Orlando, Fl. The North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) is among the largest veterinary meetings in the world, and was held January 7 through 11 at various conference centers in Orlando, FL. Topics discussed were as varied as the avian flu, how the majority of dogs tested positive for heartworm disease after Hurricane Katrina and how a new pheromone releasing device can be worn as a dog collar to ease anxiety. Still, the biggest news was an outcome of the meeting of the American Humane Association’s National Emergency Management Summit held in conjunction with the NAVC vet conference. The summit meeting was originally scheduled to be in Austin, TX around the time Katrina was bearing down on New Orleans, and had been postponed. “America witnessed how so many lives were lost because people had nowhere to evacuate with their pets,” said Julie Morris, senior vice president national outreach at the ASPCA. “And they weren’t about to leave their animals behind. The hurricanes were a wake up call for this no never happen again.” Along those lines, Marie Wheatley, president and CEO of the American Humane Association (AHA), the summit’s sponsor, met with representatives of the American Red Cross in Washington D.C. just prior to the Orlando meeting. “People misunderstand, it’s not a matter of (the Red Cross shelters) not being animal friendly, it’s a matter of health and safety for the people in the shelters,” she said. Wheatley announced that the AHA had just signed a letter of agreement with the Red Cross allowing local humane societies to shelter pets adjacent to Red Cross shelters for people. “This is a new day,” Wheatley cheered. Indeed, this agreement is a huge step. But Wheatley explained that the Red Cross is a national organization consisting of over 1,000 local chapters. Decisions will ultimately need to be made at the local level. Also, attending the Summit were local shelters from around the country, including many impacted by hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita. Laura Maloney, executive director of the LASPCA (the largest shelter in Louisiana, located in New Orleans) said that while their facility was destroyed, their spirit hasn’t been. For now, their shelter is located in an old warehouse and they already have plans to re-build. Maloney said she’s proud of how she and her staff were able to evacuate the 263 animals from their shelter before Katrina arrived; and how their staff, volunteers and volunteers from other communities helped to save an additional 8,500 animals after the hurricane hit. She even offered a power point presentation on what didn’t work. She said many leaders in New Orleans Parishes insisted on making independent decisions rather than working together; an early lack of communications with between shelters, within shelters and between shelters and the public; confusion about who was in a leadership role regarding animal issues; how to best assign volunteers from shelters who arrived form other places; confusion about what to do with the overwhelming quantity of merchandise and supplies which arrived from around the country; and how to deal with rumors on the Internet and inaccurate reporting by the media. Other shelter directors who found themselves in the eye of the storms also presented at the AHA Summit, critically detailing what they may have done a better job at doing. Tara High was a board member of Mississippi Humane, Gulfport was a local real estate agent. As the hurricane winds blew toward Gulfport, the shelter’s executive director resigned and High - who was on the Board of Directors - stepped in. High was near tears as she spoke. “The shelter wasn’t able to evacuate the animals. They had no way out.” Still, High and the shelter workers were optimistic since the shelter only suffered modest damage as a result of Hurricane Camille. Unfortunately, Katrina was unforgiving; the shelter was flooded. The majority of animals survived by swimming for their lives. Six employees, many who’s own homes were destroyed, cared for the animals until help arrived. High discussed another real-life issue in hurricane ravaged regions. “Our donor bases have literally disappeared.” At least one FEMA staffer was in attendance at the Summit as were representatives of the Humane Society of the United Shelters, and shelters across the country. Heartworm News Veterinarians at the vet conference spoke about the surprising number of dogs who are not on a heartworm preventative. Depending on the source of the statistics, it seems anywhere from about 60 per cent to 80 per cent of dogs rescued post Katrina tested positive for heartworm disease. “A very important wake up call for us,” said Dr. Jorge Guerrero, chair of the American Heartworm Society Scientific Program Committee. “We make assumptions based on what we recommend to veterinarians. Certainly, some of these dogs were strays, so it is no surprise they were heartworm positive. But how about the dogs who visited their veterinarians? Heartworm is an absolutely preventable disease.” Some say finances are an issue, but Dr. Zach Mills, executive director of veterinary medical affairs at Merial, the manufacturer of the heartworm preventatives Heartgard Plus and Heartgard says, “I don’t buy it; I think every pet owner can afford ten cents a day to potentially save their pet’s life. That’s less than the cost of a cell phone.” More Vet Conference Notes Veterinarians held sessions to update their knowledge and participation in a proposed emergency plan concerning the avian flu. French veterinary behaviorist Dr. Patrick Pageat, who developed the Dog Appeasing Pheromone (a reproduction of a calming pheromone released by mother dogs to puppies) to lessen fear and anxiety, announced a new use for the product, commonly referred to as D.A.P. Right now, there’s a spray and also a diffuser (which you plug into the wall like a room freshener). By Spring, a D.A.P. dog collar will be available through veterinary clinics. The spray and diffuser are primarily meant for indoor use, but the collar, of course, will go wherever the dog goes. |
