Anticipatory Grief Complexes Cancer ManagementApril 17, 2009 She had a Kleenex in her trembling hand and was on the verge of tears when I entered the room. She burst into tears as we discussed the biopsy and the overall poor prognosis. She could not hold herself back from intense feelings of loss and injustice and regret. She told me that she just loved her dog and that she did not want her to suffer from the awful cancer that had invaded the base of her tongue. She declined surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy (which would have only been palliative anyway). She said that even though Dori had lost 17 pounds and had trouble eating, she was still behaving close to normal and was cheerful in every other way. So she wanted me to do what ever I could do to help Dori live a quality life. I introduced the concept of end of life care. I like to call this phase of cancer care, “Pawspice” in honor of Hospice, the home care system set up for people with terminal illness. We talked about recognizing and learning to correct the 3 H’s (Hunger, Hydration and Hurt). Then she burst out into extreme grief with …
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Hill’s Sales Up, While Recall Weighs On IamsApril 17, 2009 Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s sales grew 12 percent and unit volume grew 5 percent in its third quarter ending Sept. 30, 2007, while Procter & Gamble Co. attributed a 2 percent drop in pet food volume primarily to “continued negative impacts from the voluntary wet pet food recall” during the quarter. Hill’s parent Colgate-Palmolive Co. reported consumption growth and market share gains in the U.S. pet specialty channel for the quarter were driven by strong sales of Science Diet Canine Large Breed, Science Diet Canine Lamb & Rice Small Bites, Science Diet Indoor Cat and Science Diet Light (feline) and the relaunch of Science Diet Canine Nature’s Best. In the U.S. veterinary channel, Hill’s growth was driven by Prescription Diet c/d Multicare Feline, Prescription Diet d/d Canine and Prescription Diet j/c Canine. Internationally, the company reported strong growth in Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, Australia and France. Net products overseas included Science Plan Feline Chunks in Gravy pouches, a veterinary exclusive Science Plan Neutered Cat and Prescription Diet j/d Canine and Feline. With sales of $464.3 million for the quarter and $1.4 billion year-to-date, pet …
Industry People On The MoveApril 17, 2009 • Veterinary Pet Insurance of Brea, Calif., has named Lynne Miller as its compliance director. Miller, who has experience in insurance regulatory compliance and claims litigation, will be responsible for assessing, improving, administering and overseeing VPI’s Corporate Compliance Program. • Abaxis Inc.’s Chief Operations Officer Robert Milder has retired. Until the appointment of a new operations executive, President and Chief Executive Officer Clint Severson will oversee all operating functions. Abaxis is based in Union City, Calif. • ImproMed Inc. of Oshkosh, Wis., has named Dean Miller its new south central regional manager. Miller’s responsibilities will be to provide ImproMed products and services to veterinarians in Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. • Urine-Off maker Bio-Pro Research LLC of Sarasota, Fla., pegged Richard Kaplan as its new president. Kaplan has spent the past 19 years with Levi Strauss and Co., ultimately becoming its national director of sales and retail marketing. • Alpharma Inc. of Bridgewater, N.J., has named Thomas Spellman III its executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Spellman has more than 10 years of pharmaceutical legal experience. He replaces the company’s incumbent chief legal officer, Robert Wrobel, who will be retiring following 10 years of …
Ohio Representatives Seek Statewide Pit Bull BanApril 17, 2009 Citing a “pit bull issue” in Ohio, two state representatives have forged a partnership to craft an approach that they said would put a stop to the vicious training of pit bulls. State Rep. Tyrone Yates of Cincinnati introduced legislation to ban residents from keeping dogs commonly known as pit bulls. If enacted, House Bill 568 would require owners of these dogs to surrender the animals to dog wardens for euthanization. State Rep. Shawn Webster of Hanover, a practicing veterinarian, agreed to work with Yates after the introduction of HB 568. The bill states “no person may own, keep, or harbor a dog that belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog.” Owners would have 90 days after the bill goes into effect to surrender pit bulls to the dog warden of the county in which they reside. If there is probable cause to believe a person owns or is harboring or keeping a pit bull, the bill would make it OK for an officer to obtain a search warrant and seize the dog then turn it over to the dog warden. “I introduced legislation to ban pit bulls …
Wyeth’s Animal Health Reports 12% Revenue IncreaseApril 17, 2009 Wyeth’s worldwide animal health division recently reported a revenue increase of 12 percent to $313 million for the second quarter ended June 30. Year to date, the company reported a revenue increase of 6 percent to $590 million. The increases were primarily due to higher sales of poultry products and livestock products driven by Zulvac bluetongue vaccine as well as the favorable impact of foreign exchange. Higher sales of companion animal products, including ProMeris flea and tick products, contributed to the second quarter revenue increase. Partially offsetting these increases were lower sales of equine products. Overall, Wyeth reported net income of $1.12 billion on revenue of $5.95 billion for its second quarter, compared to net income of $1.2 billion on revenue of $5.65 billion in the year-ago period. Year to date, the company reported net income of $2.32 billion on revenue of $11.66 billion, compared to net income of $2.45 billion on revenue of $11.02 billion. Wyeth is the parent company of Fort Dodge Animal Health, which is based in Overland Park, Kan. <HOME>
Owners To Blame For Homeless Pets, Study SaysApril 17, 2009Eighty-six percent of animals surrendered to shelters are there because of reasons related to the owners' circumstances, not pet related, according to a new study by Pethealth Inc. of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. The study was based on data collected from almost 800 animal-welfare organizations and about 1.4 million cats and dogs brought through the organizations' doors. Officials created a list of 30 reasons pets were turned over to shelters. Each of the 30 reasons was then further separated into two categories – owner-specific reasons and pet-specific reasons. For example, owner-related reasons for relinquishing an animal include moving, allergies or home-owner insurance policy restrictions. Pet-related reasons include animal health, demonstrated aggression or hyperactivity. Animals that were returned to the shelter after being initially adopted were analyzed separately, classified as a "return" animal rather than a "surrender" animal, and those statistics were compiled separately. The top 10 reasons reported for surrender were: 1. Too many pets (18 percent) 2. Unwanted or incompatible (10 percent) 3. Moving or deployed (10 percent) 4. Stray, found or abandoned (8 percent) 5. Inability to care for (8 percent) 6. Financial of home-insurance policy restrictions (6 percent) 7. Euthanasia request (5 …
AFP Sells 2,500th Vet Dental X-Ray UnitApril 17, 2009 AFP Imaging Corp. of Elmsford, N.Y., has sold its 2,500th EVA Vet digital dental radiography unit. The company, which says it has been a leading veterinary dental radiography company since November 2002, credits its success to designing systems specifically for veterinary dental use. It also sells radiograph systems to veterinarians for whole- body needs. “AFP Imaging has raised the standard of veterinary care by its commitment to veterinary dental imaging,” said Jan Bellows, DVM, Dipl. AVDC, of Hometown Animal Hospital and All Pets Dental Clinic in Weston, Fla. “No modern practice can ignore the advantages of intraoral radiology introduced by them.” The company, now in its 30th year, expects “to launch new applications and equipment configurations for veterinary and human extremities in the near future. For its fiscal year ended June 30, the company reported that overall sales increased 19 percent to $34.3 million and posted a net loss of $11 million for the year. Since July, the company reported its been feeling the effects of the credit crunch as potential customers, including veterinarians, “have recently hesitated to commit to lease, purchase or invest in high tech products.” AFP reported …
Small Animals Benefit On Whole Foods DietApril 17, 2009 1. Liu H.R., "Health benefits of fruit and vegetables are from additive and synergistic combinations of phytochemicals.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003; Vol. 78, No. 3, 517S-520S 2. Raghavan M., et al, “Evaluation of the effect of dietary vegetable consumption on reducing risk of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder in Scottish Terriers.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2005; Vol. 227, 94-100 3. Remillard R.L., Paragon B.M., Crane S.W., et al: “Making pet foods at home,” in Hand MS, Thatcher CD, Remillard RL, Roudebush P (eds): Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, ed 4. Topeka, KS, Mark Morris Institute, Walsworth Publishing Company, 2000; 163–182. 4. Angelino PD et al, “Residual alkaline phosphatase activity in pasteurized milk heated at various temperatures-measurement with the fluorophos and Scharer rapid phosphatase tests.” Journal of Food Protection, 1999; 62(1):81-85 5. Severi S., et al, “Effects of home-based food preparation practices on micronutrient content of foods.” European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 1998; 7(4): 331-335 6. Yadav SK and Sehgal S, “Effect of home processing on ascorbic acid and beta-carotine content of spinach (Spinacia oleracia) and amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) leaves.” Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, 1995; 47(2): 125-131 …
Training Program Encourages Vets To Be FrankApril 17, 2009 Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is launching a new communication training program for veterinarians. The first four workshops will be held May 7 and 8 and Oct. 1 and 2 at the university’s Veterinary Medical Center. “Frank: An Interactive Veterinarian-Client Communication Workshop” is designed to teach veterinarians how to be frank when it’s not easy, providing communication skills to deal with a variety of situations. Jane Shaw, DVM, Ph.D., director of the college’s Argus Institute, will teach the program, which is being sponsored by New York-based Pfizer Animal Health. The program also aims to teach veterinarians how to get a more complete pet history, build collaboration with clients, encourage pet owners to be more involved in veterinary visits and communicate with the pet owner about expectations, next steps and limitations in care. Continuing education credit is available. Classes are limited to 25-30 participants. Registration deadlines: April 23 for the May program and Sept. 23 for the October program. Click here for details. <HOME>
Intervet Develops Bluetongue VaccineApril 17, 2009 Intervet International has developed a vaccine against Bluetongue serotype 8 for sheep and cattle. It is expected to be available in May. The United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has already placed an order with Intervet to supply 22.5 million doses of the vaccine. Just recently, the European Commission said it is making funds available to co-finance an emergency mass vaccination campaign in 2008 against Bluetongue. In principle, 100 percent of vaccine purchase costs and 50 percent of vaccine application costs will be covered by the community budget, subject to certain ceilings for operational costs. Non-emergency vaccination campaigns in following years would be part of the community co-financed eradication programs. Markos Kyprianou, commissioner for health, estimates that about 150 million to 200 million vaccine doses will be required. Intervet was bought by Schering-Plough Corp. of Kenilworth, N.J., last year. <HOME>
