Vet Medicine Highlighted In Ag Day RecognitionApril 17, 2009 Every year, veterinarians, agriculture associations and universities celebrate National Agriculture Day organized by the Agriculture Council of America. This year, it falls on March 21. “On Ag Day, March 21, we are reminded to recognize and respect some of the most valuable workers in the country—the people who produce the food we eat,” said Roger Mahr, DVM, president of the American Veterinary Medical Assn. “Veterinarians are an essential part of that workforce. “At the AVMA, we are cognizant of the responsibility of the veterinary profession to society and their unceasing work to improve the health and welfare of food animals and food safety. This includes the legislative efforts of our Governmental Relations Division, based in Washington, D.C., where veterinarians are lobbying Congress to ensure that the entire food supply system is healthy, safe and humane from farm to fork.” The reauthorization of 2007 Farm Bill is among a number of important pieces of pending legislation in the U.S. Congress that will have dramatic impacts on veterinary medicine, Dr. Mahr said. "The current Farm Bill reauthorizes $760 million targeted for agriculture research, which will be essential if we are to ensure safe and secure food production," …
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Bringing Pawspice To Your PracticeApril 17, 2009 This article answers requests about how to set up "pawspice" (hospice services) following the article, "Helping Clients With the Long Goodbye" (November 2006). It featured a thoughtful letter from Kimberly Fox sharing her feelings about Rennie, her Golden Retriever with terminal cancer. Rennie entered our pawspice program, which provides comfort care for both the family and the patient. Pawspice provides clients with end-of-life care and staff with a protocol that validates a mutual willingness to endure its special purpose. Pawspice is actually a philosophy which can be personalized to fit into your own practice. The human-animal bond is a celebrated, life-enriching relationship that an increasing number of pet caregivers want to nurture and cherish at home to the end. Our clients need and want us to facilitate and lengthen the process so they can spend as much quality time as possible with their beloved pets before the inevitable loss. A well-conceptualized, creative and palliative pawspice plan is often the very best medicine that our profession can offer a terminal patient. When pets approach their final days, their caregivers can be very emotional. They suffer from anticipatory grief, interruption of routine and financial outlay. …
Banfield Names Klausner VP Of Professional Relations And Government AffairsApril 17, 2009Banfield, The Pet Hospital, of Portland, Ore., has named Jeffrey Klausner, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, its vice president of professional relations and government affairs. Dr. Klausner will build and strengthen relationships with universities and national veterinary organizations, as well as lead Banfield's evidence-based medicine initiative and help demonstrate how the practice's use of this knowledge can serve as a model for the veterinary profession. Klausner previously was the president and chief executive officer for The Animal Medical Center in New York City. He is also former dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota. "As a medical professional and academic leader with more than 25 years' experience, Dr. Klausner's education and business leadership background will be a valuable asset in Banfield's efforts to advance the quality of medicine throughout the practice and the veterinary profession," said John Payne, chief executive officer of Banfield. <HOME>
Our Dirty Laundry On Lack Of Definitive Care StandardsApril 17, 2009 I like to sift through my stack of journals and industry periodicals and collect animal books and consume online pet press with equal vigor. I consider all of it work-related, and not just so I can deduct the sizable expense from my taxes at year’s end. I like to think the literary mix lends me some big-picture perspective on where the profession is headed, as on the recent exposure of this critical issue: the complex administration of professional standards in veterinary medicine. Readers React After the July 1 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Assn. published a paper by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians on guidelines for spays and neuters in low-cost settings, I reviewed its implications on my personal website. I argued in favor of more stringent standards on spays and neuters in all settings. I asserted that the public needs to be better informed about what it’s paying for when its pets are sterilized, in part so it will pony up to fair prices beyond the discounted comparison shopper’s rates we too often settle for in private practice. Within days I had more than a hundred fiery comments and e-mails, largely aimed at …
Compensation Standards For Specialists LackingApril 17, 2009 Specialty veterinary medicine has blossomed over the past 10 years, mainly because the human-animal bond has become stronger. However, as veterinary hospitals begin incorporating specialized care into their practices, they are not finding the balance between specialist compensation and allowing the practice to thrive, according to a new study by Veterinary Specialty Practice Alliance. The group comprises 18 veterinary specialty hospitals and about 10 percent of veterinary specialists in private clinical practice. “Many hospitals are trying to hire specialists and specialists have many choices,” said Brent Calhoun, DVM, of Michigan Veterinary Specialists in Southfield and Auburn Hills, an alliance member. “This competition is causing some businesses to offer compensation that cannot be maintained with the demand for services and the willingness of pet owners to pay for such services.” “You’re seeing practices growing quickly and building large facilities and investing in expensive equipment and then realizing the profitability to support that investment just isn’t there,” said Darryl Shaw, CPA, MBA, treasurer of the alliance and chief executive officer at Florida Veterinary Specialists in Tampa. Compensation standards already exist in general veterinary practices, but because the specialty field is so new, data hasn’t been …
Ephedra Ban Highlights Importance Of Adverse Event ReportingApril 17, 2009 Fireflies might prove a fatal snack to exotic reptiles, according to a health alert released by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Animal Poison Control Center (APCC). Veterinarians should alert pet owners and advise them to take steps to prevent both the intentional or accidental ingestion of these common insects, the center reported. Based on a handful of reports from reptile owners, symptoms of poisoning quickly follow a lizard's ingestion of fireflies. These symptoms include head shaking, oral gaping, unsuccessful attempts at regurgitation and a darkening in color. The symptoms usually appear within 30 minutes of ingestion, and death might follow within the hour. Death is thought to be a result of heart malfunction. "A single firefly would have a very high probability of resulting in death," says Dr. Steve Hansen, board-certified veterinary toxicologist and director of the APCC. The warning is being issued to amphibian and bird owners as well. In addition to the lizard cases, fatal poisonings in tree frogs have been documented. In another instance, a bird that ingested a firefly regurgitated it but did not die, says Hansen. The health alert is based …
The Art Of Draining Evil HumorsApril 17, 2009 Drains are often used to help treatment of infected wounds, but they can also be very helpful after excision of large skin or subcutaneous masses. This is not a new idea; early surgeons, during the 19th century, thought of using glass tubes to drain infected wounds. Indications for drain placement include reduction of dead space and prevention or reduction of fluid collection. This in turn decreases the risk of infection, since inflammatory fluid, necrotic tissues and blood are excellent culture media. Respecting some basic guidelines will help speed up the healing process. There are two main types of drains: passive and active. Passive latex drains are most often Penrose drains, although a sterile piece of IV tubing or a red rubber catheter can be used in a pinch. Fluids leak along the outer surface of the drain, so cutting fenestrations into it actually reduces its efficacy and makes the drain more likely to tear. Passive drains rely on gravity and therefore must exit ventrally. Letting a drain exit through a dorsal incision defeats its purpose. Moreover, it creates a second opening through which bacteria can enter and …
Sea World Vet Joins University Of Florida StaffApril 17, 2009 Mike Walsh, DVM, a former head veterinarian at Sea World of Florida, has joined the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine as associate director of its Aquatic Animal Health program. “I joined this program because of its past strengths, its current level of expertise and the obvious future commitment it will make to Florida’s valuable wild aquatic animal species, the fish industry, the Oceanaria, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service,” Dr. Walsh said. <HOME> 10-20-2007
Foreign Animal, Emerging Disease Course Scheduled For MayApril 17, 2009 The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine is offering a week-long training course on Foreign Animal and Emerging Diseases for veterinarians and veterinary technicians from May 13-18 in Knoxville, Tenn. The course, which is jointly sponsored with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will include topics such as potential impacts of agroterrorism, international animal disease control, mass animal care in a disaster setting, foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax, rift valley fever, vesicular stomatitis, rabbit hemorrhagic disease, avian influenza, African horsesickness and equine encephalosis and wildlife roles in maintaining exotic animal diseases. For more information, visit www.vet.utk.edu/cafsp or call Ann White at 865-974-0345. <HOME>
California Abandons Spay/Neuter BillApril 17, 2009 Continued debate on the proposed mandatory spay/neuter legislation proved too much for it to survive in the state Senate. Assemblyman Lloyd Levine of Van Nuys withdrew the contentious California Healthy Pets Act (AB 1634) today after it became clear he would not garner enough votes for it from the state Senate’s Local Government Committee. Saying the bill was well-intended but flawed from the start, the American Kennel Club praised this development. “AB 1634 was nothing more than an attempt to penalize responsible dog and cat owners who are not to blame for any purported pet population issues in California,” said Dennis Sprung, AKC’s president and chief executive officer. “Today’s developments ensure that their fundamental rights and liberties remain intact.” The bill, which would have mandated the spaying or neutering of most dogs and cats – exceptions were granted for show and work animals - in the state, was introduced in an effort to reduce the number of unwanted animals abandoned and euthanized. The state Assembly passed the bill, narrowly, but support for it continued to crumble when the California Veterinary Medical Assn. quietly withdrew its support of the legislation last week. Despite the …
