Wisconsin Partnership with Milwaukee Shelter Going StrongJuly 9, 2015Numerous shelter animals continue to get healthy and find homes thanks to a partnership between the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine and the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission (MADACC). The partnership also gives students in the junior surgery program real-world experience since they help with spay/neuter surgeries and other related care. The two groups aligned a little more than a year ago with the help of Kristen Cooley, CVT, VTS (Anesthesia), Instructional Specialist, Clinical Skills Training Center, UW School of Veterinary Medicine. “I came on board in my current role in the fall of 2013 and we began working with MADACC in the spring of 2014 and haven’t looked back,” she said. In fall 2014, the junior surgery program helped 79 animals and found homes for 30 of them, according to Cooley. “This year, we’ve seen 151 dogs and cats and have found homes for at least 24 of them,” said Cooley, noting that there could even be a few more. Prior to the partnership, the junior surgery program staff worked mostly with shelters in the local Madison area. However, working with various shelters meant a higher risk of disease transfer and mixing up paperwork, according …
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Wisconsin Vet School to Launch Osteosarcoma StudyJuly 7, 2015Thanks to a $96,000 grant from the Puppy Up Foundation, the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine plans to launch a study aimed at improving mobility and quality of life for dogs afflicted by osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is the most common form of canine bone cancer, according to the school, with about 10,000 new cases diagnosed in dogs each year. Neil Christensen, BVSc, Dipl. ACVR, clinical instructor in the Department of Surgical Sciences and member of the UW Veterinary Care (UWVC) radiation oncology team, will lead the study. Research will explore the potential benefits of stereotactic radiation therapy for osteosarcoma patients. “Stereotactic radiation is a newer form of treatment made possible by recent technological advances,” Dr. Christensen said. “It allows for larger, more accurate doses of radiation while still sparing healthy tissue, in comparison to traditional palliative radiation, which involves smaller, prolonged doses.” Specifically, the study will look at how stereotactic radiation performs in terms of pain relief for patients and in stimulating an immune response that helps patients’ bodies fight bone tumors on their own, according to the school. UWVC has a TomoTherapy unit which will be able to deliver …
New Animal Planet Series Stars Dr. Jeff Young of Planned Pethood PlusJuly 6, 2015 There’s a new veterinarian in the television town: Dr. Jeff Young, owner of Planned Pethood Plus in Denver, Colo. He is the star of a new 10-part Animal Planet series called, “Dr. Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet,” which premieres Saturday, July 11, at 10 p.m. EST. According to Animal Planet, “There's no such thing as ‘a regular day’ at Denver's Planned Pethood Plus veterinary clinic. For over 80,000 clients and their pets, the clinic and its maverick vet Dr. Jeff Young represent one last hope and possibly the difference between life and death. This summer, Animal Planet reveals the lengths one man is willing to go within the emergency room and beyond.” According to his Animal Planet bio, Planned Pethood Plus is “always a mad house ... With more than 80,000-plus clients, approximately 30 surgeries a day, 30 staff, a bustling emergency room, and a far-reaching mobile clinic, Dr. Jeff is under constant pressure to keep his staff, clients and patients both healthy and happy.” The series will follow the day-to-day of the clinic. Will you be watching? Let us know in the comments.
New Fast-Acting Gel Designed to Stop Blood LossJuly 2, 2015A New York City start-up company is launching a plant-based veterinary gel that its inventors say hardens quickly to stop moderate to severe bleeding in 12 seconds or less. Vetigel is made by Suneris Inc., whose CEO and co-founder, Joe Landolina, MS, has a background in biocompatible polymers. “What Vetigel delivers in terms of time savings and convenience makes a huge, perhaps even life-or-death, difference for veterinarians and pets in the fight against blood loss,” Landolina said. “We believe Vetigel will change the way veterinarians achieve hemostasis.” Vetigel is veterinary-exclusive and is delivered through a syringe internally or externally, Suneris stated. Based on a hemophilic polymer made from polysaccharides, the gel takes on the properties of the surrounding tissue, the company added. “The clot formed by Vetigel is strong enough to withstand the removal of excess gel, and due to its biocompatible nature, excess product can be left in the body to absorb,” Suneris reported. The company is marketing the gel for use in procedures such as biopsies, dental extractions, and emergency and critical care. Vetigel should begin shipping in the United States and the United Kingdom on Sept. 1, according to Suneris. U.S. sales will be done directly …
DoveLewis, Vetstream Vow to Make a World of DifferenceJuly 2, 2015DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital, a practice in Portland, Ore., and a producer of more than 300 training videos, is sharing its online offerings with veterinarians, students and staff living in impoverished countries. The arrangement, done in partnership with the veterinary education company Vetstream, is intended to provide the developing world with low-cost—and in some cases free—information from the On the Floor @Dove digital library. DoveLewis, which sees about 13,000 patients a year, launched On the Floor @Dove in 2011. Nearly 500,000 people representing 197 countries have accessed the online content. “Advancing the standards of veterinary care around the world, especially in developing countries where there is a great need for training and support, is an extremely important component of our mission as a teaching hospital,” said Ron Morgan, CEO of DoveLewis. “There is an urgent need for affordable, high-quality veterinary education in many parts of the world, and especially in geographically isolated parts of Africa and Asia, where veterinarians lack the educational tools they need.” The On the Floor @Dove video catalog features actual patients and DoveLewis staff, including many of the hospital’s 19 veterinarians, five of whom are board-certified specialists. Medical topics such as surgery, radiology and pharmacology …
AAHA Hospitals in Ohio Can Skip State InspectionsJuly 2, 2015Ohio’s AAHA-accredited veterinary hospitals are no longer subject to state inspections in most cases. The American Animal Hospital Association reported Wednesday that the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board agreed to exempt 106 clinics—and future accredited hospitals—from compliance inspections because of the national organization’s stringent standards. Alabama is the only other state to accept a hospital’s AAHA accreditation in lieu of a government examination. “Our board’s view is that Ohio veterinarians whose hospitals have achieved AAHA accreditation have met and exceeded Ohio’s standards for their facility,” said Tim Kolb, DVM, president of the state licensing board. “Our limited budget does not permit us to do compliance inspections on all Ohio veterinary facilities on as regular a basis as we would like,” Dr. Kolb said. “This [policy change] will allow us to do more random compliance inspections on the veterinary hospitals that are not AAHA-accredited.” Hospitals earning AAHA accreditation are evaluated on more than 900 standards, ranging from patient care and pain management to team training and medical recordkeeping. Accredited hospitals are re-evaluated periodically. Ohio regulators will not inspect accredited hospitals “unless there is a written complaint filed with the board related to the conditions of the veterinary facility,” …
OSU Hosts Grandparent UniversityJuly 2, 2015The Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences welcomed 14 grandparents and 17 grandchildren as part of OSU’s 2015 Grandparent University. The two-day event is designed to give children ages 7 to 12 and their grandparents a closer look at the world of veterinary medicine. Oklahoma State University In the Dr. Duane R. Peterson Anatomy Learning Center, children and grandparents looked at radiographs to help determine each patient’s diagnosis. Participants were able to listen to a horse’s heart, use an endoscope to look inside the stomach of a stuffed demonstration dog (which contained a miniature wrapped candy bar for each child), visit the dairy during milking time to see the milking process, look at radiographs of various animals and simulate surgery on a stuffed toy, among other activities. Those that helped make the event possible included veterinary student ambassadors Miranda Anthony, Kaylynn Gruntmeir, Lauren Powell and Cameron Smithee; staff members Chris Pivinski and Emily Snow; senior equine medicine students; and faculty instructors Drs. Kelly Allen, Elisabeth Giedt, Andrew Hanzlicek, Brian Herrin, Camilla Jamieson, Yoko Nagamori and D. L. Step.
Wanted: 4,600 Dogs for Bloat StudyJuly 1, 2015Tufts University researchers are looking for 4,600 purebred dogs to participate in a landmark study of bloat, a life-threatening condition that primarily afflicts larger canines. The study will use DNA taken from blood and abdominal tissue samples to investigate possible genetic links to bloat. The condition—a stomach dangerously filled with gas, fluid or food—can kill a patient even after immediate veterinary treatment and surgery. “Bloat is a challenging disease because it escalates quickly,” said assistant professor Claire Sharp, BVSc, MS, Dipl. ACVECC. “The dog is fine one minute and in a life-threatening situation the next. Dogs often die from bloat while their owner is off at work or sleeping at night.” Sharp and colleague Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVECC, received a $250,000 grant from the AKC Canine Health Foundation to examine bloat. Teaming up with researchers from the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, the two Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine professors hope to enroll 200 dogs from each of 23 breeds. Ideally, half of the dogs are bloat survivors and half have been bloat-free. More than 150 dogs were enrolled as of late June. “We are confident that a significant amount of risk for bloat …
‘Operation Wild’ Showcases Veterinarians & The Big Animals They TreatJuly 1, 2015As veterinarians you treat all kinds of animals, from dogs and cats to birds and snakes to horses and cows. Some of you may have even treated animals in the wild, such as elephants, gorillas and tigers – or perhaps you know someone who has. It is these veterinarians who often put their lives at great risk, but perhaps don’t get the due they deserve. PBS is changing that with their three-part series, “Operation Wild.” The series follows several veterinarians as they travel to remote areas and bring along the latest technology to treat birds, tigers, gorillas, giraffes and more, including an elephant in Laos that was shot in the leg. According to Mother Nature Network, “Operation Wild” was a three-year long project. Producer Serena Davies told the network, "From the moment we went into production, a team of researchers compiled a massive list of zoos, sanctuaries, animal reserves and conservation organizations. These were all asked that if one of their animals got sick could they phone the vet first and us second. We were soon receiving a large amount of calls about different cases around the world. We also then got to know many of …
Idexx Hits CE Milestone: 800,000 Free CreditsJuly 1, 2015Idexx Laboratories Inc. has some free advice for veterinary professionals: Try our no-cost continuing education. The Westbrook, Maine, provider of diagnostic veterinary products and services announced last week that the company’s Idexx Learning Center has awarded more than 800,000 free CE credits since 2007. Worldwide, nearly 31,000 veterinary practices in 207 countries have signed up for webinars, in-person seminars, tutorials and online courses, Idexx reported. The company valued the educational offerings at $30 million, based on other sources of continuing education in the veterinary industry. “Medical and practice technology is constantly evolving, changing and improving in veterinary medicine,” said Jonathan W. Ayers, CEO of Idexx Laboratories. “By providing these educational resources, we help to strengthen the bonds that lead to healthy pets and practices, in a way that also advances the veterinary profession,” Ayers added. Idexx called itself the leader in veterinary continuing education, a claim other top providers didn’t directly challenge. One of them, the North America Veterinary Community, which schedules classes at its annual convention and throughout the year, described Idexx as “a valued partner.” “We are always impressed with how Idexx creates new ideas and innovations,” said NAVC’s CEO, Thomas M. Bohn, MBA, CAE. “The Idexx …
