From 2 April - 2 May, National Pet Month will be encouraging people to get happy and healthy spending time with their pets, with its theme of 'Happiness is... time with your pet'.

Organisers say that during the month, thousands of people will be celebrating happy times with their pets at hundreds of events up and down the country. While many of these events will raise funds for local animal charities, National Pet Month is not just about fund raising. It is also all about raising awareness of how pets make people's lives happier and healthier, and how they can repay the pets they love by looking after them responsibly.

Veterinary practices can get involved in National Pet Month, and show what they have to offer clients and potential clients. Details of how to join in and become a supporter are on the website http://www.nationalpetmonth.org.uk/.

Last year's National Pet Month was apparently the most successful to date, with a record number of 1200 events and nearly £80,000 raised for at least 30 animal charities. 

The 2010 overall best National Pet Month event was held by St Boniface Vets in Crediton, Devon. They participated by visiting local nursery and primary schools teaching children about pet health, and specifically raising awareness of exotic animals as pets. Phil Sketchley, Chairman of NPM said: "The 14 excellent educational visits that St Boniface made to local schools and nurseries were inspirational. They were a fantastic example of the partnerships that can be forged between practices and the community during National Pet Month."

He added: "School visits are one great way for practices to get involved - but there are many more. Our top veterinary practice 2010 event, for example, was held by Mill House Vets in Kings Lynn, and which focussed on educating owners on caring for older pets. National Pet Month is an opportunity to help your clients learn more about responsible pet care so they can enjoy their pets for many years to come."

Ceva Animal Health has announced that it will be bolstering its spring Feliway TV advertising campaign with a campaign across the London Underground to help extend its reach to light TV viewers.

The campaign will once again feature the brand's 'That Purple Cat' character. Highlighting stress-related feline behaviour problems and encouraging cat owners to talk to their vet about Feliway, the advertisement will appear on channels such as ITV2, E4, More4 and Channel 4 (London only) from 14 February until 27 March.

The campaign will also be running on 50 high impact TV screens on the London Underground from 28 February until 13 March and 18 April until 1 May. So, according to the company, the ad will not only reach over 1.2 million people who commute and use the Underground every day, but will also be seen by millions on one of the busiest days of the year on the Underground, the Royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

Julia Wood, product manager at Ceva Animal Health, said: "By extending our advertising campaign across the London Underground we are complimenting our TV campaign and targeting commuters with busy lifestyles - who spend little time watching TV - during a unique point in their day."

To support the campaign, Ceva is offering veterinary practices free merchandising material including client leaflets, double sided A3 posters and A5 window stickers. A range of offers are also available for free mini merchandisers and digital photo frames in return for purchasing product. In addition, Ceva is running a prize draw for £250 worth of Champneys Spa vouchers for that 'purrfect' pampering session.

For more information, please contact your Ceva account manager or call 01494 781510.

Scientists from the Animal Health Trust, The Roslin Institute and the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh have launched a study which aims to create a diagnostic test that will allow breeders to assess genetic risk for hip and elbow dysplasia in their dogs.

Dr Sarah Blott, from the Animal Health Trust, said: "Currently the screening process for hip and elbow dysplasia is costly and requires dogs to undergo general anaesthetic so they can be x-rayed.

"Through our study we hope to create a non-invasive DNA-based test that will allow breeders to test much earlier than is currently possible and without the use of GA."

The Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog breed in the UK and worldwide. There were more than 40,000 puppies registered with The Kennel Club in 2010. The development of a DNA test will benefit dogs around the world by enabling breeders to make more informed breeding choices.

According to the Animal Health Trust, the introduction of a DNA test to identify genetic risk of hip and elbow dysplasia will:

• improve welfare as it will not require dogs to undergo anaesthesia or be exposed to x-rays to test for the diseases
• allow breeders to test dogs much earlier than is currently possible. Currently dogs cannot be tested until they are 12 months old (BVA/KC scheme)
• improve the ability of breeders to select against these debilitating diseases 
• result in much quicker progress towards the goal of eradicating hip and elbow dysplasia.

Dr Pam Wiener, from The Roslin Institute, said: "We're very grateful to the BBSRC for funding this study. If we are able to gather enough information and samples there is a very real possibility that in the next few years we will be able to develop a DNA test that will make a major contribution towards eradicating hip and elbow dysplasia in Labrador Retrievers.

"It is also likely that we will be able to use what we learn from the Labrador Retriever study to benefit dogs of other breeds and to prevent other diseases."

To collect information for the study a simple questionnaire is being sent, through The Kennel Club, to owners of Kennel Club registered Hip Scored Labrador Retrievers who were born between 2004 and 2007. The study group is hoping to obtain questionnaires and samples from at least 2,000 Labrador Retrievers.

If you have a Kennel Club registered Hip Scored Labrador Retriever aged between four and seven years old and would like to participate in the study, please visit the AHT website (www.aht.org.uk/labrador.html) or email melissa.fitzgibbon@aht.org.uk

Once questionnaires have been received, the AHT will send each participant a DNA sampling kit to enable owners to provide a DNA sample from their dog through a simple mouth swab. Owners providing the first 1,500 analysed DNA samples will receive a free genetic profile for hip and elbow dysplasia on their dog.

Merial - maker of the canine NSAID Previcox - has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the prevalence of canine osteoarthritis amongst dog owners in the UK.

Previcox Product Manager Claire Edmunds said: "We know that approximately 20% of adult dogs suffer from OA, but less than 25% of these dogs are treated with NSAIDs in the UK. That's one in five dogs that may be enduring the pain and discomfort of a condition that can be improved. Most owners will put their dog's loss of mobility down to old age, however, our aim with this campaign is to raise awareness of this condition with pet owners to encourage them to seek help from their vet for their pets, and assist vets in promoting treatments for this condition."

Merial says veterinary surgeries can take part in the campaign in five easy steps:

• Step one: Ask clients to complete the symptom checklist on routine visits.
• Step two: Review completed checklists with your clients and complete an OA check if needed.
• Step three: If warranted, prescribe OA treatment and give owners a take-home pack to assess the efficacy of treatment.
• Step four: Retain completed checklists for every OA check performed.
• Step five: Use a chart in the waiting room to highlight the number of 'missing dogs' your practice has found.

The following campaign materials are available:

• Waiting room materials - to draw owners' attention to the signs and symptoms of OA.
• Symptom checklist - a leaflet for owners to work through and help identify dogs at risk.
• Take-home pack - a leaflet detailing how canine osteoarthritis affects dogs' lives and how treatment can help, as well as a progress chart to track dogs' improvement, and a free gift.

For more information about the Missing Dog Campaign, please contact your Merial Territory Manager on 0870 6000 123.  

Eleven members of staff at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons are growing moustaches this month in support of the Movember Challenge, a campaign which raises funds to help combat prostate cancer.

Simon Wiklund, Advisory Manager and instigator of the College's participation in Movember 2010, said: "Visitors to the College over the next few weeks shouldn't be alarmed if some members of staff begin to resemble a Village People tribute band. I suggested this to the chaps last week, and was delighted so many were willing to look daft for such a good cause."

According to the Movember website, the aim is simple: "One man dies from prostate cancer every day in the UK. Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men's health by growing a moustache. All MoBros should be clean shaven on 1 Movember and then grow a moustache for the entire month. The moustache becomes the ribbon for men's health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men."

The RCVS team - 'All 'Taches Great and Small' - comprises at least one member of every department in the College, so whilst the team as a whole will be raising as much money as it can, the College says it expects interdepartmental competition to get "quite hairy".

"In spite of ourselves, reputations are at stake here," admits Simon. "We're a mixed-ability team, so it will be interesting to see who sports the best tache at the end of Movember. This is no trivial hirsute."

Lending his support to the team's efforts, and off to something of a head start in the facial forestry department, is RCVS President Peter Jinman. He said: "I'm impressed that so many of the gents on the staff have taken it upon themselves to support The Prostate Cancer Charity in this way. If it's true that eight out ten chaps really do prefer whiskers, they should raise a decent amount of money."

Anyone wishing to support the All Taches Great & Small team in their bristling endeavours should please visit their fundraising pages (via www.rcvs.org.uk/movember). Donations can be made to individual MoBros, or to the team as a whole.

Medivet is celebrating its 100th batch collection for Vet Blood Supplies, the north London-based bloodbank set up in 2007 to provide blood products for its branches around the country.

Veterinary nurse Laura Brind, who is responsible for collecting the blood, said: "We are really proud to celebrate the 100th collection. We travel to Retired Greyhound Trust kennels across south-east England who kindly agreed to arrange the donation in return for free preventative treatment for the dogs."

The collection was taken from Barn Kennels, the Portsmouth branch of the Retired Greyhound Trust, which has been donating blood for the past 18 months.

Clwyd-based veterinary surgeon, Alina Grecko has been struck off by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee for obtaining a prescription-only medicine knowing that it was for human and not veterinary use.

Mrs Grecko faced two charges. 

The first was that she got a nurse colleague to order griseofulvin, a prescription-only antifungal medication, knowing that it was for human use, rather than legitimate veterinary use.

It was also alleged that she then caused a student veterinary nurse to record the order in the name of another veterinary surgeon, who was not involved in the order or prescription of the medication, and falsely record that it was for Mrs Grecko’s dog.

The second charge was that she had acted dishonestly and misleadingly, as the medication was, in fact, intended for use by her husband.

At the outset of the hearing, Mrs Grecko admitted she had asked her RVN colleague to order the medication and for her SVN colleague to record that the medication was for her dog and that doing this was dishonest and misleading.

Mrs Grecko accepted that these admitted charges amounted to serious professional misconduct.

She denied asking an SVN to record it under the name of another veterinary surgeon.

However, the Committee heard from two eye-witnesses who testified consistently that Mrs Grecko had told her SVN colleague to record the medication under another vet's name, and from another witness who testified that Mrs Grecko had made a similar admission.

It therefore found it proven that she had asked her SVN colleague to make a false record, that it was dishonest and misleading, and that together, the charges amounted to serious professional misconduct.

Paul Morris, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf said: “The Committee considered that Mrs Grecko’s conduct had breached her obligations as a veterinary surgeon to respect the proper protections that were in place for the control of prescription-only medications.

"She had committed a serious abuse of her position in using the fact that she could obtain medications by virtue of her profession to circumvent the protections.

"She had been prepared to involve others in the course of the conduct.

"In addition, Mrs Grecko had been prepared to engage in an attempt to conceal her actions and falsify the clinical records in the process.

“Although it was acknowledged that Mrs Grecko may have been subject to some conflicting demands, being affected by her husband’s interests and may have felt a pressure to act, the Committee considered that she had completely failed to acknowledge and respect her overriding professional responsibilities.”

The Committee considered that the offence was a serious one, taking into account the abuse of position and pre-meditated and dishonest conduct.

The Committee also took into account previous adverse findings against Mrs Grecko from 2011, which involved misconduct of a very similar nature, which meant that they could not accept her argument that she had learnt her lesson, and also meant that, in the Committee’s judgement, she presented a significant risk of further repeated errors of judgement and dishonest conduct.

Mr Morris added: “Further, the Committee considered that members of the public would be very concerned to learn that, having once been reprimanded for her previous dishonest conduct, Mrs Grecko had repeated her behaviour.

“It [the Committee] concluded that this rendered Mrs Grecko’s disgraceful conduct in a professional respect incompatible with continued registration and no lesser sanction than removal from the Register would be sufficient to protect the wider public interest in maintaining public confidence in the profession and declaring and upholding proper professional standards.”

Mrs Grecko now has 28 days from being informed of her removal from the Register to lodge an appeal.

www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary

Vygon Vet has launched a procedural custom pack service.

Vygon Vet's procedural custom packs contain all the single-use devices required for a specific procedure enclosed within a sterile wrap. Components available include draping material, theatre clothing, swabs, kidney dishes, forceps etc. Vygon Vet says the service has been developed to reduce infection risks, but also to help manage staff resources more effectively and identify total procedure costs for billing purposes.

The first custom pack is now being used by the team of clinicians at Charter Veterinary Hospital. Dave Tittle BVetMed MRCVS said "The pack contains everything we need, designed to our specification, and will save us theatre preparation time and added expense".

A number of customers have committed themselves to the new service and by the end of 2010 Vygon Vet aims to have many more practices on board. The custom pack service supports Vygon Vet's range of theatre draping packs already available.

For more information, visit www.vygonvet.co.uk

Veterinary nurse students at the Medivet Training College are celebrating a 100% pass rate in this year's VRQ Level 2 and Level 3.

Medivet's Head of Nursing Affairs, Kate Hunt said: "We are absolutely delighted with our students' results. The hard work and dedication of both students and college staff have ensured that we continue to be one of the UK's top training centres for veterinary nurses."

Along with Debbie Frost, the Head of college, Kate oversees all aspects of training for nursing and auxiliary staff, from the curriculum taught at the college to work-based learning in practice.

Kate added: "The focus of our teaching is to ensure that learners have exposure to a wide range of procedures and that they get sufficient support from other trained staff at all times. This ensures they can perform duties with care, and to a high level of professional excellence."

The RCVS-approved Medivet Training College was opened in 2002. College Principal and Medivet Partner, Erwin Hohn said: "Some years ago we became concerned about the shortage of qualified veterinary nurses in the UK. We realised that if we wanted to continue to give the best standards of care we needed to set up our own veterinary nurse training college. We now invest around £600,000 per annum in the training that the college provides."

According to Medivet, training with a large partnership can offer students a number of advantages. Erwin said: "There are now more than 80 practices in the Medivet group. Our students get on-the-job training with mentors and assessors at our practices, at the college and at six continuous care centres. These deal with emergencies and offer more advanced diagnostic, medical and surgical options, giving our students exposure to a full range of procedures. We know this helps them with their formal exams, but for us, it is not just about that, we want our veterinary nurses to know what to do in any situation they come across.

"The college is going from strength to strength. I am extremely pleased with this year's exam results and am proud of our college team and students who constantly deliver their very best."

The Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has approved a new Health Protocol, which formalises a more compassionate approach to veterinary surgeons with health problems.

The Protocol will allow - in appropriate circumstances - veterinary surgeons (and, from next year, registered veterinary nurses) who suffer from health concerns affecting their ability to practise safely, to have the matter dealt with confidentially, without going to a full public Disciplinary Committee hearing.

It will allow individuals to access appropriate support and help away from the public spotlight, while ensuring that they do not put animals or the public at risk.

According to independent legal advice sought by the College, such an approach is appropriate and necessary in order for the College to fulfil its regulatory responsibilities - similar systems exist within other regulators.

The draft Protocol was the subject of consultation amongst the profession and the public over summer. Proposed amendments to the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct, to support the introduction of the Health Protocol, were also approved in the November meeting.

RCVS Head of Professional Conduct, Gordon Hockey said: "The Protocol encourages anyone coming into contact with veterinary surgeons - including other veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, members of practice staff, clients and healthcare professionals - who have concerns about a veterinary surgeon's health to report those concerns to the RCVS as soon as is reasonably practicable.

"Veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses who are concerned about the health of a veterinary surgeon must also take steps to ensure that animals are not put at risk and that the interests of the public, including those of their colleagues, are protected."

Ceva Animal Health has launched Hepatosyl Plus, a development of the liver support supplement for cats and dogs.

Hepatosyl Plus contains the same ingredients as the original product but now also includes Silybin. According to the company, Silybin is the most active isomer of Silybum marianum (milk thistle) which acts as an antioxidant by increasing cellular superoxide dismutase. It joins S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) and Vitamin E to create a triple antioxidant approach to liver support, helping to neutralise free radicals within the liver. Ceva also says Hepatosyl Plus is the only liver supplement to contain Vitamin K, which is needed by the liver for the production of clotting factors II, VII, IX and X, making it ideally suited for pre- and post-anaesthetic liver support.

Hepatosyl Plus is available in 50mg, 100mg and 200mg sprinkle capsules.  For anaesthetic support, Hepatosyl Plus should be administered for one week prior to and following anaesthesia.  For long-term use, the capsules should be given once daily for 2-3 months and then reduced to every other day for ongoing maintenance.

For further information, please contact your local CEVA Animal Health territory manager or call 01494 781510.

Wafcol, or The Worcestershire Animal Foor Company Ltd as it is known in full, has launched a new website. 

The company says it has always claimed its food, developed with leading dermatologist Sue Paterson and BVA President Harvey Locke, can change dogs' lives and that the site now allows you to see how that happens.  

Along with the usual dietary information and range details you would expect to find, the website has a section dedicated to customer testimonials featuring stories like that of Rocco, a five year old chocolate Labrador that was given to The Labrador Lifeline Trust because his owners were unable to cope with the endless vet bills for his skin condition.

Pennie Medland, Area Co-ordinator for The Labrador Lifeline Trust said: "His face was sore and all under his chest and tummy was dry and crusty...he looked thoroughly miserable and depressed."

As part of Rocco's treatment by the Trust's vet, his food was changed to Wafcol Salmon and Potato and after just a few weeks he became a different dog. Pennie said: "The hair on his face has grown back, the awful itching has stopped and his general demeanor is so different from the sad depressed boy I first saw. He has cheered up no end and is really bouncy - it's fantastic to see. Our thanks go out to Wafcol."

For further details about the Wafcol Sensitive range of diets,  visit www.wafcol.co.uk or call 0844 375 7002 now.