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Good as new: CSU Veterinary Hospitals grizzly patient settled at new home

Article

7-year-old Marley underwent surgery for two broken elbows after being rescued from a roadside park in Georgia.

Marley, a grizzly bear that was rescued earlier this year with two broken elbows, is adapting to her new home in the wild after undergoing surgery to repair the injured joints. Earlier this year, Marley was rescued from a concrete pen in a roadside attraction in Georgia (see the April issue of dvm360) and transported to a refuge in Colorado. It soon became clear that the bear, a 7-year-old female grizzly, was lame and suffering.

Marley, a 7-year-old female grizzly, is settling into her home at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. She was treated for two broken elbows at CSU in 2014 after being resuced from a roadside attraction. Photo courtesy of Colorado State University.In February 2014 Marley underwent surgery at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital (full story in Pets and Vets, April 2014) and recovered indoors for several weeks, according to a university release. Marley has since been transferred to a 20-acre habitat in the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado, where she will live out her life.

The CSU veterinary team visited the sanctuary in November to check on Marley's progress. They found Marley healthy and roaming through prairie grasses in a cold wind-a big change from being anesthetized with an open, draining wound over one of the broken elbows. Now the only sign of her injury is the fur on her forelimbs. It grew back with lighter highlights after being shaved for surgery, according to the release.

“Marley is adapting wonderfully,” says Rebecca Miceli, director of animal care at the Wild Animal Sanctuary. “As she continues to grow and recognize the freedom she has here, she will flourish.”

As Marley recovered in the sanctuary clinic, she watched cartoons to help her acclimate to noise, university officials say. She relearned to use her front legs and adapt to her outdoor habitat with help form the CSU Equine Ambulatory and Avian, Exotic and Zoological Medicine services.

“CSU has been immensely helpful,” Miceli says. “They have been a key factor in the recovery of a lot of our animals, and we couldn't do it without their expertise and knowledge.”

Now Marley is acclimating to life outside, interacting with other bears and eating a diet of vegetables, fruit, grain and meat. To see a video of Marley in action visit dvm360.com/grizzly.

California

The University of California Board of Regents is suing Jack Snyder, DVM, PhD, DACVS, a former professor at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, saying he made more than $1 million in outside income, according to local TV station KCRA Sacramento. The lawsuit claims that the money should have gone to UC-Davis and that Snyder went to great lengths to hide it.

Snyder, who retired from the school in 2014, worked at the Center for Equine Health and is known as a prominent equine surgeon. The regents' claim, however, says he spent most of his time away from the school getting paid millions for his consulting work around the world, according to KCRA.

The contract Snyder and other faculty members sign upon beginning work for the university says they are allowed to work outside of the school but aren't allowed to keep any money other than royalties and prizes, KCRA reports. All other money is supposed to go into a profit-sharing plan.

***

Jack Robbins, VMD, a well-known equine veterinarian, passed away at the age of 93 after battling the effects of pulmonary and respiratory disease, according to the Daily Racing Form. Robbins was born in Michigan and came to California after his parents' divorce. He went on to become a thoroughbred breeder and recognized racing figure as well as a pioneer of racetrack veterinary medicine, the Racing Form states.

Robbins earned his VMD from the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association for more than 50 years, according to the Racing Form. He helped found the American Association of Equine Practitioners in 1954 and in 1969 was one of the founding directors of the Oak Tree Racing Association.

Robbins was awarded the 2002 Honored Guest of the Thoroughbred Club of America award, the Joe Palmer award from the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association for meritorious services to racing, the Distinguished Life Member Award of the AAEP and the Bellwether Medial and Citation of Gratitude from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. He was also given a place in the City of Arcadia Walk of Champions, which is near Santa Anita Park, according to the Daily Racing Form.

He is survived by four sons, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Indiana

Two coyote attacks in the Lafayette, Indiana, area recently prompted a veterinarian at Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine Steve Thompson to warn pet owners of a potential problem, reports the Purdue Exponent, a campus publication.

Steve Thompson, DVM, director of the veterinary college's Pet Wellness Clinic, told the Exponent that coyote attacks are not uncommon in the rural areas; however, the two early-morning attacks in a city location were a concern. One pet owner witnessed a coyote attack their small dog in the backyard. The dog was taken to Purdue and later euthanized due to its injuries.

“The coyote population continues to expand, and what is occurring now is the dispersal phase of that population,” Thompson says. “Young coyotes who have relied on their parents for food are being kicked out of their litter or pack, so they have to find new territory. It's after summer and before winter and you have young males looking for new hunting areas.”

 

Montana

The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Bozeman, Montana, has regained full accreditation after 11 years without it, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians granted the Montana Department of Livestock Diagnostic Laboratory full accreditation for the first time since 2003, following an inspection. This accreditation will last through 2015.

The laboratory, which processes the majority of tissue and blood samples for Montana veterinarians, struggled to regain full status after being downgraded to provisional status in 2003 after inspectors found shortcomings in funding, facility capabilities and quality management, the Daily Chronicle reports.

Nebraska

Livestock on two Nebraska farms were recently quarantined after cattle were diagnosed with vesicular stomatitis, state officials told the Lincoln, Nebraska, Journal Star. The virus, which is spread by insects and from animal to animal through open sores and saliva, causes oral blisters and isn't typically fatal but can cause financial losses to farmers. The locations where infected animals are found are quarantined until 21 days after the lesions in the last animals have healed, according to the Journal Star.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed outbreaks of vesicular stomatitis in two other states in 2014-at 364 locations in Colorado and at 60 locations in Texas.

Oklahoma

When state House members return for the legislative session that begins in February, a veterinarian from Cushing, Oklahoma, will join as the speaker pro tem-elect. Republican Rep. Lee Denney, DVM, will be in the chair presiding when House Speaker Jeff Hickman (R-Fairview) has other duties, according to the Tulsa World.

The 61-year-old has two years left before she runs into the 12-year limit on her term in office. She told the Tulsa World that her greatest accomplishment in office has been drawing attention to the issue of puppy mills and working to get more money to schools. She earned her DVM degree from Oklahoma State University.

Washington

A 10-year-old boxer named Anna who was suffering from Cushing's disease has undergone a transsphenoidal hypophysectomy to save her life. While the procedure is becoming common for humans, it hasn't been performed on a canine patient before, according to an American Dog Rescue (ADR) press release. ADR provided the resources for the surgery to take place.

"This is a surgery performed to remove a tumor from the pituitary fossa usually originating from the pituitary gland," says Tina Owen, DVM, in the release. "The pituitary fossa is approached through the mouth via an incision in the soft palate. ... This surgery is technically challenging and postoperative recovery requires extremely close monitoring."

ADR Founder Arthur Benjamin says it was veterinary internist Melissa Tucker (Utah Veterinary Center), oncologist Nick Bacon (University of Florida Veterinary College) and a team from Texas A&M who came up with a solution other than the traditional approaches to create a successful outcome for Anna.

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