Jennifer Fiala

Schaumburg, Ill. - New graduates entering practice might see fewer patients than their predecessors if recent American Veterinary Medical Association research holds true.

SCHAUMBURG, ILL. - Dog- and cat-owning households visited veterinarians less in 2006 than in 2001, while the number of U.S. households with pets grew to 68.7 million, a 12.4 percent increase.

Schaumburg, Ill. - American Veterinary Medical Association leaders approved a Policy on Transparency during the Executive Board's fall meeting as well as a strategy for released AVMA-owned data.

Fort Collins, Colo. - More than 69 percent of U.S. swine producers use a veterinarian, with five out of 10 large operations employing a DVM on staff. Overall, approximately half the sites polled turn to a local practitioner for care.

San Francisco - The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) urges specialists and general practitioners to drop punishment as a first-line treatment to modify a pet's behavior.

GAITHERSBURG, MD. - Consumers are driving a new animal-welfare agenda, says Humane Society of the United States front man Wayne Pacelle. And he wants veterinarians to join his cause by spearheading a new veterinary association.

He's been called a wolf in sheep's clothing, a man with hidden agendas and the most influential player the animal-welfare arena has ever seen.

Minneapolis - Dr. Carl Seemann plans to appeal an administrative law judge's ruling that backs state regulators' efforts to suspend his license for not administering drugs to manage a surgical patient's pain.

Schaumburg, Ill. - The American Veterinary Medical Association replaced its "informed consent" policy last month to safeguard the profession from a guardianship distinction tied to human health care.

SURPRISE, ARIZ. - Four years of patience and politics have paid off in what Dr. Lorna Lanman calls "vindication." The one-time Veterinary Medical Assistance Team (VMAT) member whose unit was expelled by the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2003, is now reinstated by the federal government.

Gag order issued in disgruntled equine surgeon's settlement against veterinary college

The Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board (WVEB) dumped a proposal to implement an informed-consent law panned by critics as the "most restrictive" version established in the United States.

Exeter, N.H. - Most students gain little legal direction from veterinary college curriculum before jumping into private practice. Without practical knowledge and awareness, associates can be blindsided by the law.

Boston - It's a surprise when Alan Van Tassel comes to visit. He drops by unannounced during business hours, makes a quick introduction and starts poring over a seven-point inspection checklist.

Jefferson City, Mo. - Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt signed legislation at press time to create the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program and wants to earmark $500,000 to pay for it.

MADISON, WIS. - Wisconsin veterinarians are railing against plans to implement what is being billed "the most restrictive informed-consent law in the United States."

San Francisco -Attorneys with the California State Department of Consumer Affairs want to put a legislative stopper on West Hollywood's anti-declaw law, cemented last month by the state Supreme Court's refusal to hear a challenge to the ban.

Washington - Dr. Michael Blackwell isn't ungrateful. But the $500,000 grants tied to the U.S. Senate's version of the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act, passed in July, will do little to add seats to the University of Tennessee's (UT) veterinary program. Such funds fall short of expanding even one classroom, and neglect the public's need for more DVMs, the veterinary college dean explains.

Sacramento, Calif. - Invite Dr. Wade Himes to shed light on the inner-workings of state regulatory agencies and he pauses, then laughs and asks, "Do you want me to lose my license?"

Austin, Texas - Veterinary regulators employ a "monopolistic licensing scheme" to put lay equine dentists out of business. Their anti-competition tactics are unconstitutional, punishing those with skills that "far exceed that of nearly every veterinarian in the state of Texas."

Minneapolis - For 59 years, Dr. Carl Seemann practiced as northern Minnesota's surgical "spine man," a solo generalist who, at age 84, saw three clients a day until Christmas last year.

Bismarck, N.D. - A crackdown on cheaters taking the veterinary licensing examination may result in prosecutions.

Washington - A greater number of minorities are studying veterinary medicine, but the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges' (AAVMC) latest enrollment data show the increase at just .4 percent.

Portland, Ore. - The Oregon Legislature banned swine gestation stalls last month, the third state to prohibit the controversial housing practice.

The breed most associated with serious dog bites changes with its popularity.

Schaumburg, Ill. - He was the media's go-to guy during the mad-cow outbreak of 2003, starred in half a dozen Senate committee hearings and enjoyed regular contact with senior White House executives.

Washington - Senate lawmakers cleared the way for a modified version of the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act, passing it as an amendment to the Higher Education Authorization Bill.

Portland, Ore. - Oregon law now limits noncompete covenants to two years, requires immediate notification upon hire and forces owners to pay employees thousands of dollars to enforce such agreements.

A California bill requiring the sterilization of dogs and cats stirred up a hornet?s next of opposition, leaving its chief sponsor to come up with a less-divisive measure next year. Some 20,000 people protested to lawmakers, and the embattled California Veterinary Medical Association, an early co-sponsor, backed away after fielding thousands of complaints.

Los Angeles - West Hollywood's declaw ban is legal and enforceable, according to an appellate ruling that's headed for the state Supreme Court if the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) has its way.