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Older adults are at high risk for physical illness and emotional disorders, particularly those of lower socioeconomic status. Pet ownership has the potential to reduce the impact of these problems by providing companionship, reducing social isolation, and enhancing physical activity and well-being. Despite these potential benefits, older adults face challenges in adopting and owning pets, including functional limitations, financial considerations, and concerns should the pet owner fall ill or die. In this article, the authors detail the literature on pet ownership for older adults, hurdles they face in adopting pets, and steps that could be taken to address these challenges.

Objectives ACVS Diplomates were surveyed to identify a complete list of core surgical skills, determine the expected frequency of use of these skills, and ascertain the level of skills proficiency expected of entry-level practicing veterinarians. Study Design Internet-based survey. Sample Population Randomly chosen ACVS Diplomates (n = 750). Methods Rating scale items were used to construct the main portion of the survey with 26 skills that were scored by participants based on rankings of proficiency expected of entry-level veterinarians, as well as expected frequency of use of these skills. Additional demographic questions were included to gather information regarding gender, practice type, year of veterinary school, year of ACVS membership, job description, primary surgical discipline, practice location, average number of procedures performed on a weekly basis, and number of new graduates mentored in the last 5 years. Results Of 337 Diplomates (44.9%) who responded to the survey, >60% expected entry-level graduates to have good skills with minimal supervision or complete skills for 21 of the 26 skills categories listed. More than 60% of respondents ranked 7 skills with a lower frequency score (seldom or occasionally use). Orthopedic instrument handling and fixation skills as well as electrosurgical and laser skills received some of the lowest expected proficiency and frequency rankings. No additional skills categories were identified in the open-ended survey questions. Conclusions A complete list of core surgical skills was identified. There was broad consensus between boarded surgeons irrespective of their practice type, experience, or discipline for ranked proficiency and frequency scores among the core surgical skills expected of entry-level veterinarians.

Objective—To determine intra- and interobserver variability of 2 veterinary radiologists and 2 veterinary general practitioners for detection of pulmonary nodules in standard and inverted (reversed grayscale) displays of digital thoracic radiographs of dogs. Design—Evaluation study. Sample—114 sets of 3-view (right lateral, left lateral, and ventrodorsal or dorsoventral views) digital thoracic radiographs from 114 dogs. Procedures—2 experienced board-certified veterinary radiologists and 2 experienced veterinary general practitioners individually evaluated 114 randomized sets of radiographs. Pulmonary nodules were present in radiographs of 60 of 114 dogs. Each reviewer examined all images in standard or inverted display mode and scored nodule detection on a confidence scale of 1 to 5. After ≥ 2 months, the same individuals evaluated the same images in the remaining display mode. Intraobserver agreement for each display mode was determined via a κ statistic; results between the 2 groups of reviewers were compared via receiver operator curve analysis. Results—There was no significant intraobserver variability in pulmonary nodule detection between the 2 display modes. Detection accuracy for board-certified radiologists was significantly greater than that of veterinary general practitioners for both display modes. Near-perfect intraobserver agreement was detected between the 2 display modes for board-certified radiologists, whereas moderate to slight intraobserver agreement was detected for the veterinary general practitioners. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Detection of pulmonary nodules in digital thoracic radiographs was comparable, whether a standard or inverted mode was used for evaluations. However, the board-certified radiologists had greater detection accuracy than did veterinary general practitioners.

Objective—To determine the effect of preadoption counseling for owners on house-training success among dogs acquired from shelters. Design—Prospective study. Sample Population—113 dog owners. Procedures—Participants were randomly assigned to a treatment (n = 54) or a control (59) group. Dog owners in the treatment group received counseling (5 minutes' duration) regarding house-training. Owners in the control group did not receive counseling, but all other adoption procedures were otherwise identical to those applied to the treatment group. All participants were contacted by telephone 1 month after adoption of a dog for assessment of house-training status and related issues by use of a standardized survey method; data were compared between groups. Results—Most shelter dogs were considered successfully house-trained by their owners 1 month after adoption. Furthermore, dogs were considered house-trained by significantly more owners who received preadoption counseling than control group owners (98.1% vs 86.4%). Owners who received counseling used verbal punishment on their dogs during house-training less frequently and applied enzymatic cleaners to urine- or feces-soiled areas more frequently than owners in the control group. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results have suggested that brief preadoption counseling for owners enhances successful house-training of dogs adopted from shelters. Counseling owners at the time of pet acquisition may thus have beneficial effects in the prevention of inappropriate elimination behaviors. Veterinarians and animal care staff should be encouraged to devote time to counsel new pet owners on successful house-training, as well as other healthcare and behavioral needs.

Objective—To determine complications associated with anal sacculectomy in dogs with non-neoplastic anal sac disease and compare complication rates for open versus closed techniques. Design—Retrospective study. Animals—95 dogs. Procedure—Medical records were reviewed for information on signalment, history, physical examination findings, type of anal sac disease, surgical technique (closed, standard open [surgery performed prior to 1980], or modified open [surgery performed after 1980]), and postoperative complications. Results—In 57 dogs, a closed technique was used, and in 38, an open technique was used. Only 3 dogs developed short-term complications (excessive drainage, scooting and inflammation, and seroma formation), and 14 developed long-term complications (continued licking of the surgery site, fecal incontinence, fistulation, and stricture formation). Development of postoperative complications was significantly associated with surgical technique. Dogs that underwent standard open sacculectomy prior to 1980 were 13.67 times as likely to have a long-term complication as were dogs that underwent closed sacculectomy. Weight of the dog, type of anal sac disease, age at the time of surgery, and whether the wound was closed surgically were not significantly associated with whether dogs developed postoperative complications. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that anal sacculectomy is a safe and effective treatment for non-neoplastic anal sac disease in dogs and is associated with a low rate of complications. The standard open technique was associated with the greatest number of complications, whereas complication rates for the closed and modified open techniques were similar to each other. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2002;221:662–665)

Objective—To identify a list of core surgical skills and determine the frequency of use and proficiency in performance of these skills expected of entry-level veterinarians by general practitioners. Design—Mail-based survey. Sample—750 general practitioners randomly chosen from the AVMA membership database. Procedures—Survey respondents rated the proficiency and frequency of use expected of entry-level veterinarians in regard to 26 surgical skills. Demographic information (gender; graduation year; practice type, geographic location, and setting; number of veterinarians in practice; number of surgical procedures performed per week; and number of new graduates mentored in the past 5 years) of respondents was obtained. Results—387 (52%) general practitioners responded to the survey. Greater than 60% of respondents expected new graduates to have high proficiency and require minimal supervision for 21 of 26 skills. Greater than 60% of respondents assigned 6 of the skills a low expected frequency of use rating. Orthopedic skills, creation of square knots by use of a 1-handed tie technique, and use of electrosurgical and laser instruments received some of the lowest ratings. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Core surgical skills were identified. Results indicated a broad consensus among general practitioners independent of demographic characteristics. Results may aid veterinary colleges in identification of the surgical skills that are most important to include in surgical curricula and for which new graduates should attain proficiency according to general practitioners.

ACVS Diplomates were surveyed to identify a complete list of core surgical skills, determine the expected frequency of use of these skills, and ascertain the level of skills proficiency expected of entry-level practicing veterinarians.Internet-based survey.Randomly chosen ACVS Diplomates (n = 750).Rating scale items were used to construct the main portion of the survey with 26 skills that were scored by participants based on rankings of proficiency expected of entry-level veterinarians, as well as expected frequency of use of these skills. Additional demographic questions were included to gather information regarding gender, practice type, year of veterinary school, year of ACVS membership, job description, primary surgical discipline, practice location, average number of procedures performed on a weekly basis, and number of new graduates mentored in the last 5 years.Of 337 Diplomates (44.9%) who responded to the survey,60% expected entry-level graduates to have good skills with minimal supervision or complete skills for 21 of the 26 skills categories listed. More than 60% of respondents ranked 7 skills with a lower frequency score (seldom or occasionally use). Orthopedic instrument handling and fixation skills as well as electrosurgical and laser skills received some of the lowest expected proficiency and frequency rankings. No additional skills categories were identified in the open-ended survey questions.A complete list of core surgical skills was identified. There was broad consensus between boarded surgeons irrespective of their practice type, experience, or discipline for ranked proficiency and frequency scores among the core surgical skills expected of entry-level veterinarians.

Forty students were randomly assigned into two study groups (traditional, T; and simulator, S) of 20 students each for a core operative practice laboratory. Students were randomly paired and their group assignment and identity remained anonymous to the evaluators throughout the study. Questionnaires were distributed to students to evaluate prior surgical experience and obtain learning resource use information. Before the evaluation sessions, both groups were given identical learning resource opportunities except students in Group S received hollow organ simulators and practice materials for gastrotomy closure. All students were forewarned that surgical instruction would not be available during the evaluation sessions. In the first live animal evaluation session, all student pairs were videotaped after which stomachs were harvested for gross evaluation of the surgical site. Group T performed an additional gastrotomy for video and gross evaluation 2 weeks later. Questionnaire, and gross and video evaluation results were compared statistically between groups and sessions. The hollow organ model did not suitably simulate live stomach tissue; the material was more fragile and stiff and suture cut-out was a problem even with appropriate suture tension and technique. The model was effective for teaching needle placement, instrument usage, creating proper tissue inversion, and methods to minimize instrument handling of tissue during gastrotomy closure. Prior practice with models did not boost student confidence during their live gastrotomy session. The autotutorials (ATs) were well received by students but did not sufficiently address how to manage mucosal eversion, suture tension, and bleeding encountered during live gastrotomy. AT viewing time positively correlated with mean total video score for Group T during both sessions. None of the students had prior experience performing hollow organ closure and no significant difference in experience level was evident between groups. Mean closure time was not significantly different between groups for session one (Group T, mean, 31.5 minutes, range, 18.4 to 53.4; Group S, mean, 28.2 minutes, range, 16.8 to 36), but was significantly reduced for session two (Group T, mean, 21.3 minutes, range, 13.9 to 31). This AT/simulator program does not significantly influence students' overall gastrotomy closure technique; gross and video evaluation scores were not significantly different between groups. Without instructor supervision, an additional gastrotomy experience did not improve surgical technique appreciably for Group T; however, these students performed the second procedure with more confidence and speed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

During ovariohysterectomy, suspensory ligament (SL) rupture permits retraction of the ovary and distal ovarian pedicle through a limited ventral midline incision. This allows the surgeon to confirm that the pedicle is securely double ligated and includes no ovarian remnant. For less experienced surgeons, SL rupture is often difficult and daunting because the ligament is buried within the abdominal viscera and must be identified blindly by palpation. Furthermore, in dogs, the ligament must be digitally disrupted, which may cause hemorrhage and serious injury to surrounding structures such as the ovarian pedicle. This article describes step-by-step techniques to disrupt the SL in dogs and cats. We have found that these techniques can be taught easily and successfully to novice surgeons.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a naturally occurring linoleic acid isomer found in ruminant-produced foods, has the potential to serve as an effective chemopreventive nutriceutical factor for breast cancer prevention based upon previous published studies. There are several CLA isomers in ruminant-produced food products, among which t10,c12-CLA and c9,t11-CLA are more potent. Expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in mammary tumors has been correlated with poor prognosis. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) is a major COX-2 product in various cancers and, as in humans, PGE2 concentrations in canine tumor tissues were frequently elevated. Moreover, a PGE2 receptor subtype, EP2, is highly expressed in mammary tumors. Thus, various studies have implicated the important role of PGE2 and EP2 in COX-2-regulated tumor development.Mammary tumor and normal mammary tissues were both collected from a female dog with mammary tumor. Both malignant and normal mammary tissues were subjected to isolation of epithelial and stromal cells. The effects of t10,c12-CLA and c9,t11-CLA on proliferation, as well as COX-2 and EP2 protein expression in canine mammary normal and cancerous cells, were detected by CellTiter 96 AQueous assay and Western blot assay, respectively.Both t10,c12-CLA and c9,t11-CLA not only suppressed malignant mammary cell growth, but also exerted inhibitory effects on tumor-associated non-malignant mammary cells. Similarly, both t10,c12-CLA and c9,t11-CLA suppressed EP2 protein expression in both normal and malignant mammary cells. t10,c12-CLA was more effective in decreasing COX-2 protein expression in malignant mammary cells, while, in contrast, c9,t11-CLA down-regulated COX-2 protein expression in both normal and malignant mammary cells.The results indicate that the dietary component CLA regulates COX-2 and EP2 protein expression in both malignant mammary cells and cells from the tumor-associated stromal compartment. In turn, this may suppress PGE2 signaling, leading to better prognosis. We further speculate that the knowledge obtained from canine studies may also be beneficial to study human breast cancer.