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British Columbia -- Dogs' mental abilities are equivalent to a 2- or 2.5-year-old child, according to psychologist and canine researcher Stanley Coren, PhD, of the University of British Columbia.

Denver -- After 23 years as leader of AAHA, Dr. John Albers announced today that he will resign his position as executive director effective Dec. 31.

Snakes that squeeze and venomous reptiles must now be kept under lock and key in North Carolina.

Washington -- The government is hiring veterinarians, veterinary technicians and college students for paid part-time positions in the country?s disaster veterinary corps, said Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Phoenix -- The attorney for at least six pet owners who filed a class-action suit against Ohio-based Petland Inc. and the Hunte Corp., accusing them of selling unhealthy puppies from puppy mills to unsuspecting consumers, says he will amend and re-file the suit after the original was dismissed by a federal judge in Phoenix.

Schaumburg, Ill. -- Dr. Larry Corry, AVMA president, skewered Smart Money magazine in a letter to the editor for an article titled "10 Things Veterinarians Won't Tell You." (Aug. 7, 2009).

Frankin, Tenn.

Schaumburg, Ill. -- Dr. H. Theodore Trimmer, of Las Vegas, is the newest member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board.

Dog visits to the veterinarian increased about 8 percent last year to an average of 2.8 annual visits, while cat visits remained unchanged at an average of 2.1 annually, according to a national survey.

Davis, Calif. -- The coroner's office put to rest the suspicion that a University of California-Davis veterinary hospital worker died of the H1N1 influenza virus last week.

Gainesville, Fla. -- The University of Florida's Dr. Collin Burrows was named an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in the United Kingdom.

Research into foot-and-mouth disease can be conducted safely in Manhattan, Kan.

Ames, Iowa -- Researchers at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine working on developing flu vaccines for swine landed a state grant for nearly $150,000, and other Iowa State veterinary researchers will receive nearly $70,000.

Baton Rouge, La. -- The Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine was granted $11.1 million from the National Center for Research Resources to continue its infectious-disease research.

Geneva -- Vaccines to combat the H1N1 virus could be available as early as September in some countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Washington -- A new government study says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) didn't adequately assess the biosecurity and economic risks of moving the Plum Island, N.Y., animal-disease research lab to a Kansas State University site in Manhattan, Kan.

Washington -- The Senate voted this week to slash funding for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) developed by the Department of Agriculture as a means of protecting the nation's food supply.

St. Paul, Minn. -- An experimental procedure to treat a dog with brain cancer that remains successful a year later has earned the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine funding to treat more dogs through clinical trials.

Louisville, Ky. -- Flash flooding from a record six inches of rain in one hour flooded parts of Churchill Downs racetrack yesterday, forcing the evacuation of 30 to 35 Thoroughbred racehorses.

A Calif. high court has upheld a decision several states have already made.

The USDA has filed an injunction against Teva Animal Health Inc. leaders.

Manhattan, Kan. -- A veterinary professor and fellow researchers at Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine are conducting studies into the characteristics of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus and developing better detection methods.

Hartford, Conn. -- Connecticut veterinarians are now required by law to obtain at least 24 hours of continuing education every two years.

Columbia, Mo. -- A $1 million pledge to establish two scholarships at the University of Missouri?s College of Veterinary Medicine has been made by a Missouri couple whose dogs were treated at the school.

Madison, Wis. -- A Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (WVMA) member and past president, Dr. Rene Carlson has put herself in the running for 2010 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) president-elect.

A ballot issue that would create a statewide board standardizing livestock housing is a step in the right direction.

In another step toward reform of the Thoroughbred racing industry, the RMTC approved new national standards for drug testing.

Davis, Calif. -- Scott Weber, DVM, MS, former head veterinarian at the New England Aquarium in Boston, leads the new Aquatic Animal Health Team at UC-Davis? William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

Sanofi-Aventis is buying Merck's ownership share of animal-health giant Merial. That's not all -- the deal opens up an option to combine Merial and Schering-Plough Animal Health.

Columbus, Ohio -- Dr. Lonnie King, currently the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, will take over as dean of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Sept. 1.