Dan Sutcliffe, RVN and Area Manager for Medivet, is going to run the Great North Run half marathon in an inflatable rhino costume to raise funds for the Wilderness Foundation Africa's Forever Wild Rhino Protection initiative.

Dan, who is a novice runner, will be running the 13.1 miles between Newcastle and South Shields on Sunday 12 September. He said: “You’d think that lockdown would be the perfect opportunity to train hard and then breeze through the ‘world’s biggest and best half marathon’ but, perhaps like many others, I ate cheese and drank wine for 18 months, so the challenge is now really on.

“I’m raising funds to help save the rhino because the conservation of these magnificent animals is so important and I hope the added pressure of supporting the charity will propel me across the finish line. I’m also excited to be running in Newcastle at a time when Medivet is growing its presence in the North-East of England.

“Running in the rhino suit will be tough but it has an internal fan which I hope will keep me cool on the day.  Let’s hope the weather will be kind!”

Donations to support Dan's fundraising can be made at https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DanSutcliffe1

Elanco Companion Animal Health, maker of Comfortis chewable tablets for dogs, has launched a range of support materials to help educate pet owners on flea infestation and the healthcare issues associated with fleas and encourage enquiries about flea control solutions.

The Range of Comfortis materials features point of sale equipment including free-standing zig-zag display units, window hanging displays, stacking cubes, freestanding easels and leaflet holders as well as client leaflets, waiting room display kits, posters and 20% discount letterheads and postcards for mail-outs. An animation (shown below) is also now available in various formats for veterinary practices to use on their waiting room monitors or websites. The animation, which aims to educate dog owners on flea infestations and complications, covers common risk factors for flea infestations, flea facts including the lifecycle of the flea and encourages pet owners to ask for further information on oral flea control options.

Matthew Rowe, senior product manager at Elanco Companion Animal Health said: "With many pet owners seeking their flea control solutions from other sources, such as the increasingly competitive pet superstores, veterinary businesses need to provide unique preventative healthcare services to their clients to help bond them to the practice and ensure that they return again and again. The new Comfortis support materials will help raise client awareness of the benefits of veterinary prescribed flea treatments and thereby help differentiate veterinary practice flea control solutions from those available in country stores, pet shops, supermarkets and pharmacies."

For further information on Comfortis, or the range of support materials, contact your Elanco Companion Animal Health key account manager or email elancocah.uk@lilly.com.

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association is inviting nominations for its 2012 awards. 

The awards, which recognise the achievements of veterinary surgeons around the world in advancing the care of companion animals, are made annually and will be presented during the 2012 WSAVA World Congress in Birmingham from 12-15 April 2012.

Nominations for the 2011 awards have already closed and will be presented at this year's event, which takes place in Jeju, Korea from 14-17 October.

Nominations are invited for the following awards:

The WSAVA Hill's Pet Mobility Award
This recognises the outstanding work of a clinical researcher in the field of canine and feline orthopaedic medicine and surgery. Through improvements in the mobility and quality of life of pets, the research should have contributed significantly to the well-being of pets' lives and to the human-animal bond worldwide.

The WSAVA Hill's Excellence in Veterinary Healthcare Award
This recognises the outstanding work of a veterinary surgeon in promoting companion animal health care and the human-animal-veterinary bond through leading edge clinical nutrition and through advanced medical and surgical techniques which enrich relationships between people and their pets.

The WSAVA International Award for Scientific Achievement
This recognises the outstanding contribution of a veterinary surgeon who has furthered the advancement of knowledge of the cause, detection and management of disorders in companion animals.

In addition to these awards, the WSAVA Executive Board makes a special additional award for Service to the Profession. The award recognises exemplary service by a vet to foster and enhance the exchange of scientific and professional ideas throughout the world. For 2012, the award will again be sponsored by Dr John and Mary Holt, Past WSAVA President and Service to the Profession Award recipient, both of whom remain well recognized supporters of the profession.

Finally, the WSAVA's Global One Health Award will also be presented to an individual judged to have made particular progress in an aspect of One Health relating to companion animals. A second award aimed at encouraging younger members of the profession to embrace One Health will also be made to the individual who gives an oral or poster presentation at the 2012 Congress which best encapsulates the One Health concept. The recipients of these awards are nominated by members of the WSAVA's Scientific Advisory and One Health Committees in conjunction with the Local Hosting Committee.

Professor Jolle Kirpensteijn, President of the WSAVA, said: "It's important to recognise and celebrate the outstanding work of our colleagues around the world as they continue to advance the care of companion animals. The developments and scientific breakthroughs they work so hard to achieve are helping to improve the daily quality of life and health experienced by many millions of animals around the world.

"A WSAVA Award confers recognition and gratitude from the global veterinary community. Each year, we receive a higher number of entries and we look forward to reviewing the nominations for the 2102 awards. We are, of course, grateful to Hill's Pet Nutrition for its generous sponsorship and for its continuing support of the WSAVA. The awards are just one of the ways in which we work to deliver our joint vision to foster the development of veterinary knowledge on a global scale."

Nominations must be received by the WSAVA Secretariat by 1 September 2011 and can be submitted by email (wsavasecretariat@gmail.com) or post. They should include a covering letter, nominee CV and list of nominee publications. Full contact details are at www.wsava.org/contact.htm.

Zoetis has updated the packaging for Simparica Trio, its monthly chewable parasiticide for dogs.

The refreshed packaging keeps the same colour scheme, but the graphics indicating the product uses stand out better.

The company has also added an area on the side of the carton for owners to note the date each dose is given. 

What can I say, it's a slow news day.

Environmental household flea spray, Acclaim^®, is now licensed to kill house dust mites. A common cause of allergies, house dust mites are present all year around, aggravating conditions such as atopic dermatitis.

Containing S-methoprene and permethrin, Acclaim is a fast-acting, odourless household spray which kills fleas and flea larvae and has 12 months' activity against flea egg development.  It also kills ants, cockroaches, ticks and spiders and does not break down in sunlight in the home.

For information on CEVA Animal Health's complete range of household flea treatments, which includes the traditional pesticide sprays Acclaim^® and Staykil^® and the innovative non-pesticide product Skoosh^®, please contact your local CEVA account manager.

Some say he pees Propofol, and that he once proposed to a Black Welsh Mountain Sheep called Blodwen. All we know is he's called The Stinge, and that he's challenged veterinary surgeons and nurses to beat his lap time in an electronic 'reasonably priced car' at the Alstoe Animal Health stand (G40) at the London Vet Show.

Alstoe says that for legal reasons (and because it doesn't have the money), The Stinge's better known cousin from BBC's Top Gear will not be making an appearance.

However the company is able to run to a bottle of champagne for the vet or nurse that sets the best lap time each day of the show.

Niall McFerran from Alstoe said: "Believe me, the Stinge is not a fast driver, so I think it will be very easy for the first contestant to beat him/her! The real question will be who is actually fastest each day. We are looking forward to having some fun".

WikiVet has announced the launch of a new information resource about undesirable behaviour in cats for veterinary professionals and students. 

The resource has been produced by WikiVet in collaboration with Ceva Santé Animale following a survey of 800 cat owners by the Royal Veterinary College in which 75% said that problem behaviour is a subject that they expected vets to be knowledgeable about.

WikiVet says that despite this level of concern and expectation among cat owners, many find that their local vet is less knowledgeable than they anticipated and cannot offer the effective advice they need. Hence the new resource.

The new Feline Behaviour Section on WikiVet is described as the first of its kind and contains over 40 encyclopaedic pages on the topic of feline behaviour as well as expert videos and an interactive quiz. The section includes information on normal feline behaviour, problem behaviours and how to manage them, as well as the importance of cats' environment.

Jon Bowen leads the Veterinary Behaviour Service at the RVC, is an expert in feline behaviour and has contributed his knowledge to the resource. He said: "I am thrilled to have been involved in the creation of these new resources which will help to raise awareness and understanding of this complex and previously under-appreciated topic."

To mark the beginning of the project WikiVet is launching the Feline Behaviour Global Student Challenge. This is an online quiz which gives participants the chance to test their expertise and identify gaps in their knowledge. The top three scores will be rewarded with a £50 ebook prize. Once the competition has ended, the quiz will be available to users of WikiVet.

Martin Mitchell, Group Communications Director at Ceva Santé Animale, said: "In an increasingly urban and stressful world, the veterinary profession has a major role to play in educating the public about behaviour related issues. As Ceva, we are delighted to partner WikiVet in the development of this valuable new online resource that we all hope will help veterinarians and future veterinarians to pass on their knowledge to help improve the bond between cats and their owners."

For more information, visit: http://en.wikivet.net/Feline_Behaviour_Launch

Veterinarywoman.co.uk and XLVets are hosting ‘Veterinary Women in Leadership’, a day of online talks from inspirational figures in the profession on Tuesday 29th September from 1pm to 7pm.

The speaker line-up includes performance coach and head of training at VDS training, Carolyne Crowe, Jamie Callan, Professor of Leadership & HRD and Director of Equity & Diversity at Newcastle Business School and Laura Whyte, who was HR Director at the John Lewis Partnership and is now a Non-Executive Director with a number of organisations including XLVets, the British Horseracing Authority and the Ministry of Defence.

A number of women from industry and practice will also share their experiences and perspectives in short sessions entitled ‘If you can see it, you can be it!’ to reflect how veterinary women can tackle challenges and make the most of opportunities.

The event is being steered by Liz Barton, the editor of Veterinary Woman, and Kerrie Hedley, the Chief Operating Officer at XLVets. Liz said: “We’ve been working hard to develop resources for women in the profession for the last few years and it’s wonderful to see so many women coming together and providing the skills and inspiration that will help other women aspire to leadership roles.”

Kerrie, who will be running a workshop on 'Overcoming Stereotypes: What does the future leader look like?' added: "From the research I undertook last year we know that there is a stereotypical perception of what a leader looks like in the profession, for example a requirement to work full time. This workshop is about crushing that stereotype and defining what the future leader could look like. I'm really excited to be supporting women to develop innovative solutions in their leadership journey and look forward to seeing what we can achieve at this inaugural event."

The event is open to anyone in the profession – vets, RVNs, practice managers, whether from independent or corporate practice, industry or academia. Registration costs £45, inclusive of VAT and £20 for students if booked at the early bird rate before 31st August.

Recordings will be available to anyone who registers but can’t attend the whole six hours.

Registration is now open at https://bit.ly/VeterinaryWomenInLeadership.

The findings of a Canine Vector Borne Disease (CVBD) prevention field study, published in Veterinary Parasitology today, have demonstrated the efficacy of Advantix in repelling ticks and sandflies, thus reducing the risk of potentially deadly diseases.

The study, conducted over two years by a team headed by Professor Domenico Otranto of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (Universitá degli Studi di Bari) Italy, with diagnostic support from a team led by Dr. Edward Breitschwerdt at the North Carolina State University, USA, found that dogs treated regularly with Advantix spot-on had a greater than 90% reduction in CVBD cases, including a 100% reduction in new cases of potentially deadly leishmaniosis and a 94.6% decrease in ehrlichiosis.

The study also found that Advantix provided 97.9% protection against tick infestation, compared to untreated dogs, where 100% were infested at the peak of the season. The level of protection offered by Advantix was apparently all the more notable because of particularly large numbers of ticks and sand flies and high prevalence of associated diseases like leishmaniosis or babesiosis in the area of the study.

Prof. Otranto said: "Our study shows the importance of protecting dogs with an effective treatment that repels as well as kills parasites like ticks and sand flies. Despite the high challenge faced by the dogs in our study, nearly all our treated dogs remained free from ticks throughout most of the study, and more than 90% remained free from CVBDs for the whole study time.

"Because we included naïve sentinel beagles in the study, we were also able to model what would happen to dogs travelling to areas where CVBDs are present. We found that by the end of the study, only the Advantix-treated beagles remained protected from infection, while 80% of the untreated beagles were infected with a CVBD. This demonstrates the very real need to protect dogs that are travelling to endemic areas."

According to Bayer, the study showed some interesting results with dogs that were positive with CVBDs when they entered the study. Of these, half of those treated with Advantix were negative for CVBDs at the end of treatment, compared with only 13% of untreated dogs. This suggests the potential for natural clearance of CVBDs if a repellent treatment is used to prevent new transmissions.

Bayer says the study was extremely comprehensive, studying both indigenous and introduced naïve puppies, monitoring for several CVBDs and working with Dr. Breitschwerdt's team in the USA to use highly sensitive molecular testing techniques to ensure optimal diagnostic accuracy. Dr. Breitschwerdt said: "This is the most comprehensive study, to my knowledge, ever conducted testing the efficacy of a repellent ectoparasiticide to prevent the transmission of a spectrum of CVBDs in young dogs."

Leading parasitologist Dr. Luis Cardoso of the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal said: "Thanks to this study we can see just how effective a treatment that repels as well as kills can be."

The Veterinary Marketing Association is calling for entries from veterinary practices, industry marketers and PR agencies for its 2016 PR Award.

VMA chair, Claire Edmunds said: "The aim of the PR award is to recognise the value that media and public relations can add to the marketing mix. 

"The award is given to the entry that has delivered the most innovative and effective PR campaign during the previous year, as judged by a panel of industry professionals. This can be a single ‘one-off’ event or article, or a sustained campaign over a given period."

The winner and two highly commended entries will be announced at the VMA Awards on Friday 17^th March 2017, at the London Lancaster Hotel.

The last date for entry submissions is 10th February and the event takes place at 11.30am on Friday 17th March 2017.

For further information visit www.vma.org.uk

CEVA Animal Health has produced Understanding sacroiliac disease, a leaflet to help horse owners understand the cause, diagnosis and management of sacroiliac disease.

CEVA says sacroiliac disease can be a particular challenge because although it can occur in isolation it often occurs in addition to other sources of hindlimb lameness. Acute sacroiliac injury is usually a result of trauma, such as a fall, which may cause pelvic rotation or fracture, resulting in hindlimb lameness and sensitivity to palpation of the tubera sacrale soon after injury. With chronic sacroiliac disease there is usually no history of trauma, rather a prolonged history of poor performance.

Understanding sacroiliac disease explains the anatomy of the sacroiliac joint, the clinical signs of the disease, how it is diagnosed, the treatment options and the general prognosis. The leaflet is available to equine vet practices as a useful information source for clients. You can order free copies from your CEVA sales representative.

Veterinary surgeons who can keep it short and sweet have a chance of receiving an all (reasonable) expenses paid trip to BVA Congress this September.

The RCVS Trust is offering to pay the registration fee, plus travel, food and accommodation costs for two nights for two vets to attend the whole conference. 

The catch?  Would-be delegates must have graduated within the past eight years and be able to explain - in fifty words or less - how this support would benefit them educationally. 

Cherry Bushell, RCVS Trust Director said: "It is a bit of a light-hearted approach, however, the idea is to make relatively new vets think in a focused way about what they would get out of going to BVA Congress. They need to tell us how they will benefit educationally from the opportunity we're offering - it's not simply about financial need." 

Applicants should send an email to info@rcvstrust.org.uk before 24 August, with their name and contact details and convince the Trust, in fifty words or less, that they would get the most out of attending BVA Congress. Only the first 100 emails received by the Trust will be considered.  Registration fees will be paid directly to the BVA and all costs claimed must be reasonable.

The BVA 2009 Annual Congress will be held at the Mecure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff, from 24-26 September.  For more details visit http://www.bva.co.uk/events/BVA_Congress.aspx.