News

Gainesville, Fla. - A two-year study on the prevalence and spread of canine influenza received a $78,000 research grant from the Morris Animal Foundation, American Humane Association and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). University of Florida expert Dr. Cynda Crawford is leading the study.

Denver, Colo. - Colorado's governor inked a new practice-act statute that requires DVMs to report suspected animal abuse. Supported by organized veterinary medicine, the statute change is meant to improve protection of animals and people.

I have enjoyed reading Veterinary Medicine's interviews with veterinary leaders. When I picked up the December 2006 issue, I was especially pleased to see the interview with Dr. Robert L. Leighton.

We tend to reminisce about the good old days, but not all things were rosier back then.

Veterinarians are seeing fewer cases related to the nation's ongoing pet-food crisis and hundreds are participating in an online survey they hope finally will solve the mystery of what caused so many pets to become ill and die.

Over my four decades as a veterinarian, I have been privileged to meet and retain many fine clients. You know the type – those who seem more like close friends than a source of practice revenue. I feel a loyalty to those pet owners, and have a notion that the feeling is mutual.

Many believe the growth of specialty practices benefits the entire profession.

Lansing, Mich. - Michigan created a veterinary State Animal Response Team (SART) to act as first responders during emergencies and disasters.

Washington - Dr. David Acheson was appointed assistant commissioner for Food Protection, a newly created role within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide advice and counsel on food-safety and food-defense issues.

AVMA's position: No assessment of animal welfare is complete unless all elements are considered.

Denver - The fight against canine cancer received $500,000 over the next five years from the Golden Retriever Foundation (GRF).

Brea, Calif. - Pyroderma and benign skin cancer topped the list of skin-condition claims submitted by Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) policyholders in 2006.

West Lafayette, Ind. - Purdue's small-animal teaching hospital earned accreditation through the American Animal Hospital Association.

It was a real pleasure to read Dr. Miller's column in the April issue on admitting our mistakes.

Hot weather requires an increase in water intake ... to compensate for sweat and respiratory losses.

As many of you now know, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine professor Dr. James R. Richards died on April 24, after sustaining injuries in a motorcycle accident.

Combine more than 14.6 million asthmatic people in the United States with more than 61.5 million playful pet dogs, and it's a sure bet that some curious Fidos will bite into their owners' life-saving inhalers.

Greensburg, Kan. - When warning sirens wailed just before 10 p.m. on Friday, May 4, residents of this oil, gas and farming town sought cover, bracing themselves for a storm. What they didn't know was that, while most of them would survive the F-5 category tornado, at least 11 people and almost their entire city would succumb to the power and brutality of 205-mph winds.

New Orleans - Two years after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Big Easy, the 13th International Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Symposium is coming to the rebounding city.

Sacramento, Calif. - Registered veterinary technicians (RVTs) in California will be able to administer controlled substances under veterinarians' indirect supervision, according to a new interpretation of federal drug laws by the California Veterinary Medical Board (CVMB).

In this case series, ureterolith movements in two dogs and five cats were evaluated.

Sacramento, Calif. - Registered veterinary technicians in California are chalking up another task to their approved list - creating a relief hole - despite some opponents classifying the procedure as "surgery" and an infringement on the practice of veterinary medicine.

Ithaca, N.Y. - It's nice to be No. 1, but Dr. Michael I. Kotlikoff, incoming dean of Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, doesn't want to overplay the fact that U.S. News and World Report recently rated Cornell's veterinary program as the nation's best in its 2008 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools."

For feline onychectomy, we use three levels of preemptive pain management.

In this retrospective study from a university veterinary hospital, the case records of 29 dogs and three cats were reviewed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of cytologic evaluation of splenic aspirates gathered by using ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration compared with histologic evaluation of specimens obtained by using surgical biopsy (10 animals) or ultrasound-guided biopsy (2) or at necropsy (21).

Aural hematomas need support to protect the ear and hold the tissues together to allow healing.

To make it easier to read urinalysis or BUN test strip results, we removed the label with the results key from the bottle of strips and laminated it.

Using 20-ga stainless steel cerclage wire to repair simple mandibular symphysis fractures in cats leaves a 3- to 4-mm sharp twist of wire protruding from the ventral mandible.

Iowa City, Iowa - 06/01/2007 - DVMs who work with birds have significantly higher levels of antibodies fighting avian influenza strains compared to control groups, according to a University of Iowa study. The take-home message? Veterinarians are at greater risk of contracting more virulent forms of avian influenza if they hatch in the United States.

A twister with winds up to 205 mph, leveled Greensburg, Kansas on May 4. Veterinarians and other volunteers aided in the rescue of displaced pets. For an in-depth report see the June issue of DVM Newsmagazine. Photos by Brandon Chauncy.