HEALTH - Low Cost Rabies/Microchip Clinics Kickoff this Weekend in Ontario

With raccoon strain rabies in the community after a ten year absence, including two cats infected with it, rabies vaccination for Ontario pets is more important than ever.

Starting this weekend, low cost rabies and microchip clinics will be taking place in the province for those concerned about the cost of the injection.

Dr. Jeff Rabinovich of Bridletowne Warden Animal Hospital is once again offering the clinics - 23 this year - in partnership with Urban Animal Corporation, and hosted by Pet Valu and PetSmart stores.

The cost is just $25 per rabies vaccine, $25 per microchip, or $50 for both including HST (cash only).

Every participant will receive a lifetime subscription on HomeSafeTM, a global cloud-based registration and recovery service, courtesy of Urban Animal Corporation and Rabinovich.

HomeSafeTM provides the only on-line automated recovery system that allows all members of the community to post their own lost and found reports.

It facilitates instant sharing of pet information among the general public and organizations in the community, and across North America when a pet goes missing.

With an increase in clinics in 2017, organizers are confident more animals than ever before will be protected from disease and better insured of a return home if they get lost.

This weekend first-come, first-serve clinics will be held in Brockville, Waterloo and Kitchener.

Visit Urban Animal Corporation’s website for complete details, dates, locations and contact information.

INNOVATE - New Approach to the Technical High School Model

For pet owners in Worcester, MA, the Tufts at Tech Community Veterinary Clinic offers low-cost, high-quality veterinary care for clients who pass the prequalification process.

Clients are restricted to pet owners facing financial hardship, including people in programs such as WIC (Women, Infant, and Children), SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), WHA (Worcester Housing Authority), and students at Worcester Technical High School.

One of these things is not like the others.

Why are students at Worcester Tech given priority access to the preventative and primary care at the clinic?

Because a significant portion of that care is provided by high school students in the Worcester Technical High School Veterinary Assisting program.

(Tufts at Tech)

Tufts at Tech is an innovative program that combines the expertise of fourth-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students from Tuft’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine with the enthusiasm of high school students, under the careful supervision of Dr. Greg Wolfus and his team.

Getting high school students into the clinic and providing hands-on experience and mentorship has resulted in a significant increase in the success rate of students who go on to take their veterinary assistant exam after graduation.

Prior to the student-run clinic opening in mid-2012, the pass rate was only 46 percent. By 2013 the pass rate was 92 percent, and in 2015 it was 100 percent.

In addition to the clear benefits for students’ future career success, the program also keeps the students happy and engaged.

According to Drew Weymouth, assistant principal for Allied Health and Human Services at the high school, their retention rate in the program is 100 percent.

In 2013 Worcester Tech was recognized as one of the National Blue Ribbon Schools, an award that honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement.

 

The school is good for both the high school and the veterinary school students, and it’s good for the low-income pet owners who can now access necessary care for their animals.

More than that, though, the school represents one way forward for a generation struggling to find work after years of recession.

Debt, joblessness, globalisation, and a rapidly rising cost of living have left today’s youth in what can seem like an impossible economic position.

Hands on training, like that provided at Worcester Technical High School, means that high school students graduate with skills that can immediately be applied in the workforce.

The school focuses on technical trades – they offer the Veterinary Assisting Program, but also have programs for design and engineering, health and human services, construction technology, and IT and business services.

This means that the school is, as President Obama stated in the school’s 2014 graduation address, “an example of what’s possible when we stop just talking about giving young people opportunity, when we don’t just give lip service to helping you compete in the global economy and we actually start doing it.”

Students leave with certifications in their chosen trade, meaning there’s a significant step cut out, both in terms of cost and time, before they can enter the workforce. And the trade school offers low cost services to the community, exemplified by the veterinary clinic.

Although automation and globalization are changing the economy, and more and more workers are moving sideways into the gig economy with all the challenges that entails, innovative schools like Worcester Technical High School may give young workers a new source of hope.

About Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

Interview With Peter Denooij of CaClCa Inc.

Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, veterinarian Dr. Peter Denooij has spent much of his career devoted to animal welfare - including the Edmonton Humane Society and the Alberta SPCA boards of directors – all leading up to the 2015 launch of his company, CaClCa Inc. where he is hopeful his vision to end much unnecessary global animal suffering due to overpopulation will become a reality.

Denooij has started a company that supplies veterinarians around the world with a Calcium Chloride solution that, when combined with ethanol alcohol, can be used as a non-surgical alternative to neutering stray dogs and cats for less than $1 U.S. per animal. InfoStream caught up with Denooij to get an update on where his work is at and what lies ahead.

InfoStream (IS):  What is the purpose of CaClCa Inc?

Peter Denooij (PD): As a veterinarian I have always been passionate about animal welfare. After I stopped practicing I decided to get more actively involved at the governing level and I was on the Board Of Directors for the Edmonton Humane Society from 2003-2010 and for the Alberta SPCA from 2011-2015. When I was made aware of this new procedure in September 2014, I saw an opportunity to get involved in animal welfare as an entrepreneur.

It’s one of those things that came about at the right time in my career. Really, my goal is that this will become another tool in the veterinarian’s arsenal…I’m aiming to try and solve the worldwide problem of stray dogs and cats, which we have plenty of in North America, but many, many more in third world countries.

That tool comes in the form of a small quantity of the medical-grade Calcium Chloride solution (4 grams in a sterile bottle) that is bottled in China and shipped directly to the door of the ordering veterinarian.

This medical grade solution is then mixed with 20 ml of 95% pharmaceutical grade ethanol solution (inexpensive to purchase but a ‘headache’ to ship; this would be purchased separately by the vets) and injected into the animal.

This method is effective for not only sterilization, but also reducing aggressive behaviour in male dogs.  It would have a cumulative effect of alleviating pressures on the limited medical resources in third world countries, as the result would be less dog attacks on humans - most of the world’s rabies cases are due to dog bites.

CaClCa research shows the dogs feel little or no pain during the procedure; although not commonly known, there are no pain sensors inside the testes, only pressure sensors. Triggering the testicular pressures sensors can be avoided if the injection is given slowly and properly.

IS: Where are you currently at with your vision?

PD: I am currently putting together a database of veterinarians around the world – right now it includes 2,700 vets (and animal welfare personnel) in 110 countries – and I’m asking them to share this information with their colleagues.

Vets are interested in what we are doing, universities are looking into it…right now it’s about creating awareness among veterinary professionals and then creating acceptance.

I recently attended and spoke at the 50th Annual Veterinary Conference of the Kenya Veterinary Association in Meru, Kenya - breaking ground as the first presenter to bring veterinarians to the table to discuss the CaCl castration procedure and the idea to implement this into third world nations’ veterinary practices, in order to assist them in controlling their unwanted animal populations.

Following an aggressive marketing campaign this summer, I’m hopeful there will be many more conferences in the near future.

I am convinced that this method will become one of the preferred methods to castrate dogs and cats and that next year we will be providing veterinarians in many countries of the world with our product.

IS: What are your greatest obstacles at this point?

PD: The procedure is not known around the world. The veterinary and animal welfare communities have not been informed and are not aware on a large scale.

There is not enough field data are available to convince the skeptics that this method meets the principal requirements for application to a population of stray canines: a single, bilateral intratesticular injection for stray dogs is effective in achieving long-term infertility, inhibits sexual behavior, does not cause chronic stress to the animal, causes few inflammatory reactions, lacks other undesirable side effects, is easily performed, and is economical.

Providing calcium chloride to veterinarians in many countries is hampered by government regulations.

Pharmaceutical companies are not interested as there are no patents possible.

Third world countries are lacking the funds (and maybe the desire) to attack the dog/cat overpopulation.

Over 100 Rabies Cases in Ontario

The latest update from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry reports 100 cases of raccoon strain rabies and two of fox strain rabies in the province since December 2015.

The most recent cases - nine reported last week - were all in the Hamilton area and all the raccoon strain. They were discovered in five raccoons and four skunks.

Pet owners are strongly encouraged to ensure their pets’ rabies vaccinations are up-to-date. In fact, rabies vaccines are required by law in Ontario.

Low cost rabies vaccination and microchip clinics, put on by Dr. Jeff Rabinovich from the Bridletowne Warden Animal Hospital, PJ’s Pets, PetCulture and HomeSafe™, continue this weekend in Peterborough, Milton and Burlington making it more affordable for pet owners to comply.

In the meantime, the Ontario government continues with its rabies control operations to contain the spread of the disease.

Low Cost Rabies & Microchip Clinics Beat Plan

Dr. Jeff Rabinovitch from the Bridletowne Warden Animal Hospital brought a unique opportunity to the HomeSafe™ National Identification Initiative (NIDI) earlier this year. In the Province of Ontario there is a legal requirement to maintain a current rabies vaccination. Dr. Rabinovitch put together a group of collaborators to enrich the lives of people and pets in 14 communities by assisting them to be compliant for public health and identified in the HomeSafe™ National Registry.  

The events held at PJ’s Pets and PetCulture locations were promoted as Low Cost Rabies and Microchip Clinics by Bridletowne Warden Animal Hospital.

Several organizations made these clinics possible:

• PJ's and PetCulture provided locations, local arrangements and promotion
• Bridletowne Warden Animal Hospital provided veterinary and animal health services.
• PetLynx provided HomeSafe™ lifetime subscriptions.
• CDMV provided competitive pricing for microchip.
• PetsPlusUs provided each animal with an 8 week medical insurance benefit.

The results surpassed the original goal of serving 1,000 animals: 1,300 animals were vaccinated, 600 animals were implanted with microchips, all were provided with lifetime subscriptions to the HomeSafe™ Return to Owner (RTO) service and all were provided with PetsPlusUs Insurance. PJ's Pets/PetCulture as well as the other collaborators were beneficiaries of a great deal of community and pet owner goodwill.  

This innovative collaboration between a retailer, a veterinarian, the HomeSafe™ National Identification Initiative (NIDI) and an insurance company enriched the pet owner and public health experience in these North American communities. PetLynx Corporation invites similar proposals from other members of the Urban Animal industry.

About the HomeSafe™ National Identification Initiative (NIDI): this $30 million investment of online services intends to provide an online central record for every cat and dog in Canada by the end of the decade. HomeSafe™ is North America’s only Automated National Online Registry and Lifetime Return to Owner (RTO) service for pets. Pet owners use any online device to maintain current information about their pet without charge during a lifetime of human/animal experiences.