“Pets, Personal Property & Divorce on The American Law Journal Monday Oct. 18, 7 p.m. on ... - YAHOO!” plus 2 more |
- Pets, Personal Property & Divorce on The American Law Journal Monday Oct. 18, 7 p.m. on ... - YAHOO!
- Poisoned Pets Worry Manteca Neighbors - msnbc.com
- Trouble ahead for farms as young vets opt to treat pets - Sacramento Bee
| Pets, Personal Property & Divorce on The American Law Journal Monday Oct. 18, 7 p.m. on ... - YAHOO! Posted: 18 Oct 2010 06:04 AM PDT What are couples really fighting about in a contentious divorce? It's not just kids or "things"--frequently it's about the family pet. Five years ago a Pennsylvania judge likened a dog to a lamp or a chair in a "custody" battle. Pennsylvania hasn't budged much, though New Jersey, Maryland and other states are ruling for shared arrangements, and in some cases have begun calling it custody. Philadelphia, PA (Vocus) October 18, 2010 Tonight live at 7:00 p.m. on the Philadelphia CNN-News affiliate WFMZ-TV, The American Law Journal presents "hot" topics in family law including Divorce & Personal Property: What Are We REALLY Fighting About? Host Attorney Christopher Naughton welcomes Bonnie C. Frost of New Jersey's largest family law practice Einhorn, Harris, Ascher, Barbarito & Frost, P.C. and 30+ year family law veteran Donald F. Spry, II of King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul, LLC. Joining the discussion is New Jersey psychologist Dr. Lise Deguire. The guiding precedent for pet custody in Pennsylvania is known as "the Barney rule." It arose from a 2002 case, DeSanctis v. Pritchard, in which a couple had agreed in their divorce settlement to share possession of Barney, their golden retriever-Labrador mix. When the ex-wife remarried and moved away, Anthony DeSanctis went to court to enforce the agreement, arguing that the dog should be treated similarly to a child. He lost. "Every state will deal with the distribution of the pet as part of marital assets, but not many will deal with shared custody," says Philadelphia family law attorney Albert Momjian. "Pennsylvania says you can agree on shared possession of a pet, but we're not going to enforce it." Take the story of Dexter the pug. Initially, a court refused to enforce a sharing agreement between Dexter's divorced owners. But a New Jersey appeals court said that judges can decide who gets so-called "custody" of pets based on their "unique sentimental value." It took two and half years, but Dexter now lives with each owner for part of the year. In a recent Maryland case, the judge ordered divorcing spouses to split time with their dog Lucky, six months apiece. With a nod to the increased value of pets in families, the judge used the term previous courts had avoided--custody. The program will also examine the latest trends in relocation, visitation, custody and other family law issues. Viewer phone calls and e-mails are welcome; toll-free phone number and e-mail address will be announced during the program. The American Law Journal broadcasts every Monday at 7PM on the Philadelphia CNN-News affiliate WFMZ-TV 69 in the tri-state viewing area. All programs can be viewed on the new program's website at http://www.LawJournalTV.com. Next week: The Legal, Medical and Personal Cost of Overselling Antipsychotics. # # # Valerie Jones This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Poisoned Pets Worry Manteca Neighbors - msnbc.com Posted: 18 Oct 2010 06:47 AM PDT MANTECA, Calif. — KCRA.com More than a half dozen dogs and cats have died in Manteca after someone fed the animals food laced with toxic antifreeze. Over the last few weeks, some of them have ended up dead where backyards face the walking trail and park. Apparently, someone walking through a park along Trailwood Avenue is throwing pieces of foil with meat inside, tainted with antifreeze. "I understand with antifreeze, it's a slow painful process, it dehydrates the animal from the inside out," Les Rowe from Manteca Animal Control said. Katrina Sotomayor's dog and cat were poisoned earlier this year. "We found the dog in the garage. It was the most awful thing in the world. The cat we found two days later in the backyard," Sotomayor said. Other neighbors are worried and are bringing in their dogs at night. "We have three kittens and one came up last night with a skinned tail that looked like a rat. Someone honestly skinned the tail on it," Sotomayor said. The homeowner's association has increased security and residents are keeping an eye on their pets and another on the fence line. Manteca Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward in the case. People with information should call 209-823-8346. Callers can remain anonymous. Most Popular Stories at KCRA This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Trouble ahead for farms as young vets opt to treat pets - Sacramento Bee Posted: 14 Oct 2010 05:19 AM PDT FRESNO, Calif -- FRESNO, Calif. - Stuart Hall doesn't mind the triple-digit temperatures, the flies or the occasional temperamental cow. "This is a physical job," said Hall, a Visalia, Calif.-based farm veterinarian. "But this is what I love to do." Agricultural leaders wish there were more like him. The vast majority of veterinarians choose to take care of dogs and cats, not cows, pigs and chickens. The trend has raised concerns among animal-health experts who worry that there won't be enough farm veterinarians to fill the expected vacancies at key federal agencies responsible for protecting the nation's food supply. Nearly 30 percent of the veterinarians at the federal level, including at the Food Safety and Inspection Agency, are eligible to retire in the next three years. Rural communities also are feeling the squeeze. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that more than 1,300 counties in the U.S. don't have a farm veterinarian. "The demand and need for services is critical," said Gina Luke, assistant director in the government relations division of the AVMA in Washington, D.C. "We are talking about making sure we have enough people to treat animals, and make sure that our food supply is safe." For years, interest in becoming a large-animal veterinarian has gradually been waning. Veterinary schools are seeing fewer students with farm backgrounds. At the same time, the pet industry has exploded. An estimated $3.4 billion was spent on pet services last year, including trips to the vet. The lure of having a staff and working in an air-conditioned office has become a strong attraction for students, as does the prospect of an income that will help pay for their education - a cost that can be more than $100,000. The average salary for small-animal vets is $64,744, compared to $57,745 for large-animal vets, according to a 2008 survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association. "As vets, the small-animal practice looks pretty attractive from a quality-of-life point of view," said Hall, who works for Lone Oak Veterinary Clinic in Visalia. From 1998 to 2009, the number of companion-animal vets has climbed to 47,118 from 30,255, while the number of farm-animal vets has dropped to 5,040 from 5,553, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Complicating the issue is the graying population of farm-animal vets. Half are older than 50. Only 4.4 percent are younger than 30. "There are folks who are looking to retire or sell their practice and they are finding it challenging to hire someone to take their place," said David Kirkpatrick, spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association. Young veterinarians are more likely to take a job in a city and not in the rural areas where they often drive long distances to see their clients. Many of those rural areas are underserved, say veterinary industry officials. About 500 counties in the nation with large-animal populations have no veterinarian. In California, at least six rural counties, mostly in the northern half of the state, have just one large-animal veterinarian. Jennifer Mather practices in rural Placer County, in California's San Joaquin Valley. She took over an area that was served by three veterinarians who recently retired. "I would love to share this area with other vets," said Mather, who has been practicing for a year. "There is a real need up here. I get calls from people who are at least an hour away and more, asking me if I can come see their cattle." Mather even got a call from a beef cattle owner who was three hours south of her. She couldn't make the drive but she gave the rancher some advice over the phone. "Sometimes that is all I can do," she said. Industry officials, congressional leaders and veterinary schools are responding to the need for more animal doctors with legislative remedies and outreach programs. At the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, vet school applicants interested in becoming farm-animal vets have an admissions edge. And the school has reached out to high schools in rural areas with educational programs aimed at boosting the numbers of students. "We have some undergrads who have not been to a farm or even seen a large farm animal," said Terry Lehenbauer, an associate director at UC-Davis' Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, Calif. "So we are having to do a better job of selling our program." School officials know they face a challenge, but their work appears to be paying off. Over the past four years, the number of UC-Davis students interested in large-animal medicine has more than doubled to 11 students out of 127. Nearly half are studying to be small-animal veterinarians. The rest have selected different specialties, such as equine or zoological. UC-Davis student Jessica Woultee said students face a tough decision when choosing a career path. She is among a group of senior students training at Tulare's center. The students get hands-on experience treating dairy cows and doing research in the center's lab. "Being able to find a job is a concern of a lot of us, so we have to look at all our options," Woultee said. Woultee likes the outdoors and enjoys taking care of large animals. But she also knows the realities of paying off thousands of dollars in student loan debt. She has considered working for the federal or state government, but also is exploring the possibility of opening a private practice handling both large and small animals. "In today's economy, you almost have to do a little bit of everything," Woultee said. To help boost the number of farm animal vets, federal legislators have introduced several bills, including the Veterinary Services Investment Act, which is aimed at recruiting veterinarians, helping vets expand their practice and providing nontuition financial assistance for students. The bill has passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting approval in the Senate. If approved, it would complement an existing federal loan-repayment program that provides students up to $75,000 in exchange for agreeing to work in an underserved area for three years. Lehenbauer, who was on the program's selection panel, said helping students defray some of the cost of their education is an important factor in attracting more veterinarians. This year, more than 500 students applied for the repayment program, and between 60 and 80 students will receive funding, Lehenbauer said. "Money can be a real magnet," Lehenbauer said. "And we are already seeing lots of interest in this." What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.) Here are some rules of the road: • Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior. • Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear. • Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals. • Stay on topic. 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