The Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has suspended a veterinary surgeon from the Register for nine months for convictions regarding docking puppies' tails and driving offences, and for failing to obtain a client's consent to treatment or explore other treatment options.

At the conclusion of the four-day hearing, Dr Adetunji Ayinla Jolaosho, formerly principal veterinary surgeon at City Vet Clinic in Syston, near Leicester, was found unfit to practise following two convictions for tail docking plus 17 driving and related offences, which also brought the profession into disrepute. 

They further found that he failed to obtain consent to remove tissue from Jemma, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier owned by Mrs Hill, and to discuss a reasonable range of treatment options with her, and that this also amounted to serious professional misconduct.

In December 2008, Mrs Hill brought Jemma to Dr Jolaosho to have a lump on her flank drained.  Mrs Hill said she made it clear that she had limited finances and nothing other than this treatment should be done without her consent.  Dr Jolaosho undertook a biopsy and removed tissue. He told the Committee that he asked his practice manager to contact Mrs Hill and obtain her consent, however, this was not consistent either with the clinical records or a letter sent to Mrs Hill in December 2008. 

Caroline Freedman, Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee said: "The Committee is satisfied that Dr Jolaosho did not seek to obtain consent from Mrs Hill before he decided to carry out exploratory surgery. It does not consider that there was any attempt to explore treatment options with Mrs Hill before the surgery other than draining the mass."

On 16 June 2009, Dr Jolaosho pleaded guilty at Market Harborough Magistrates Court to two offences of docking the tails of Rottweiler and Doberman puppies.  He was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay court costs of over £3,000.  During 2003 to 2008, he was also convicted of 15 driving and related offences and twice of obstructing a police officer.

At the outset of the hearing, Dr Jolaosho admitted his criminal convictions, telling the Committee of his difficulties following the death of his wife in October 2002 and subsequent sole responsibility for his three teenage children.  He also said that the tail docking resulted as an oversight on his part and that as the puppies were docked within five days of birth, there were no welfare issues.  He emphasised that he had not carried out tail docking since being visited by the RSPCA in July 2008.  He also drew to the Committee's attention the fact that, until 2003, he had been of good character.

The Committee accepted that for at least part of the period in question he was suffering from emotional problems following his wife's death, and his continuing financial responsibility for two of his children.

It was however, concerned, that having received a custodial sentence for driving whilst disqualified, he committed further driving offences on release. Nor did they accept that the tail docking was an oversight: in 2006 the RCVS advised Dr Jolaosho to comply with the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct and not dock dog's tails unless for "truly therapeutic or prophylactic reasons." In view of the seriousness of the charges admitted and proved, the Committee concluded that a  period of nine months suspension from the Register would be a proportionate penalty.

Mrs Freedman said: "The primary purpose of the sanctions is not to punish but to protect the welfare of animals, maintain public confidence in the profession, and declare and uphold proper standards of conduct." 

She added: "Bearing in mind the financial consequences of the suspension of Mr Jolaosho, the Committee does not consider that any useful purpose would be served by imposing a longer period of suspension. However, Mr Jolaosho should be aware that any further convictions or failure to observe the College's Guidelines are likely to lead to the removal of his name from the Register."

Veterinary digital marketing agency, VetsDigital, has announced it is merging with two other veterinary marketing companies, Vet Inflow and VetBoost.

The three companies will now offer their services, which include marketing strategy, brand management, search engine marketing, online advertising, email marketing, webchat, social media copywriting, graphic design and web design under the VetsDigital brand. 

Sarah Spinks, Managing Director of VetsDigital, said: "In the pursuit of better animal welfare, we empower animal owners, and bridge the gap between the veterinary professional and the pet parent using the most effective digital channels.

“As one combined company, we become Europe’s leading digital agency that specialises in the veterinary sector. With our current presence in 11 countries, we’ll be able to further develop our network whilst still providing our clients with the same personal service they’ve come to expect and deserve.”

Marcelo Alves, Managing Director of Vet Inflow, will move into the role of Managing Partner for Portugal and Spain at VetsDigital, as the company expands to have bases in both the UK and Portugal. 

Will Stirling, who becomes a Managing Partner at VetsDigital, bringing with him 14 years of experience marketing in the veterinary industry, having previously worked with veterinary group YourVets and CVS, said: "The veterinary industry is buzzing with growth and renewal as many parts of veterinary marketing and management move into the digital realm. It’s the perfect time to combine the talents of our 3 teams, so that together we can offer industry-leading digital marketing services to veterinary businesses across the UK and Europe.

For more information, visit: https://vetsdigital.com 

HT Vista, which makes a device which uses thermal imaging and AI to screen dermal and subcutaneous masses in dogs, has developed a data collection app for use alongside the device.

The app allows practices to submit results along with cytology and histopathology results in order to help train the AI algorithm and improve its accuracy from an original sensitivity of 85% and negative predictive value of 97%.

Liron Levy-Hirsch, Managing Director of HT Vista, said: “The HT app has provided us with over 700 additional validated scans to analyse this year alone.

"The validation process is well controlled, whereby we use the lab results to tag the scans as benign or malignant and let the algorithm know if it was correct or not.

"The more we train the algorithm the more accurate it becomes, and it is extremely exciting to see the sensitivity increase to 90% and the NPV to 98%.” 

HT Vista says the app was developed to meet demand from clinics.

Liron said: "By having a portal to upload lab results alongside the device’s results not only do we further improve the device, but we also increase confidence among our vets and nurses that the device is a reliable tool. 

https://ht-vista.uk 

Janssen Animal Health has launched a range of skincare products - Cavalesse^® and Cavalesse^® Topical - to help maintain and support a healthy skin in horses prone to summer skin allergies.

According to the company, summer skin allergies, including sweet itch, which is caused by reactions to bites from Culicoides midges, can be serious and frustrating conditions that affect three to five per cent of all horses in the UK. These allergies can be difficult to manage and are often a real challenge for both horse owners and vets alike.

Cavalesse is a natural food supplement containing a specialised formulation of water-soluble vitamins and minerals, including Nicotinamide.  Once a month the contents of each sachet are dissolved in water to form an oral solution, which can be administered daily via a special pipette, either by sprinkling over a small handful of feed or adding to a treat such as a sugar lump.  The supplement helps horses maintain a healthy skin by reducing histamine release within the skin, moderating the excessive immune response within the skin, reducing anti-inflammatory reactions and suppressing antigen induced transformation.

To complete the Cavalesse skin management range, Cavalesse Topical is a skincare gel that can be used in combination with the Cavalesse solution.  The gel can be applied to the skin to help support natural immunity from the outside, whilst the oral solution works in partnership from the inside.

Helen Goldberg, marketing manager at Janssen Animal Health said: "Summer skin allergies, such as sweet itch, are frustrating conditions that can be difficult to treat. To help prevent the disease, horses are often fully blanketed while out at grass, given limited access to pasture or covered with insect repellents, while treatment has included antihistamines and corticosteroids which can have side-effects.

"Only available via veterinary wholesalers, the Cavalesse range of products will enable owners to protect their horses from the inside, whilst maintaining a healthy skin from the outside."

2ml of Cavalesse should be administered to horses and ponies weighing less than 500kg daily, while horses weighing more than 500kg should be given 3ml per day.  Cavalesse Topical should be applied to the skin according to requirements.

For further information, please contact your Janssen Animal Health account manager or phone 01494 567555.

The Codes were approved by RCVS Council and the Veterinary Nurses Council earlier this year, following a lengthy consultation and review process that began in 2009, and will replace the existing Guides to Professional Conduct.

The College says the new Codes are principles-based, easily accessible and, at 16 pages long compared to the 50-page Guides, much more concise. They bring the College's guidance into line with the codes of conduct of other regulatory bodies, and help to describe those professional responsibilities that are fundamental to veterinary surgeons' and veterinary nurses' practice.

To expand on and clarify these professional responsibilities, an additional 27 chapters of supporting guidance have been published on the RCVS website, which also consolidate and update all existing RCVS guidance for veterinary professionals.

Both Codes set out five principles of practice: professional competence; honesty and integrity; independence and impartiality; client confidentiality and trust; and, professional accountability.

The veterinary surgeons' Code features an update to the declaration made on admission to the profession and, for the first time, the veterinary nurses' Code includes a declaration to be made on professional registration.

Among the professional responsibilities introduced in the Codes are: mandatory recording of continuing professional development; a mandatory professional development phase for new veterinary surgeons and period of supervised practice for registered veterinary nurses (RVNs) returning to practice after a break; a Performance Protocol; and, notification to the RCVS of any matter that may affect fitness to practise, including convictions (although this will require further consideration by the College).

For the first time, mandatory clinical governance has been introduced, and minimum practice standards have also been incorporated, at equivalence to the core standards set out in the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme.

A pocket-sized hard copy of the Code will be posted to all vets and RVNs shortly, which will include references to where the supporting guidance and further information can be found on the RCVS website. The online versions - at www.rcvs.org.uk/vetcode and www.rcvs.org.uk/vncode - are fully searchable by keyword, and PDF versions will soon be available to download. A digital version is also being explored, to enable veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to access the Codes and supporting guidance on smart phones and tablets.

Although only registered veterinary nurses have agreed to abide by the VN Code of Professional Conduct, the College hopes that all veterinary nurses will consider it a useful benchmark of professional standards.

Dr Jerry Davies, RCVS President, said: "I am delighted that this significant piece of work has come to fruition. The RCVS has shown that, despite aged legislation, the Codes will, through imaginative interpretation of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, ensure the public and their animals continue to receive the level of professional service they have come to expect from veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses in the UK."

Following a survey which indicates that veterinary surgeons are largely using unproven supplements to manage early-stage osteoarthritis, Hill's Pet Nutrition is calling upon vets to use evidence-based clinical nutrition to manage the condition.

The survey, which was carried out by independent market research firm Zyman Group, found that vets are more likely to give supplements than any other treatment in early stage osteoarthritis: 66% of cases receive supplements, 45% are given NSAIDs, and only 20% receive dietetic pet food.²

According to Hill's, its Prescription Diet j/d dry is clinically proven to improve mobility in osteoarthritic dogs in as little as 21 days; and 28 days in cats.^3,4 Furthermore, the clinical study assigned to j/d is classified as Grade 1 level evidence - the highest grade reflecting the validity of clinical evidence.  Another study has shown that Prescription Diet j/d also helps reduce NSAID dosage by up to 25 percent in dogs.⁵ This quality of evidence is, says Hill's, in contrast to many supplements.

John Innes, Professor of Small Animal Surgery at Liverpool, was involved in some of the early work on j/d: "Our results showed that the EPA in Hill's Prescription Diet j/d Canine pet food helped to reduce proteoglycan loss from cartilage. This would have beneficial effects in helping to preserve loss of cartilage. By preserving the cartilage, we can reduce pain in the long-term and ensure greater mobility for dogs with osteoarthritis."

Hill's has also announced that because a substantial majority of vets and nurses said that they felt that natural GACs have a positive effect in osteoarthritis¹, its Prescription Diet j/d dry has been enriched with glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate.

Hill's j/d programme is now backed with money off vouchers, to improve client acceptance of veterinary recommendation. Clients who register on the website http://www.hillspetmobility.co.uk/,or http://www.hillspetmobility.ie/, will receive  two £10 (or €10) money off e-coupons to use in clinic on their next purchases of j/d. They will also receive monthly e-mails containing information on how to take care of their pet with mobility problems, and help drive them back into the clinic for check-ups.

Veterinary surgeons who would like more information on the studies proving clinical efficacy, or score cards and trial guides for clients, should contact their Hill's Territory manager or call 0800 242438 or in ROI 1 800 626002. Clients can also fill in the scorecard online at www.hillspetmobility.co.uk  or http://www.hillspetmobility.ie/

References

1. Hill's data on file
2. Zyman group, Hill's funded brand equity research - mobility - Jan 2009
3. Fritsch D, Allen T A , Dodd C E, et al. Dose-titration effects of fish oil omega-3 fatty acids in osteoarthritic dogs. J Vet Intern Med 2010; 24:1020-1026.
4. Sparkes A, Allen T A, Fritsch D, and Hahn K A. Effective dietary management of spontaneous appendicular osteoarthritis in cats. Unpublished.
5. Fritsch D, Allen TA, Dodd C E, et al. A multicenter study of the effect of a therapeutic food supplemented with fish oil omega 3-fatty acids on the Carprofen dosage in dogs with osteoarthritis. J. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc.Vol 236, No. 5, March 1, 2010; 535-539.
6. Caterson B,Little C B, Cramp J et al. Eicosapentaeonate supplementation abrogates canine articular cartilage degradation in 'in vitro' explant culture systems, in Proceedings, Hill's European Symposium on Osteoarthritis and Joint Health 2005; 14-19.
7. Innes J, Gabriel N, Vaughan-Thomas A. Feline Arthritis: Changes in Articular Cartilage, Development of a Degradation Model, and Testing of Candidate Nutrients. In: Proceedings of Hill's Global Mobility Symposium Sunny Isles Beach,Florida, USA April23-25,2008:pp.24-28.
8. Frantz N. Effect of Prescription Diet j/d^TM Canine on clinical measures, cartilage biomarkers, and metaboloic changes in dogs with osteoarthritis. J. Vet. Int. Med. 2010; 24: 718 Abstract 156.
9. Hill's Data on File.

A Pet Obesity Task Force, the first of its kind in the country, has been launched at the European Pet Obesity Conference, hosted by Hill’s Pet Nutrition to help tackle the growing number of obese and overweight pets and put in place strategies to help overcome the condition.

The Task Force hopes to raise awareness of the growing health implications of obese and overweight pets, such as diabetes and osteoarthritis. The fact that pets are obese or overweight is often overlooked by owners and the group also aims to encourage them to identify weight problems and seek appropriate advice from vets.

Mark Evans, chief veterinary adviser at the RSPCA, who will be sitting on the board, comments: “We’ve been trying to treat and prevent pet obesity for 20 years, but the problem hasn’t gone away. In fact it seems to have got worse despite everyone’s efforts. It’s incredibly frustrating. So, is there any point in fighting on in the same old way if we’re not winning the battle?

“Let’s take a step back, review our knowledge, re-evaluate our approaches, think outside the box and innovate. What could we learn from social scientists, human psychologists and others engaged in trying to tackle the very same problem in people – especially children?”

Members of the Pet Obesity Task Force include:

Mark Evans, chief veterinary adviser, RSPCA BVetMed MRCVS
Professor John Innes BVSc PhD CertVR DSAS(Orth) MRCVS
Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore BSc BVM&S PhD MACVSc MRCVS
Daniel Chan DVM DipACVECC DipACVN MRCVS
Nicola Ackerman BSc(Hons) RVN Cert SAN MBVNA
Rachel Casey BVMS Dip(AS)CABC MRCVS
Dr Ian Campbell GP
Mike Jessop BVetMed MRCVS
Dr Jacques Debraekeleer DVM, DipECVCN
Simon Wheeler Head of marketing at Petplan

RCVS Council has unanimously elected Mrs Jacqui Molyneux to become its new Junior Vice-President. She will take up office on RCVS Day, 1 July 2011.

Jacqui said: "As I have become more and more involved with the RCVS and the work of its committees I am amazed at the amount of work being done behind the scenes by both Council Members and the RCVS staff. It's sad that many of the profession live in fear of the RCVS as they are only aware of its regulatory function.

"During my time on the Officer team, communication with the profession will be a priority, not for the vocal minority, but with the silent majority who have no idea of the breadth of the work that the RCVS undertakes each year."

Jacqui graduated in 1981 from the University of Bristol and started her career in small animal practice in Liverpool, before moving to the North East, and setting up her own practice.  Following its rebuilding, the practice was accredited as a Veterinary Hospital in 2002 and, four years later, has become RCVS Practice Standards Scheme accredited.

Since her election to the RCVS Council in 2005, Jacqui has chaired the Small Animal Certificate Board and served for four years on the Disciplinary Committee. She has also been Vice-Chairman of the Veterinary Nurses Council since 2007.

From 2009, Jacqui has chaired the RCVS Awarding Body Board, including the review of Veterinary Nursing.  

Jacqui is currently President of the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS). She is studying for a Masters in Clinical Oncology with the University of Birmingham, and holds an RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery awarded in 2000.

BVA President Gudrun Ravetz has argued that recognising and retaining the vital roles that vets play across animal health, animal welfare and public health is pivotal to securing successful outcomes from Brexit, in her speech at the BVA's annual London Dinner in Westminster last night.

She said: "The veterinary family – which is my focus as BVA President – is part of the international scientific community, and we are a diverse profession with far-reaching influence and impact in so many areas of political and public life ... A healthy veterinary workforce is vital for UK animal and human health."

With the residence or working rights of UK-based EU vets a 'top five' priority for the profession in forthcoming Brexit negotiations, Gudrun highlighted workforce issues: "The UK veterinary profession relies heavily on EU graduates, who have felt the impact of the EU referendum result since day one … In the meat hygiene sector alone, some estimates suggest 95% of veterinary surgeons graduated overseas.

"That’s why our first action after 23 June was to call on UK governments to protect the status of EU veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses currently living and working in the UK. It was encouraging to see some of these key priorities … make it into the Prime Minister’s list of negotiating priorities. But we have said from the outset that our members need certainty and reassurance, so we urge the Government to make that firm commitment now."

"We know vets remain nervous about the changes to come, with many of our members concerned about the threat Brexit poses for UK animal health and welfare … Yet we can also see the opportunities Brexit presents, and BVA is determined to work with the Government to seize these opportunities, where they exist, to improve standards."

Highlighting opportunities that Brexit could offer in terms of improving animal health and welfare, Gudrun suggested a tightening up of the Pet Travel Scheme to reduce the growing trend of illegal puppy imports and improvements for welfare at slaughter. She said:

"The Welfare at Time of Killing or WATOK Regulations for England … are a case in point about the welfare-mismatch that could occur between domestic standards and those of our trading partners under the new Brexit arrangements. By failing to bring in evidence-based parameters for all waterbath stunning of poultry, [the] legislation has rendered it impossible for Official Veterinarians to protect the welfare of all chickens at slaughter. The regulations are simply not for fit for purpose, and could call into question England’s claim as a leader in high animal welfare."

The BVA President then shared a highlight of an early meeting between BVA and the then new Defra Secretary of State Andrea Leadsom MP last July: "We were pleased to hear [the Defra Secretary of State’s] vision to make the unique selling points of 'UK PLC' high animal welfare and food safety standards. It's a commitment that BVA fully backs ... To ensure our high standards continue, it is essential that we maintain existing veterinary certification and controls to satisfy our own consumer demand for quality and safety. Official statistics put the value of UK livestock outputs at £13 billion and not a penny of that could be realised without veterinary input."

Gudrun concluded by saying: "We can only make a success of Brexit if we harness our veterinary resource in clinical practice, public health, government services, conservation, academia, research and industry. We are a small profession but our impact is significant."

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity Lord Gardiner of Kimble responded, saying: "In my role at Defra I am continually reminded of the importance of the relationship between vets and government - most recently in tackling the outbreak of Avian Influenza in the UK. Your thoughts and ideas are invaluable as we manage the many opportunities and challenges posed by exiting the European Union, ensure the highest standards of animal welfare, protect the country from new animal disease threats, and attract the brightest and best into the profession.

"I look forward to continuing to work closely together as we push ahead with our plans to create a world leading food and farming industry based on high standards of animal health and welfare." 

To find out more about the BVA’s work on the UK’s exit from the EU, visit www.bva.co.uk/news-campaigns-and-policy/policy/future-of-the-profession/brexit/

Blaise Veterinary Referral Hospital in Birmingham is holding a free orthopaedic case discussion evening on Tuesday 23rd April. 

ECVS and RCVS Small Animal Surgery Specialist Vassilis Chantziaras (pictured) will lead the event, where attendees will be able to deepen their understanding of both common and unusual orthopaedic conditions.

The session will be split into a case review where delegates will discuss the presented cases in small groups, followed by a case presentation and group discussion led by Vassilis.

Andrew Kent, Clinical Director at Blaise, said: “We’re privileged to have such an incredible team here at Blaise and it’s important that they are able to share their expertise and knowledge for others to learn from and grow their own careers.

"We have many more learning and development opportunities and events in the pipeline and look forward to welcoming our veterinary industry colleagues to our hospital.”

www.ivcevidensiareferrals.com/events-and-cpd

The RCVS Charitable Trust has announced that it is working in partnership with Imperial College London and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to co-fund a doctorate entitled 'Veterinary training and veterinary work: a female perspective, 1919-2000.'

This will look at the shift in women's expectations, experiences, professional networks and career trajectories, and examine how and why certain veterinary activities came to be regarded as suitable (or unsuitable) work for women. In the course of this research the personal collections of two prominent members of the veterinary profession, Connie Ford and Olga Uvarov, will also be catalogued, to make these papers more accessible to both professional researchers and more generalist readers.

Clare Boulton, RCVS Charitable Trust Librarian and the Trust's project supervisor said: "This exciting project is an opportunity to really use the archival material held by the RCVS Charitable Trust Library, interview transcripts and surveys, to describe and analyse the educational and work experiences of successive generations of female British vets. It's great to be able to work with other academic institutions on a project of this nature so we can share expertise - and make the most of the research findings."

The research will be carried out by Julie Hipperson, who holds an MA in Modern History from King's College London, and whose interests include women in the professions in the twentieth century, and rural environments and communities. She said: "I hope new insights will be gained into the most famous of veterinary female pioneers.

"More than this, however, I will be looking at the mainstream of female vets,  their aspirations, motivations and achievements since 1919, and also the obstacles they encountered, in order to contextualise the 'feminisation' of the profession. This is a sizeable challenge, but one which I hope will be invaluable not only to the veterinary profession, but also to understand more fully women in the professions throughout the twentieth century."

More information can be found on the Trust's website http://trust.rcvs.org.uk/pioneers-and-professionals/ and on Julie's 'Pioneers and Professionals' blog at http://pioneersandprofessionals.wordpress.com/

RCVS Knowledge has launched the Canine Cruciate Registry, billed as a first of its kind in veterinary medicine, 

The Canine Cruciate Registry is a free, anonymised, data collection audit tool that will enable veterinary surgeons to share information on techniques and procedures to improve patient care. 

RCVS Knowledge will collect data from both vets and dog owners on patients recovering from cruciate surgery to identify which procedures and techniques give the best outcomes and have the fewest complications.

According to the charity, injury to the cruciate ligament is one of the most common causes of lameness and the most common type of orthopaedic problem in dogs, affecting about 1 in every 200 individuals in the UK each year. 

Surgery is widely accepted to result in better outcomes for cruciate patients, however, there is a lack of high-quality evidence comparing which surgical techniques and implants are most effective and have the fewest complications.
 
The Canine Cruciate Registry aims to fill this gap and provide evidence that veterinary surgeons worldwide can access to help guide decision-making about techniques for every patient they see with a cruciate rupture.

RCVS Knowledge has developed the registry with Amplitude Clinical Outcomes, a global leader in online registry software. It involves a web-based series of questions that vets, and dog owners are asked to complete throughout the dog’s care, to monitor their long-term progress.

In human medicine and surgery, outcome measures are common practice, with many human surgeries involving mandatory data entry onto a national registry.

Clinical Lead for the RCVS Knowledge Canine Cruciate Registry is veterinary orthopaedic surgeon Mark Morton. He said: “Thanks to several years of hard work and development from a group of vets across the UK and the team at RCVS Knowledge, I am delighted that the Canine Cruciate Registry is now up and running.

“We want to work with as many vets and dog owners as possible, we want to know about complications, we want to know about different techniques and how dogs recover so we can build a knowledge base for vets around the world to improve the quality of care they provide.

“As vets, it's our job to advise owners on treatments options, as well as what can go wrong with those treatment options and how often these potential complications may occur.

“I invite all vets in the UK as well as owners caring for dogs having cruciate surgery to join us and help improve outcomes for all patients in the future.”

Chair of the RCVS Knowledge Board of Trustees, Amanda Boag said: “This is a hugely exciting step forward in developing quality improvement initiatives within the veterinary profession and potentially transformational in terms of consistency and quality of care for our patients.

“I applaud the vision of the surgeons in setting this registry up and am keen to see how the same approach can be applied in other common disease conditions.” 

Orthopaedic Surgeon, Richard Whitelock said: “The benefits of the Canine Cruciate Registry are immense – for dogs, owners and veterinary surgeons. Owners will be able to make better-informed decisions and their feedback on outcomes will be included. Surgeons will be able to monitor and compare their results, adapting and improving their treatments accordingly.

“I believe that the Canine Cruciate Registry could trigger a widespread change in the veterinary profession, we look forward to owners and surgeons across the UK engaging with it.”

The Canine Cruciate Registry has been endorsed by the British Veterinary Orthopaedic Association (BVOA), and all UK vets performing cruciate surgery are encouraged to sign up to the registry.

For more information, visit: www.caninecruciateregistry.org