News

Antigua, West Indies - In a first-of-its-kind agreement with a stateside veterinary college, a new offshore veterinary school offers students the chance to transfer directly into and graduated from an accredited U.S. program.

Several new health-care reform bills are circulating and require individuals to carry insurance and businesses to offer it. A look at three of the leading ones and how they would impact veterinary practice owners and associates.

Keep adhesive glue flowing

It was closing time when the phone rang. The voice on the other end sounded liked the oldest living human. His prize heifer was down in a difficult delivery. So I headed out on what turned out to be a harrowing, after-dark chase in a 1977 sky-blue pickup truck.

Reported cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) during the first eight months of 2009 already have surpassed last year's total in the United States, while West Nile virus (WNV) cases are sharply down from 2008, according to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The report was last updated Sept. 9.

Make injections easier for small dogs

Always a popular topic, behavior problems in pets--from the merely annoying to the potentially life-threatening--will be tackled by two behavior experts at the CVC in San Diego, Nov. 7-9.

New Orleans -- Another municipal mandatory spay/neuter and breeding-restriction ordinance is under consideration, this time in New Orleans.

U.S. Rep. Kurt Shrader (D-Ore.), DVM, has been pulled into a number of discussions in Congress regarding public health, food safety and legislation targeting workforce expansion for veterinarians and calls on other DVMs and veterinary associations for input on policy decisions.

Our decisions in life are made to a degree by our personal experiences. I want to share some experiences I've had and why I oppose socialized medicine.

Use this form to highlight where your manager is succeeding--and where improvement is needed.

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is the 11th racing facility to win accreditation by a national safety organization.

An online battle is brewing over which species is better as part of the American Kennel Club's Meet the Breeds event being held mid-October. (And don't miss the chance to test your cat and dog breed knowledge.)

Ames, Iowa -- Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine secured a $10,000 grant from the new Echo360 Research Grants Program.

Pet cats allowed to roam outside are leading to dwindling bird populations in urban areas--and to shortened lives for the cats.

Sacramento, Calif. -- Fees imposed by the California Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) could go up in almost every area if the board enacts a forthcoming proposal.

North Grafton, Mass. -- A new master of science in conservation medicine degree is under development at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

International Report -- Today is the third annual observance of World Rabies Day, a glocal rabies awareness campaign spearheaded by the United Kingdom charity Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A proposed Congressional bill to help with veterinary shortages in underserved areas, food safety, and animal disease surveillance has a lot of support.

Washington -- The Veterinary Services Investment Act (VSIA), which will establish grants to confront veterinary-service shortages, was introduced by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and John Thune (R-S.D.).

Annapolis, Md. -- Some veterinarians in Maryland need to find a new laboratory for necropsies and nonemergency infectious disease testing. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) is in the process of consolidating five labs across the state into two facilities and won?t be providing services to companion-animal veterinarians from now on.

National Report -- VCA Animal Hospitals, which recently announced it would offer free boarding at its Southern California facilities for companion animals whose owners were evacuated or displaced because of wildfires, is now offering a similar service in flood-ravaged southern states.

Cathy Johnson-Delaney was elected to a second consecutive term as president of the AEMV.

Lakewood, Colo. -- The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has begun its search to replace long-time Executive Director Dr. John Albers, who will step down from the position Dec. 31 after 23 years.

Veterinary Voices: Exciting change in veterinary medicine

Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald reminds us to never forget the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

National Report -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture, concerned about a perceived drop in swine disease samples from pork producers, is urging veterinarians to continue monitoring herds for a variety of diseases, including the H1N1 influenza virus.

An orangutan and a dog. A tortoise and a hippo. A kitten and a crow. These are just some of the interspecies relationships that will be explored in the National Geographic program "Unlikely Animal Friends."

Austin, Texas -- Dr. Bob Hillman will resign Dec. 31 after seven years as Texas state veterinarian.

A new Universal Pet Microchip Lookup Tool is available to help veterinary hospitals and shelters reunite lost pets with owners by checking participating pet-recovery services' registries.