France Reports Second, Separate Rabies CaseApril 17, 2009 France yesterday reported its second canine rabies case of 2008, again attributing it to the illegal movement of animals into France from other countries. A female dog that was born in December 2007 in Gambia traveled from Gambia to Belgium on April 7, then was transported to France a week later. Despite a rabies vaccination on March 15 and a certificate of good health signed on April 5, the dog was in poor condition when she arrived in France, according to the French Ministry of Agriculture. She was examined by three veterinary clinics, with the third clinic suspecting rabies due to nervous system signs. The dog died—she was not euthanized--on April 21. Laboratory examination confirmed rabies. The only other animal known to have had contact with the dog was the dog owner’s 18-year-old cat. The cat was not vaccinated against rabies, did not have contact with other animals and was scheduled to be euthanized today. France reported that this case in not epidemiologically linked to the case of canine rabies it reported in February. Rabies is a reportable disease, meaning countries must report any outbreaks to other countries. The strain identified in …
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Arnold Vetoes Ferret AmnestyApril 17, 2009 California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have provided amnesty for California’s estimated 500,000 pet ferrets while the state conducted environmental impact studies. Those studies would allow the state to make a final determination on whether or not ferrets posed a risk to the state’s environment. The governor said the bill was too bureaucratic and that the environmental studies should be conducted before ferrets’ legal status was changed. “I love ferrets,” Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto message to the California State Senate. “I co-starred with a ferret in Kindergarten Cop. However…I am concerned that there has not been proper study to determine whether ferrets are detrimental to the health and safety of California citizens and the environment.” The often-amended bill would have established a license fee for ferrets that would have funded the environmental studies. The governor did not offer any funding alternatives in his veto message. To receive amnesty, ferret owners would need to pay the registration fee and be able to prove their animals were vaccinated against rabies and spayed or neutered.
The Headache, Heartache ConundrumApril 17, 2009 Ever feel unduly applauded for the work you do? Here I refer to the clients who voice their admiration in fawning “I-don’t-know-how-you-do-its” and cloying “thanks-for-all-you-dos.” It’s great to hear and I accept it graciously, but sometimes the sentiment misses its mark. After all, these are the people who pay my mortgage and my kid’s pharmacy bills. What’s more, I count myself lucky to love my work. Sure, the ballerina deserves her applause—but all those roses, too? Then there’s always the flip side to consider, when we’re attacked for our money-grubbing, service-withholding ways. “You mean you need my credit card before you operate on Fluffy?” Being alternately admired and reviled, sometimes I wonder if this is what being Paris Hilton feels like. Not only is my own press suspect, I also get to feeling I should just make my money, have my fun and send everybody to hell at will. But that would defy the purpose of a thoughtful article. So instead, here’s my take on what I see as the truth and consequences of our clients’ conflicting views on our praise/blameworthiness. It’s a conundrum, indeed, this double-edged rapport with the public. …
NCVEI Releases Pet Health Insurance PaperApril 17, 2009 The National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues (NCVEI) in Chicago released “A Veterinarian’s Guide to Pet Health Insurance,” an eight-page position paper written by the Brakke Veterinary Practice Management Group on Jan. 19. The NCVEI expects the paper to be the first in a series that will address business and economic issues facing the veterinary profession. Published for distribution at the 2009 North American Veterinary Conference, the paper contends that an insured clientele is economically beneficial to the profession. It also provides tips to practices for promoting the use of pet health insurance among clients. Those tips include appointing a staff member to be insurance coordinator for the practice, selecting and supporting a limited number of pet health insurers to support, educating the entire staff about pet health insurance, flagging medical records of insured clients so they can be informed of services covered by their insurance and submitting claims for clients, thereby bonding them to the practice. “Pet health insurance information, whether on the Internet or in a brochure, is often directed to the consumer and/or created to sell a particular policy,” said Karen Felsted, CPA, MS, …
How To Deal With An Adriamycin SpillApril 17, 2009 Adriamycin and vincristine, the most commonly used chemotherapy drugs in the battle against cancer in pets, are caustic vasosclerotics. If Adriamycin is extravasated into the perivascular tissues, the results may turn into one of your worst nightmares. We use the term “vasosclerotic” on our chemotherapy treatment forms to warn our staff that localized tissue injury will result if there is a spill. Most perivascular leaks are noticed right away as a “bleb” or swelling immediately adjacent to the venipuncture site. Occasionally a few spills go home undetected and untreated only to be noticed anywhere from one to10 days later. The pet owner calls into the office with complaints that the pet has pain, or is limping or has swelling or desquamation or is licking the venipuncture site. The most notorious vasoclerotic is Adriamycin and its anthracyline relatives, doxorubicin, daunorubicin, epirubicin and idaruricin. Vincristine, vinblastine, cis-platin, mitoxantrone, mechlorethamine (Mustargen), mithramycin and etoposide are also vesicant, but they pale in their toxicity when compared to the irreversible indolent tissue damage inflicted by the Adriamycin group. In my opinion, there is no equal to the tissue necrosis that even small amounts of Adriamycin can cause to …
Colorado’s Vet College Opens Its Doors To Celebrate 100 YearsApril 17, 2009 Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is celebrating its 100-year anniversary by hosting an open house March 30-31, giving the public an opportunity to quiz veterinarians and tour the teaching hospital. Members of the graduating class of 1957 will discuss how veterinary medicine has changed over the past 50 years, including how technology has advanced medicine and how diseases have evolved. The open house will also feature exam rooms set up with 1957 equipment and historical displays, which will include demonstrations of how equipment used in the years after the veterinary college was founded at Colorado State. In addition, Narda Robinson, DVM, will give a demonstration of the use of acupuncture in veterinary medicine. For more information, visit www.cvmbs.colostate.edu. <HOME>
PetEdge Issues Toothpaste RecallApril 17, 2009 Due to possible diethylene glycol contamination, PetEdge has issued a voluntary recall of one of its toothpaste products for pets. Diethylene glycol is a chemical found in antifreeze and other solvents. If ingested, it can cause headaches, renal failure or death. PedEdge officials state they have received no reports of any illness associated with the toothpaste and are issuing the recall as a cautionary measure. The affected product is the 1.4 oz. Top Performance ProDental Toothpaste with Toothbrush kit in both the beef and mint flavors. Product details: • Item number: TP128 • Beef Flavor UPC Code: 721343128151 • Mint Flavor UPC Code: 721343128564 Consumers are urged to discard the product immediately. To receive a credit, customers will have to complete and return a PetEdge Product Destruction Log. For details and more information, call PetEdge at 888-211-8706. <HOME>
Dogs Sniff Out CancerApril 17, 2009 The theory that dogs can smell cancer is scientifically supported, reported the British Medical Journal. The report is from an experiment conducted by researchers at Amersham Hospital in Oxford, England. The experiment involved six dogs that were trained to distinguish between urine from patients with bladder cancer and urine from healthy subjects. The dogs successfully identified the sample from a cancer patient 41 percent of the time. The ability to identify the correct sample by chance alone is only 14 percent. The success rate would improve, the report concluded, if training methods were more fully developed. <HOME>
WSU’s Vet College Offers CAMApril 17, 2009 Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is offering “Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine,” a new class for fall. The one-credit elective course runs Sept. 22-23. Topics include information on natural nutritional supplements, acupuncture, chiropractic techniques and rehabilitation techniques for animals. CAM externships will also be available through the class. . “Veterinarians face different demands than they did in the past,” said Mushtaq Memon, BVSc, Ph.D., the associate professor who introduced the new course. As pets hold a higher stature within the family, owners are increasingly interested in applying a full spectrum of medical treatments available to humans to their pets, Dr. Mushtaq said. For more information, call 509-335-0711.
AVMA And AVMF Partner With Red CrossApril 17, 2009The American Veterinary Medical Assn. and its charitable branch, the American Veterinary Medical Foundation, have signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Red Cross to coordinate animal rescue efforts and programs. The national groups have had a statement of understanding since 1998, but this formal agreement lays the groundwork for increased cooperation. "This partnership with the Red Cross will help the American Veterinary Medical Foundation bring substantive help to pets and animals not only on the national level but at the local level," said Michael Cathey, head of the foundation. "It gives us a hands-on network of people who will work around our goal of helping pets in times of disaster. This is an exciting new chapter in the AVMF's outreach efforts." The foundation will use grants to help fund programs developed under the agreement. The AVMA will serve as a technical adviser to the Red Cross on all animal and veterinary aspects of disaster-response efforts. About 100,000 animals, pets and livestock are separated from their owners or lost during a major natural disaster such as a hurricane or forest fire, according to the AVMA. Many times owners are …
