Illinois Alters Protocol After Cow DeathsSeptember 14, 2015The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine has changed procedures after one cow died and four were euthanized in a case the U.S. Department of Agriculture attributed to possible unsanitary conditions and inadequate post-surgical monitoring. The college-owned cows underwent invasive surgery during a student laboratory and later developed post-operative peritonitis, or inflammation or infection of the abdominal lining, USDA stated. A USDA inspector reported that the operations involving six student groups and six cows were conducted in “a prep area” rather than a surgical suite and that the cows were moved days later to the campus farm, where oversight was assigned to two animal caretakers. University administrator Lyndon J. Goodly, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACLAM, described the matter as “extremely important.” “We will address and correct any shortcomings,” Dr. Goodly, the associate vice chancellor for research, wrote in an Aug. 25 response to a USDA regional director. A USDA veterinary medical officer, Susan Kingston, DVM, raised questions about the deaths following her routine inspection. “At some point in a …
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New Pro Plan Food Made for Ailing Cats, DogsSeptember 14, 2015Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. has released an energy-dense, high-protein food formulated for sick cats and dogs. The recipe, Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets CN Critical Nutrition Canine and Feline Formula, may be delivered by syringe, feeding tube or, if the animal can eat without assistance, in a bowl. Tube feeding requires the food to be diluted with water, forming a slurry. The new canned food—Purina’s first critical care therapeutic diet—is intended for cats and dogs that are critically ill, recovering from surgery or suffering from a loss of appetite. “Critical care diets are an important tool for every veterinary practice,” said Grace Long, DVM, director of veterinary technical marketing for Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets. “Sick and recovering animals often refuse to eat,” Dr. Long added. “With CN Critical Nutrition, dogs and cats can get the high-quality nutrition they need in a concentrated diet that’s easy to feed.” Fortified with antioxidants, CN Critical Nutrition’s ingredients include meat and poultry byproducts, beef, liver, minerals and vitamins. The recommended daily feeding amount for a hospitalized 10-pound cat is a single 5.5-ounce can. An additional quarter-can should be given for maintenance purposes. A 40-pound dog could get 3 cans a day …
Florida’s Vet Scholarship Program Gains TractionSeptember 11, 2015A University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine scholarship initiative aimed at reversing student debt is making great strides since its launch in January, according to the college’s dean, James W. Lloyd, DVM, Ph.D. The initiative, also called the UF Veterinary Access Scholarship Program, aims to award $5 million in scholarship funds every year for the next 10 years, a goal even Dr. Lloyd admits is ambitious. “I started to think where we were [in scholarship giving] and what a stretch goal would be,” he said. “We need to do something substantial, something that’s going to make a difference.” Lloyd recalled sitting down and asking himself what five times or even 10 times more in scholarship awards would look like. (At the time, the school was awarding roughly $500,000 annually to 448 students.) When he did the math on ten times the school’s then current level of scholarship awards, it equated to about half of in-state tuition for every veterinary medical student. “That’s a benchmark,” he said. “That’s not saying we would only give scholarships to in-state …
MSU Treats Dog Hit by TrainSeptember 9, 2015A collie named Lad is back on his four furry feet after being hit by a train, according to the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Emergency and Referral Clinic, which treated him. “For a dog with such extensive injuries, Lad has really made a remarkable recovery,” said Dena Lodato, DVM. “A large part of that is the work that Mr. Foster and his family and friends did to keep up with his rehab exercises after surgery.” Lad’s owner, Tommy Foster, had been mowing the back lawn one afternoon while the young pup played outside. When Foster finished mowing, he called for Lad and heard a distant whine. Foster and his neighbor set out to find Lad, eventually coming upon the dog on the train track, unable to stand, with cuts on his head. Lad had been hit by a train. Foster first brought Lad to a local clinic where X-rays revealed a dislocated right femur and multiple pelvic fractures. The injuries were so severe that Foster was referred to MSU’s emergency veterinary clinic. Dr. Lodato repaired Lad’s left …
OSU Takes on Beaver Genome ProjectSeptember 8, 2015Researchers at Oregon State University have partnered with the Oregon Zoo in an effort to sequence the genome of the North American beaver. The iconic Northwest rodent not only serves as the state’s animal but also as the university’s mascot. “Beavers are important to the ecology of the region, and understanding their genome is an important part of understanding their behaviors and role in the ecosystem,” said Stephen Ramsey, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical sciences at OSU. “There is a lot of interest in exploring the genetics of wild beaver populations throughout the Northwest, but we lack the reference genome that would really facilitate those kinds of studies.” Filbert, a North American beaver at the Oregon Zoo, is taking center stage with the quest. Since zoo veterinarians were conducting the animal’s routine physical exam and blood-work panel, they offered to set aside a small blood sample for OSU’s genome project, according to the zoo. Dr. Ramsey and other OSU researchers traveled to Portland to collect the sample from the …
The Story Behind the X-ray of Dog Who Ate a Door HingeSeptember 2, 2015If it’s one thing veterinarians learn after being in practice for a while, it’s learning to never say you’ve seen it all. As soon as someone thinks that, inevitably animal will come in with a case that’s unprecedented. Veterinary Practice News’ annual “They Ate What?!” contest has brought to light some very unusual cases that stunned even the most experienced vets. Third Place: Dog, Unhinged Six-month-old Labrador Retriever puppy Avery came into her veterinarian’s office after vomiting several times. At the Cherryville Animal Hospital in Cherryville, N.C., Theresa Taylor, DVM, examined the black Lab. “Avery presented with vomiting seven times clear liquid, not eating and uncomfortable for a 24 hour period,” Dr. Taylor says. Avery’s owners suspected she had eaten a sock because there was one missing. They were right—sort of. Avery had indeed eaten something but it wasn’t what they expected. The foreign body was metallic. “When we decided to take the radiograph, we were expecting to see a sock that the owners said she ate a week before,” Taylor says. “When we actually saw the door hinge, we did not believe it.” When Taylor informed the …
Is That a Fishing Pole? The Story Behind Crazy X-raySeptember 2, 2015If it’s one thing veterinarians learn after being in practice for a while, it’s learning to never say you’ve seen it all. As soon as someone thinks that, inevitably animal will come in with a case that’s unprecedented. Veterinary Practice News’ annual “They Ate What?” contest has brought to light some very unusual cases that stunned even the most experienced vets. Second Place: Puppy Who Ate a Fishing Pole The beginning of the story isn’t very clear. A Good Samaritan found a stray Labrador Retriever puppy wandering around … somewhere. The little guy was vomiting, so whoever found the pup brought him into an emergency veterinary clinic and dropped him off. The ER team went to work and figured that, because he was a puppy, the vomiting was probably caused by parvo. In the morning, the puppy was transferred over to the adjoining daytime veterinary clinic, Woodland West Animal Hospital in Tulsa, Okla. There the puppy was examined by Mike Jones, DVM. “That morning they just transferred the puppy to us and at that …
Behind the X-ray: One Dog, 26 GolfballsSeptember 2, 2015If it’s one thing veterinarians learn after being in practice for a while, it’s learning to never say you’ve seen it all. As soon as someone thinks that, inevitably animal will come in with a case that’s unprecedented. Veterinary Practice News’ annual “They Ate What?” contest has brought to light some very unusual cases that stunned even the most experienced vets. First Place: Dog Who Ate 26 Golfballs Courtesy jennifer branch Zeus, a 1-year-old neutered Doberman Pinscher wound up at the vet after some vomiting. He seemed to be OK — he had an appetite and his belly palpitated normally. But a couple days later Zeus’ condition had worsened. His appetite waned and his stomach appeared to bother him. “He was still throwing up some liquid and maybe starting to act a little bit sicker,” says Gordon Schmucker, DVM, of Lisbon Veterinary Clinic in Lisbon, Ohio. “We did blood work and that’s when we took some X-rays and it went from there.” The staff took the initial radiographs and reported that something, well, didn’t look right. …
New TV Series "Vet School" Premieres Sept. 19September 1, 2015As if the courses “Neuroanatomy” and “Cell Biology and Genetics” weren’t difficult enough, three first-year Cornell University veterinary students last year signed up for what was essentially a class in video production. The trio didn’t earn extra credit hours, but they will be credited with playing leading roles in the new reality TV series “Vet School,” which premieres Sept. 19 on the cable channel Nat Geo Wild. Check out a preview of "Vet School" below: The show follows Hannah Brodlie, Cristina Bustamante and Dan Cimino as they begin their education at one of the nation’s top veterinary colleges. Folded in to the eight episodes are fourth-year students Aziza Glass, Sam Dicker, Singen Elliott and Aria Hill, who have since graduated after months of taping on the Ithaca, N.Y., campus. Veterinary programming does very well on Nat Geo Wild. The channel’s No. 1 show is “The Incredible Dr. Pol,” featuring Michigan veterinarian Jan Pol, DVM. Also broadcast are “Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER” and “Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet.” “Veterinary shows are so popular because most people …
Penn Vet Hires New CliniciansSeptember 1, 2015The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) has appointed three new clinicians: Brady Beale, VMD, Dipl. ACVO, as staff ophthalmologist, Elaine Holt, DVM, Dipl. ACVO, as clinical associate professor of ophthalmology, and Michael Mison, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, as clinical associate professor of surgery. “I am delighted that Brady, Elaine and Michael are joining the Ryan Hospital team,” said Bo Connell, executive director of Ryan Hospital. “They will fill key spots in our clinical services, allowing us to continue providing the highest level of expertise and care to our patients and clients.” Dr. Beale returns to Penn Vet to join the ophthalmology team as a board-certified staff clinician. In 2002, Beale graduated summa cum laude from Penn Vet, where she served as president of the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association. After an internship at Penn Vet for small animal medicine and surgery, she completed a residency in comparative ophthalmology at North Carolina State University. Dr. Holt received her veterinary degree with high honors from the University of Illinois in 1995. She completed a rotating internship at The Animal Medical Center in …
