Centaur Services has launched a range of health supplement soft chews for cats and dogs which can be ordered in custom, practice-branded packaging.
Centaur says the practice branding is designed to reinforce client relationships by encouraging clients to buy vet-recommended products direct from the practice, thereby reducing the loss of sales to the high street or online stores.
The chews consist of a flavoured base with a crumbly texture, into which various health supplements are blended. Centaur says they are particularly popular with owners who find it difficult to encourage their pets to consume supplements within harder carriers, as the soft chews are more akin to food and easier for the animals to consume.
Colm McGinn, Sales and Marketing Director of Centaur Services, said: "We're always looking for ways to innovate the offer we provide to our customers and make their businesses more successful. Not only are the chews a high quality product with excellent health benefits for pets, they also offer practices a new way of engaging with their clients by providing own-labelled products that come not only with the recommendation of their vet but also the trusted brand of the practice."
The chews are launching in five varieties. For dogs, there's joint support and a heart-shaped multi-vitamin. For cats, there's joint support, bladder support and hairball relief. Additional varieties are in development.
For more information call Centaur Services on 01963 350005 to arrange a visit, or for existing customers, contact your Territory Manager.
Researchers from Marwell Zoo, the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, trialled a series of monitoring strategies on primates and birds to help zookeepers ensure the health and safety of animals in their care.
According to the authors, the introduction of the practice over a period of 13 weeks at two zoological collections in the South of England, clearly demonstrated the level of physical and psychological wellbeing of the animals, and the effect of certain interventions.
The welfare assessment grid requires daily monitoring of a range of factors, such as the animals' physical condition, their psychological wellbeing and the quality of the environment, as well as the daily procedures they experience. These factors were not all previously part of the regular health checks that zookeepers were required to assess when they were undertaking animal welfare audits. In each area the primates and birds were scored, helping to monitor their progress and highlight any potential problems.
Although welfare protection of zoo animals is enshrined in both European and domestic legislation, monitoring it comprehensively in zoos has proven difficult due to the absence of clear and consistent guidance.
Sarah Wolfensohn, Professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Surrey, said: "Ensuring a high standard of animal welfare is paramount for any zoo, but it has not always been possible. This innovative system will give zookeepers clear guidance on what they should be looking out for in terms of physical and psychological characteristics in animals, which will help monitor their overall wellbeing.
"Zoos are a key part of educating us all about our environment and the animals we share it with across the world, and we all want to know that the animals we do see in zoos are being given the best possible care for their welfare."
Reference
Adaptation of the animal welfare assessment grid (AWAG) for monitoring animal welfare in zoological collections. W. S. M. Justice, M. F. O'Brien, O. Szyszka, J. Shotton, J. E. M. Gilmour, P. Riordan and S. Wolfensohn. Veterinary Record. 181,43.
Photo: Amur Leopard ©2017 Marwell Wildlife
If you're in London before January 6th 2008, the Animal's War exhibition at the Imperial War Museum might be worth a visit. Sponsored by The Kennel Club and PetPartners, the family exhibition explores the remarkable role of animals in conflict from the First World War to the present day using hands-on interactives, photographs, film and sound clips, paintings, touchable sculptures, and memorabilia from the Imperial War Museum collections and private and public lenders from all over the world.
The 2009 RCVS Continuing Professional Development Record Cards have been sent to all practising vets and Registered Veterinary Nurses.
Undertaking and recording Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a mandatory professional requirement for these vets and RVNs. Vets must average at least 35 hours of CPD per year and RVNs 15 hours, although many will do far more.
The RCVS can ask to see CPD records - and they may be checked during practice inspections as part of the Practice Standards Scheme. For newly-qualified veterinary surgeons, completing the Professional Development Phase also fulfils the CPD requirements in their first year of practice.
Jill Nute, President of the RCVS, said: "CPD is about maintaining professional competence. Vets and RVNs are expected to make continuous improvements in their knowledge and skills, which will have benefits for their patients and clients, their own development and the profession at large. Undertaking CPD allows vets and RVNs to demonstrate their commitment to maintaining the highest professional standards."
As professionals, vets and RVNs are expected to evaluate what knowledge and skills they need to develop, and how they will do this. This may include activities such as going to particular case-conferences or asking for some in-house training. Getting together with other practices to organise training sessions or secondments or finding a mentor can also be useful.
Personal study - documented in a learning diary detailing the aims of the study, what was studied and the outcomes, for example, a change made to a practice protocol - can also be used. There is no limit on properly documented study, but vets cannot count more than 10 hours, and veterinary nurses five hours, each year of undocumented study.
All CPD activity should be systematically planned to meet identified professional needs, and clear records must be kept of what has been done.
Further information about CPD requirements for veterinary surgeons and Registered Veterinary Nurses can be found on the back of the CPD Record Card, and at RCVSonline (www.rcvs.org.uk).
The British Veterinary Association has given a cautious welcome to the merger of the Animal Health Agency (AH) and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) announced yesterday by Secretary of State Caroline Spelman.
Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA said: "On the face of it there could be significant benefits in merging these two key animal health organisations. Already, at local and national levels, the two agencies are required to work closely and if done properly we could have one body that is completed committed to animal health.
"However, every veterinary surgeon will want reassurance that the merger will not simply become another way to cut costs by reducing the number of people working on disease surveillance and research. It is vital that both organisations continue to deliver under the new body.
"The merger could have an impact on responsibility and cost sharing plans, the tendering exercise for Official Veterinarian (OV) work, and the future of animal health delivery in the devolved administrations. The BVA is therefore calling for a wide consultation on how the merged organisation will work to ensure the best for the veterinary profession, farming community and all other interested organisations."
The Blue Cross and National Veterinary Services (NVS) are celebrating the success of a new initiative to generate additional saleable items for the charity, with the help of vet practices across the UK.
Earlier this year, The Blue Cross teamed up with NVS to launch a campaign to sign up vet practices who use NVS services to encourage their staff and clients to donate bags of unwanted clothes and bric-a-brac for the charity to sell and raise funds. This week saw the arrival of the 5,000th bag of donated items arrive at The Blue Cross warehouse
Jonathan Chambers Blue Cross spokesperson said: "We are extremely grateful to NVS, the vet practices taking part in the scheme and their clients. We are overwhelmed at the response so far and looking forward to receiving many more bags of goods in the future. Although the donated items may be unwanted possessions to some, each bag generates about £20 of income for us. This means the scheme has so far provided an amazing £100,000 worth of income towards helping sick and homeless animals in the care of The Blue Cross."
Caitrina Harrison, Sales & Marketing Director for NVS said: "We are delighted to be supporting The Blue Cross with this worthwhile initiative. We have an experienced and flexible logistics team, who have been able to help with the delivery and collection of the clothing bags throughout the UK. We have had excellent feedback from many veterinary practices who have got involved and the requests for clothing bags keep coming in."
Veterinary practices who receive their stock and drugs from NVS that are not yet part of The Blue Cross donation scheme can sign up now by contacting julie.godwin@nvs-ltd.co.uk or Jonathan Chambers at The Blue Cross: trading@bluecross.org.uk.
Elanco Companion Animal Health has announced that Comfortis (spinosad) flavoured chewable flea control tablets have been licensed for cats.
In addition, the company has extended its range with the addition of two new sizes for toy dogs and smaller cats.
Comfortis chewable tablets for dogs and cats are fast-acting, monthly oral adulticides that start to kill fleas in cats and dogs in 30 minutes and, according to Elanco, rapidly achieve 100% efficacy.
Comfortis chewable tablets for dogs and cats kill adult fleas for a month and Elanco says the fast speed of kill means that adult fleas are killed before they can lay eggs, making Comfortis effective in preventing new infestations.
Patrick Bourdeau, Dip ECVD-Dip EVPC, of the Veterinary School of Nantes (Oniris), France said: "Comfortis offers a highly effective format to those owners who have not had relief with other forms of flea control. The tablet offers a high level of convenience to owners to ensure both cats and dogs receive immediate relief from flea infestation.
"This is especially pertinent to the nearly 30% of cat owners who have reported problems with administering other forms of flea treatment, including spot-ons, which can have an effect on efficacy1. This includes the animal escaping when they sense a topical treatment is about to be administered or during actual administration3".
He added: "Comfortis is a highly effective treatment for flea control for cats and dogs, and one that will aid with compliance because it is easier to administer correctly."
Charlotte Mayne MRCVS, principal and veterinary surgeon at The Mayne Veterinary Clinic in Colchester, Essex, said: "We have used Comfortis chewable tablets for cats in practice, with 94% of clients who were prescribed the product for their pet being able to administer Comfortis and 80% of owners able to give the treatment so easily that they did not need to pill it2. Indeed, all the clients who were able to administer the treatment said they would use it again with comments such as 'it's brilliant - the best product ever' to 'my cat ate it like sweets' and we had 'lots of dead fleas'."
Comfortis chewable tablets for dogs and cats are available in 90mg, 140mg, 270mg and 425mg packs of six. Comfortis chewable tablets for dogs is also available in 665mg, 1040mg and 1620mg packs of six.
For further information on Comfortis, please contact your Elanco Companion Animal Health key account manager or phone 01256 353131.
References
The Dogs Trust has officially launched the Free Microchipping Through Vets Campaign through which all owners can get their dog microchipped free of charge through participating veterinary practices.
Microchipping becomes compulsory for all dogs in England in April 2016 and Wales in March 2015, and with 20% of dogs in the UK still unchipped, the charity says it thinks demand for the procedure is likely to be significant over the coming year.
1500 practices have already joined the year-long campaign, as part of which they will be given free microchips in exchange for implanting them at no cost to the owner. The charity says it hopes that up to 75% of the UK's 3075 practices will have joined the campaign within the next few weeks.
Clarissa Baldwin, Chief Executive of Dogs Trust, said: "We are delighted about the proposed new legislation and see it as the start of a very positive movement. From April 2016 in England and March 2015 in Wales it will be compulsory for each and every dog to be microchipped on first change of hands which represents a significant step forward for dog welfare and responsible dog ownership. To show its support for the implementation of this legislation, Dogs Trust is teaming up with vets to make sure that all dog owners can have the procedure done for free. We'd like to say a huge thank you to the vet practices already supporting the campaign and urge others to come on board. An essential element to the success of microchipping is for dog owners to take responsibility for updating their details with the database should their circumstances change.
"Last year 111,986 stray and abandoned dogs were picked up by Local Authorities across the UK, with only 40% reunited with their owners. This initiative will help to reduce that number dramatically."
To join the campaign vet practices should contact Dogs Trust at campaigns@dogstrust.org.uk
A North Wales-based enviro-tech company called Streetkleen has launched PooPrints, a DNA test used to identify the dogs responsible for leaving faeces in public places, in the UK.
Dogs are first added to the DNA World Pet Registry by taking a cheek swab and sending it for analysis at a cost of £29.95. Local authorities and landowners can then test any stray dog mess they find and see if the culprit is on the database, at a cost of £69.95.
Of course it does beggar the question why pet owners would agree to have their dog added to the database (and pay for it).
Streetkleen believes that new new legislation: The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which gives communities the opportunity to set conditions to help prevent nuisances such as dog fouling, would allow local authorities to require all dogs that use a park, for instance, to be registered.
According to the company, having the PooPrints program operational has led to a drop of 90% in recorded dog fouling incidents in many locations as dog owners realise they can be held accountable.
Streetkleen Managing Director Gary Downie said: "As a dog owner myself the challenge was how do we combine positive dog ownership with access to open spaces whilst ensuring we have accountability to local dog policy? PooPrints is a cost effective, permanent solution to dog fouling that helps ensure that our open spaces are clean, safe and welcoming for dog owners and non-dog owners alike."
Vet Futures, the joint initiative by the RCVS and the BVA to help the profession prepare for and shape its own future, has revealed the results of a survey which found that 59% of veterinary surgeons are optimistic about the future of the profession. 600 vets took part in the survey, which explored vets' attitudes towards their profession, and asked them to prioritise the key issues and rank some of the major threats and opportunities for the profession.Reducing stress was the single most important goal for the future, with 19% of respondents choosing it from a long list of options.The BVA and the RCVS say that priority goals for veterinary surgeons varied according to different areas of work and seniority in the profession. However, an overriding and uniting theme from the findings was the pursuit of recognition for the role vets play across the board. Vets' perception of the veterinary contribution to non-clinical roles, such as research, food supply and security, and public health, is high, but they don't believe the general public values these roles.Four of the respondents' top five goals for 2030 related to recognition:
Looking at how vets are respected and valued by society, Vet Futures points to its national ICM opinion poll of more than 2,000 members of the public which found that 94% of the general public trusts the veterinary profession generally or completely.
In terms of their own careers, 59% of vets said they felt that they had met or exceeded their expectations, leaving 41% saying their careers had only met some expectations (38%) or not met any (3%). Amongst this large minority of dissatisfied vets the reasons for their responses included: few opportunities for progression, pay, and working hours.The survey also asked vets to rank threats and opportunities for the profession and found that respondents considered the three greatest opportunities to be:
BVA President John Blackwell said: "It's heartening to see that, at the moment, the veterinary glass is half full for many. But we know that younger vets are disproportionately represented amongst those who are feeling less positive about their own careers, which is a real concern for future generations. There is clearly work to be done, through Vet Futures, for the profession to think innovatively in order to tackle some of their concerns around career progression, pay and working hours, as well as stress."The good news is that, through the Vet Futures UK-wide roadshow and our online engagement, we have been hearing new and interesting ideas for the future. We want to hear from as many vets, vet nurses and others who have a stake in the future of the profession and I would encourage people to get involved through our 'Veterinary Vision' essay competition or via the Vet Futures website."RCVS President Stuart Reid added: "There is a lot for the veterinary profession to be proud of but the Vet Futures survey shows that vets are concerned the general public doesn't understand or value the variety of roles we undertake outside clinical practice."We have also heard through our guest blog that vets working outside of practice sometimes feel that they are treated as second-class vets. "Through the Vet Futures project RCVS and BVA aim to address the lack of public awareness about the variety of roles undertaken by members of the profession, as well as increase understanding and access to these varied career opportunities amongst the profession. "We want to enable all veterinary surgeons to not only feel optimistic, but confident in their future."
The Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) is putting out a last call to take part in the SPVS Salaries Survey 2015, open to everybody working in the veterinary profession.
The long-standing survey provides a benchmark for veterinary surgeons, nurses and support staff to see trends in pay and conditions. Designed to provide a complete picture of remuneration levels, the survey covers basic earnings, bonuses, dividends, overtime and benefits such as accommodation, car allowances, private medical insurance and pensions. It also includes questions on employment contracts, hours worked, out of hours and weekend working.
Peter Brown, SPVS Treasurer and author of the Salaries Survey said: “I have been compiling the survey results for a number of years but it never fails to enlighten me as to what is happening in the profession. I know it is also the go to reference guide when practices are recruiting to help ensure they are offering competitive salary packages.
“Participation in the survey is open to all and the more practices that take part, the more accurate and useful the information will be so we would urge everyone working in the veterinary profession to take a few minutes to complete the survey. It can be done online and the information is completely anonymous.”
To complete the survey online, visit www.spvs.org.uk or, for a printed version, telephone 01926 410545. The survey is open until 30 November 2015.
As part of its continued support of the 2016 regional events organised by VPMA and SPVS, in partnership with Zoetis, the company is sponsoring the ‘Focus on the Practice Team’ course on Thursday 13 October at Chesford Grange, Warwickshire. Four veterinary professionals will be selected at random to win a place worth £210.
Royal Canin says the day will bring together some of the best experts in leadership, management, employment law and staff training to ensure that practices are ahead of the game when it comes to trained, happy and well managed staff.
The first half of the day will concentrate on the impact front of house employees can have on client communication, whilst the second half will cover HR issues. Guest speakers include Brian Faulkner from The Colourful Consultancy, Nick Steele from Zoetis, Veterinary Mentor, Carolyne Crowe, and Alison Lambert from Onswitch.
To have a go at winning a free place, send an email with your name, job title, the name of your veterinary practice and the reason why you would like to attend to royalcaninvet.gbr@royalcanin.com by Friday 30 September. The company will then select four applicants at random and will inform the winners via email by Friday 7 October.
Places on the course can also be booked by calling 01453 872731 or by visiting www.spvs-vpma-events.co.uk. Focus days cost £175 plus VAT for non-members and £125 plus VAT for VPMA and SPVS members (group/ bulk booking discounts are also available). The cost includes lunch and refreshments.
The new course will be led by Dr Pedro Malho, DipECVO CES OphtVet DVM MRCVS, a European and RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Ophthalmology. It is built around 14 modules covering the embryology, anatomy and physiology of the eye, ocular pharmacology and therapeutics, together with the full spectrum of ocular diseases seen in domestic species.
Modules are delivered using a range of learning techniques, including interactive online lessons supported by notes and videos, quizzes and a forum tutored by leading specialists.
Pedro said: “We have prepared an innovative and in-depth course to help veterinary practitioners with an interest in ophthalmology to develop their knowledge and skills in this demanding discipline. The course will enable delegates to develop a greater knowledge of ocular anatomy and physiology and master the handling of ophthalmic equipment.
“It will also help them to interpret clinical signs confidently to make a diagnosis and select the appropriate medical or surgical treatment.”
Dr Charlotte French (pictured right) from Improve, said: “With input from top global veterinary ophthalmologists, we have created an exciting and innovative learning experience that will offer maximum flexibility to veterinary surgeons keen to develop their expertise and knowledge in this field. The programme provides delegates with unique features such as the opportunity to share learning with colleagues from around the world and input from an Improve International Programme Tutor to support their studies.”
The programme, which has been submitted to RACE for approval, can also be undertaken as a face-to-face course. It offers a route to achieve academic qualifications - the General Practitioner Certificate (GPCert) awarded by ISVPS and the Postgraduate Certificate (PgC), awarded by Harper Adams University. Gaining a PgC enables delegates to apply to the RCVS for Advanced Practitioner Status in the subject.
For further information and to register, visit: https://www.improveinternational.com/uk/course/pgc-gpcert-small-animal-ophthalmology-distance-learning
The videos were primarily created to support veterinary treatment in light of the conflict in Ukraine, but VetCT says they are also useful for UK veterinary professionals dealing with natural disasters such as flooding and fires.
The videos were created by VetCT Emergency and Critical Care specialists with special interest and expertise in trauma in conflict zones, including Dr Erin Mays, an Officer in the US Army Veterinary Corps, and Dr Guillaume Hoareau (pictured right), whose PhD in collaboration with the US Air Force focussed on resuscitation and haemorrhage control.
Victoria Johnson, VetCT Director, said: “As a global teleconsulting and teleradiology company we are incredibly fortunate to have some exceptional expertise in a broad range of clinical areas.
"The response to our call within our team for production of videos that will help support the treatment and welfare of animals caught up in natural or man-made disasters was outstanding.
"We are delighted to be able to offer this expert training free of charge and hope it proves helpful to many of our colleagues working hard to help the people and pets of Ukraine and beyond.”
VetCT is encouraging colleagues to share the videos within the veterinary profession globally to help veterinary teams involved in treating trauma in animals.
To watch the films, visit: https://www.vet-ct.com/gb/news/2022/may/11/free-trauma-training/
Viewers are invited to make a voluntary donation to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) charity to support humanitarian aid efforts globally here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/vetct-trauma-training.
—ENDS—
Photo Caption 1: Victoria Johnson, VetCT Founder and Director
Photo Caption 2: Trauma training videos QR link
The survey, which is being conducted in partnership with Hazlewoods accountants, will be used to provide anonymised benchmarking information to enable vets to compare their practice profitability and help identify areas where profitability could be improved.
The survey asks questions around a range of reporting figures including gross profit margin, staffing cost levels and EBITDA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation), to allow for benchmarking in greater detail.
The anonymised benchmarking results of the survey will be free to all participants, including non SPVS members.
SPVS members will receive the benchmarking results together with supporting commentary.
The deadline for completion is 4th November 2022.
https://spvs.org.uk/spvs-profitability-survey
Typically, diagnosis of endocrine disease is based on a thorough history and physical examination, followed by laboratory tests.
However clinical signs vary substantially across animals with endocrine disorders, so this new app uses AI and big data from millions of dogs in the RVC VetCompass database to improve the chances of an accurate diagnosis.
Dr Dan O’Neill, Associate Professor for Companion Animal Epidemiology at the RVC, said: "By applying the latest AI technology, the app is designed to assist primary care veterinary surgeons to better detect and diagnose Cushing’s Syndrome.
"The app provides a guide to the probability of Cushing’s syndrome as an explanation in patients showing both typical and atypical clinical signs for Cushing’s"
The app is free to download on both Apple and Android devices in the UK and EU countries by searching for 'the endocrinology app".
The project looked first at how effective CVS small animal first opinion practices were at conducting echocardiography.
It found that a barrier to wider uptake was a lack of up-to-date equipment, along with a lack of current knowledge and training - both in using ultrasound and echocardiography equipment and in interpreting images.
CVS says that as a result, many colleagues were routinely referring suspected cardiac disease cases.
The project leaders then reviewed and recommended practice equipment, so that clinicians had the tools to perform echocardiograms in practice.
This included buying echocardiography tables - so that practitioners could scan an animal’s chest from underneath, more advanced cardiac ultrasound machines and electrocardiogram (ECG) machines.
The company then produced a range of resources for vets and nurses, to help them to improve echocardiography scan rates and nurse cardiology clinics, including clinical guidelines, machine guides and client resources.
It then held a number of training sessions for its vets and nurses, focusing on the latest advancements in heart disease diagnosis and treatment for vets, and training nurses how to conduct nurse cardiology clinics, how to perform and interpret electrocardiography, how to take blood pressure readings and thoracic point of care ultrasound (POCUS).
Lynsay Morgan, Regional Clinical Lead at CVS who is responsible for the cardiac ultrasound clinical improvement project, said: “We want to empower our first opinion small animal vets to perform more echo evaluations and to work up their cardiology cases to a high standard.
"We also want our nurses to be involved in patients’ life-long care, and provide ongoing support to owners of pets with heart disease.
“We hope this project will improve case identification, increase skills and confidence, and see optimum diagnosis and management of cardiac disease.”
The President of the British Veterinary Association has written to the Badger Trust to clarify the BVA position on the pilot badger culls in England, stating that it will not be supporting the Trust's application for a judicial review.
The BVA Council agreed a position on the continuation of controlled shooting in the pilot areas on 16 April. The position states that the BVA could only support further culling using controlled shooting in the pilot areas if steps are taken to improve both its effectiveness and humaneness and if there is robust monitoring and collation of results and independent analysis and auditing by a non-governmental body. It also states that the BVA supports the Independent Expert Panel's (IEP) recommendations for improving effectiveness and humaneness and urges Defra to implement all the IEP's recommendations fully.
The BVA says that since 16 April, it has been in dialogue with Defra to seek assurances that these issues will be addressed, and those discussions are ongoing. It will not be taking a further position on the pilot culls until BVA Council has had the opportunity to consider Defra's plans in full, when they are made available.
In a press release dated 20th May, The Badger Trust CEO Dominic Dyer said: "It is not acceptable for the DEFRA Secretary of State to now push aside the concerns of both the Independent Expert Panel and the British Veterinary Association, by moving ahead with a further badger cull in Gloucestershire and Somerset this summer without any independent monitoring in place."
The BVA says it is concerned that this misrepresents its position, and has led to some media reports suggesting that the BVA has withdrawn its support for badger culling as part of the overall strategy to eradicate bovine TB. It has not. The BVA says it continues to believe that the TB eradication strategy for England will only be successful if we are able to use all of the available tools, including targeted, humane badger culling.
Elanco Animal Health has launched an updated Atopica Comfort Club, a support initiative for veterinary professionals treating either canine atopic dermatitis or feline allergic dermatitis cases with Atopica.
The Atopica Comfort Club loyalty scheme now has a new website which enables all members of the practice team to see the cases being managed and the offers available for new and existing users post diagnosis. The initiative provides veterinary practices with a free of charge Atopica redemption scheme through both induction and maintenance periods.
Elanco says the new website will also enable veterinary practices to view and redeem offers instantly, receive reminders about offers and updates together with emails to confirm offers have been redeemed and the products despatched.
Alice Laurens, DVM MRCVS, Dermatology Marketing Manager at Elanco Animal Health, said: “The Comfort Club loyalty scheme embraces a multi-modal approach and ensures better comfort is provided to Atopica patients with options to offer a flea product, shampoo, essential fatty acids and an adapted diet.”
To support the new Atopica Comfort Club loyalty program, Elanco has also produced a ‘practice log book’ to enable vets to record details on each case which can then be entered onto the Comfort Club website.
For further information, or to book a lunch and learn meeting, please contact your local Elanco Animal Health key account manager or email elancoCAH.uk@elanco.com.
Chris will also be donating any money he raises throughout the course of his Presidency to those same charities.
His chosen charities are: Vetlife, Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), Hearing Dogs, and The Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust (GHDT).
Chris said: "I chose the charities because I'm dedicated to charities that have a wide effect. The GHDT and the PDSA, by improving the health and welfare of animals, directly benefit the health and wellbeing of the communities in which they work. The GHDT dramatically improves peoples’ lives economically by increasing the working lives of their animals, almost all of which are transport animals, while the PDSA enhances the lives of the less well off by allowing them to keep animals and afford their veterinary care.
"Riding for the Disabled Association and Hearing Dogs for the Deaf then both use animals to help people, strengthening this vital human animal bond that runs through all of these charities. You have to witness the interaction between deaf or disabled people with the dogs and ponies respectively to fully appreciate how much this means to them. Unlike single interventions, these charities provide assistance that keeps on giving.
"Finally, none of this is possible without a healthy veterinary community and Vetlife plays a significant part in ensuring this. Good mental health and wellbeing is essential to the delivery of a good service, and it's important that we do everything we can to ensure that any veterinary professionals that suffer get the assistance they need.”
The charities have already been in touch to thank Chris and the College, and to detail how it will help their activities.
Graham Dick, Vetlife’s Honorary Treasurer, said: “Vetlife is currently expanding its vital support services to meet the changing needs of the veterinary community so we are sincerely grateful that Chris Tufnell has chosen our charity to benefit from his fundraising activities during his year as President. It is heartening that all the major veterinary organisations are so supportive of Vetlife and eager to work together to address the issues that many people in the veterinary community are struggling with."
Heather Armstrong, the Director of the GHDT, said: "We would like to give our very sincere thanks to Chris Tufnell, President of the RCVS for choosing us as one of his charities. Over the years we have relied on volunteer vets from UK to provide training to our staff and to Gambian livestock workers. This is helping to increase Gambian veterinary capacity and we hope is also giving British vets a small insight into global veterinary problems. The British veterinary profession should be very proud, it has enabled us to achieve so much in the last 14 years and we are immensely grateful to each and every vet who has been out to help including Chris, who has kindly helped us in the past with training."
Rosie Gibbons, Challenge & Community Events Fundraiser UK at the PDSA, said: "The donations received through the RCVS’ President’s Fund to PDSA will ensure that someone’s much loved pet will receive the treatment and healthy life they deserve. It will also ensure that our veterinary teams can continue to educate people about responsible pet ownership and issue preventative treatments, making the lives of so many animals much more bearable in the future."
Sal Atkinson, Fundraising Manager for the RDA, said: "We are thrilled that Chris has chosen RDA as one of this year’s RCVS President’s Fund charities. RDA relies on voluntary donations such as this to enable us to provide life changing therapy through horses to disabled adults and children in the UK. We currently have over 3,000 horses and ponies who work with our riders, carriage drivers, volunteers and equine advisors and this support will really help us to offer more opportunities to disabled people in the community."
The President’s Christmas Box donation is made every year in lieu of sending out RCVS Christmas cards. Previous recipients have included Worldwide Veterinary Service, Mind, Canine Partners, Hounds for Heroes, and the Veterinary Benevolent Fund.
The new reader is compatible with all ISO 15-digit (FDX-B) identification microchips. It features an integrated LCD screen that displays microchip numbers in a large, easy-to-read format and it also reports the temperature of temperature-sensing microchips.
Sureflap says the reader is lightweight, ergonomically designed, fits easily into the hand and is easy to operate. The company also says that its small size makes it less intimidating for pets.
Dr Nick Hill, managing director of SureFlap said: "The SureSense Microchip Reader was developed following feedback from veterinary and shelter staff that they often had to share microchip readers.
"The reader is our first professional product, developed exclusively for veterinary professionals, shelters, breeders and pet care professionals. Its affordability and size will ensure that it is possible to have multiple readers in each veterinary practice and shelter."
For further information, contact your wholesaler or the SureFlap team on 0800 9127 114 or via email vet@sureflap.com.
In the study titled “Evaluation of urethral orifice cross-section dimensions following perineal urethrostomy in male cats”, 24 male cats with lower urinary tract disease underwent the procedure. The urethral orifice cross-section was estimated by the largest urinary catheter that could be easily inserted through the stoma at three time points: preoperatively, intra-operatively and 12 days postoperatively. Cases of obstruction recurrence and stricture were documented within the six month follow up period.
Uri Segal, corresponding author for the paper, said: “The intraoperative stoma ranged from 1 to 10 (median 10) Fr and the 12-day postoperative stoma ranged from 4 to 10 (median 8) Fr. There was significant reduction of stoma size 12 days postoperatively, compared to the measurements taken intraoperatively.
"Postsurgical stricture formation and re-obstruction was documented in five of 24 (21%) of cats. Obstruction recurrence is probable if the intra-operative stoma size is 8 Fr or less. Furthermore, if the stoma size is 6 Fr or less, re-obstruction is almost certain (all of these cases in the study were re-obstructions). Conversely, an intra-operative stoma of more than 8Fr had a low risk of recurrence.”
Nicola Di Girolamo, editor of JSAP said: “These findings may function as a guiding rule for surgeons performing perineal urethrostomy, by providing an intraoperative measure of how likely re-obstruction and stricture formation is to occur. It should be remembered, however, that the functional urethral stoma cross-section may vary during the urination cycle and the measurements in this study are likely to only represent a fraction of the functional urethral cross-section size.”
The full article can be found in the August issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice. It can also be read online here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.13148
The new Aberdeen clinic will be based at Ardene House Veterinary Hospital, Kingswells in Aberdeen and will provide the out-of-hours cover for a number of veterinary practices in the Aberdeen area, treating their clients' pets at nights, weekends and bank holidays.
Vets Now was founded in 2001 when vet Richard Dixon, saw a gap in the market for not only providing an alternative to the 'on call' service which vets are required to provide by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, but to providing a dedicated emergency service for pets, similar to A & E for humans. Vets Now now treats around 100,000 small animal emergencies every year with clinic teams working purely out-of-hours, to ensure that they are always fresh and ready to provide life saving treatment to pets who are injured or critically ill.
Richard said: "Vets Now has a clinic in Edinburgh and we have recently opened the first of our Vets Now Hospitals in Glasgow which combines emergency care with a range of specialist referral options, serving the whole of Scotland so we're looking forward hugely to extending our service in Scotland by bringing the dedicated emergency service to Aberdeen."
Vets Now will be working with Ardene House Veterinary Hospital, Abervet, Ashgrove Veterinary Centre, Bridge Veterinary Group and Swan Veterinary Practice to deliver their Out Of Hours emergency care.
Veterinary practices who would like to find out more about using the new Vets Now service in Aberdeen should contact Vets Now on 01383 620064.
The Animal Health Trust has repeated its call for veterinary surgeons to take part in its survey study on breed differences in clinical features of canine hyperadrenocorticism.
40 veterinary surgeons have so far taken part in the survey, and preliminary results show that some breeds tend to present with fewer clinical signs than others, which fits with the study's initial hypothesis.
In addition, researchers say that the frequency of most of the clinical signs in dogs affected by hyperadrenocorticism, including polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia, abdominal distention, alopecia, panting, comedones and muscle weakness, seem to be lower than previously reported in earlier studies published decades ago.
The AHT says it hopes the results of this study will help veterinary surgeons in the diagnosis of canine hyperadrenocorticism. However, in order to progress the study and draw firm conclusions, more responses from veterinary surgeons are needed.
Michael Bennaim, veterinary surgeon at the AHT, said: "We need members of the veterinary profession to help us increase knowledge of this disease and to promote this study to their colleagues. The online questionnaire takes around 10 minutes to complete and all the information that is collected will be processed anonymously."
The AHT requests that the online questionnaire is completed for each case diagnosed with spontaneous hyperadrenocorticism . The questionnaire can be found at http://bit.ly/aht-cushing
Participants can request to be notified of the results of this study when available. Each questionnaire submitted has a chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher.
If you have any questions about the study, contact michael.bennaim@aht.org.uk.
Virbac has announced that it is running Canine Prostate Awareness Month (CPAM) in November, or 'Movember' as it's called by those fundraising for male prostate disease and testicular cancer.
With more than 80% of entire male dogs over the age of five suffering from Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)1, the aim of the initiative is to highlight the prevalence of the disease and to encourage practices and owners to check for and seek treatment for it.
As part of Canine Prostate Awareness Month, Virbac is providing participating practices with promotional materials including owner educational and display materials, postcards, an email/text message service, a template press release for local media and free branded slip leads for owners who get their dog checked during the promotion.
Sarah Walker BVM&S CertAVP MRCVS, Product Manager (Companion Animal), at Virbac, said: "CPAM aims to remind owners that men are not the only ones to suffer from prostate disorders. It's a well-supported initiative and, running it at a time when the media spotlight is already on the dangers of prostate cancer in men, means we can spread the message that owners should also be monitoring dogs for signs of prostate disease."
In the run up to the campaign, the company is highlighting OdelisTM CPSE, the first ELISA test to screen for, diagnose and monitor BPH, which is available from three UK diagnostic laboratories. Virbac says it is a cost-effective, precise and reliable alternative to rectal palpation. In addition, Virbac makes Ypozane, a tablet treatment for BPH, which it claims is effective within one week and last for six months.
Sarah added: "The problem with BPH is that the majority of dogs suffer in silence. It is a painful condition that too often goes unnoticed until it reaches an advanced stage, where the owner notices blood in the urine or painful urination.
"We're providing practices with all the materials they need to promote the campaign locally and hope those involved will find it effective in terms of bringing clients into the practice for advice on BPH. We've also organised coverage in national dog magazines to drive clients to practices."
For further information on CPAM, email cpam@virbac.co.uk; contact your Virbac Territory Manager or call the company direct on 01359 243243.