Affordable Veterinary Clinic Opens In DelawareMay 8, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Low-income pet owners in Delaware now have access to vet services, due to the Faithful Friends Animal Society and its new Affordable Veterinary Clinic near Elsmere. Faithful Friends Animal Society, supported by various donors, developed the Affordable Veterinary Clinic near Elsmere, Delaware, to keep beloved pets healthy and with their families, even during economic crisis. While the clinic is not a replacement for specialty or emergency facilities, it does provide exams (sick pet and wellness), spay and neuter services, medications, tooth extractions and dental cleanings, and various small surgeries (non-emergency). Organizations specializing in animal rescue may also utilize these services. Three part-time veterinarians staff the clinic, including Dr. Paul McGough. "There are a lot of people who can't afford to do procedures for their pets, especially if they are advanced procedures. All three of us have backgrounds in emergency care and have worked in specialty clinics, so we are up-to-date on pain management and the anesthesia protocols that we use. People don't have to worry that they are compromising their pets by coming to this clinic," he said, according to
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Veterinarian Volunteers At IditarodMay 4, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Being from Alaska is one thing, but traveling with sled dogs1,000 miles through the state's interior is quite another. But veterinarian Paula Gibson did just that — not once, but twice. Photo courtesy Jesika Reimer, News-Press The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race travels between Nome and Anchorage every March to commemorate the importance of sled dogs and the Iditarod Trail in Alaska. The first race took place in 1973 and has grown increasingly popular since then. Winning dog teams and their mushers even reach celebrity status. Gibson has followed the race since childhood, and when she learned she could volunteer as a vet in the event, she applied. Her acceptance led to extensive studying of the conditions and issues sled dogs encounter; however, that did not prepare her for the actual experience. "The first year I went, it was overwhelming. I was baffled by the whole experience," she said, according Missouri's St. Joseph News-Press. As a veterinarian in Missouri and Kansas, Gibson sees mostly sedentary dogs. The Alaskan Huskies that pull the sleds are bred for athleticism and the Alaskan …
Texas Animal Clinic Under InvestigationMay 2, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The Camp Bowie Animal Clinic in Fort Worth, Texas, is under investigation for animal cruelty and theft. The clinic allegedly informed clients Jamie and Marian Harris that because Sid, their 5-year-old Leonberger, had a degenerative spinal condition, the best option was euthanasia. The Harrises agreed, and state they, along with their son, said goodbye to Sid and consented to burial by the vet, only to receive a phone call six months later that Sid was still alive. Mary Brewer, a veterinarian technician, revealed to the Harrises that Sid had been subjected to blood transfusions and spent the majority of each day caged in his own feces and urine. Despite these conditions, the Harrises were told Sid was healthy enough to walk. "It was like getting punched in the stomach and then some. This has rocked our world," Marian Harris said, according to NBCDFW.com. The Harris family has since rescued Sid …
Winn Feline Foundation Awards $127,411 In GrantsApril 29, 2014 Gina Cioli/I-5 Studio Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The Winn Feline Foundation awarded $127,411 in grants for projects aimed at improving feline health. Out of the 36 proposals the foundation received for 2009, 12 were selected. One project sets out to determine whether a commercially produced raw food diet and a homemade raw diet is nutritionally adequate for feeding kittens and whether these diets enhance immune function and improve digestibility. The outcomes to be measured include growth rate, feed efficiency, digestibility and various blood and immune status parameters. The long-term goal is to evaluate ways of improving feline immune function through diet, according to University of Tennessee researchers Beth Hamper, DVM; Claudia Kirk, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVN, Dipl. ACVIM; and Joseph Bartges, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVN, Dipl. ACVIM. "Nutritional Adequacy and Performance of Raw Food Diets in Kittens" was awarded $14,878. Another project aims to discover a measurable component of a hyperthyroid cat?s urine that is associated with hidden kidney failure. To do this, Kansas State University researchers will apply mass spectrometry, a technique they say is capable of identifying thousands of urine components. …
Dr. Gerhardt G. Schurig, Dean, Virginia-Maryland Regional College Of Veterinary MedicineMarch 19, 2014 Dr. Gehardt G. Shurig has traveled a long and winding road on his path to becoming dean of Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine--from his birth in Santiago, Chile, to a stint as a meat inspector in a slaughterhouse, to academic experience on opposite ends of the continent . It's due to his colorful background, and that long road he traveled, that VeterinaryPracticeNews.com chose to launch our Vet School Dean Q&A series with Schurig. Name: Dr. Gerhardt G. Schurig, Dean, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Age: 65 Degrees and Schools: 1977 – PhD, Immunology, Cornell University 1974 – MS, Immunology, Cornell University 1970 – DVM, University of Chile 1970 – Licentiate in Animal Husbandry, University of Chile Family: Ginger (wife), Michelle (daughter), Pablo (son) Hometown: Blacksburg, Va., (current); Santiago, Chile (native) 1. Why did you enter veterinary medicine? At the time I joined veterinary medicine, there was much talk about the need to feed the world. I was interested in improving farm animal health and productivity and also had great interest in studying diseases that spread from animals to humans (zoonosis). I wanted to contribute to the discovery of new ways …
Douglas Freeman, Dean, Western College Of Veterinary Medicine—University Of SaskatchewanMarch 19, 2014 Dr. Douglas Freeman, dean, Western College of Veterinary Medicine—University of Saskatchewan, has had a varied career. After his first job at a small mixed-animal practice in Minnesota, he returned to his studies and took a residency in theriogenology and has since held several positions and been on a variety of boards, including service on the board of directors for the Associaton of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. He quips, "I am the ideal poster child for why our veterinary schools should continue to be comprehensive in their education." Later this year, his school will complete over $70 million worth of expansions and renovations. Name: Dr. Douglas A. Freeman, dean, Western College of Veterinary Medicine—University of Saskatchewan Age: 53 Degrees and Schools: • 1991 — PhD, reproductive physiology, Washington State University/University of Idaho • 1987 — MS, theriogenology, University of Minnesota • 1983 — DVM, University of Minnesota • 1981 — BS, University of Minnesota Family: Wife Mary; daughter Emma; sons Benjamin and Daniel Hometown: Saskatoon, Sask. (current); Minneapolis, Minn. (native). Western College of Veterinary Medicine—University of Saskatchewan. 1. Why did you enter veterinary medicine? Like many people, I grew …
We Should Have Learned These Lessons BeforeMarch 6, 2014 Everyone learned that “What goes up must come down.” Anyone with money in the stock market in late 2008 saw accounts drop seemingly by half almost overnight. Real estate values went down and the banks became unstable. As a result of the economic meltdown, the Gross National Product fell and the unemployment rate rose. All in all, not a good time for most people from 2008 through 2010. The specific numbers are still being crunched, but the veterinary profession was not as affected as most other business sectors. Most veterinarians felt lucky they were not automobile dealers, real estate salespeople, bankers or stock brokers. Were veterinarians hurt? Absolutely, but not to the extent many others were hit. The specific effect depended on your practice location, practice type and your attitude about the recession. In most cases, veterinary practices were somewhat resistant to the recession, although not recession-proof. From various surveys done by AAHA, AVMA and NCVEI, reported gross revenues vary from being up 10-15 percent to being down 25-30 percent. As Dr. Karen Felsted, CEO of NCVEI, has said many times, “Flat is the new up.” Some practices on both coasts of the …
Microchips Open Murky Legal Waters, But AVMA Still Urges The PracticeFebruary 3, 2014 Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the March 2014 issue of Dog Fancy magazine, a sister publication of Veterinary Practice News. Most owners presume that if they have their pet tagged with microchip identification and she becomes lost, someone who finds the pet will scan the chip and notify the owner. Often, fortunately, the scenario does play out this way. Shelters, animal-control organizations and veterinarians usually scan for microchips on recovered dogs. "While microchipping is, indeed, a new and helpful way to reclaim a lost pet, there are some occasional murky legal waters stemming from certain circumstances and facts,” explains Heidi Meinzer, an animal law attorney in Alexandria, Va. For example, when microchips are placed in the dog upon the client’s request, rarely is any "proof” of ownership required. "A lost, non-microchipped dog owned by family X may be found by family Y, who after diligently trying to find the owner decides to keep the dog and microchip her,” Meinzer explains. "If family X locates the dog, perhaps even showing up with registration papers, the door opens for a property dispute between the families.”In some cases, ownership may not be so clear-cut. Generally, in common …
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Canine Vaccines: The Best Current ThinkingJanuary 24, 2013 Before the American Animal Hospital Association published the first canine vaccine guidelines in 2003, veterinarians had only manufacturers’ recommendations for guidance. This posed a problem when veterinarians grew increasingly concerned with over-vaccination and a link between certain vaccines and sarcoma development in cats became apparent. Experts and academics have collaborated on the topic three times since the release of the initial canine vaccine guidelines, helping veterinarians create a rational vaccine program to include in their patient wellness protocols. “Years ago, the profession was heavily marketed through the need for annual vaccinations,” says Robert Franklin, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, of Oregon Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Beaverton, Ore. “Now we educate owners about the total wellness needs of their pets. Vaccines are an important preventive in a wellness program, but are just part of it.” Without discussing specific brands, the AAHA guidelines cite the duration of immunity (DOI) of core vaccines. The task force deems these vaccines as highly effective, having a potency of five years to lifetime. However, the task force has agreed that core vaccines should be given every three years. Members of the American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccination Task Force • Link V. Welborn, DVM, …
