The Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) has produced a leaflet which guides pet owners through the euthanasia decision making process.

The leaflet 'Saying goodbye - the ultimate kindness' explains why euthanasia may be the most caring option, the choices owners have, the different ways euthanasia may be performed and what happens next. It also addresses the emotions owners may go through when deciding to put their pet down.

AWF Chairman Tiffany Hemming said: "As vets we often see pet owners struggle with letting their pet go. Guilt may be the strongest emotion owners feel when deciding to put their pet down. We wanted to guide owners through this difficult time in a sensitive way and encourage them to ask questions and work with the vet to help them come to terms with the end of their pet's life.

"While the leaflet is aimed at pet owners we hope vets find it a useful communication tool during this distressing time for their clients."

To see all AWF leaflets including 'Pre- and post-operative care', 'Pet travel', 'Pets and poisons', and 'What makes my pet happy' visit http://www.bva-awf.org.uk/pet-care-advice.

Practices can order batches of the leaflets for clients in return for a donation to AWF by contacting bva-awf@bva.co.uk. 

The Bella Moss Foundation (BMF) is to launch the Human to Animal MRSA Advice Service at the offices of the British Veterinary Association on Friday 22nd October.

The charity says this new online service has been created to provide information and advice on resistant bacteria and their effects on animal health to veterinary professionals, pet owners and carers. 

BMF clinical advisor David Lloyd, professor of veterinary dermatology at the Royal Veterinary College, said: "There has been a worrying increase in the numbers of pets reported with MRSA Infections. The causes for this seem to be complex, and research to understand this emerging infection in animals and people is continuing. The Bella Moss Foundation has been very helpful explaining to pet owners the complexity of these issues, and the new Animal MRSA Advice Service will be an educational tool for lay people and veterinarians to learn more about resistant bacterial infections in animals." 

For pet owners and carers the Animal MRSA Advice Service will provide education on bacteria, the risk factors for transmission between humans and animals, keeping pets healthy, finding a vet, and the importance of hand hygiene in protecting pets and people from unwanted infection.

For veterinary professionals and practice staff the service will also provide academic reports and international research, as well as information on CPD seminars.

If you would like to attend the launch of this new service, please contact info@thebellamossfoundation.com, or call Jill Moss on 07581 736774. 

The RCVS has announced what it calls 'minor updates' to the Practice Standards Scheme’s (PSS) modules for accreditations and awards.

The Practice Standards Scheme was launched in 2005 and then relaunched in 2015 to better recognise and reward how practices use their resources to create a positive outcome for patients and clients.

The modules and awards for all species groups (small animals, farm animal, and equine) have now been updated and a summary of the changes can be found at the end of each set of the respective modules.

Pam Mosedale, Lead Assessor, said: "These updates are part of our continuous efforts to ensure we have a flexible PSS, one that can respond to feedback and constantly reflect the realities of everyday practice.

"We would encourage all PSS-accredited practices to familiarise themselves with the updated modules, especially if they have an accreditation or awards assessment in the near future."

To view the updates, visit: http://www.rcvs.org.uk/practice-standards-scheme/ and download the appropriate 'related document' (v1.2)

BSAVA President Julian Hoad is going to go wing walking later this month to raise funds for BSAVA PetSavers.

To mark the end of his presidential year at BSAVA, Julian will be strapped to the top of a vintage biplane while dressed in a full feline (Cheshire Cat) costume, to support the research that BSAVA PetSavers funds to improve the health and wellbeing of pets across the UK.

BSAVA PetSavers is one of the UK’s few funding bodies focused solely on clinical research into diseases affecting companion animals.

To date, it has invested more than £2.7 million in vital studies addressing conditions such as cancer, heart disease, neurological and joint disorders, gastrointestinal issues.

Julian said: "Every day, vets face the heart-wrenching task of managing the distress and pain our pets suffer due to disease or poor health.

"With your support, we can ensure that they have access to the latest knowledge and resources needed to provide the best care possible.

“The need for advanced research is more pressing than ever and our pets deserve every chance at a healthy life.

"If dressing up as a cat and flying on the wing of a plane makes people take notice of the vital need for pet health research, then it will be worth it.”

Alison Selby, Fundraising Manager for BSAVA PetSavers said: “No one has ever been quite so daring in their fundraising efforts for us, so we are thrilled that Julian has decided to take this on to raise awareness and funds for BSAVA PetSavers.

“For every grant application that we fund, at least two or more are declined due to lack of funds. Fundraising events like this helps to land more funding in the hands of researchers who make a real difference in the veterinary community and directly impact the lives of countless pets and their families.”

Julian’s wing walk is on the 29th May and his target is to fundraise £1,000.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/julian-hoad-2 

A team of researchers at the Royal Veterinary College have discovered that many-legged animals control their movement in a surprisingly different way to bipedal animals, following a study on cockroaches using tiny accelerometers and advanced computer models.

The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology (JEB) on 14 May 2010, found that four or more legged creatures do not adjust for hard or soft surfaces in the same manner as humans. 

The RVC says the results were surprising because past work had found that running and trotting animals with four-, six-, or eight legs exert forces on the ground that look remarkably similar to two-legged humans.

The study used cockroaches with tiny accelerometer backpacks as the basis of the research before developing advanced computer models to further the findings.

The accelerometers were developed by Andrew Spence while working in the Poly-PEDAL laboratory of Professor Bob Full at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Spence, now following up the research as a Research Council UK (RCUK) research fellow at the RVC, along with his colleague Shai Revzen, attached the device to the cockroaches' back before sending the insects scuttling across a sheet of latex.

The cockroach sank into the soft rubber surface, like humans sink into the mud, but was able to maintain their forward speed, despite the extremely soft going.

Dr. Spence said: "Like humans, four or more legged animals move as if they are bouncing on a virtual pogo stick when running on hard surfaces. However, when humans run over soft surfaces, they effectively "stiffen" their virtual 'pogo stick', so we were keen to discover if this was the same for four or more legged animals."

Following the initial study, a computer-generated model cockroach was developed to help explain how the insect ran on, and sunk into, soft ground, with the 'cyber-roach' confirming earlier findings.

From the 'cyber-roach' the researchers concluded that instead of maintaining the body's centre of mass motion by stiffening the virtual pogo stick leg like human runners, the insect does not change the stiffness of its virtual pogo stick. The reason that the insect is able to run successfully without crashing, despite using the "wrong" leg stiffness, may be due to the change in posture that occurs when a legged animal sinks into a surface, as the legs that are flying through the air hit the ground sooner than they normally would.  

Dr. Spence believes this simplifies the task for the nervous system: "Instead of sending nervous system signals to stiffen muscles, the cockroach may just be able to continue sending the same control signals and take advantage of this change in posture."

Dechra Veterinary Products (maker of Strangvac) has launched a strangles toolkit to support veterinary practices wanting to talk to their clients about this disease and how to control it with vaccination.

The pack contains:

• Ready-to use social media posts for Facebook and Twitter ensuring that vet practices can create compelling and eye-catching content for their clients
• Practice newsletter and website content
• Videos on strangles pathogenesis and biosecurity
• Client evening invitations
• Strangles VetEq note featuring comprehensive information on strangles
• Images of horses with strangles abscesses
• Link to the Decha strangles therapy area webpage

For more information, contact your local Dechra equine sales manager.

The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) welfare award 2008, sponsored by The Blue Cross, has been presented to the Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) organisation for their contributions to equine welfare in support of the re-training and re-homing of racehorses.

The award, which was introduced by BEVA in conjunction with The Blue Cross animal welfare charity eight years ago, is a formal recognition of significant contributions made by veterinary surgeons and others to equine welfare.

It was presented to Ron Huggins, trustee of the ROR and an owner and breeder of racehorses, at the 47th BEVA Annual Congress in Liverpool on Friday 12 September 2008, by Kerstin Alford, equine welfare director of The Blue Cross. 

Kerstin said: "The financial support that RoR provides for charitable racehorse rehabilitation centres, together with their education programme to help owners and riders of former racehorses, make them very worthy recipients of this award."

Di Arbuthnot, director of operations said: "RoR are delighted to receive this prestigious award to recognise the work the charity does for former racehorses to provide them with a life after racing."

Retraining of Racehorses was established in 2000 by the British Horseracing Authority. Its aim is to raise funds from the British racing industry to provide and maintain facilities for the care, retraining and rehoming of former racehorses. Under the direction of the chairman of the trustees Peter Deal, the RoR has become recognised as a vital component of the racing industry.

The Blue Cross was founded in 1897 to care for working horses on the streets of London, and equine welfare still plays a vital role in its work today. The charity rehabilitates and rehomes over a hundred horses and ponies every year at its equine centres in Burford (Oxon) and Rolleston-on-Dove (Staffordshire).  A third facility in Northiam (East Sussex) provides rest and retirement for Blue Cross equines.

The BSAVA has announced a partnership with the University of Liverpool to develop a national UK disease surveillance network for companion animals.

Originally established in 2008, the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network, SAVSNET, aimed to monitor the disease status of the UK small animal population (mainly dog, cat and rabbit). However, funding for the project came to an end in August 2011. At this point, BSAVA stepped in with support, as it believed that not only would the profession benefit from this source of information, but that it is in fact vital for the successful management of disease in small animals.

BSAVA President Andrew Ash said: "SAVSNET ticks all the boxes for BSAVA. High quality large scale epidemiological research helps us fulfil our obligations as a charity to public good, the information on disease surveillance gives us the information to treat animals better, and the research papers help us inform veterinary policy and education. This is an important scheme for both animal and human health."

Participation by diagnostic labs and practices is voluntary, and all data gained will be made anonymous before being reported.  For more information, email savsnet@liverpool.ac.uk.

Purina is inviting practices to participate in its inaugural UK Feline Dental Health Month, which starts on 1st July 2014.

As part of the initiative, participating practices are being asked to give their cat-owning clients free dental health checks throughout July to help improve the health of feline patients, build client loyalty and boost revenue.

Purina says Feline Dental Health Month has been created to help practices educate cat-owning clients about the importance of dental health. As many cat owners are unable or unwilling to check their cat's mouth and teeth due to the discreet nature of their pet, they rely on their vet to highlight potential problems. Feline dental disease is estimated to affect around three quarters of cats over the age of three, making it the most prevalent health condition seen amongst pet cats. Often painful and with the capability to cause systemic problems, dental problems in cats can represent a serious welfare problem if left untreated.

To help practices promote Feline Dental Health Month to their clients, Purina has prepared a support pack which includes waiting room promotional materials and client care leaflets with money off coupons. Practices will also be given a step-by-step publicity plan so they can promote the month in their local media and via their existing communications channels.

Purina says that signing up to the Feline Dental Health Month will mean that practices benefit from more contact with a client group that is potentially less engaged with their pet's health and also attract new clients via the promotional activity. This will provide an increase in opportunities to discuss other common health concerns with their clients and offer the potential to boost sales of products and services.

Chris Nickson, Senior Brand Manager, Purina Vet Channel said: "Feline Dental Health Month promotes the idea that prevention is better than cure. To avoid more serious procedures that can put stress on the owner and cat, Purina advocates ongoing management of dental hygiene. Our veterinary support packs provide everything a practice will need to have a very successful Feline Health Month."

Purina has also developed Pro Plan Cat Dental Plus, a diet designed to maintain healthy teeth and gums in cats. As part of Feline Dental Health Month, Purina is offering owners £5 off their first bag.*

To sign up for Feline Dental Health Month, speak to your Purina representative or call the Pro Plan Vet helpline on 0800 032 6418.

The RCVS Mind Matters Initiative and the Doctors’ Support Network (DSN) have now signed up seven ambassadors for their AndMe (#AndMe) mental health campaign, designed to de-stigmatise mental ill-health within the healthcare professions.

The College says that although professional bodies advise their members to value their own wellbeing and seek help if unwell, there has been an absence of senior professionals who have felt able to say 'been there myself'.

By asking senior medical professionals to share their stories of overcoming struggles with mental health, &me aims to encourage other medical professionals to seek help, in part by showing that such experiences do not exclude people from achieving leading roles in healthcare.

With the addition of Dr Cathy Wield in August, there are now seven ambassadors for the &me campaign, and all of their stories can be read at www.vetmindmatters.org/&me: 

• Dr Caroline Reed O’Connor, who went on to be a senior trainee psychiatrist and psychotherapist after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder
• David Bartram, a veterinary surgeon and member of RCVS Council who was in hospital multiple times as a result of depression before gaining additional qualifications and moving into roles of increasing responsibility
• Dr Malcolm Kinnear, a psychiatrist who took long-term sick leave for depression before completing his training to become a consultant and taking an honorary teaching position at the University of Dundee
• Dr Susan Atcheson, a senior GP who has experienced multiple episodes of psychotic depression
• Rob Pettitt, a vet and Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool who experienced depression, taking eight weeks off work before slowly returning to a full-time schedule 
• Professor Jamie Hacker Hughes, a psychologist, psychotherapist and supervisor, who was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. He then went on to gain a consultant post with the Ministry of Defence, achieve three fellowships and four professorships, establish a research institute and become President of the British Psychological Society
• Dr Cathy Wield, a doctor who experienced two bouts of severe depression including hospital admissions and brain surgery. She returned to work in emergency medicine, and has written two books about her experience of being a doctor with depression.
• Dr Susan Atcheson, a senior GP who first experienced recurrent psychotic depression 20 years ago.

Lizzie Lockett, Director of the Mind Matters Initiative, said: "Over the past eight months we have seen an incredible level of support for our &me ambassadors. Our Facebook post about Rob Pettitt, for example, reached nearly 25,000 people, many of whom posted stories about Rob helping them navigate veterinary school and better understand their own mental health issues. These kind of role models really do help reduce stigma, and we thank every one of our ambassadors for having the courage to share their own experiences with mental health."

Louise Freeman, Vice-Chair of the Doctors’ Support Network, said: "The &me campaign has really shown how the medical professions can work together when it comes to mental health. Medical professionals face many of the same challenges, and we needn’t face them alone – instead we can work as one to tackle stigma and speak openly about mental health issues. And it’s not just in the UK that health professionals can feel as if they are ‘not allowed’ to experience mental health problems. As a direct result of the &me campaign, health professionals from around the world including Australia and the U.S. have been in contact with DSN to confirm that they have similar issues within their local health culture."

The campaign is still interested in hearing from not only doctors and veterinary surgeons but also nurses, veterinary nurses, dentists, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who want to open up about their experiences of mental ill health. To participate in the campaign, please email Dr Louise Freeman on vicechair@dsn.org.uk.

On social media tweets about the campaign are sent from @vetmindmatters and @DocSupportNet twitter accounts using the hashtag #AndMe.

Applications are now open for new members to join the RCVS Preliminary Investigation and Disciplinary Committees.

This is the first time that non-Council members have been able to sit on these two key committees, and follows the approval of a Legislative Reform Order (LRO) to the Veterinary Surgeons Act, which comes into force on 6 April 2013.

Under the new legislation, the two statutory committees will move through a transition period until they completely comprise independently-appointed non-Council members, by July 2015.

This move will provide regulation in line with modern practice, by ensuring that the same group of people is not responsible for setting the rules, investigating complaints and adjudication, and by bringing lay people formally into the Preliminary Investigation Committee.

The LRO will also allow the RCVS to increase the pool of people available to investigate complaints and sit on disciplinary hearings, reducing the workload on the individual Committee members whose primary appointment is to RCVS Council.

This first recruitment phase seeks:

• Three lay members and two veterinary surgeons to serve on the Preliminary Investigation Committee from 1 July 2013;
• Four lay members and four veterinary surgeons to serve on the Disciplinary Committee from 1 July 2013;
• Two veterinary surgeons to serve on the Preliminary Investigation Committee from 1 July 2014; and,
• Three lay members and three veterinary surgeons to serve on the Disciplinary Committee from 1 July 2014.

RCVS President, Jacqui Molyneux said: "It's exciting that we can now seek to appoint non-Council members to the two committees involved in our disciplinary system - a breakthrough that has taken a long time to achieve.

"We are interested to hear from veterinary surgeons and lay people who are keen to contribute to the public good and support us in our regulatory role. It's an excellent opportunity to be part of the next chapter of the RCVS, as we become a more modern and effective regulator."

The recruitment process is being handled by Thewlis Graham Associates and details can be found at www.thewlisgraham.com. The selection committee will comprise Sir Michael Buckley, Christopher Laurence MBE QVRM TD BVSc MRCVS and Dr Joan Martin MA FCOT.

The closing deadline for applications is 5pm on Monday 4 March 2013.

The RCVS has announced that it is to extend its Ethics Review Panel for a further year with an expanded remit to consider a greater diversity of applications.

The panel, chaired by veterinary ethicist Professor David Morton CBE, was established last year on a trial basis as a means of offering an ethical review process for practice-based research projects that may not have the same access to resources as clinical studies in academia or industry.

Since its establishment at the end of July last year it has received 23 applications, mostly concerning small animal clinical studies. However, due to demand from the profession, it will shortly be considering applications for equine or farm animal-based research and will be recruiting new panel members to cover these areas.

Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS Registrar, said: "Although the number of cases considered so far have been relatively small, the service has been very well received as a means of providing ethical review to those who might not otherwise be able to do so and so, therefore, might struggle to get papers published.

"Considering the importance of practice-based research we expect there to be an increase in the number of applications as word gets out about the service and so are happy to extend the trial for another year and for it to consider a wider range of applications."

Further details about the Panel, as well as guidelines for making applications and the application forms, can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/ethics

For an initial discussion about submitting an application to the Ethics Review Panel, contact Beth Jinks, Standards and Advisory Officer, on 020 7202 0764 or ethics@rcvs.org.uk