News

Reno, Nev. - Thousands of unadoptable wild horses in U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding facilities could be saved from possible euthanasia or slaughter if the agency decides to accept an offer for a sanctuary.

It was with great interest that I read "Leading Off: Why the physical exam is still really necessary" by colleague David Robbins in the October 2008 issue of Veterinary Medicine.

National Report - The AVMA Executive Board's recent decision asking breed clubs to eliminate ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards earned praise from animal-rights groups and sharp criticism from the American Kennel Club.

The natural history of mankind in general, and veterinary medicine in particular, may need to be rewritten. Arnie and I have uncovered dramatic new evidence indicating that the formal practice of veterinary medicine may be as old as the use of spoken language.

Blacksburg, Va. - A long-time fixture at he Virginia-Maryland Regional College of veterinary Medicine hander over her reins, literally.

While the wealthy, privileged and middle classes worry about losses in the stock market, the world's underclasses worry about food costs and shortages.

It was easy to write fascinating true stories because I had an unusual practice. It was, I am sure, the most mixed of all mixed-animal practices.

Ithaca, N.Y. -- The College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University will host a Zoonotic Diseases Symposium Feb. 6-8, and the featured speaker will be DVM Lonnie King, director of the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Uniform Law Commission is working on a campaign to clear the way for veterinarian volunteers in a times of crisis.

The UF College of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Education and Clinical Research Center will include a new small-animal hospital.

Springfield, Ill. - Veterinary technicians can become members of the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association, based on an amendment to the ISVMA constitution.

As I look for a direction for my practice, should I be looking to the Mayo Clinic or Wal-Mart?

Posted as an example of a technical manual for CVM's advertising website

Blacksburg, Va. - Virginia Tech's veterinary college recently appointed Drs. Kent Scarratt and Jacqueline Pelzer to fill positions within the school.

National Report - California legislators may decide by mid-January the fate of a proposed 10 percent veterinary service tax that has outraged veterinarians and pet owners.

You want to believe. You really do. And there are many well-known horsemen, doctors, physicists and PhD's telling you that you should.

Over the years, I have received many promotional magnets. Rather than throwing them away, I reuse these magnets by copying the lists that used to be attached to the refrigerator door to card stock and taping or gluing the lists to the magnets.

Manhattan, Kan. - The $563 million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility is moving to Kansas, and it could pump some $3.5 billion into the state.

There are tens of thousands of them across the nation. And their numbers are growing at an alarming rate.

Manhattan, Kan. -- The one health initiative has a new champion as retired Brig. Gen. Michael B. Cates prepares to join Kansas State University as the director of its master of public health program.

Rockville, Md. -- The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is accepting comments through Jan. 26 on a planned regulation that would ban use of cattle tissues in animal feeds.

The American College of Veterinary Surgeons looks to add sugery subspecialties--including neurosurgery and oncological surgery--starting in 2010.

Sicklerville, N.J. -- Construction was to start in December on a new $3.5 million, 10,500-square-foot animal hospital expected to be the largest non-specialty hospital in a four-county area of south-central New Jersey.

Washington -- Timothy K. Adams, chief of the Army Veterinary Corps, is now a brigadier general.

Nashville, Tenn. -- The deadline to apply for the newest American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) certification, exotic companion mammal practice, is quickly approaching.

College Park, Md. -- A team of researchers specializing in the study of the Avian Influenza virus, H9N2, at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine say they have developed a universal vaccine for animals that may also help prevent or delay the spread of the virus to humans.

Iraq -- American soldiers are working with the Iraqi Department of Veterinary Medicine to help veterinarians diagnose and treat livestock in the southwestern provinces.

Lexington, Ky. -- State officials are asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare a state of emergency in Kentucky following the discovery of three cases of contagious equine metritis (CEM), a venereal disease that causes infertility in mares.

Although a contaminant hasn't been found, many dogs continue to become sick from chicken treats imported from China.

Sacramento, Calif. -- Little headway has been made over the past weeks to ease deficit concerns in California, and a 10 percent veterinary service tax remains an option for legislators to close a multi-billion budget gap.