Lucy Evans and Jamie Hollis, who work in the RCVS Professional Conduct Department, will join RCVS Trust Director Cherry Bushell to raise funds in the British 10K London Run on 12 July.

None of the three runners have run any kind of race since their school sports days - and are appealing for support as they aim to raise at least £300 each for the Trust. 

To sponsor a runner, you can log onto http://www.justgiving.com/rcvstrust and, if you are a UK tax-payer, this also means the Trust gets your tax back. Or, if you prefer to send a cheque, sponsorship forms are available from info@rcvstrust.org.uk or 020 7202 0743.

Lucy said: "The RCVS Trust is a great charity which supports veterinary education and has specialist library and information services for vets and VNs to use. Small charities like the Trust can get overlooked in big fundraising events so I'm glad to be able to help out - even if the thought of running 10K is a bit daunting!"

The race will be broadcast through the British 10K London Run website: http://www.thebritish10klondon.co.uk/.

Companion Care Vets has opened its first new standalone joint venture surgery in Ayr, Scotland. 

At 3,071 sq ft the £300,000 surgery is the largest of the groups' 86 strong network and is the first standalone surgery to be opened under the joint venture partnership model that has been in place since 2001.

The surgery is located in a retail park environment, to give easy access for clients and their pets. It is a full service practice, which Companion Care says is fitted with all the latest equipment, including digital x-ray machines and a full operating suite.

Managing Director, Jane Balmain, said: "The opening of our first new standalone surgery in Ayr is a real milestone for us as a business because it opens up our offering to the vets and veterinary nurses who are interested in a joint venture partnership, but whose preference is to have a more traditional looking standalone surgery."

Whilst the Ayr surgery is standalone in its own right, due to the unique relationship Companion Care Vets has with Pets at Home, the surgery works in close partnership with the local Pets at Home store. This will help to drive client registrations and business development and further enable Pets at Home to develop the full pet care experience for its customers.

Jane added: "We believe that this new venture offers any potential partner the best of both worlds: a superb in-store surgery with footfall of thousands of customers a month, or a standalone new surgery linked to local store network to develop the business. I don't believe any other company can offer this unique proposition."

Veterinary surgeon, and joint venture partner of the Ayr surgery, Kirstin Fyfe says, "I am extremely proud to be opening the first standalone surgery alongside the Companion Care team and the facilities available to my team and I and local pet owners are fantastic. The latest equipment, coupled with a spacious and modern waiting area and the convenience of our location is what makes this a winning formula."

A research project funded by The Horse Trust has found that various types of ocular tumours can be successfully treated with mitomycin C, a cytotoxic antibiotic isolated from a bacterium.

The research concludes that mitomycin C offers a safe and cost effective alternative to current treatment options such as surgery and radiation.

The research project was led by Fernando Malalana, while working as The Horse Trust's Clinical Scholar in Equine Internal Medicine at University of Liverpool. Fernando is now working as a Clinician Teacher in Equine Internal Medicine at the university.

Ocular tumours are more difficult to treat than tumours in other parts of the horse's body due to the risk of damaging the eye. In the study, Malalana investigated the use of mitomycin C in treating ocular squamous cell carcinoma, the most common ocular tumour in horses, and occular sarcoids, skin tumors that frequently affect the eyelids .

Mitomycin C is an antibiotic isolated from a bacterium, Streptomyces caespitosus. It is known to have cytotoxic effects and has been used to treat tumours in horses before, but only in combination with surgery.

Currently, the main method of treating ocular squamous cell carcinoma is by removing the tumour surgically or with radiation. Both treatments are costly and have a number of associated risks. There is also the risk of damage or scarring to the eye.

Fourteen horses with ocular squamous cell carcinoma, three of which were affected bilaterally, were included in the study. Mitomycin C was applied to the conjunctival sac of the affected eye; in some of the cases the treatment was combined with surgery. Malalana found that of the 8 eyes treated with mitomycin C alone, clinical resolution occurred in 6 cases. Of the 9 eyes treated with both surgery and mitomycin C, clinical resolution occurred in 7 cases.

Mitomycin C was also used to treat various types of sarcoids found in the eye. Currently, the most effective treatment for occular sarcoids is radioactive wire. However, radioactive wire treatment is not ideal as it is expensive, only offered in two locations in the UK, and has potential health risks to the vet applying the wire due to exposure to radioactivity.

Six horses and two donkeys with occular sarcoids, including one horse that was affected bilaterally, were treated with mitomycin C, which was injected directly into the tumour. Malalana found that of the nine nodular and fibroplastic occular sarcoids treated with the antibiotic, all were completely cleared. However, the vets did not have good results with verrucous sarcoids.

Malalana said: "The results of this research should offer hope to the owners of horses that have eye tumours. We have already been contacted by vets from across Europe to find out more information about this treatment and hope that it will be offered to more horses with occular tumours in the future".

Vets at the University of Liverpool are now testing the use of mitomycin C on other tumours that are difficult to treat surgically, including melanomas near the horse's anus. So far, two cases have been treated, but it is too early to tell whether treatment has been successful.

Malalana's research has been submitted to Veterinary Ophthalmology journal.

Pedigree has announced that it has raised over £160,000 to help the thousands of dogs abandoned every year in the UK, through its charitable initiative, The Pedigree Adoption Drive 2011.

Pedigree says its fundraising comes at a crucial time, as rescue centres' facilities across the country are severely suffering under the strain of the highest level of dog abandonment in over a decade. 

The Pedigree Adoption Drive, which launched in mid-October, aims to raise awareness of the ever-increasing issues of dog abandonment and funds for the hundreds of rescue centres across the country that work tirelessly to find these dogs new loving homes. 

Now in its fourth year, the campaign called upon dog lovers everywhere to show their support, by taking part in the world's first virtual dog walk around the web. In addition, consumers got involved in a host of other activities - donating via text message and online, to help the Drive reach this year's grant total. 

The funds raised this year will be distributed through grants to 90 rescue homes across the country - including three special grants of £15,000 given to Bath Cats and Dogs Home, £20,000 given to North Clwyd Animal Rescue and £25,000 given Birmingham Dogs Home.  Every grant will be put towards projects aimed at making tomorrow better than today for dogs - including the refurbishment of dilapidated kennel blocks, desperately needed veterinary facilities and the supply of essential surgical equipment.

TV presenter and vet Steve Leonard, who is the ambassador of this year's campaign, said: "The money raised from this year's Pedigree Adoption Drive is a great example of how we can achieve so much together to help take steps towards tackling the issue of dog abandonment.  The grants awarded to rescue centres this year will make a big difference in helping to find many rescue dogs, the loving homes they deserve."

Katie Wragg, Pedigree Adoption Drive Brand Manager said: "In the last four year's we've raised over £1million for rescue centres supporting the country's abandoned dogs and despite the tough economic climate, the amazing public reaction has enabled us to really make a difference to the lives of abandoned dogs across the UK and help give them  a bright future."

For more information on the campaign log on to: http://www.pedigreeadoptiondrive.com/

Royal Canin has launched two new skincare diets.

'Hypoallergenic Wet' is a wet adaptation of its 'Hypoallergenic' range of diets, providing variety for the nutritional management of dogs with adverse food reactions. 'Anallergenic' dry food is for the dietary management of dogs with even the most severe dietary allergy.

'Hypoallergenic Wet' contains soy protein hydrolysate, so it can either be fed as a complete diet or interchanged and used as an addition to Hypoallergenic, Hypoallergenic Moderate Calorie or Hypoallergenic Small Dog. The wet food, available in a 400g can, can be recommended for short term feeding (for an elimination diet strategy) or for the lifelong nutritional management of dogs with adverse food reactions. Royal Canin says it is designed to be highly digestible through its low molecular weight peptides and is also appropriate for the dietary support of dogs with inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhoea and Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI).

'Anallergenic' follows in the footsteps of Hypoallergenic but goes further - offering both hydrolysed proteins and a pure carbohydrate source, to which exposure is limited and therefore allergy would be rare. The diet comprises a unique protein source composed exclusively of free amino acids and very low molecular weight oligopeptides. Much like the Hypoallergenic range, Anallergenic is also formulated with essential fatty acids to help support skin health and a complex of nutrients to help maintain the barrier effect of the skin.

The fully balanced diet - suitable for the nutritional support of adult dogs either short or long-term - has proven results with 100% of dogs in a Royal Canin study showing significant improvement in their skin condition.

Gudi Stuttard BVSc MRCVS, one of Royal Canin's Veterinary Support Managers, said: "These two new products join our well-established 'Hypoallergenic' range, as well as our recently launched 'Skin Care' diets - for the nutritional management of dogs with dermatosis unrelated to food intolerance or allergy.

"By building on our portfolio of veterinary skin care diets, we aim to further strengthen our DermAlliance campaign, which is dedicated to assisting in the improvement of skin care knowledge in general veterinary practice."

Please visit www.royalcanin.co.uk for more information.

Bristol Vet Specialists has launched a chronic pain clinic for cats and dogs in the South West of England, led by Jo Murrell, European Specialist in Anaesthesia and Analgesia.

The clinic offers Specialist care primarily for patients with osteoarthritis pain, but also those with chronic pain caused by other conditions, such as cancer, dental and ear diseases, spinal disease and feline hyperaesthesia syndrome.  

BVS says cats and dogs coming to the clinic will get the highest level of care with a specialist assessment from Jo, who also also works closely with the orthopaedic and neurology services to offer a global and holistic approach.

The assessment will identify signs of chronic pain, gauge the severity, and also evaluate the impact of the condition on the animal’s quality of life.

Jo says it is important to identify these conditions as early as possible, as instigating pain management early helps to dampen down pain signals and reduce overall upregulation of the pain pathways.

To that end, Jo uses validated clinical metrology instruments (owner questionnaires) to measure the severity of pain, especially during initial appointments.

Should a condition be detected, Jo and her team will be able to offer pharmacotherapy, intra-articular and epidural injections and acupuncture.

Jo also works closely with physiotherapists and hydrotherapy services, which can be used as adjunctive therapy.

Jo said, said: “Many cats and dogs will experience chronic pain. These cases need to be thoroughly investigated to ensure that the cause of pain is properly identified and treatment quickly provided. We are very pleased to be able to open our new chronic pain clinic for cat and dog owners in the South West today to provide this essential service.”

https://www.bristolvetspecialists.co.uk 

IVC has opened Blaise Veterinary Referral Hospital, one of the largest referral centres in the UK, with a capacity to treat up to 10,000 pets a year.

Located on the Longbridge regeneration site near Birmingham, Blaise Referrals is IVC's first purpose-built, multi-disciplinary hospital in the UK and the company says it provides a blueprint for its future hospitals, with a clinician-led building design and a nurse-led clinical floor, both of which are fairly new practices for the profession.

Blaise Referrals will accept patients from first opinion practices across the UK and offer a wide range of services including orthopaedic and soft tissue surgeries, neurology, cardiology, internal medicine.

The hospital has a state-of-the art intensive care unit with a dedicated ICU team which can support other hospital departments with its advanced facilities.

The 36,000 square foot hospital also boasts a 1.5T Siemens MRI, a 64 slice Siemens CT scanner, multiple ultrasound machines and both fixed and digital radiography machines.

The team at Blaise is led by clinical director Former Member and hospital director Julie Davis, both of whom have been hard at work over the last year amassing a team of veterinary professionals across multiple disciplines including Jacques Ferreira as head of anaesthesia, Jennifer Raj as head of internal medicine and Carlo Anselmi as head of diagnostic imaging.

Andy said: “We’ve worked incredibly hard to get to this point and I know I speak on behalf of the whole team here at Blaise when I say we are thrilled to officially be able to welcome pets and owners from all around Birmingham and the Midlands.

“Recent years have seen an ever-increasing need for specialist referral services in the veterinary industry and we are here to answer that demand by providing excellent high-quality and professional care for pets who need it.”

www.blaise-referrals.com

Hill's Pet Nutrition has reported some early results from its '60 Tonnes in 6 Months' pet weight loss campaign, which started 2 months ago.

The company says that although there is only preliminary data available from 33 practices, it's clear that the campaign is working, with each practice involved reporting on average over 10 Kg weight loss from their patients. However, many practices are holding on to send in results until their patients have reached their final targets, so more data is expected. 

Hill's says that some practices have had great success using its PR kit, generating positive coverage in local newspapers. Sara Locke, Associate Customer Marketing Manager is reminding practices that January is the traditional time for 'dieting fever' to hit the headlines after the indulgencies of the festive season. She said: "If you have one of our PR kits, don't forget to send out your pro forma press release - it's not a big task to customise it with your practice details and you could find yourself making a big splash locally at a time when we know interest will be heightened."

As part of the campaign, Hill's has also produced a series of nurse webinars, the last of which was on exercise and rehabilitation programmes for overweight pets and contains tips on how to develop a personalised exercise programme that fits with the owner's lifestyle and reflects the pet's capabilities and level of mobility. The webinar can be viewed here: https://hillsvet.webex.com/hillsvet/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=13881732&rKey=E1182C100CB53476

Further information is available from local Hill's Territory Managers or by calling Hill's on 0800 242438 or in ROI 1 800 626002.

Ceva Animal Health, manufacturer of Feliway and Adaptil, is making a last call for nominations for its awards for animal welfare, which must be received by 27^th January 2012.

The inaugural awards, which take place during WSAVA/BSAVA/FECAVA Congress in Birmingham in April, formally recognise veterinary professionals and individuals who have gone the extra mile to improve animal welfare both in practice and beyond. The awards feature three categories: 

• Chris Laurence Vet of the Year Award - this award recognises a veterinary surgeon who is following in Chris' footsteps by consistently demonstrating their commitment to the continued improvement of animal welfare
• Welfare Nurse of the Year Award - this award is for a veterinary nurse who has shown real commitment to improving and championing good animal welfare
• Pet Lovers' Welfare Award - this award is open to all individuals involved in the care of animals, whether working in practice, charities or dedicating their spare time to improving animal welfare

Prizes include a trip to New Zealand WSAVA in 2013 for the winner of the Chris Laurence Vet of the Year Award, a trip to a European Animal Welfare Congress for the winner of the Welfare Nurse of the Year Award and £1,000 worth of travel vouchers for the winner of the Pet Lover's Welfare Award.

Nomination forms can be downloaded from www.ceva.co.uk. Nominations should consist of full details about why the nominee deserves to win. Judging will be based on support materials such as case studies, examples and pictures, demonstrating the nominee's commitment to animal welfare. Anyone, whether a veterinary professional, pet owner or animal lover can nominate. All those who have nominated someone for an award will be entered into a prize draw to win £250 of high street vouchers.   

For further information, telephone Ceva Animal Health on 01494 781510, email welfare.awards@ceva.com or contact your local Ceva territory manager.

CVS has launched an online information resource for its Patient Care Assistants (PCA), containing CPD, training, resources and support designed specifically for them.

The company says many in the profession are unaware of what PCA's can do, which means they're often not used to their full potential and instead wind up doing the cleaning. 

The CVS PCA Hub is intended to help staff develop all of the attributes required of a great veterinary PCA, with courses covering theatre practice, dispensary, lab skills, consulting skills, neonatal care and inpatient care.

Training ranges from short bite size learning to an in-depth Level 2 Certificate in Veterinary Care Support Apprenticeship. 

The PCA Hub has been made available to all CVS staff in both clinical and non clinical roles, and the company says many of the courses are free or trainees can use their CPD allowance.

Rob Kelly, Head of Clinical Veterinary Education at CVS, said: “We want our Patient Care Assistants to have better job satisfaction and to make their day-to-day jobs more rewarding.

"We also want practices to understand the skills they have and to use them to their full potential, whilst freeing up other clinical staff to do other jobs.

“So this new hub for the first time provides all of the training, resources and support required by our Patient Care Assistants - in a one-stop-shop.

"The courses have been specifically designed to provide our PCAs with their own continuous professional development.

"A lot of PCAs will also go on to become student vet nurses, so giving them this foundation will hugely help them with their future studies.”

cvs-knowledgehub.com 

Gordon Hockey has been appointed Acting Registrar at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

He succeeds Jane Hern, who had been Registrar for 15 years before deciding to move on to pursue other interests.

Gordon, who is a qualified pharmacist and barrister, has been at the College for the last 13 years as Head of the Professional Conduct Department and Assistant Registrar.

Meanwhile, the College says it is giving consideration to the future scope of the Registrar and Secretary's roles, as the Officer team begins the recruitment process.

Eleanor Ferguson has taken over as Acting Head of the Professional Conduct Department.

The University of Bristol's Langford Veterinary Services (LVS) has announced the completion of its new clinical facilities.

The first phase of the £13 million development includes a new small animal surgery building, comprising five theatres, an ICU, a dedicated anaesthesia induction and recovery and an imaging suite.

The imaging suite comprises a 16-slice CT scanner, for small animals and horses, conventional digital radiography with a DR system, a high-resolution fluoroscopy, diagnostic ultrasound, echocardiography, scintigraphy and a high resolution 1.5 tesla MRI scanner available seven days a week.

Lynne Hill, Chief Executive of LVS, said: "The new facility provides state-of-the art diagnostic imaging facilities at all times, to help the animals under our care."

LVS highlights the case of Gainsborough, an eight-year-old Irish draught gelding, to illustrate the benefits of its new facilities. The horse, used for jumping and endurance, was initially presented to the Equine Hospital in October 2010, with clinical signs including nasal airflow obstruction and discharge, which was limiting his athletic capabilities.

Using videoendoscopy and radiography, a space-occupying mass was diagnosed in the paranasal sinuses impinging into the nasal cavity. With the horse conscious, but sedated, using regional local anaesthetic nerve blocks, the bulk of the mass was removed and he returned to work. However, the owner reported a recurrence of the clinical signs and he was returned to the clinic for reassessment.

The new imaging suite, only one of a few such units in the UK, has been adapted to enable the imaging of a horse's head while conscious using a frictionless air plinth. The adaptation allows detailed imaging of both bone and soft tissue structures within a horse's head, without requiring a general anaesthetic.

Using the new imaging suite, Gainsborough's CT examination revealed a portion of the mass, which had been inaccessible to the previous keyhole surgery, had expanded into the nasal cavity. The detail of the images enabled careful planning of a second operation that facilitated removal of the large remnant of the mass, which appeared to be benign, with minimal collateral trauma.

In addition to imaging the heads of conscious horses, dogs and cats are able to undergo complete body scans using the same unit while anaesthetised. As well as enabling detection and diagnosis of lesions without invasive or painful tests at an earlier stage, the unit will facilitate operative planning and add to the body of knowledge of disease pathogenesis.

For more information about LVS, visit: http://www.langfordvets.co.uk/