Vet Gazette

The nine dogs in the Oregon State Police Drug Detection Canine program have tracked down their fair share of illegal drugs. The dogs’ keen sense of smell makes them top-notch search engines for vehicles, storage facilities, luggage and other drug hiding places. “Our drug detection canines have proven to be important partners for our department and other public safety agencies both on and off the road,” said Sgt. Dave Beck, who has coordinated the State Police canine crew for 21 years.

The dogs and their trooper-handlers went through an intensive training course and certification process before joining the program.  Like other canine law enforcement assistants, the drug sniffing dogs go home each day as part of their handler’s family.

In 2012, Oregon State Police dogs assisted in the seizure of 200 pounds of Marijuana, 110 Marijuana plants, 55 pounds of Cocaine, 82 pounds of Heroin, and 49 pounds of Methamphetamine.

No matter how much we love our pets, sometimes we forget that they get older faster than us. We may recognize that they don’t chase the ball much anymore, and they sleep a lot, but do we really think about what we can do to make their senior lives better?

The Bark.com has ideas for improving senior dog’s lives with simple things like different toys and easier activities. They point out that an older dog may need brighter lighting, a softer bed, and a quiet environment. A little thought on our part can go a long way to making our best friend’s senior years happy ones. Read more.

As summer came to an end this year, OSU’s International Veterinary Student’s Association (IVSA) offered their 6^th annual veterinary service trip to the people and animals of Ometepe Island in Nicaragua.  This year 32 veterinary students, 4 veterinarians, 3 veterinary technicians and one Nicaraguan veterinary student participated in making this clinic a reality. This rural island community does not have access to veterinary care and the island community looks forward to the arrival of this enthusiastic OSU student brigade each year.

As the people of Ometepe rely on their animals for food, transportation, work and companionship the health and condition of these animals directly impacts the people and their livelihood.  The need for veterinary care on Ometepe is evident and many of the animals suffer from malnourishment and disease. It is the goal of IVSA to provide medical interventions that will improve their health and demonstrate the value of proper animal health care.

This year the temporary clinic operated for six days and treated 623 animals. Many of these animals were returning patients.  The clinic offered large and small animal wellness exams, small animal spays and neuters (dogs and cats), large animal castrations (horses and pigs), equine dentals, pregnancy checks, hernia repairs and farms calls. During the last day of the clinic a community seminar was held to increase community awareness of small animal nutrition, body condition, and external and internal parasite control in dogs and cats. The goal of the community seminar is to increase awareness of animal husbandry issues and to improve quality of life for the animals of the island and the communities that rely on them.

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The Shelter Medicine Club (SMC) and the Veterinary Business Management Association (VBMA) are sponsoring a dinner talk by the Oregon Humane Society Investigations Department on Wednesday, Nov. 6th at 5:30pm in Magruder Hall Room 102.

Emily Davidsohn (Investigations Staff Attorney) and Linda Fielder (Hospital and Investigations Manager) will present a talk titled “Responding to Animal Cruelty.” The talk will address how the Investigations Team handles cruelty cases, as well as the responsibility of practicing veterinarians to deal with these cases.

Students participating in the VBMA certificate program will be able to receive credit in the Ethics category for attending this talk.

Dinner will be served (food TBD). Please RSVP by Monday at noon by clicking HERE.

Do you have a dog, cat, horse, hamster or other pet who is a Beaver Nation fan? Then enter them in the Beaver Fan Pet Photo Contest! To submit a photo of your pet wearing orange and black, visit the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Facebook events page. First place winner gets a CVM fleece vest, second place wins a CVM stainless steel mug and third place gets a CVM leash and bandanna. Deadline to submit photos is November 13, 2013. Go Beavs!