Entries 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 address, a telephone number and a brief explanation of the case. Entries become the property of Lumia Media, which reserves the right to use them in any publication, media or promotion. Contestants agree that their photo, text, name and city may be posted on Lumina websites and, in the case of the winners, on sponsor websites. Gary Sloniker, DVM, of Spooner Veterinary Clinic in Spooner, Wis., was the grand prize winner last year for a radiograph of a small fishing pole, an expensive jig pole, that had been swallowed by a client's 6-month-old black Labrador retriever. Click here to see all of last year's winners. Fishing hooks, rubber duck bath toys, pricey diamond rings and a gut full of gravel were other impressive entries in the contest's first five years. Winners in the contest's first three years were radiographs of snakes–one that had eaten two light bulbs; a 65-pound specimen that ate a rabbit and the electric warming blanket on which it sat; and a snake that had eaten a snake that had eaten a mouse. <HOME>
