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Is an animal a sentient being, that is, can it feel, perceive, and experience emotions? Many in the veterinary community, including pet owners, would say, “Yes.” New Zealand agrees. Yesterday, New Zealand passed the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill, which brings greater clarity, transparency and enforceability to the country’s animal welfare laws. It also now recognizes animals as sentient beings.

What do you do when COVID-19 divides your tightly knit team? The team at AAHA-accredited North Royalton Animal Hospital is taking monstrous measures to defend against the coronavirus while ensuring continuity for staff, clients, patients, and the practice itself.

When Jennifer McKay, DVM, began working to save the small dog’s life, she had no idea she belonged to a friend of hers. A friend who had already lost her life in the same tragic event that nearly took the dog’s.

Got spare PPE? Ready to give it away? That’s what Andrea Moore, DVM, co-owner and medical director of AAHA-accredited Pinnacle Animal Hospital in San Jose, California, wanted to do.

It looks a little like a Yorkie, but its name sounds like “beaver.” And as a newly recognized American Kennel Club breed, the Biewer terrier is likely to be making an appearance in your practice, if one hasn’t already.

Saturday, May 12 is National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day, a day set aside to raise awareness about the importance of planning for pets’ safety before disaster strikes. This story of one AAHA-accredited hospital employee’s work as an animal disaster first responder originally appeared in the January 2016 issue of Trends magazine. When animal disaster strikes, the team at AAHA-accredited Metzler Veterinary Hospital in Clearwater, Florida, is ready to roll—and Judy Baum drives the semi.

“We did really well at the beginning of COVID,” said Meghan Curtis, Executive Director of Project V.E.T.S. “People were really very generous. And then it kind of tapered off.”   

This week: A service dog summits Mount Rainier, a cat door that prevents cats from bringing home dead things, and a cure for HIV—in mice.

One of the central themes in the AAHA Working, Assistance, and Therapy Dog Guidelines, the first set of complied guidelines for the care and handling of these amazing canine citizens, is the idea of cooperative care – with the dogs, with their handlers, and with our veterinary teammates. We certainly owe these heroes our compassion, empathy, and gentle handling, but in truth those are skills we can never polish up too much in our work as veterinary professionals.

Fourth of July fireworks are a blast for people, but they’re not much fun for pets. Noisy fireworks can scare pets and cause them to run away. According to statistics, animal control officials across the country see a 30–60% increase in lost pets each year between July fourth and sixth. In fact, July fifth is traditionally one of the busiest days of the year for animal shelters.