laparotomy was recommended to obtain both a diagnosis and a treatment. The owner agonized about what to do. To make things worse, she had adopted the dog just three weeks before presentation. She wondered about the rationale of spending "so much money" to find out that her brand new dog had transitional cell carcinoma. What else could it possibly be? Granted, Siouxsie could do well for a while on piroxicam. Ultimately, the owner decided that she had a responsibility toward Siouxsie when she rescued her, and she elected to do surgery. Cystotomy revealed a pea-sized mass in the neck of the bladder. It was clearly impairing urine flow into the proximal urethra. Since aggressive surgery was likely to cause incontinence, the mass was debulked. A cystostomy tube was also placed. It was removed a few weeks later, once we were reassured that she could urinate normally. We are happy to report that Siouxsie is still alive one year …
California Bill May Stop Landlords From Requiring Declawing Or Devocalization Of AnimalsMay 14, 2010 The California Assembly on May 13, 2010 passed a bill that would prohibit landlords from requiring tenants or potential tenants to declaw or devocalize their animal as a condition of occupancy. “Animal” is defined as any mammal, bird, reptile or amphibian. AB 2743, which was introduced by Assemblyman Pedro Nava in February, claims that such procedures have irreversible effects on the animals. In addition, the bill states that declawing and devocalizing may have the unintended consequence of creating potential public health and safety concerns. For example, there may be a safety risk to police officers posed by a devocalized attack dog present on property that law enforcement officers have legal cause to enter, according to the bill. Furthermore, “the permanence of these surgical procedures contrasts with the temporary nature of the occupancy of real property owned by another, which generally lasts only for a fixed term and may be terminated upon notice by one of the parties.” The California Veterinary Medical Association, which has long been against legislation pushing for declaw bans, agrees with the bill’s concept but officially opposes it due to certain language. “Landlords should not be making these medical decisions,” …
ImproMed Human Resources Webinar Series To Begin July 15May 14, 2010 ImproMed Inc. of Oshkosh, Wis., will sponsor a four-part human resources webinar series beginning July 15. “Performance Management” will run consecutive Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. CST through Aug. 5. Participants will be eligible for four RACE-approved continuing education credits. Host Katherine Dobbs, RVT, CVPM, PHR from interface Veterinary HR Systems LLC, will focus on the following topics: The Performance Management Cycle—How to Get Your Team to Do Their Job; The First Building Blocks—Mission, Policy Manual and Job Descriptions; Taking it to the Next Level—Training People and Evaluating Performance; and Endings and Beginnings—Progressive Discipline, Effective Termination and Recruiting New Hires “In my series, I will be showing how to utilize your company’s mission to the fullest, and how to weave this vision into the building blocks of human resources and specifically performance management,” Dobbs said. “I will also detail the necessary components of a good job description delving into the issue that job descriptions are so much more than a list of duties, the importance of coaching, counseling and feedback, performance evaluations and the significance of documentation.” ImproMed clients can register here. Non-customers can register here. Read Katherine Dobbs weekly staff …
AAHA Releases Guidelines For Canine/Feline Diabetes ManagementMay 13, 2010AAHA Releases Guidelines for Canine/Feline Diabetes ManagementAAHA Releases Guidelines for Canine/Feline Diabetes ManagementnewslinePosted: Thursday, May 13, 2010, 6:38 p.m., EDT The American Animal Hospital Association has released new guidelines for canine and feline diabetes management. The “AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats” provides current recommendations for the diagnosis, management and treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM). Specifically, the guidelines cover diagnostic criteria and initial assessment, initial treatment and monitoring, recommended diagnostic testing, diet therapy goals and management, ongoing home monitoring, troubleshooting and website links for staff and client education. DM is caused by loss or dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells in both dogs and cats. However, AAHA notes that important differences exist between the development of canine and feline DM. Understanding these differences will help predict management success, according to the association. Click here for the guidelines, which were made possible through an educational grant from Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health. <HOME>
Penn Vet To Show Off Large-Animal Critical Care CenterMay 13, 2010 The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine will host an open house June 5 for the James M. Moran Jr. Critical Care Center, the newest facility on the New Bolton Center Kennett Square campus. The 18,540-square-foot center will help care for critically ill patients admitted to George D. Widener Hospital, which sees about 6,000 patients annually. By offering a very high level of biosecurity for the most-at-risk population, all the patients in New Bolton Center hospital facilities end up benefiting, according to the university. “The way that animals are moved, the way veterinary hospital stalls are cleaned, the way staff moves from stall to stall, even the way air circulates all offer opportunities to limit the movement of infectious organisms about hospital wards,” said Helen Aceto, VMD, Ph.D., director of biosecurity at New Bolton Center. Preventing direct interaction between patients is key to the new facility, according to the university. For example, each stall is self-contained with Plexiglas viewing windows on the interior and individual access on the exterior. Patients, veterinarians, staff and bedding enter and leave the stall through the same door. Stalls are independently ventilated. Each wing also has a dedicated cleaning and …
Nutramax to Move Operations to South CarolinaMay 12, 2010Nutramax Laboratories Inc. and Nutramax Manufacturing Inc. have plans to locate new operations in Lancaster, S.C. The move will allow the nutraceutical developer to increase its production capacity for new and existing products in its veterinary and consumer divisions. Nutramax will invest about $12.5 million in acquiring, updating and expanding existing facilities. The move will also create more than 200 new jobs over the next five years, according to Gov. Mark Sanford, who made the announcement May 11, 2010, with the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Lancaster County Economic Development Corp. Nutramax expects to begin operations this fall and hopes to start hiring within the next 90 days. “Our decision to relocate and expand our animal health, and eventually our consumer health businesses in South Carolina is the culmination of a three-year search,” said Todd Henderson, DVM, president of the companies. “The support of Governor Sanford, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, Lancaster County and City of Lancaster were critical to our decision. We look forward to final approval of applications and agreements so that we can proceed with this important project. “We feel that South Carolina and Lancaster County provide the perfect setting for our businesses to …
Abaxis, Heksa Among Companies Attending Financial ConferenceMay 11, 2010SunTrust Robinson Humphrey will hold its inaugural veterinary conference on May 12 in New York City. The one-day conference is designed to give institutional clients market perspective and insight from mid- and small-cap animal health care companies, including Abaxis Inc., Heska Corp., Idexx Laboratories, MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. and VCA Antech Inc. About 30 to 40 attendees are expected. The animal health care market has advantages such as limited regulatory and reimbursement risk, which often makes for attractive investments, according to SunTrust. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey is the full-service corporate and investment banking arm of SunTrust Banks Inc. The Atlanta company provides capital raising, strategic advisory, risk management and investment solutions. It also offers fixed-income and equity research, sales and trading for institutional investors. For details, visit www.suntrustrh.com/ConferencesEvents/conferencedetails.asp?cid=44.
