“Trouble ahead for farms as young vets opt to treat pets - Sacramento Bee” plus 2 more |
- Trouble ahead for farms as young vets opt to treat pets - Sacramento Bee
- Firefighters let Gene Cranick's house burn, pets die over $75.00 (video) - Examiner
- Pets vie for spot on David Letterman's signature 'Stupid Pet Tricks' segment - New York Daily News
| 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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| Firefighters let Gene Cranick's house burn, pets die over $75.00 (video) - Examiner Posted: 05 Oct 2010 06:30 PM PDT Firefighters let Gene Cranick's house burn, pets die over $75.00 (video) It may be time for South Fulton, Tennessee to rethink their policies on fire protection. A resident of Obion County, Tennessee, Gene Cranick, lost his home and pets to a fire because he forgot to pay the annual $75.00 fee for fire protection. Gene Cranick lives outside the South Fulton limits, therefore he must pay the South Fulton fire department the fee for protection. He didn't pay the fee, and he didn't get service. Speaking with WTMA, Gene Cranick said, "I just forgot to pay my $75. "I did it last year, the year before. ... It slipped my mind." The South Fulton fire department had no alternative programs in place, no charitable emergency organizations that would step in on a moment's notice and pay the fee, and apparently no desire to put out Gene Cranick's mobile home fire on behalf of the state of Tennessee. Instead, they followed orders and did nothing. WTMA says the fire was eventually put out when a neighbor who had paid the fee called for service after the fire threatened their residence. Though the neighbor offered to pay for the department to extinguish the fire at Gene Cranick's mobile home, they refused. What would South Fulton do if no one paid the fee? Would they let the whole city burn? There is no doubt that it is time for South Fulton or the state of Tennessee to rethink their policies regarding the pay or no spray policy. You may see a video report with Gene Cranick and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann in the video player to the left.
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| Pets vie for spot on David Letterman's signature 'Stupid Pet Tricks' segment - New York Daily News Posted: 17 Oct 2010 01:26 AM PDT  Watts/News Adorable Lola (l.), Munchie (c.) and Tuffy relax after Tuffy's audition for 'Stupid Pet Tricks' in Central Park Saturday. Tuffy basically stood on her hind legs, but hey, everyone's a winner.Tuffy, a 5-year-old Chihauhua-poodle mix, looked pretty stupid even before doing his trick. The diminutive dog sported a blue and orange mohawk, complemented by a black cape with skull and crossbones, for his shot at a spot opposite David Letterman. Tuffy was one of a dozen pooches vying in Central Park Saturday for an appearance on Letterman's signature "Stupid Pet Tricks" segment. And yes, the stunts were as advertised. There was Rex, the 2-year-old terrier who did a death swoon. Tuckett the Shih Tzu performed his best fist-bump. And Baxter the Yorkie sneezed on command. "Is it flu season?" asked his owner, 53-year-old Lynn Consovoy of Paramus, N.J. "Sit. Sneeze!" Upper West Side couple Al and Tanya Percival brought Bailey Bear, a Wheaton Terrier, to show off his spin moves. As Tanya spun her finger above the pet's head, Bailey refused to follow. "Bailey, concentrate, boy!" Tanya encouraged him. "He's got stage fright." The strangely outfitted Tuffy did little more than stand on his hind legs - but that was good enough for owner Lourdes Lebron, 56, of Yonkers. "He's got my personality," she said. "We do everything. My whole life consists of going to parties so he can come with me." Tuffy was challenged for best-dressed by Tommi T, a 5-pound break-dancing Chihuahua who wore a black hoodie with orange-and-silver high-top sneakers. Letterman talent coordinator Ryan Williams had a good word for one and all - although he wouldn't say who the top dogs were. The best in show will appear in February. "We saw a lot of really fun tricks," Williams said. "They haven't made my jaw drop, but they were funny. Everyone's a winner on 'Stupid Pet Tricks.'" 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 |
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