News

National Report - An increasing number of practices are appraising lower than expected, management experts report. If that trend holds true, it signals a need to closely scrutinize profitability, according to the Valuation Issues Committee of the Association of Veterinary Practice Management Consultants and Advisors (AVPMCA).

Washington - In his final speech before the American Veterinary Medical Association's House of Delegates, Dr. R. Tracy Rhodes commended the American Veterinary Medical Foundation's (AVMF) disaster relief, research and scholarship programs and chastised his colleagues for failing to fuel the nonprofit's initiatives.

Washington - Five sites are under consideration for the relocation of the famed Plum Island Animal Disease Center, according to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) directorate.

Editor's Note: DVM Newsmagazine's newest column, "Offbeat," gives veterinarians the opportunity to share stories of humor, inspiration, sadness and peculiarity that cross paths daily with veterinary medicine.

One day after the federal indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on dog-fighting charges, the American Humane Association (AHA) urged the National Football League to make a strong statement against animal fighting.

Chicago - The last remaining U.S. horse-slaughter for human consumption plant closed after a judge threw out a constitutionality argument against a state law banning the practice.

Fears of acetaminophen contamination in pet food are unfounded, based on test findings by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and independent toxicologists, says the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Hepatic portal-vein hypoplasia has been suggested as better terminology, better reflecting the cause.

Seeking to become the nation's first governing body to ban non-therapeutic feline onychectomies, west hollywood mayor john duran authors the ordinance that passes unanimously and criminalizes the procedure. the california veterinary medical association (cvma) denounces the ordinance and responds by seeking government opinions on its legitimacy.

A California Veterinary Medical Association-backed bill to mandate pet sterilization statewide has garnered significant opposition by local and national breeding organizations who feel they are being punished by having to pay abstention fees.

Washington - The American Veterinary Medical Association's membership increased 2.1 percent last year for a net gain of 1,579 members.

Washington - More minorities are studying veterinary medicine, but the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges' (AAVMC) latest enrollment data show the increase at just 0.4 percent.

Washington, D.C. - The United States is not as prepared as it could be to handle an avian-influenza pandemic, reports a federal audit of USDA efforts.

Schaumburg, Ill. - The print version of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Membership Directory & Resource Manual no longer will be issued annually, representing a $315,000 cost savings.

Animal-law expert Barbara Gislason, a Minneapolis attorney, believes the time is ripe for veterinary medicine to help design a fair system to resolve the emotional-value issue in malpractice claims. Otherwise, she warns, the courts will do the job, and the profession might not like the outcome.

The cauliflower bounced in my lap and came to rest inside the ritzy wife's purse.

One day last month, I made a stupid mistake: I looked at the appointment calendar first thing in the morning. As a general rule, I don't do that because it might cause me to read a name like the one I saw that day – one you remember for all the wrong reasons. I spent the next two hours suffering anticipation anxiety as I waited for a confrontation with Mr. Kenny B. Worthit.

Washington - American Veterinary Medical Association officials approved a $28,681,810 budget for fiscal 2008, creating the largest spending plan in the group's history.

Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia is the most common acquired cause of abnormal primary hemostasis in dogs.

Three decades ago, we experienced an oil shortage, and one of the solutions was to create a nationwide 55-mph speed limit for several years.

Columbia, Mo. - Dr. Neil Olson is the new dean of the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) College of Veterinary Medicine, effective Sept. 1.

Washington - A last-minute resolution seeking the American Veterinary Medical Association's support of foie gras production roused the House of Delegates (HOD) last month as the controversial agriculture practice took center stage.

The town of Miami, Okla., was among the areas hardest hit by floodwaters that ravaged parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas from May through early July, killing 14 people, displacing some 500 animals and raising the specter of long-term health problems for those that survived.

A letter opener can be an effective tool to remove clumps of matted hair from cats.

This modest internist tends to downplay his own noteworthy achievements. "I'm truly humbled by the remarkable accomplishments and contributions that my former students and other colleagues are making toward the advancement of veterinary medicine."

Washington - 7/31/07 - The 144th American Veterinary Medical Association Annual Conference had another record-breaking year, attracting about 300 more attendees than last year's unprecedented number.

Schaumburg, Ill. - 7/30/2007 - The "Being a Pet is Risky Business" campaign, a national pet wellness education effort, aims to raise consumer awareness about and prevention to disease risks to pets. The program is sponsored by the AVMA and Fort Dodge Animal Health.

National Report - 7/27/07 - A progressive new equine respiratory ailment identified by researchers has limited treatment options and a poor prognosis for affected horses. With clinical signs similar to heaves, Equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis (EMPF) is possibly linked to equine herpesvirus-5 -- a common disease thought to be non-pathogenic.

Columbia, Mo. - 7/25/2007 - Dr. Neil Olson was named dean of the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU) College of Veterinary Medicine and is slated to begin Sept. 1.

University Park, Penn. - 7/24/2007 - The Penn State Equine Identification Program, to be held over the next year, will assess the the impact of microchipping horses for identification and tracking for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS).