JUMPING INTO CANINE SPORTS
Canine sports and rehabilitation medicine growing by leaps and bounds
By Katie Burns
(Courtesy of AKC)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
An astonishing number of physical therapy options are available at every level for the spectrum of human athletes who come to need rehabilitation, from recreational runners to Olympic athletes. But what about canine athletes with sports injuries and other dogs with conditions that could benefit from rehabilitation? Where do they go?
The field of canine sports and rehabilitation medicine is growing as canine sports become more popular around the country and dog owners see that rehabilitation can help dog athletes the same way it helps humans. In addition, this past April, the AVMA granted full recognition to the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, which certifies veterinarians as specialists in canine or equine sports medicine.
The American Kennel Club and numerous other organizations sanction competitions involving a wide world of canine sports. The most popular is agility, which attracts more than 1 million entries annually. Among the other canine sports are field trials, tracking tests, hunt tests, herding trials, lure coursing events, rally trials, coursing ability tests, flyball tournaments, barn hunt trials, scent work tests, and dock diving events.
Veterinarians who work in canine sports and rehabilitation medicine say most dogs really are athletes, from the tiny Chihuahua that jumps up on the couch to keep its owner company to the dog that plays ball for an hour with a kid after school lets out.
Agility and beyond
What looks like some sort of group modern dance is occurring on one of two courses set up for an agility trial at the McCook Athletic & Exposition Center in McCook, Illinois, a tiny suburb of Chicago. Handlers pivot and gesture as they walk around the obstacles. Each course is unique, so handlers are given a chance to inspect the course and practice their cues before they try to lead their dogs through the obstacles.
Joyce Polivka, secretary of the Blitzen Agility Club of Chicago, is helping run the trial today. The canine competitors at the highest level go first. It's quieter later, she said, better for the green dogs.
Polivka got started in agility in the 1990s. She saw an ad for classes and quickly got hooked. Over the years, she competed with a Bichon Frise, two German Shepherd Dogs, and another
Bichon Frise. She said the sport has grown tremendously since she started.
“Agility builds a great bond,” Polivka said. “You have to be a team.”
Dr. Lisa Woodside is competing in today's trial with one of her dogs. She also owns Ready to Go Veterinary Rehabilitation. Her solo practice operates out of a different clinic each day of the week.
Dr. Woodside didn't get into rehabilitation through agility, though. She had an elderly dog that had trouble walking, so she took him to a rehabilitation center. She believes rehabilitation gave him an extra two years, so she decided to learn more about it. She earned certification through the Canine Rehabilitation Institute, based out of Florida and Colorado.
She began agility with a young, mixed-breed dog and is now competing with her fourth dog. Her second dog, a Golden Retriever, was dysplastic and ruptured both cranial cruciate ligaments. The third dog, a Border Collie, was also dysplastic and suffered nerve damage as a result of hip surgery. The fourth dog is a Miniature American Shepherd.
“It's becoming more widespread that people realize dogs are athletes,” Dr. Woodside said.
She also stresses that pets get some of the same injuries canine athletes do, from torn cranial cruciate ligaments to psoas muscle strains to medial shoulder instability. Dr. Woodside sees more dogs injured playing ball than competing in sports. But repetitive injuries tend to arise in sports, so she tries to get dogs that compete in sports on a fitness regimen.
Like many veterinarians who practice sports and rehabilitation medicine, she incorporates veterinary spinal manipulation therapy and acupuncture into her practice.
AKC sports
The AKC started out offering two competitions—conformation dog shows and field trials—and now sponsors about three dozen types of competitions and other programs for dogs. For big events, the AKC requires a veterinarian to be on-site or on call.
Gina DiNardo, AKC executive secretary, said all AKC events combined are topping 3 million entries per year. Among the fastest-growing programs are scent work and trick dog, both begun last year.
“What people might not know is most of our events are open to all dogs, mixed-breed and purebred,” she said. “We want to offer things for all dogs that are fun.”
Field trials are offered for retrievers, Beagles, pointing breeds, spaniels, Dachshunds, and Bassett Hounds. The trials test these breeds' skills as hunting companions and ability to find, track, flush, or retrieve game. Some of the other older sports are obedience and tracking. Some of the newer sports are herding, lure coursing, and earthdog.
Herding is for dogs bred to herd. The events test the dogs' ability to move and control animals such as ducks, sheep, or cattle. The AKC also certifies dogs as farm dogs in a program open to all. Dogs must complete 12 exercises typical for a farm environment, including jumping on a hay bale and navigating irregular terrain.
In lure coursing, sighthounds chase a mechanized lure around a 600- to 800-yardslong course. The coursing ability test is a variation on the event open to all dogs. The Fast CAT is a timed 100-yard dash, run individually and open to all dogs.
In earthdog events, small terriers as well as Dachshunds and Miniature Schnauzers locate caged rats underground. In barn hunt, which is open to dogs of any breed, the dogs find rats—protected inside aerated tubes—in a maze of straw or hay bales.
Top: The canine sport of agility constitutes an obstacle course for dogs—with obstacles including tire jumps, hurdles, and weave poles. Middle: In scent work, dogs locate a scent and communicate the find to the handler. Bottom: In lure coursing, sighthounds chase a mechanized lure around a 600- to 800-yardslong course. (Photos courtesy of AKC)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
DiNardo said canine sports provide dogs with exercise, mental stimulation, and socialization. The AKC encourages all dog owners to get involved in training or events. She said, “It's fun for the whole family, and you get a better-trained dog.”
Physical medicine
Barry, a 12-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, is in for a visit with Dr. Rosemary J. LoGiudice of Integrative Veterinary Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine in Hanover Park, Illinois. Dr. LoGiudice and veterinary technician Anna Alberth work together to perform a variety of rehabilitative treatments, including veterinary spinal manipulation therapy, on the dog.
His owners, Janice and Roger Bentley, said Barry used to chase squirrels but then developed a disk problem. The Bentleys don't turn Barry loose to chase squirrels anymore, and they believe the spinal manipulation therapy helps prevent episodes of back pain.
Dr. LoGiudice said many dogs can benefit from sports medicine and rehabilitation, which helps maintain or restore normal form and function. She is secretary of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and works with dogs and cats in Hanover Park and with horses at Animal Rehabilitation & Therapy in Yorkville, Illinois.
“To successfully practice veterinary rehabilitation and sports medicine, you need your knowledge and training, your hands and skill, your imagination for implementation of your knowledge and skills, and a very few tools,” she said. These tools include a goniometer to measure passive range of motion in joints and a consistent-tension measuring tape to measure muscle girth.
Dr. LoGiudice sees geriatric pets, pets with neurologic problems, and pets recovering from surgery. She also sees agility dogs, working dogs, therapy dogs, and search and rescue dogs. With her own dog, she participates in barn hunt trials, hunt tests, field work, coursing ability tests, and Fast CAT.
In canine sports, dogs' physical problems vary by event. In barn hunt, dogs might have trouble climbing the hay bales. In agility, running and jumping can lead to injuries.
Dr. LoGiudice said sports medicine and rehabilitation involves a combination of pain management, manual physical treatments, exercise programs and other modalities, and surgery when necessary. She said, “The basis of veterinary sports medicine and rehabilitation is physical medicine, the science of musculoskeletal biomechanics and physiology.”
She added, “A rehabilitation and sports medicine veterinarian needs to work closely with the owner to determine what the owner's goals are for that dog and to help determine if those goals are reasonable, appropriate, and achievable for that particular dog and how to achieve those goals.”
Making a go of it
Dr. Chris Zink of Zink Integrative Sports Medicine in Ellicott City, Maryland, and Veterinary Orthopedic Sports Medicine Group in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, is president-elect of the ACVSMR.
She started participating in canine sports while in veterinary school. After she graduated in 1978, people would ask her veterinary questions at competitions, but she didn't have answers. So she delved into the literature and wrote a book for dog trainers. She was asked to give seminars, and the whole thing snowballed.
Top: In dock diving, dogs compete for the longest jump. Bottom: Herding events test herding dogs' ability to move and control animals. (Photos courtesy of AKC)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
“What I learned from being a participant myself was that there was a huge gap in knowledge for veterinarians in this field,” Dr. Zink said. “There was no rehabilitation whatsoever. It wasn't even thought about.”
Yet, dogs were getting a lot of athletic injuries, and participation in canine sports was increasing exponentially. On the human side, sports medicine already was a specialty. In 2000, canine and equine veterinarians started to work toward establishing a specialty in veterinary sports medicine and rehabilitation.
In the early 2000s, Dr. Zink started teaching with the Canine Rehabilitation Institute, founded by another veterinarian, Dr. Janet Van Dyke. At the same time, Dr. Zink was a professor at Johns Hopkins Medical School.
“My avocation and my passion was canine sports medicine, so was practicing that in parallel on weekends,” she said.
After retiring from Johns Hopkins in 2015, Dr. Zink began doing canine sports medicine full time.
Dr. Zink said canine sports medicine was a grassroots development in response to the demands of dog owners. She said, “They were asking questions, really good questions, like, ‘I had physical therapy after my injury. Why can't I obtain that same care for my dog?’
“So there was an immediate demand for it already when the field became a specialty. There had been a demand for it for decades, actually, and so it really was able to hit the ground running.”
(Courtesy of Photos by Toto)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
States start to address animal rehab by physical therapists
By Katie Burns
Some states include animal rehabilitation in their definition of the practice of veterinary medicine; others offer exemptions. Many states do not address the field at all.
Before adjourning for the year, the California Assembly considered but did not pass a bill that would have removed the state's requirement that physical therapists offer animal rehabilitation only on veterinary premises.
The bill would have required the California Veterinary Medical Board to establish a certificate in animal physical rehabilitation for physical therapists, require facilities that offer animal physical rehabilitation to register with the board, and allow a veterinarian to determine the appropriate level of supervision for a certified physical therapist performing animal rehabilitation.
Valerie Fenstermaker, executive director of the California VMA, said, “The bill allowed for a veterinarian to refer a patient to a physical therapist who owned an independent animal rehabilitation practice with no veterinarian present and without re-establishing the veterinarian-client-patient relationship.”
The board and CVMA opposed the bill, and the California Association of Animal Physical Therapists supported the bill.
“I think that PTs have a lot to add to our understanding of rehabilitation,” said Dr. Chris Zink of Zink Integrative Sports Medicine in Maryland, president-elect of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. “Their training and their thought processes are entirely different from that of veterinarians, and we are better if we work together.”
Dr. Zink is on the faculty of the Canine Rehabilitation Institute, based out of Florida and Colorado and founded by another veterinarian, Dr. Janet Van Dyke. The institute offers certification programs for veterinarians, physical therapists, and veterinary technicians.
Adding to the mix, the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America granted provisional recognition to the Academy of Physical Rehabilitation Veterinary Technicians last year.
Dr. Rosemary J. LoGiudice believes a rehabilitation-trained veterinarian is the appropriate leader of a team working with an animal patient. Dr. LoGiudice is with Integrative Veterinary Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine in Illinois and secretary of the ACVSMR.
Dr. LoGiudice said other team members could include veterinary technicians and physical therapists. She believes all team members need to be supervised by a veterinarian, but her opinion is that the supervision can be indirect, meaning that a veterinarian need not be on the premises.
The AVMA and the American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians have supported veterinary supervision of animal rehabilitation but have not specified whether supervision should be direct or indirect. California currently requires direct supervision, with a veterinarian on the premises.
In comments to the California Assembly, the California VMA wrote, “There are many successful veterinary practices with veterinarians, certified registered veterinary technicians and physical therapists providing animal rehabilitation under the current supervision model. The CVMA believes this is best for the animal patient and the client.”
The California Veterinary Medical Board wrote that direct supervision allows for collaboration on the total medical picture with the veterinarian who has established the veterinarian-client-patient relationship and has the ultimate responsibility for the patient.
AVMA offers free online CE with new webinar series
The AVMA has announced a new webinar series to offer online continuing education covering topics requested by members.
Lead & Learn classes, available both live and on demand, provide insight and CE for veterinarians on topics such as cannabis, practice efficiency, personal finances, and leadership skills. The common thread of this series is leadership—specifically, equipping veterinarians with the expertise needed to serve as leaders in their practices and communities.
Each course offers one hour of CE credit. Sessions are free of charge, with live webinars presented at convenient hours in the daytime and evening. The live webinars are open to all veterinarians, and most classes also are available to AVMA members in recorded format on demand, beginning about a week after the live session.
Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Corp. is supporting the inaugural 2018 series as the educational sponsor.
The series kicked off with a June 6 class on “Veterinarians as Leaders: Counseling Clients and Others About Assistance Animals” and a June 21 class on “Prescription Ethics: Your Clients, Patients, and Proposed Federal Mandates.”
The rest of the initial schedule is as follows:
July 2 (6 p.m. CDT)—“Mission Possible: Creating a
Culture of Wellbeing.”
July 26 (noon CDT)—“Refresher on Adulting: Personal Finances.”
Aug. 2 (noon CDT)—“The Evolution of Leadership: Personal Journeys and Lessons.”
Aug. 23 (6 p.m. CDT)—“What Veterinarians Need to Know About Cannabis.”
Sept. 11 (noon CDT)—“Practice Model Efficiency for Wellbeing and Profit.”
Other webinar topics coming soon are career development, telehealth, and financial health. The schedule and registration are at www.avma.org/ce.
Banfield: Few pets allergic to food; flea, environmental allergies rise
By Katie Burns
Food allergies affect just 0.2 percent of dogs and 0.1 percent of cats, according to the 2018 State of Pet Health Report from Banfield Pet Hospital.
Flea allergy has been on the rise over the past 10 years, according to the report, with a 12.5 percent increase in dogs and a 67.3 percent increase in cats. Environmental allergies are also on an upward trend, with a 30.7 percent increase in dogs and an 11.5 percent increase in cats over the past decade.
The 2018 State of Pet Health Report, released May 29, focused on the prevalence of various allergic conditions in pets in the U.S. Banfield's research team analyzed data from over 2.5 million dogs and 500,000 cats across Banfield hospitals.
“Pet owners are increasingly aware of food sensitivities in people—and that diet plays a role in skin health,” said Dr. Emi Saito, senior manager of veterinary research programs at Banfield. “Many are led to believe their itchy pet may also be suffering from a food allergy. Banfield Pet Hospital data supports that food allergies in our pets are uncommon, and other causes of certain skin conditions should be investigated before pursuing a food allergy diagnosis.”
The 2017 prevalence of flea allergy was 1.8 percent in dogs and 2.0 percent in cats, and of environmental allergies was 3.6 percent in dogs and 0.4 percent in cats.
Key points from the 2018 report:
Fleas are the most common external parasite among Banfield patients. Cats are twice as likely as dogs are to be found to have fleas.
Environmental allergens for pets vary by region and climate, but many are found in a typical pet owner's home—including pollen, dander, molds, and cleaning solutions.
Food-allergic pets are more prone to skin infections than non–food-allergic pets are. The prevalence of pyoderma in food-allergic dogs is six times the prevalence of pyoderma in non–food-allergic dogs and, similarly in cats, 15 times more prevalent in those that are food-allergic. Thirty percent of food-allergic dogs and cats are found to have another allergic skin condition.
ALLERGIES ARE ALWAYS IN SEASON
Over the past 10 years, we've seen a 30.7% increase in environmental allergy cases in dogs and an 11.5% increase in cats.
Allergens can vary by region and climate, but many common triggers can be found in the home.
Source: Banfield Pet Hospital
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
More information is at www.StateofPetHealth.com/allergies.
FDA seeks comments on approaches to evaluating new heartworm drugs
The Food and Drug Administration wants help deciding how to evaluate heartworm preventive drugs.
Agency officials currently recommend that companies seeking approval of heartworm drugs conduct studies in two laboratories, by separate investigators, and undertake a multiple-site field study where heartworm disease is endemic. Laboratory-based studies include negative control groups and uniform larvae and drug exposure, but the isolates used may not represent Dirofilaria immitis diversity. Field studies represent real-world drug use, but larvae exposure is assumed, infection timing is unknown, testing may involve only part of the dosing period, and antigen test results can be wrong.
The agency wants to hear ideas for other study designs that lack or reduce those limitations and produce other types of data. Comments are invited by Aug. 22.
In a May 24 Federal Register notice, FDA officials said they want answers to a list of questions on topics such as treatment failure rates, D immitis larvae exposure, outcome classification, and influences on drug effectiveness in studies. The notice is available in PDF format at https://jav.ma/Heartworm.
Virulent Newcastle disease hits small flocks in California
A viral poultry disease sickened and killed birds in at least 15 Southern California backyard flocks in May and June.
Virulent Newcastle disease is deadly to all bird species and can kill entire flocks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The first known infections occurred in chickens in Los Angeles County, as confirmed May 17 by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Agency officials identified more infections, all in neighboring San Bernardino County, in a collection of chickens, doves, and psittacines on May 24 and in 13 chicken flocks during May 26-June 14.
The number of birds killed by the virus was not immediately available. In the first 10 flocks with infections, about 1,800 birds were euthanized through AVMA-approved methods, according to APHIS.
Virulent Newcastle disease affects respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems, sometimes felling birds without any signs of disease.
APHIS spokeswoman Joelle Hayden provided a statement saying that the agency is encouraging bird owners and their veterinarians to watch for and report illnesses or increased deaths. Signs can include sneezing, gasping, nasal discharge, coughing, open-beak breathing, green and watery diarrhea, lethargy, tremors, drooping wings, twisting of the head and neck, stiffness, subcutaneous hemorrhaging, and swelling around the eyes and neck.
People who work with sick birds can develop conjunctivitis, APHIS information states.
The virus is transmitted through bodily fluids, and it can be transported on shoes and clothing, APHIS information states. It can survive several weeks on feathers and in manure if the weather is warm and humid, and indefinitely in frozen material. It can kill even vaccinated poultry.
State and federal investigators were looking for links between the infections as of mid-June.
Veterinarians who see birds with signs of virulent Newcastle disease can call APHIS at 866-536-7593 or the California Department of Food and Agriculture at 866-922-2473. APHIS will send veterinarians trained to investigate and collect samples.
Swine viruses in feed may survive shipping
Several viruses deadly to swine may survive overseas trips in feed, pet food, or sausage casings, according to recent study results.
Relatives of pathogens—including the foot-and-mouth disease virus— also survived simulated shipping conditions.
In the article, published online in March (PLOSOne2018;13:e0194509), the authors describe their study on survival of 11 viruses pathogenic to livestock, using surrogates from the same families for viruses too dangerous for their laboratory. The authors simulated environmental conditions for trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic shipments.
Seven remained viable in some of the ingredients: porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus, African swine fever virus, porcine circovirus type 2, and relatives of the viruses that cause foot-and-mouth disease, vesicular exanthema of swine, pseudorabies, and swine vesicular disease. Four were not viable: vesicular stomatitis virus, influenza A viruses that cause swine influenza, and relatives of classical swine fever and Nipah viruses.
The article notes that prior research has indicated porcine epidemic diarrhea virus may have come to the U.S. in 2013 through contaminated feed from China. The Department of Agriculture has reported, since at least 2015, that the viruses in the U.S. likely came from China.
PED has killed millions of neonatal pigs and remains deadly on farms.
In the recent study, the researchers used a trans-Pacific model to estimate shipping conditions for 10 viruses endemic to China in the types of feed ingredients exported to the U.S. They used a trans-Atlantic model for African swine fever virus, which is endemic in the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and the Baltic.
The study involved ingredients for livestock feed and pet foods as well as pork sausage casings. All were irradiated before virus inoculation.
Dr. Scott Dee, lead author and the director of research for Pipestone Veterinary Services in Minnesota, said he hopes the article helps veterinarians learn that feed can carry viable viruses around the world. He is among researchers now trying to develop mitigation strategies to protect livestock.
That research involves evaluating 10 feed additives that are safe for livestock to eat and that may reduce virus survival to manageable rates.
The article is available at https://jav.ma/swineviruses.
OIE: HPAI spreading; other diseases remain problems
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is a rising global concern, spreading more quickly since early 2017.
Peste des petits ruminants outbreaks also have occurred in new countries, despite a project to eradicate the disease by 2030, according to a report published in May by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Tuberculosis in cattle and rabies also remain problems, despite campaigns to eliminate the global TB epidemic and end dog-transmitted rabies infections in humans, also by 2030.
Lumpy skin disease of cattle is spreading to new countries, expanding into Europe from its usual range in Africa and the Middle East.
The report in May on the state of global animal health describes a global HPAI epizootic that has spread to 40 percent of the OIE's 181-member countries since 2006.
The most recent confirmed outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the United States occurred in March 2017, when an H7N9 virus was found in a 74,000-chicken flock in Tennessee, according to information from the OIE and U.S. Department of Agriculture. The flock was depopulated.
Canadian officials last reported finding HPAI among commercial animals in 2015, when an H5N2 outbreak occurred in turkeys, OIE information states. Mexican authorities reported finding an H7N3 strain on a chicken farm in February 2018.
Bovine tuberculosis, a zoonotic disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis, causes illnesses in people and livestock in areas throughout the world, OIE information states. Bovine TB has been all-but-eliminated from livestock populations in the U.S., where only sporadic infections are found, APHIS information states.
The report also notes that the OIE, World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and Global Alliance for Rabies Control are working together on a campaign to prevent human deaths from rabies. About 59,000 people die from rabies infections each year, 95 percent of them in Africa and Asia and most resulting from dog bites, according to GARC.
The OIE published the report during the 86th General Session of the World Organisation for Animal Health, May 20–25 in Paris.
Association of federal veterinarians marks centennial
NAFV has a history of advocacy for federal veterinarians
By R. Scott Nolen
In England during World War II, U.S. veterinary officers and technicians inspect food and train guard dogs, among their wartime duties. The National Association of Federal Veterinarians was created to elevate the veterinary profession.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
The National Association of Federal Veterinarians this year marks a century of advocating for veterinarians working for the federal government.
The NAFV was formed in 1918 during the AVMA annual meeting in Philadelphia by a handful of veterinarians with the Bureau of Animal Industry under the Department of Agriculture. Most veterinarians who worked for the bureau could not afford to join professional associations or purchase scientific journals and, thereby, stay current on the latest developments in veterinary medicine.
“They were so poorly paid they often could not save any money for emergencies and most of them lived from week to week, barely getting by,” according to a history of the NAFV.
The NAFV was created to elevate “the veterinary profession, thereby winning for it public respect, confidence and understanding of the important work it performs.” Additional goals included identifying career opportunities for promising young veterinarians, studying and working to improve the salaries and incomes of veterinarians, and maintaining a high standard of veterinary education.
The “Bureau Veterinarian” newsletter—now the “Federal Veterinarian”—was first published in 1922 and continues today. The newsletter provides NAFV members with a summary of the important events and activities in public veterinary practice and management, and it also serves as a written voice of federal veterinarians.
Since its creation, the NAFV has grown its membership roster to 1,743 current and retired federal veterinarians. That's down from a peak of 2,200 in 1975.
Members of the NAFV work across federal government agencies, from the Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health to the Department of Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development. They bring their unique knowledge and skills to bear on a wide range of animal and public health programs, including ones on food safety, humane slaughter and transportation, veterinary biologics, wildlife disease surveillance, the import/export of live animals and animal products, and the health and welfare of animals used for research and exhibited at zoos and aquariums.
“It is exciting to know that veterinarians have been officially involved with animal and public health for 100 years. NAFV is proud of its accomplishments and proud of the accomplishments of the federal veterinarian,” said association president Dr. Larry Davis, a district manager with USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The organization remains committed to advocating for its members, most of whom are employed by the USDA. “NAFV is the only association that focuses on federally employed veterinarians and speaks and works specifically for them,” explained Dr. Michael Gilsdorf, who stepped down as the organization's executive vice president this past April after serving 11 years.
Historically, the NAFV has always enjoyed a close relationship with the AVMA. “We partner with the AVMA on issues affecting federal veterinarians and inform other veterinary associations, industry, and the public about the important work federal veterinarians do,” Dr. Gilsdorf said.
One of the two NAFV annual general membership meetings is held concurrently with the AVMA Annual Convention. The NAFV is also a constituent allied veterinary organization represented in the AVMA House of Delegates. In 1975, NAFV delegate Dr. Lois Hinson became the first female delegate in the HOD. Two years later, the NAFV and Mississippi VMA endorsed Dr. Bobbye Chancellor for AVMA vice president, the first woman elected to a major office in the AVMA.
The USDA has an official management relationship with the NAFV, which the department recognizes as the representative organization for federally employed veterinarians. This recognition authorizes the association to represent all federal veterinarians in resolving issues affecting USDA agency operations, programs, and employees as well as to improve the effectiveness of supervisors and managers.
The NAFV consults with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the FSIS regarding management and supervisory issues to enhance agency operations and working conditions, communication, and managerial effectiveness, and to establish policies that best serve the public interest in accomplishing the agency's mission.
To accomplish this, the NAFV has representatives across the nation who meet with federally employed veterinarians and gather their thoughts, suggestions, and concerns on major and minor issues. Minor issues are discussed by NAFV local representatives, while major issues are taken up with agency leaders. The NAFV recommends solutions to the issues it brings to the department.
Dr. Michael Gilsdorf, former NAFV executive vice president, speaks at a 2009 congressional hearing regarding critical federal veterinary shortages. (Courtesy of Dr. Michael Gilsdorf)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
Additionally, the NAFV works with other associations and Congress to protect agency budgets and positions, improve working conditions, support training and continuing education opportunities, improve involvement in agency programs, and protect benefits and pay for federal veterinarians.
“Federal veterinarians are a vital public resource in preventing both animal and human diseases and in feeding the world, and NAFV is their champion,” Dr. Davis said.
The NAFV's president-elect, Dr. Barbara Porter-Spalding, said the association must remain relevant to federal veterinarians by helping fight for specialty pay; maintaining veterinary leadership of organizations dedicated to food hygiene, disease eradication, veterinary biologics, and antimicrobials; and engaging with the increasing number of veterinarians who serve in Congress.
Dr. Porter-Spalding, a swine and emergency epidemiologist with APHIS Veterinary Services, believes public health veterinarians will have more opportunities and influence with the rise of the one-health movement.
“Antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic and vector-borne disease control, and environmental health issues will all be tackled by the future public practice veterinarian,” she said. “NAFV will adapt to stay relevant for these federal practitioners as well, as we recruit more of them into our ranks.”
Texas veterinary education expanding, one way or another
A&M, Tech push forward with respective plans
By Malinda Larkin
Dueling initiatives on how to address veterinary needs in Texas continue to develop.
In July 2016, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopted a report reiterating the critical shortages of large animal and rural veterinarians in Texas.
A few months before the report came out, Texas Tech University announced it would form a School of Veterinary Medicine on the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center campus in the Panhandle city of Amarillo. Soon thereafter, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in College Station revealed its long-awaited plans to expand veterinary education, research, and undergraduate outreach into several regions through its own network.
Most recently, Texas A&M University, which currently has the state's only veterinary college, announced it would start to create a larger presence in the Panhandle, while Texas Tech received a funding boost for its proposed veterinary school in the same area.
West Texas A&M
The Texas A&M University System Regents March 8 revealed plans for a $22.8 million building on the West Texas A&M University campus for veterinary education, research, and workforce opportunities in the Panhandle as part of almost $90 million in new commitments to the state's agriculture industry.
Texas A&M University's new Veterinary Education, Research, and Outreach Center will be built adjacent to West Texas A&M University's new Agricultural Sciences Complex and the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory facility, currently in the process of being relocated from Amarillo to Canyon, according to a university press release.
Once the VERO Center is completed in 2020, students from Texas A&M's veterinary college will be able to take courses, participate in extern-ship programs, and conduct research there. Opportunities for research and collaboration with faculty and staff at the TVMDL, West Texas A&M's Agricultural Sciences Complex, and the veterinary college's VERO Center will be available to students from both Texas A&M and West Texas A&M. The TAMU campus in College Station is located about 520 miles southwest of West Texas' campus in Canyon.
Pursuing funding, accreditation
Meanwhile, the Texas Tech University System continues moving ahead with building its own veterinary school.
In 2017, Texas Tech's proposed School of Veterinary Medicine received a $4.2 million appropriation from the Texas Legislature for planning purposes. Texas Tech officials have estimated the total cost at $80 million to $90 million; they have committed to not asking the state to cover construction costs. This May, the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. committed to a minimum of $15 million and up to $69 million toward the school's construction. One requirement is that Texas Tech continue to raise construction funds to offset Amarillo's commitment. Already, other philanthropic commitments have helped the institution to reach its goal.
Plans are to build a main veterinary facility on the Texas Tech Amarillo Campus near its Health Sciences Center. Another facility would be built less than 2 miles away for clinical skills training on production animals, Dr. Guy Loneragan, professor of food safety and public health at Texas Tech University, told JAVMA News.
Tech officials have argued that because the veterinary school would have a distributive clinical education model rather than an on-site teaching hospital, students would get clinical experience in Texas Panhandle veterinary practices and be more inclined to stay in the region.
Texas Tech reached out to the AVMA Council on Education for a consultative site visit, which is scheduled for spring 2019. The program's feasibility study, released in May, is available at https://jav.ma/TTfeasibilitystudy. From there, the veterinary school anticipates a comprehensive site visit in spring 2020. Should it receive a letter of reasonable assurance, Texas Tech could enroll students as soon as fall 2021. Dr. Loneragan said the program has engaged the services of two former veterinary college deans to guide it through the accreditation process.
Annual tuition at the proposed veterinary school is estimated to be $21,165.
A rendering of the planned Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo (Courtesy of Texas Tech)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
Report on veterinary education
The race to increase the number of veterinary graduates in the state is nothing new. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has long received questions as to whether Texas needed a new veterinary school and whether workforce needs could support the production of more large animal veterinarians. The board had researched the topic in 2002 and 2009. In both instances, the board reported there was no need for a second veterinary college; however, in 2009, it said that Texas A&M's veterinary college could increase enrollment to meet future state needs.
As a result, Texas A&M invested $120 million to construct a teaching complex, which opened in 2016, and increased its enrollment by about 20 students, up to 155 per class. That same year, anticipating its expanded capacity for enrollment, the veterinary college announced partnerships with four TAMU System institutions— West Texas A&M University, Tarleton State University, Prairie View A&M University, and Texas A&M University-Kingsville—to encourage underrepresented minorities and rural students to pursue veterinary education.
An initial focus was placed on the partnership with West Texas A&M, where the veterinary college established the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Center in 2016 and hired Drs. Dee Griffin and Dan Posey to build a program to address regional industry needs and enhance interest among students. Those students, officials hope, will return to rural areas in West Texas to work as veterinarians. In 2017, WT sent nine preveterinary graduates to A&M, according to a TAMU news release.
The coordinating board revisited the issue of veterinary educational needs in the state and released a new report in July 2016, available at https://jav.ma/THECBreport. It said, “No new college of veterinary medical education that primarily produces small animal veterinarians is recommended at this time. The high cost of establishing a new veterinary school would outweigh the potential benefits to the state, given the small to moderate workforce demand and the issue that building a new school would not guarantee that any of the graduates would practice on livestock, which is the state's principal area of need, but there are more cost-effective ways of addressing the need for medical care for food animals in Texas.”
Specifically, the report recommended addressing the pending shortage of large animal veterinarians in the following ways:
Fund the Rural Veterinarian Incentive Program created by the state.
Create undergraduate programs in veterinary science that allow a greater scope of practice.
Consider a proposal designed to produce large animal veterinarians in an innovative, cost-efficient manner that does not duplicate existing efforts.
Feasibility study
The board report has not deterred Texas Tech's resolve to move forward.
“Texas is home to one of the world's best and most affordable veterinary medical programs in the country,” Dr. Loneragan said. “The growth in Texas, however, has outstripped the capacity that any one institution can meet. We are a state that rapidly is approaching 30 million people, with huge urban centers and vast agricultural areas with expansive and intensive agricultural enterprises.
“Because of a lack of veterinary medical educational capacity within Texas, we now overwhelmingly rely on out-of-state and out-of-country programs for our workforce. Too many Texans are forced out of Texas to pursue veterinary education, and as a consequence, those students effectively cannot access affordable education in Texas.
“Texas Tech's proposed veterinary school is designed—from student selection, to curriculum, to its very buildings—to address these tenets,” he said. “In that way, we will complement and not duplicate existing efforts.”
New York metro area could get veterinary college
By Malinda Larkin
Long Island University received $12 million from the state of New York this year to create a veterinary college. This is a rendering of the new building the university will build to house the program. (Photos courtesy of Long Island University)
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
Another veterinary college could open in New York, this one on Long Island, with the goal of admitting students as soon as next year.
This May, the state of New York announced plans to spend $12 million to help build the College of Veterinary Medicine at Long Island University's Post campus in Brookville. The university says the veterinary college could be established as soon as this year. It aims to enroll 100 students in the four-year program each year; LIU has committed to adding at least 100 faculty and staff positions.
Jon Schneider, director of public and media relations for Long Island University, told JAVMA News that LIU has “a lot of tracks that are working simultaneously,” adding that the current focus is working through the accreditation process. The proposed veterinary college hopes to admit students as soon as fall 2019; recruitment would start once it receives a letter of reasonable assurance from the AVMA Council on Education. A comprehensive site visit by the COE is scheduled for Aug. 12–16, 2018.
The proposed college would have a distributive model of clinical education rather than an on-site teaching hospital. LIU has already lined up 20 memorandums of agreement with clinical partners in the region, including the Bronx Zoo, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Animal Medical Center, and North Shore Animal League.
The university hired Dr. I. Carmen Fuentealba as dean of the veterinary college in August 2017. Previously, she spent six years at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, most recently as executive associate dean for teaching and learning and professor of veterinary pathology and histology. Before Ross, Dr. Fuentealba taught at veterinary colleges at the University of Calgary, Western University of Health Sciences, University of Prince Edward Island, and Texas A&M University. She received a doctorate in veterinary pathology from the University of Liverpool and her veterinary degree from Austral University of Chile.
The proposed veterinary college would share some infrastructure with LIU's School of Health Professions and Nursing, Schneider said. The state's $12 million would go toward building a new facility on campus for the veterinary program. The university estimates a total cost of $50 million for the next three years for the veterinary program, including capital and operations expenses.
It all started in 2015 when the state received $5.4 billion from one-off national banking settlements. Of that, a $400 million Transformative Investment Program was designated for Long Island that would be doled out over time toward capital projects that would translate into economic development initiatives that create or help retain private-sector jobs. This effort was led by the Long Island Association, the area's primary business group, and the island's delegation to the state.
This year, $72 million from the TIP went to state investments for Long Island. Of that, $12 million went to support the proposed veterinary college.
Schneider explained, with regard to the veterinary program, “We approached the governor's office and talked about the need in our region. Obviously you only have 30 veterinary schools, with just three in the Northeast, the closest being Cornell. This project is speaking to the fact that this is a major need we could fill in our region.”
The three closest veterinary colleges are Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York; the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia; and Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Massachusetts.
“That's what was transformative about this project. This is really filling a need on the island as well as the region. The fact that the New York metro area doesn't have a vet school is something that is a great need that we can fill here based on the enthusiasm we've encountered as we set up clinical affiliations,” Schneider said.
Dr. I. Carmen Fuentealba was hired as dean of the proposed Long Island University College of Veterinary Medicine in August 2017.
Citation: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 253, 2; 10.2460/javma.253.2.134
Epidemics investigated at Smithsonian exhibition
The public will get a better sense of the factors that contribute to infectious disease epidemics in a new exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. It includes the important work veterinarians and others do to prevent them.
“Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World” opened May 18 and will remain on display for three years. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), U.S. Agency for International Development's Predict Consortium, and other global partners collaborated to create the 4,250-square-foot exhibition.
“Understanding how we can prevent zoonotic viruses like Ebola, Zika, and influenza from emerging and spreading around the world … is a critical science lesson for the 21st century,” said Sabrina Sholts, PhD, a research anthropologist and lead curator of the exhibition, at its grand opening. The Smithsonian created the exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the great influenza epidemic of 1918, a pandemic that took the lives of 50 million to 100 million people—between 3 and 5 percent of the world's population at that time.
“Outbreak” is divided into the following four themes:
Outbreak origins—Visitors learn how diseases are transmitted from animals to humans and how environmental factors contribute to disease spread.
Stopping the spread—Factors that can decrease the risk of disease outbreaks are highlighted.
Detection, response, and containment—An introduction covers the variety and interaction of those working in many fields to identify and control the spread of potentially dangerous diseases.
Disease profiles—Visitors can learn about the occurrence, spread, treatment, and prevention of important zoonoses such as Ebola, tuberculosis, and influenza.
Drs. Jonathan Epstein and William B. Karesh are featured in quotes and photos throughout. Both veterinarians are members of the Ecohealth Alliance and travel the globe addressing veterinary issues, conducting research on zoonotic diseases, and promoting one-health issues.
Further, items from both the National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of American History collections illustrate the scientific and cultural impact of epidemics. The items on display include a teal duck specimen used to help identify the pathogen behind the 1918 influenza epidemic and a giant replica of an Aedes mosquito, the genus that carries Zika virus.
In all, “Outbreak” is composed of 15 graphic panels that are available to reproduce on demand, according to the OIE. These graphics can be customized to a local context, enabling interested entities to reproduce the exhibition locally. For further information on the exhibition, visit https://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/outbreak, and contact Audrey Chang at ChangA@si.edu about how it may be freely reproduced by interested parties.
This isn't the first Smithsonian exhibition featuring veterinarians. In 2013, the museum created the traveling exhibition “Animal Connections: Our Journey Together,” which celebrated the human-animal bond. It premiered at the AVMA Annual Convention that year. The Association collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution on the exhibition to showcase the work of veterinarians and to mark the 150th anniversary of the AVMA.
Obituaries
AVMA member AVMA honor roll member Nonmember
Ervin J. Baas
Dr. Baas (Minnesota '60), 86, Richmond, Virginia, died April 25, 2018. He began his career practicing mixed animal medicine in Marshall, Minnesota, and working for the city's meat inspection program. After obtaining a doctorate in comparative pathology and laboratory animal medicine from the University of California-Davis in 1971, Dr. Baas joined the National Institutes of Health staff in Bethesda, Maryland, as an animal disease investigator. During his 30-year career with the NIH, he served as chief of the canine unit in the veterinary branch, was clinical veterinarian for the primate and farm animal units, and served as veterinarian for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
A diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, Dr. Baas worked with other veterinarians to achieve accreditation status with what is now the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care for the entire NIH campus. While at the NIH, he practiced part time at several small animal hospitals in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Bethesda, eventually establishing his own part-time practice in Urbana, Maryland.
Following his retirement from the NIH, Dr. Baas worked for the Medical College of Virginia and consulted for the University of Richmond and Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. He was a member of the District of Columbia VMA, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, and American Society of Laboratory Animal Practitioners.
Dr. Baas served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He is survived by a daughter, son, two grandchildren, and his sister and brother. Memorials may be made to the Lupus Foundation Of Virginia Inc., 2720 Enterprise Parkway No 104, Richmond, VA 23228.
Franklin A. Coy
Dr. Coy (Ohio State '54), 95, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, died April 23, 2018. He practiced small animal medicine in Ohio for 50 years, initially in Cleveland, and, later, in Moreland Hills.
Dr. Coy was a veteran of the Navy. His three sons, two grandchildren, and a sister survive him.
William J. Davis
Dr. Davis (Michigan State '59), 88, Vancouver, Washington, died May 7, 2018. He practiced small animal and holistic medicine in North Olmstead, Ohio, initially at Great Northern Veterinary Clinic, and, later, at Barton-Lorain Animal Hospital. Dr. Davis also co-founded West Side Animal Emergency Clinic in Cleveland, which eventually expanded to a second location on the east side of the city. He retired in 2004.
Dr. Davis is survived by his wife, Maryellen; three daughters and a son; six grandchildren; and a brother. Memorials may be made to the Cleveland Metroparks Trails Fund, 4101 Fulton Parkway, Cleveland, OH 44144, https://jav.ma/trailsfund.
David M. Elston Sr.
Dr. Elston (Texas A&M '52), 93, Lafayette, Louisiana, died May 7, 2018. He began his career practicing primarily large animal medicine in Eunice, Louisiana. In 1960, Dr. Elston established a practice in Lafayette, where he worked for 50 years until retirement. From 1943–46, he served in the Army during World War II.
Dr. Elston is survived by two sons, a daughter, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. His son-in-law and grandson, Drs. James R. Carson III (Texas A&M 78) and James R. Carson IV (Louisiana State '12), are small animal veterinarians in Lafayette.
Amos P. Hollister
Dr. Hollister (Pennsylvania '53), 92, Montrose, Pennsylvania, died March 12, 2018. He owned a large animal practice in Montrose, focusing primarily on dairy medicine, prior to retirement in the late 1980s. Dr. Hollister was a member of the Masonic Lodge and a veteran of the Air Force. His son, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren survive him. Memorials may be made to the Susquehanna County Library, 458 High School Road, Montrose, PA 18801.
Charles G. Liddle
Dr. Liddle (Michigan State '60), 82, Raleigh, North Carolina, died April 19, 2018. Following graduation, he practiced small animal medicine in the Detroit area. Dr. Liddle subsequently joined the Army, serving in Vietnam, and later worked for the United States Public Health Service in North Carolina prior to retirement. During that time, he earned a master's in radiation biology from the University of Rochester.
Dr. Liddle's wife, Beverly; two sons; and two grandchildren survive him.
Edward C. Melby Jr.
Dr. Melby (Cornell '54), 88, Charlotte, Vermont, died April 22, 2018. From 1974–84, he served as the sixth dean of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. During that time, the veterinary college experienced considerable growth in facilities and programs, saw an increase in the number of employees, and saw a rise in its budget and competitive grants and contracts awarded. Dr. Melby oversaw the expansion of the state diagnostic laboratory to offer enhanced services, including an equine drug testing and research program. He also presided over the establishment of the first contagious equine metritis quarantine facility in the state.
Under Dr. Melby's deanship, the Baker Institute for Animal Health experienced substantial re-organization and growth, and the Department of Avian Diseases changed its name and scope to include aquatic animal medicine and built a poultry facility to increase research on poultry diseases. Departments of preventive medicine and pharmacology were formed, and a single Department of Clinical Sciences with subsections by clinical specialty was formed.
Following his years at Cornell, Dr. Melby served as vice president of research and development and vice president of science and technology at SmithKline Beecham Animal Health in West Chester, Pennsylvania, until retirement. Prior to joining Cornell, he practiced mixed animal medicine in Middlebury, Vermont, and later served as a professor and directed the Division of Comparative Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
A diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine, Dr. Melby was a past president of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, National Association for Biomedical Research, and Baltimore City Zoological Society. He was a past chair of the Institute for Laboratory Animal Resources, served on the board of directors of Charles River Laboratories, and was a member of the Vermont VMA and New York State VMS.
Dr. Melby co-edited the three-volume Handbook of Laboratory Animal Science. He received the NYSVMS Award of Merit in 1981, the Charles River Prize in 1982, and a University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Centennial Medal in 1984.
Active in his community, Dr. Melby served on the Charlotte Planning Commission. He was a veteran of the Marine Corps.
Dr. Melby is survived by his wife, Jean; three sons and a daughter; 10 grandchildren; and two sisters. His son-in-law, Dr. Edward J. Robb (Cornell '81), is a veterinarian in Parkville, Missouri.
Benjamin Weiner
Dr. Weiner (Alfort '51), 97, Claymont, Delaware, died May 4, 2018. A 1951 graduate of the National Veterinary School of Alfort in France, he founded Claymont Animal Hospital in Claymont, Delaware, where he practiced small animal medicine for more than 50 years prior to retirement in 2010. Earlier, Dr. Weiner worked for the Department of Agriculture in Boston. Dr. Weiner was an Army veteran of World War II, serving in the Canine Corps.
His son, daughter, and seven grandchildren survive him. Dr. Weiner's son and grandson, Drs. Robert Weiner (Pennsylvania '80) and Eric Weiner (Virginia-Maryland '15), are small animal veterinarians in New City, New York, and East Orlando, Florida, respectively. Memorials may be made to Rockland County Kosher Food Pantry, c/o New City Jewish Center, 47 Old Schoolhouse Road, New City, NY 10956, or Joe Raso Hospice Residence, 11 Stokum Lane, New City, NY 10956.
John A. Wilson
Dr. Wilson (Michigan State '43), 97, Burlington, Wisconsin, died April 27, 2018. Following graduation, he established a practice in Burlington. Dr. Wilson continued to practice in the area until retirement. He was a past member of the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board and a past president of the Rock Valley VMA.
Dr. Wilson was active with the Burlington Rotary Club. His two daughters, six grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren survive him.
