David Frabotta

National Report -Though many veterinarians fret about student loans prohibiting them from buying a practice, the real killer is revolving credit, such as credit cards and car loans.

National Report - Veterinary medicine is more specialized today than it was just a few years ago. Not only are general practitioners offering significantly more diagnostic, dentistry, imaging and surgery services in-house, they say they are referring more patients to specialists, too.

About 780 veterinarians are deployed or working in 90 countries to support combat and stationed troops. They service hundreds of working dogs and an array of mountain mules in addition to their food-safety responsibilities, research and development. They've been doing so for nine decades.

National Report - He didn't stage a heroic rescue effort or man an impromptu staging area when Hurricane Charlie battered Port Charlotte, Fla., in 2004. He had more pressing duties: picking up the pieces of his shattered home and displaced family.

New York - After five horse-related accidents this year - including one in January that put a driver in a coma and one in late April that knocked a 71-year-old man unconscious - Councilman Tony Avella of Queens plans to hold a hearing this fall on a resolution to restrict horse-drawn carriages to Central Park and its surrounding streets.

Tragedy tugs at the heart. A county or region never realizes its potential solidarity until it must unite to overcome odds.

National Report - Good employees are hard to come by, and it won't get easier any time soon.

Washington - Small business health plans were shelved May 11 to the chagrin of the American Veterinary Medical Association. But opponents say the proposal will do little to aid the millions of uninsured Americans and could actually raise the cost of healthcare premiums in the long term.

He was a registered veterinary technician before earning his DVM and eventually buying Woodcrest Veterinary Clinic in Riverside (Calif.) in 1992. He is the only American Animal Hospital Association president who worked as an RVT, and that experience on both sides of the employment equation gives Dr. Michael P. Andrews unique perspective on why staffers choose to stay at a practice.

Study groups can negotiate significant benefits from better-known vendors.

Louisville, Ky. - The Thoroughbred racing Mecca was amid heightened biosecurity following recent outbreaks of equine herpesvirus and a mysterious illness that claimed the life of Kentucky Derby contender With a City.

National Report - Veterinary practices are trending toward higher-quality medicine that serves higher-quality clients.

Austin, Texas - A partnership between ViaGen Inc. and Encore Genetics produced the first commercially cloned mare in the United States. Royal Blue Boon Too is the genetic replica of a champion cutter owned by Elaine Hall.

Washington - The U.S. government has joined the microchip fray at the request of the two-year-old Coalition for Reuniting Pets with Families.

Denver - More than 1,000 dogs have been euthanized in Denver following its year-long Pit Bull ban. Some residents have reclaimed their mixed-breeds from dog death row and moved out of city limits to save their pets.

College Station, Texas - New associates can offer better care if they offer clients comprehensive treatment options and follow-up on the adherence of accepted recommendations.

National Report - Media reports on avian influenza have fanned the flames of hyperbole among the lay press in much of the world, and public officials aren't doing much to quell fears, either.

College Station, Texas - Practice owners are losing thousands of dollars due to compliance failures, and the quality of medicine at the point of care is suffering, too.

Veterinarians are well-suited to rise to the very top of public-health organizations.

Madison, Wis. ? Some dogs, albeit few, experience total remission following an experimental melanoma vaccine therapy.

Veterinarians are well-suited to rise to the very top of public-health organizations.

Washington ? Horse slaughter facilities were granted a reprieve Feb. 7 as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved their petition to pay for their own inspections.

National Report ? An increase in the number and severity of equine herpesvirus Type-1-induced neurological disease outbreaks has forced the closure of racetracks, the quarantine of several barns in least four states this year and the humane destruction of several horses.

We hope to be able to train or stimulate bone formation in a specific fashion.

National Report - Where are the jobs in veterinary medicine?

About 45 to 55 percent of a doctor's time can be spent performing non-clinical duties.

National Report — Where are the jobs in veterinary medicine?

The struggle right now is to get quality people to stay in academics.

National Report — Double-digit hikes in healthcare premiums, volatile fuel prices and swelling inflationary pressures are just a few of factors forcing practices to take a close look at raising fees.

There's still something very James Herriot-like about jumping in your truck and visiting farms every day," he says with palpable satisfaction. The analogy isn't too far off. Dr. Peter Ostrum relishes the lifestyle as much as the medicine, and he thrives on the bonds he creates with his clients and the close-knit community he serves.