Heska's Inspiration in Action contest goes to final stage of voting

Loveland, Colo. –

Five finalists have been named for Heska Corp.'s 2012 Inspiration in Action contest.

Up for grabs is a $25,000 winning prize and a $5,000 second prize, the company reports.

According to Heska's Janet Kellog, the contest was created to honor and support inspiring ideas within veterinary medicine. In fact, the contest is open for voting until Dec. 18 at

heska.com/action

or

facebook.com/Heska

. The winner will be named in mid January at the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando.

The five projects advancing to the finals include:

* A proposal to build a state-of-the-art medical facility for wildlife in Belize. According to the entry proposal, the Belize Wildlife and Referral Clinic would serve as a dedicated facility to provide medical care to a population of animals that are under served. "As in many countries, wildlife pets are very common. Due to lack of owner education, the health and welfare of these animals is often extremely limited," the proposal states.

• Veterinarians at Locust Trace Veterinary Clinic in Lexington, Ky. proposed building a new veterinary hospital on the Fayette County School's Locust Trace AgriScience Center in collaboration with the Fayette County school system. The idea would allow high school students to observe and assist veterinarians with care for pets, horses and food animals. The facility would be built as a prototype to encourage high school students to enter the profession and learn about veterinary care.

• A proposal from the Kearney Area Animal Shelter and Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney, Neb. hopes to pair up students with those animals that need advanced obedience and behavior training. "Students qualify by maintaining good behavior while in the facility and by completing a pet-care technician degree. Rehabilitation for troubled youths, fewer returns on adopted dogs that once possessed behavior issues, increased capacity within the animal shelter, and positive outcomes for the community as a whole are just a few of the benefits resulting from this project," the proposal states.

* Project VETS plans to collect donations of veterinary equipment, textbooks, software and other supplies and distribute them around the world to non-profits or other non-governmental organizations in need that are dedicated to improving animal health and welfare.

* Veterinarians without Borders/Vétérinaires sans Frontières (VWB/VSF) hopes to support two projects in Laos and Uganda. "Sixty percent of human diseases originate in animals, many have emerged in developing countries. In these developing countries, 70 percent of the global poor live in rural areas where women are challenged to provide 75 percent of agricultural labor and produce 80-90 percent of food. The veterinary profession has the opportunity to help resolve significant challenges in food security, agriculture, equity, empowerment of women and our one health."

To vote or read more about the finalists go to

www.heska.com/action

.