Search Results for “pet insurance”

Stay away from water-based King Bio brands. That’s the warning the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave to veterinarians, pet owners, and parents last week. “These products may pose a safety risk to people (especially infants, children, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems), as well as to pets due to high levels of [waterborne] microbial contamination identified at the manufacturing site,” the agency said in a statement.

The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA), has proclaimed October 14–20, 2018, to be National Veterinary Technician Week (NVTW). This annual event recognizes veterinary technicians for their contributions in pet healthcare. This year, Hill’s Pet Nutrition is sponsoring the week-long celebration.

Oh, sweet relief! Just one year after launching its Veterinary Student Debt Relief Pilot Program, Banfield Pet Hospital has contributed more than $4 million to help reduce student debt for its more than 3,600 associate veterinarians, and enabled more than $10 million in student debt refinancing.

An estimated 23 million pets live with families at or below the national poverty line in the United States. Families that cannot financially provide for their veterinary care. The Access to Veterinary Care Coalition (AVCC)calls them underserved populations of pets, which AVCC defines as pets with owners whose demographic, geographic, or economic characteristics impede or prevent access to veterinary care services for their pets.

If you own your own practice, you’re already an entrepreneur. Now, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) and the Wharton School hope to help you develop the skills you need to leverage that inborn entrepreneurial spirit in ways that will improve your hospital and your community through a new veterinary entrepreneurship program.

“Veterinary nurse” is one step closer to being a legally recognized job title. In a future-focused move, AAHA last week came out in support of the Veterinary Nurse Initiative (VNI). In 2017, National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) formed the VNI coalition to unite the profession under a single title—including credentialing requirements and scope of practice—with the goal of instituting a single, standardized title in all 50 states.

Today is World Rabies Day, a global health observance started in 2007 to raise awareness about rabies prevention and control efforts worldwide. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that while the number of rabies-related human deaths in the US has declined considerably over the last century—with only 1 to 3 reported per year, and a total of 23 reported cases in the last decade—it’s a much bigger problem in the rest of the world.

If you know someone who’s thinking of gifting a pet for the holidays and you’ve educated them on the four rules for gifting someone a dog or cat (which include checking with the giftee first to see if they’re up for a 10- to 20-year commitment), make sure to educate them on the best place to buy the pet, too. Shelters, rescues, and reputable breeders are good places to look. Cyber Monday sales are not.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating a potential link between heart disease in dogs and the consumption of pet food containing peas, among other vegetables. Martine Hartogensis, DVM, deputy director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine’s Office of Surveillance and Compliance, called the reports “highly unusual” because they’re occurring in breeds with no genetic predisposition to DCM.

This week: A family buries the wrong cat, Smuckers recalls more dog treats, and guinea pigs pose a potential threat.