Daniel R. Verdon

Helena, Mont. -- Every vote matters to Krayton Kerns, DVM.

Lexington, Ky.- In combating an infectious disease outbreak, communication is key.

Columbia, Mo.- The human-animal bond has no economic boundaries.

Portland-Officials ready the debut of pet owner pricing research following an industry summit that drew 103 leaders of veterinary associations and animal health companies.

Every veterinarian has a role to play, says Smith. "It starts locally and runs to the highest levels of government."

St. Paul, Minn. - As MIT's Broad Institute closes in on successfully mapping the estimated 300 billion base pairs that make up the equine genome this fall, the Morris Animal Foundation announces a $2.5-million grant to help fund the Equine Consortium for Genetic Research.

Running for his second-term as Georgia governor, Sonny Perdue, DVM, announced he would eliminate state income tax for seniors.

National Report - $1,451: It's the price most clients will stop treatment of a sick or injured animal, veterinarians report.

Practicing in the only health profession sanctioned to end life, Dr. Mary Welle vividly recalls the case.

Cheryl Weber, JD, a client counselor specialist at the University of Illinois' veterinary college, adds that client grief is real.

National Report - $1,451: It's the price most clients will stop treatment of a sick or injured animal, veterinarians report.

Practicing in the only health profession sanctioned to end life, Dr. Mary Welle vividly recalls the case.

National Report - While many veterinarians shun convenience euthanasia, problems associated with pet relinquishment live on.

Las Vegas - He wants a unanimous decision.

Las Vegas - A comprehensive feline vaccination report from the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) is in the drafting stage from a multidisciplinary panel of experts.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a.k.a. the molecule of life, harbors an estimated 20,000 to 200,000 canine genes hidden in the DNA across from 38 pairs of chromosomes, all contributing to health and disease. Sleuthing out defects along genes nucleotides, or base pairs, seemingly turns into a numbers game that can add up into the billions.

Davis, Calif. - Ranking as the fifth-warmest winter on record for the United States, an expert entomologist warns it could signal a busy parasite season, thereby increasing the threat of vector-borne disease transmission.

WASHINGTON - Public health needs more veterinarians. Standing as bulwark to the threat of infectious diseases and bioterrorism, the shortage of veterinarians in this role has become ?critical?, adds Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo.

Orlando - A recently released survey documents that 250,000 dogs and cats tested positive for heartworm infection in 2004.

Euthanasia and adequate control of pain top the list of ethical dilemmas for this decade.

St. Paul, Minn. — "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others lives on."

Athens, Ga.— The critical issues facing veterinary education are endemic but not insurmountable, says Dr. Sheila Allen, who, was named to the permanent dean position of the University of Georgia's (UGA) College of Veterinary Medicine in early November.

Washington — The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) turned up the political chatter against high-volume breeders in testimony before the U.S. Senate.

When Senior Editor Jennifer Fiala and I boarded the flight for Baton Rouge, La., following the most destructive hurricanes on record, I had no idea what to expect.

Baton Rouge, La. — When the last of an estimated 2,000 displaced pets are finally reunited with owners or adopted from Louisiana State University (LSU), Dr. Michael Groves will be signing off on this tab.

Alexandria, La. — Sandy Grantham, office manager of Alexandria Animal Clinic, couldn't have predicted her role in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Veterinary medicine stands at the crossroads. "I think the next five to 10 years may be the most important time in the history of veterinary medicine. Its most important challenge is to re-establish its social responsibility," reports Dr. Lonnie King, director of the Office of Strategy and Innovation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and dean of Michigan State University's veterinary school.

"Hey, aren't you that guy on Animal Planet?"

Philadelphia—The political fight over the use of human embryonic stem cells rages in this country. So much so, that the political and ethical debate about government-funded embryonic stem cell research often overshadows its much more moderate cousin, adult stem cell research, without the political baggage.

Clearfield, Iowa—He sat in the back of the ambulance, sirens blaring — an odd time for reflection.