Many groups, both veterinary and otherwise, are encouraging owners of pets and animals inside and outside the home to stop smoking. An article in the USA today quoted veterinary oncologist Aarti Sabhlok, who treats over 40 pets a week for cancer at the San Francisco Veterinary Specialists and said:

An animal in an environment with constant exposure to a toxin, and that would include cigarette smoke, could be at greater risk of developing tumors.

Here's an interesting report from the Associated Press: Veterinarians are increasingly using stem cells to treat animals with degenerative arthritis. Carol Fischman of Vero Beach, FL says that her 5-year-old Labradoodle has greatly benefitted from the $2000-$3000 procedure. The jury is still out on whether these procedures are indeed effective.

Link to Article

Fox 8 News out of North Carolina has an interesting piece about a new summer camp at the Zoo in North Carolina that allows children and others to see and experience the life of a veterinarian who feeds and tends to zoo animals. Rod Hackney interviews and explains the purpose and obvious benefits to such a great program. If you'd like to learn more about the summer program, go to the N. C. Zoological Web site.

Interesting news out of Texas today: authorities in Montague County seized about 496 dogs that were part of a breeding ranch that considers itself the largest kennel in North Texas. Sandy Grambort of the Humane Society of North Texas said authorities served search warrants after complaints that the dogs were not receiving proper veterinary care.

The kennel owners are disputing the accusation that the dogs were not receiving proper veterinary care and market their dogs online as having the most up-to-date vaccinations and shots. The dogs were taken out of the kennel to a warehouse owned by Cheasapeake Energy and as of today the search is ongoing. You can read more about the stoy here.

Fireworks shows are as much a staple of Fourth of July as summer barbeques. But to pet owners, Fourth of July can present challenges when it comes to dealing with the reaction of their pets to the fireworks. Alicia M. Borges, communications director of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, was quoted as saying that pets' ears are far more sensitive to our own and when they hear such loud noises all out once they are likely to panic and run away. She recommends keepng your pet indoors during the fireworks show.

Sometimes being indoor may not be enough, and Ms Borges recommends in addition to keeping them indoors, to turn on the televesion or anything that will provide white noise to drown ou tthe sound of fireworks or firecrackers.