Look out Usain Bolt, here comes SeSe, the red-eared slider. OK, it’s not a fair comparison. Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter, and SeSe is a Chinese turtle. But both are Olympians and both won gold medals in their respective events. While Bolt was breaking records in Beijing, SeSe, owned by Kitty Wong, took gold in the turtle crawl at the first-ever Pet Olympics, held in Hong Kong over the last 10 weekends. The Olympets, as it is called, was sponsored by PetMAX, a 50,000-square-foot pet-oriented supermall located in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong. Opened in 2007, PetMAX is the first Hong Kong mall in which pets are allowed. It is home to nine pet specialty stores including spas, training and grooming services, and even an American dog-treat bakery. PetMAX owner Howard Cheung said the goal of the competition was to complement the Beijing Olympics and promote proper care of companion animals. Money from the event was also donated to charity.

An anesthesia technician at the Colorado State University Animal Cancer Center felt she could predict a dog’s level of pain based on acute radiation effects. This hunch eventually led to a study on pain scores as related to acute radiation scores (ARS). “When the skin has a specific change, we found that in general, it would predict that the animal’s pain level would be increased within a few days,” said Susan LaRue, DVM, DACVS, DACVR, one of the authors of the study. “One of the main principles of pain management is not to let the pain become bad before you start medicating.  So now we have enough data to know when to start pain medication.” The team also found that one scoring system was more useful than another when measuring radiation therapy-related pain.

In an effort to try to treat two incurable dog diseases – degenerative myelopathy and dilated cardiomyopathy – University of California-Davis professor Dr. Rick Vulliet’s research ventures into the near-science-fiction realm of stem cell therapy. A self-proclaimed “agnostic” on the topic of stem cells, Vulliet has high hopes for the technology, but maintains a degree of skepticism. He noted the large number of claims in the media regarding the apparent miracle cure that stem cells offer. “If you read CNN[.com], you get a shot of stem cells and everything is OK,” he said. “Most of the claims are generally bogus.” But Vulliet is determined to try to find an effective treatment for dogs with these debilitating and terminal diseases. He has already begun clinical trials on dogs with degenerative myelopathy. To treat the dogs, Vulliet extracts adult bone marrow cells – mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) – from the patient under anesthesia. The cells are then put in a tissue culture dish for about three weeks, under conditions in which only the stem cells will grow. He then collects the cells and re-injects them into the dog intravenously. If the treatment is viable and approved, veterinarians should be able to do the majority of the treatment in their own practices. Extracting the marrow and re-injecting the cells is a simple procedure, he said, but the cells would need to be grown in a lab. “Any veterinary practice near a tissue culture facility could use this technique,” he said  

While growing numbers of foreclosures are forcing homeowners out of their homes, sometimes pets are left behind to fend for themselves. But veterinarians can help by recognizing an imminent foreclosure and helping clients arrange for their pets’ welfare. The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County operates a cat-only no-kill shelter in Gaithersburg, Md. Shelter volunteer Peg Webber said the number of people giving up their cats this year has nearly doubled. Her shelter has already had to turn away almost 200 cats so far, due to the limited space and number of foster homes. Last year the shelter turned away about 210 cats for the entire year. Many of these cases are related to foreclosure. “They’ll just say ‘I have to move,’ but after a bit of talking with them it’s obvious why,” Webber said.

With only 46 board-certified veterinary behaviorists in North America, a new technician specialty – behavior – could help fill a growing need in companion animal medicine. The specialty was approved by National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) in July at the association’s annual meeting. Bonnie Beaver, DVM, executive director of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, said that the need for treatment of behavior-related pet problems is growing.  “There’s a huge public demand for it,” she said. “One of the problems we see is we’re not, right now, capable of filling all that demand.” The Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties (CVTS), which reviews specialty-status petitions for NAVTA, recommended approval of the Society of Veterinary Behavior Technicians’ (SVBT) petition last month. The behavior specialty will be made official at the North American Veterinary Conference in January.

According to Sinisa Grozdanic, a researcher at Iowa State University, about 2,000 cases of Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS) are reported in dogs each year. But Grozdanic says some of those are probably misdiagnosed and are actually a different disease, Immune-Mediated Retinitis. There is currently no generally accepted cure for SARDS, but Grozdanic said that in some of his SARDS patients, intravenous immunoglobulin treatment restored enough vision for a dog to navigate a maze. But many veterinary ophthalmologists are not convinced that it is really a new disease. Chicago veterinary ophthalmologist Paul A. Gerding Jr., DVM, DAVCO, said he is not quite ready to accept that there is a safe and proven cure for SARDS, or that IMR is a distinct disease. “As a researcher I’m always optimistic, as a practitioner I’m always cautious,” Gerding said.

When a medical error leads to an “adverse outcome,” the veterinarian needs to take some steps right away. Obviously, the doctor should first tend to the patient’s immediate clinical care. Then, he or she should develop a clear picture of what happened, and, while recognizing his or her own emotions and needs about the incident, prepare for discussion with the client. Careful preparation begins with verifying what went wrong and what steps will be taken to prevent the error’s recurrence. More important, it involves anticipating and devising an empathetic response to the client’s emotional reaction—and apologizing forthrightly for committing the error. Veterinarians will experience greatest success with clients if they take the time to think through and plan the conversation they will have to explain and apologize for the error, according to Kathleen Bonvicini, EdD, MPH, associate director for education and research at the New Haven, Conn.-based Institute for Healthcare Communication.

The American Association of Veterinary State Boards issued an official policy change in April, stating that after Dec. 31, 2010, all candidates for the Veterinary Technician National Examination must be graduates of an accredited or approved educational program. A few states, including Washington, Georgia, Alaska, Arizona and Wisconsin, allow technician candidates to take the exam after several years of on-the-job experience, but those state boards will be required to change their policies as of the Dec. 31, 2010 deadline.

There’s no single answer to retaining good employees, especially during an economic downturn. But experts say that if you’re willing to go the extra mile to hire and keep the best people, the solutions are out there.

FDA offices in China: Contamination concerns have been a catalyst for increased supervision of pet food imported from China. Will a heightened presence by the FDA help? Read Full Article MWI Veterinary Supply takes over operations of AAHA MARKETLink A seamless transition is expected as the MWI purchase of MARKETLink is finalized later this month. Read Full Article Rethinking retention: There’s no single answer to retaining good employees, especially during an economic downturn. But experts say that if you’re willing to go the extra mile to hire and keep the best people, the solutions are out there. Read Full Article