Rabid Cat Attacks Owners In MacedoniaMarch 26, 2012Rabid Cat Attacks Owners in Macedoniafeline rabies, cat rabies, rabid cat, MacedoniaThe Republic of Macedonia reported the country's first ever case of feline rabies to the World Organization for Animal Health today.The Republic of Macedonia reported today the country's first ever case of feline rabies to the World Organization for Animal Health.newslineRabid Cat Attacks Owners in MacedoniaPosted: March 26, 2012, 7:05 p.m. EST The Republic of Macedonia reported the country's first ever case of feline rabies to the World Organization for Animal Health today. A pet cat attacked its owners on March 2, 2012, and was subsequently euthanized. The animal tested positive for lyssavirus via direct fluorescent antibody test, polymerase chain reaction and virus isolation at the Veterinary Institute in Skopje, Macedonia. A cat and a dog that shared the same yard with the rabid cat were also euthanized, and the cat's owners were treated with anti-rabies, post-exposure prophylaxis at the Clinic for Infectious Disease in Shtip, Macedonia. In response to the outbreak, 65 cats and 257 dogs in the area were vaccinated for rabies. The last time Macedonia, a former Yugoslav Republic country, reported a case of rabies of any kind was in December 2011.
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Alltech Session To Focus On Growing Pet Food MarketMarch 23, 2012Noting continued growth in the pet food market, Nicholasville, Ky.-based animal feed ingredient company Alltech has planned a track of sessions exploring ways to capitalize on companion animal nutrition at its 28th Annual International Symposium, May 20-23, in Lexington, Ky. Other sessions will focus on other animal nutrition segments. “People love their pets and are willing to spend money to ensure they have high-quality food that is safe and promotes good health,” said Dr. Juan Gomez, chairman for the companion animal sessions for the symposium. “These pet-focused sessions at [the] symposium will explore ways to improve pet health and well-being and capitalize on the tremendous opportunities that are being created by this growing market.” Companion animal-focused topics include molecular tools to develop new products faster; antioxidants for disease preventional, pet longevity and cognitive protection; salmonella solutions; achieving sales success through sustainable ingredients; and how algae may revolutionize the way pet foods are formulated. Scheduled speakers include Nancy Cook, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Pet Food Institute; Laura Johnson, a quality assurance technologist for Phoenix-based Petsmart; Dr. Elizabeth Colleran of the Chico (Calif.) Hospital for Cats; Dr. Aulus Carciofi, a professor at the Universidade Estadual Paulista in Brazil; David Southey, …
New Service Encourages Preemptive Stem Cell CollectionMarch 22, 2012 Veterinary stem cell service company Vet-Stem launched a new service aimed at collecting and storing stem cells when a dog is young, before it needs the regenerative cells for therapy. The service, called StemInsure, requires veterinarians to collect about 4 grams of fat from a dog or puppy during an anesthetized procedure, such as a spay or a neuter. The fat is then processed and stem cells are cryopreserved in Vet-Stem’s facility. The cells can later be cultured to provide stems cells for the lifetime of the dog. “The ability to store the cells in conjunction with another procedure is a great way to ensure that the dog will have access to a lifetime of cell therapy while reducing the number of anesthetic events,” said Bob Harman, DVM, M.P.V.M., CEO of Poway, Calif.-based Vet-Stem. The cells can be used for Vet-Stem’s Regenerative Cell Therapy to treat osteoarthritis and tendon or ligament injuries. <HOME>
Serving A Country’s Military DogsMarch 22, 2012 Sara Rose Knox, DVM, says she has the best of both worlds being a captain in the Army Veterinary Corps. She has always enjoyed working with animals and she knew early on she wanted to combine that with the military. “There is no Ground Hog Day being a veterinarian in the Army, especially in a deployed environment,” she says. “Every day is different. You never know what’s going to walk through the door.” SaraRose Knox, DVM, is a captain in the Army Veterinary Corps. Dr. Knox is deployed in Afghanistan, where she cares for military working dogs. Tours are generally about a year and there is typically one veterinarian at each base, she says. Knox’s responsibilities include preventive, medical and emergency care as well as processing dogs entering or leaving the country. She also works with health care providers and emergency medical personnel in teaching emergency canine trauma care classes. This includes teaching military handlers basic canine first aid, such as bandaging and stabilizing fractures. In addition, Knox deals with public health issues, such as rabies prevention, and helps with food inspection. Knox, along with a team, helps make …
Embrace Launches Pet Poison Resource CenterMarch 20, 2012 Marking National Poison Prevention Week (March 18-24, 2012), Embrace Pet Insurance of Beachwood, Ohio, today launched a pet poison resource center on its website. The resource is intended to reduce the number of pets accidentally poisoned and the veterinary costs associated with pet poisonings. “It’s not unusual to hear pet owners joke about their pets eating everything in sight, but pet poisoning is a serious problem,” said Laura Bennett, CEO and co-founder of Embrace. “Embrace receives many claims every year relating to poisoning. By educating pet parents about preventative steps in the home and in their lives, I really believe we can make serious progress in reducing the emotional trauma and expense associated with pet poisonings.” The resource center breaks down poisonous substances into nine categories: human food, household chemicals, human medication, pet medication, animal toxins common poisonous plants, outdoors, malicious poisoning and other. It also offers suggestions on ways pet owners can prevent poisonings and identify symptoms, as well as what they should do if they suspect their pet has been poisoned. “Any pet parent who …
Alternative Boarding Site Raises $1 Million To Fund ExpansionMarch 19, 2012Los Angeles-based Dog Vacay, an online site that allows pet owners to find home-based boarders and other dog service providers, raised $1 million in seed funding to help it expand nationally in a financing round led by Santa Monica, Calif.-based First Round Capital, the company reported today. The site allows professional and casual pet care providers in Los Angeles and San Francisco markets to sign up for free and market their services to dog owners, with a major draw of providing boarded dogs with a home, “cage-free” environment at much less expense than a commercial boarding facility. The company says its home-based boarding services average half the price of kennel boarding. Dog hosts set their own prices. “First Round Capital looks for innovative ways the web can disrupt large and inefficient markets, especially those with high rates of dissatisfaction, like dog boarding,” said Howard Morgan, managing partner at First Round. “With Dog Vacay, we see a very unique way to leverage a passionate community of dog lovers into a collaborative network that gives dog owners a better solution to the $10 billion pet services market.” Dog Vacay also provides medical insurance to boarded dogs, screens dog hosts, and provides emergency …
Colorado Clinic Takes AAHA Practice Of The Year HonorsMarch 16, 2012 The American Animal Hospital Association named Wellington Veterinary Clinic of Wellington, Colo., as the Accredited Practice of the Year during the opening ceremony of AAHA’s annual conference in Denver, and data presented at the ceremony showed that pet owner visits increased in 2011 compared to 2010. Swedesboro Animal Hospital/Tri-State Animal Emergency Center of Woolrich Township, N.J., was the runner up for the honor, and Cat’s Corner Veterinary Hospital of Southbury, Conn., was third. Other finalists included Animal Hospital of Nashua, N.H., and Austinburg Veterinary Clinic of Austinburg, Ohio. The Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center of Richmond, Va., was named the AAHA Accredited Referral Practice of the year, beating out the only other finalist, Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital of Wheat Ridge, Colo. Colorado State University student Jennifer Lynn Pultz, MBA, won the AAHA Anna E. Worth Student Leadership Award. After the presentation ceremony, AAHA executive director and CEO Michael Cavanaugh presented market research data that showed patient visits increased 1.5 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, compared with a decrease of 0.8 percent from 2009 to 2010. Visits by dog owners increased 1.8 percent from 2010 to 2011, compared …
Women Veterinarians Group Seeks Nominees For AwardsMarch 15, 2012 The Association for Women Veterinarians Foundation has opened nominations for its Outstanding Women Veterinarian of the Year and Distinguish Service Awards. Nominations for Outstanding Women Veterinarian of the Year are open to any woman graduate of an accredited veterinary school. The award is designed to recognize achievement and effort by a woman veterinarian in any field of veterinary medicine, including general private practice, research and public health. Nominations should emphasize the nominee’s professional accomplishments, according to the group. Nominations for the Distinguished Service Award are open to any individual, regardless of professional status or gender. The award is designed to recognize efforts and contributions by the nominee to improve the status of women in veterinary medicine. As such, nominations should emphasize contributions to professional groups, veterinary associations, state boards, publications, etc., according to the group. All nominations should include name, address, email address and phone number of the nominee, the nominee’s professional activity; and the nominee’s school and year of graduation. Possible supporting materials include, but are not limited to, lists of organizations to which the nominee belongs; list of honors, awards, publications and other activities; and a biographical sketch including educational background, according to the …
Royal Canin Recalls Dry Dog, Cat FoodMarch 13, 2012 Late yesterday afternoon, Royal Canin USA of St. Charles, Mo., recalled some of its dry dog and cat foods after finding melamine in its rice protein concentrate. Although Royal said it had not heard of any pets becoming sick from its products, it was recalling the following products as a precaution after finding melamine, the toxic ingredient suspecting in the killing of potentially hundreds of pets across the United States, in its food. Recalled Items Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Early Cardiac EC 22™ (dog) Canine Skin Support SS21™ (dog) Feline Hypoallergenic HP23™ (cat) Royal Canin Sensible Choice (all dog food items) Chicken Meal & Rice Formula Senior Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Puppy Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Adult Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Senior Rice & Catfish Meal Formula Adult The Royal Canin Veterinary Diet is available only in veterinary clinics, but the Sensible Choice diet is sold in pet stores nationwide. No other Royal diets are affected by this recall, and all products with an expiration date of April 19, 2008, were not made with the tainted rice protein concentrate, it said. …
FidoPharm Rolls Out Generic Heartworm PreventiveMarch 9, 2012 PetArmor manufacturer FidoPharm launched a generic prescription heartworm preventive called PetTrust Plus (ivermectin/pyrantel) today as part of an event in New Orleans at which FidoPharm established a “Pet Trust” for the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. PetTrust Plus is the first generic preventive to be sold in retail pharmacies, according to FidoPharm. The medication contains the same active ingredients in the same concentrations as Merial's Heartgard Plus, but costs up to 50 percent less, the company said. “Dogs deserve access to preventive heartworm medicine and their owners deserve choices, without having to sacrifice quality and efficacy,” said FidoPharm President Alex Kaufman. “With the introduction of PetTrust Plus at retail pharmacies nationwide, FidoPharm continues to protect pets and provide pet parents with affordable and accessible pet health care options and we are proud to educate pet owners about the importance of heartworm testing and treatment.” FidoPharm committed $5,000 to establish the “Pet Trust” for the LA/SPCA to provide protection and healthcare to local, needy pets. The company will also provide the next 500 adopted eligible dogs with a six-month supply of PetTrust Plus. <HOME>
