News

Schaumburg, Ill. - American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) leaders gave the OK for an exotic companion-mammal specialty practice area that focuses on ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, rodents and other small exotic mammals.

Behavior is as vital to veterinary practice as anatomy and physiology are. I think every U.S. veterinary school should require students to take a basic animal behavior course, and behavior should be on every state board exam.

Fort Collins - A financial reprieve in the form of a million-dollar boost from the state means a Colorado teaching hospital won't have to sacrifice personnel for a balanced budget.

Davis, Calif. - A bacterium common among horses kills infected shelter dogs at an alarming rate, researchers say, prompting an alert to clinical practitioners who encounter densely housed animals.

Decreasing budgets and changing business climates can sway the confidence of even the best marketers.

Ithaca, N.Y. - Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine broke ground May 22 for the new New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC), an $80.5 million project expected to be completed in 2010.

Schaumburg, Ill. - American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) leaders want to tap the group's invested reserves to support up to $1 million in future programs that guide and promote the profession.

Columbus, Ohio - Prescriptions and veterinarian-client-patient relationships are not needed for consumers to purchase therapeutic pet food, according to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, which issued an update to veterinarians stating that Ohio law does not consider therapeutic food a "dangerous drug," and therefore it requires no prescription oversight.

College Station, Texas - Texas A&M University's veterinary college received approval to build a veterinary imaging and cancer research center. Plans for the $4.5-million project include an 8,000-square-foot building for small-animal and equine patients.

Equine practitioners need not go far these days before being reminded that they and their clients are facing difficult economic times. Rising gas prices, feed prices, seed and fertilizer costs, reduced travel to horse shows and generally lower consumer spending suggest a tough business year for many veterinarians.

Solana Beach, Calif. - Classmates and friends of retired DVM David Martin, killed recently in a shark attack not far from his Solana Beach home, remember him as modest, soft-spoken and confident, one describing him as "the essence of a successful Southern California veterinarian."

Schaumburg, Ill. - The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) remains the sole financier of its One Health initiative, allocating another $12,000 for it during the group's April Executive Board meeting.

Mineola, N.Y. - An appeal of a court decision allowing persons in New York other than veterinarians to float horses' teeth is moving forward, but probably won't be decided until this fall because of the backlog of cases, according to the attorney for the New York State Veterinary Medical Society (NYSVMS).

Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) recently analyzed its medical claims data to determine the most commonly ingested household toxins and poisons.

Knoxville, Tenn. - There's plenty of extra space to accommodate patients and several new services at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine's (UTCVM) small-animal teaching hospital, with the formal opening of a 32,000-square-foot addition.

Schaumburg, Ill. - More than 250 veterinarians and others plan to roll up their sleeves to revive four New Orleans animal shelters during next month's American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) annual convention.

Lexington, Ky. - This year's eastern tent caterpillar populations are the highest since 2001, one of the worst years in recent memory for Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome (MRLS) in central Kentucky, according to University of Kentucky entomologists.

To make abdominal bandaging easier, we bridge the patient's body across two platforms--the treatment table and a small table, surgery tray, or barstool.

DVM Newsmagazine asked five market leaders to talk about consumer attitudes.

The AVMA Strategic Plan, initiated in 2006, is designed to guide the nation's largest veterinary membership group on profession-related issues. The following five critical areas of issue have been identified as well as a basic framework for addressing them:

Schaumburg, Ill. - An amended policy titled "Castration and dehorning of cattle" includes new pain-control and procedural language.

A recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found higher concentration levels of many synthetic industrial chemicals in dogs and cats than in humans.

The March issue of DVM Newsmagazine highlighted an increasingly critical issue in veterinary education: the escalation of student debt. Discussion around this topic is widespread and is bolstered by fact and emotion. Finding a solution is vital to the future of the veterinary profession, but robust analysis of the situation requires full information from the student, employer and academic perspectives.

Instead of lighters, we use candle warmers (small circular hot plates) to dry stained slides and to fix them when necessary.

Lexington, Ky. - Veterinarians played a key role in handling another high-profile racetrack tragedy - this time at the Kentucky Derby - and they're working with the racing industry in the aftermath to help improve Thoroughbred-racing safety and equine health and safety in general.

Dr. Hazel Holman was one of 34 veterinary practices targeted by Massachusetts environmental regulators in a medical-waste compliance crackdown.

Like many veterinarians, I prefer not to wear a wristwatch because of frequent hand washing, yet I need a second hand for measuring heart rates or respiration or performing ocular tear tests.

Washington - Chemical contamination, recently identified as a concern for humans, is an even more serious threat to pets, which are showing much higher exposure levels than their owners, according to a study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

Editor's Note: On May 28, Alabama veterinarian Jerrry Handley was charged with second-degree arson, seven felony counts of animal curelty and a misdemenaor charge of filing a false report. Handley allegedly confessed to police shortly after this story went to press.

It wouldn't surprise me if a certain percentage of readers who merely scan this month's piece do so because they don't see what relevance the topic could possibly have to the practicing veterinarian. I understand completely because, at first blush, it doesn't seem possible that any "investigations" would need to be carried out in an animal hospital and, even if one did need to be done, how complicated could it be?