By now, those of you with close ties to the veterinary profession may already know: Comfortis (spinosad) and whopping doses of ivermectin do not go hand in hand.

Comfortis is the new-generation, super-effective, oral flea killer I’ve been using on my most flea-allergic and flea-infested patients. At this point I’ve got quite a cache of Miami-area canines sucking spinosad fumes with apparent...

While some Ohio legislators are working hard to pass another pit bull ban (this one statewide, check here to sign the petition against it), here’s a story of “Leo the Redeemed,” an ex-fighter from Michael Vick’s famed (and defamed) Bad Newz stash.

Leo’s gone from “caveman at a tea party” (according to his trainer/owner )to clownsuit-sporting therapy pet. Here's Leo (ain't he gorgeous, I just...

It’s food scare time all over again. Tomatoes fresh from your greengrocer’s truck are prepared to attack you with the viciousness of their bacterial contaminants the next time you rip into your pizza—or worse, your pizza will not sport those extra tomatoes some of us believe essential for a proper pie.

Though most of you may be breathing a sigh of relief that your dogs are fed a wholesome...

Some of you may have personal experience with the once-popular canine heartworm preventative, ProHeart 6. It was marketed from June 2001 to September 2004, until the FDA recalled it after thousands of adverse reaction reports crossed its desks. And now, almost four years later, it's making a comeback (that's the plan, anyway).

According to the FDA, 5,552 ProHeart 6 reactions were reported after...

Let me be clear at the outset: My intent is NOT to bash Fort Dodge and it’s new flea-buster product ProMeris, but I just finished reading a piece in this month's Veterinary Practice News that shocked and dismayed me.

Shocked:

The short piece (sorry, couldn’t find it online) reports on Fort Dodge’s defense to the Internet hype surrounding its product’s adverse reactions. According to the company,...

Have you ever thought about how medical personnel learn to perform a procedure? I often liken it to what people say about surgery: It’s like making sausage. You really don’t want to see how it’s made but it almost invariably tastes great when it’s served.

It seems there’s an interesting debate going on in Australia over how veterinarians and veterinary technicians come to acquire their...

Time once again to discuss the epidemic of obesity suffered by US pets. But this time we’re talking about solutions the pet food industry might offer—in this case, the act of listing calorie counts on their labels.

Yesterday, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recommended the FDA require calorie information on pet food labels. In his testimony, John Branam of the AVMA spoke out...

The Pentagon has recently been forced to admit wrongdoing and change its tack. No, it’s not another Abu Ghraib, but it means more to some soldiers and family members of the fallen than another wartime prison scandal.

In this case, soldiers’ remains have been subject to cremation at facilities that handle both human and animal incineration.

Families and soldiers say it’s no way to treat the...

Think all bovine vets are old-timer types with a blind eye for any abuses perpetrated by the industry providing their paychecks? Then think again. Though agricultural animal vets are known for their practical ways and no-nonsense approach to dealing with the herds in their care, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a heart.

I won’t deny it: The leaders of the veterinary groups serving these...

This is the first Kentucky Derby I can recall not watching with bated breath—in fact, I didn’t watch it at all.

Like a junkie in withdrawal, I kept looking to my watch as it approached post-time, hoping a good book would prove sufficient distraction. I’d decided I wouldn’t be a part of it this year—or ever again.

Now, after the flurry of phone calls I’ve just received, you can be sure I won’t...