The Pet Memorial, a global monument to pets and animal rescue charity contributor, recently announced it will be delivering $13,000 worth of food to the Sky Foundation, an animal rescue organization based in Lasi, Romania.

The donation will provide the Sky Foundation, which permanently houses approximately 400 animals, including dogs, cat, horses, and donkeys, with 14 tons of dog kibble, canned cat food, and hay. "The Sky Foundation is not only a loving home for hundreds of rescued animals, but also spreads their wings over the surrounding villages," Laura Simpson, founder of The Pet Memorial said in an organizational release.

The Sky Foundation has given homeless animals refuge, food, and veterinary treatment for 13 years. It has also provided these animals with adoption services. In addition to providing care to animals that live on the streets, the foundation also offers food and veterinary care to animals in the forests and in surrounding villages.

 Last winter, the Sky Foundation and The Pet Memorial collaborated to help dogs in need. “We worked together to deliver meals to dogs who are deeply malnourished and living on chains,” said Simpson.

"The situation has been extremely difficult lately; I have considered just giving up because I felt like I couldn't handle it anymore," Mariana Craciun, founder of Sky Foundation said in the release.

 "The aid that comes from volunteers and organizations like The Pet Memorial is invaluable to us. The financial support and love they send our way gives us a sense of hope and determination to keep fighting for these animals."

The Pet Memorial's donation will help feed the animals at the Sky Foundation in Romania. (Photo courtesy of Harmony Fund)

The Pet Memorial was established to commemorate pets that have “crossed the rainbow bridge” and provide pet owners with a meaningful opportunity to support animals in need worldwide through their love for their deceased animal companions. The memorial helps pet owners cope with loss, allowing them to create a tribute page to memorialize their pet through a donation. In turn, the donations go to the Harmony Fund international animal rescue charity, which started The Pet Memorial project. Moreover, the Pet Memorial website also includes a pet loss resource center to help those who are grieving the loss of their pets find coping mechanisms.

"The Pet Memorial shines a light straight down from heaven and onto animals who need help," said Simpson.

 "That light harnesses all memories we have with our departed pets, and transforms that energy into substantial, tangible rescue missions across the planet."

The Harmony Fund has funded a global network of small animal rescue teams for 15 years, resulting in more than $10 million in aid to animal organizations throughout the globe. According to the Harmony Fund, food, shelter, veterinary care, and protection from cruelty is provided to thousands of animals monthly through donations.

"There is a gap in opportunities for the 'underdogs' in the world of animal rescue," Simpson said in the release.

 "There are so many volunteer teams who don't have resources or visibility to get funding. They're so often overlooked despite the wonderful work they're doing. Harmony Fund and The Pet Memorial were created to help these organizations keep their doors open and the lights on."

A global report of 20 countries revealed that 1 in 3 pets are homeless, with 203 million cats and 143 million dogs living on the streets.

 Moreover, 12 million dogs and 4 million cats are living in shelters. Common themes observed across the 20 countries included pet surrender (approximately 15% of pet owners were considering relinquishing their pet in the next 12 months), losing pets and not getting reunited with them, a homeless population increase in pets, and pet-friendly housing limitations—nearly 1 in 5 people that were considering surrendering their cat or dog reported pet-friendly housing limitations as the reason.

“Dog and cat homelessness is a hugely complex issue. This new data will help animal welfare organizations, policymakers, pet professionals, academics and researchers to better understand the scale and factors influencing the issue, which can in turn support the most impactful interventions,” expressed Jeffrey Flocken, president of Humane Society International in a Mars report.

The Pet Memorial trucks in 14 tons of food to Sky Foundation’s hungry animals. News release. Harmony Fund. July 2, 2024. Accessed July 2, 2024. 

https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-pet-memorial-trucks-in-14-tons-of-food-to-sky-foundations-hungry-animals-302187585.html

About The Pet Memorial. Harmony Fund. Accessed July 2, 2024. 

1 in 3 pets are homeless according to a new global report. Mars, Incorporated and its Affiliates. January 23, 2024. Accessed July 4, 2024. 

https://www.mars.com/news-and-stories/press-releases-statements/pet-homelessness

Articles

The Pet Memorial donated $13,000 worth of food to the Sky Foundation

Animal rescue organization receives 14 tons of animal food from global pet memorial platform

The concept of telehealth in veterinary medicine is a broad term that includes both telemedicine and teleadvice services. Telemedicine refers to follow-up care provided virtually by a veterinarian who has previously seen the patient in person. Conversely, teleadvice services are available to all pet owners and aim to deliver general health information and recommendations based on specific concerns about a pet. Although teleadvice does not diagnose or treat specific conditions, it offers valuable resources and guidance to support informed health care decisions for pets.

The primary aim of veterinary telehealth is to extend the reach of quality care outside traditional clinic settings. This service is particularly beneficial for pets in remote areas and those stressed by clinic visits or when rapid intervention is needed. Telehealth allows veterinarians to offer continuous and proactive health care management, empowering pet owners with knowledge to make the best decisions for their pets’ health. There are several advantages of implementing telehealth in veterinary practice, including the following:

: Virtual care reduces the need for stressful and time-consuming veterinary visits by facilitating professional consultations from home

: It can offer a vital link to professional care in rural or underserved areas, ensuring all pets receive necessary support regardless of location.

 Telehealth is typically more affordable than in-clinic visits by reducing travel and overhead costs, making veterinary care more accessible to a wider audience.

: It can enable veterinarians to monitor patients’ progress and adjust treatment plans virtually, ensuring consistent care throughout a pet’s health journey.

Strategic application of teleadvice services

Teleadvice is especially effective in assessing pets’ quality of life and aiding in the decision-making process for end-of-life care. Veterinary professionals considering teleadvice should ensure it is provided by licensed individuals. At Caring Pathways, all teleadvice and telemedicine providers are not only licensed but also have pursued additional specialty training in end-of-life care, with many attaining certification from the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care.

The role of telehealth in veterinary medicine

Telehealth stands as a significant tool in veterinary medicine, providing critical support and enhancing the quality of care throughout a pet’s life, particularly in the sensitive phase of end-of-life care. Embracing telehealth not only helps meet the diverse needs of our patients but also improves the accessibility and effectiveness of our services.

For those interested in integrating or expanding telehealth services, platforms such as Caring Conversations by Caring Pathways offer resources and connection opportunities with trained veterinary professionals to discuss the implementation of end-of-life care telehealth solutions in practice.

How telehealth can provide end-of-life care

End-of-life care is one of the most suitable applications of veterinary telehealth. This service provides essential support to pet owners during a profoundly difficult period, helping them make informed decisions about their pets’ care. Below are some specific areas where teleadvice can be particularly helpful around end-of-life care conversation:

 Telehealth enables veterinarians to assess a pet’s quality of life remotely, helping owners make decisions that prioritize their pets’ comfort and dignity.

: Telehealth professionals offer empathetic support throughout the grieving process, which often begins well before a pet’s passing.

: For pets with terminal illnesses, telehealth facilitates ongoing care adjustments to maximize comfort and quality of life.

: Telehealth allows family members, even those geographically separated, to participate in discussions regarding a pet’s care, ensuring all voices are heard in critical decision-making moments.

Utilizing technology to nurture pets and support the human-animal bond through every stage of life

A comprehensive guide to understanding veterinary telehealth

Boro Animal Clinic is a companion animal facility that has provided pet care assistance to the community for 22 years. Periodically, the hospital director has a staff meeting that she has titled “Preemptive Troubleshooting.” This is a staff discussion about complaints that have been mentioned by clients that could be corrected before they rise to become points of contention. The following 7 complaints and possible solutions have been mentioned for consideration:

Clients have often complained about the genre as well as the volume of music in the clinic. It is agreed that soothing music at a lower volume will play in the waiting area. Staff will no longer have access to changing the music to their liking. Clinic music was never meant to be entertaining but rather a relaxing tool in an often stressful environment.

Often, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, clients have been kept waiting beyond their appointment times. In the future, when an appointment is running late, staff will immediately approach the client, explain the situation, and provide any accommodations that might help.

Pet owners who are longtime clients have commented that they are not recognized or are being asked generic questions about the appointment as if they are newcomers. In the future, all upcoming appointments will be previewed so that the reception staff is aware of the client status, pet’s name, and reason for coming.

There is a fine line between strongly suggesting products or elective procedures during a routine visit and simply informing clients of additional pet care options. Some clients have complained that they feel pressured. If this is the case, the fine line has been crossed. In the future, staff members will ask clients whether they can take a moment to discuss new products, and if they resist or say no, it will end the discussion.

Agitated pets often have to be physically restrained during an examination visit. Some clients have remarked that they are uncomfortable with the restraint or feel it is too rough. When it is necessary to restrain a pet for the safety of the staff, a discussion with a client will be necessary. Permission will be asked to restrain the pet, an explanation and description of what is to be done will be provided, and client participation will be offered. If the pet owner feels this is unacceptable, a medical form of sedation can be discussed.

Clients have commented that the hazardous waste fee added to the invoice seems to be a petty charge in view of the overall visit fee. The hazardous waste fees will be rolled into the overall professional care fee and not itemized on the invoice.

Clients have often complained about getting timely access to a veterinarian for a conversation. They have often been told to speak to a technician or management personnel instead. Going forward, the veterinarians’ time management schedule will include increased ability to talk directly with clients who specifically ask to speak to the case veterinarians.

The hospital director thinks it is important to address reasonable client complaints to improve service and prevent pet owners from leaving the practice. When clients become unhappy or change practices, they often do it quietly and without notice. The director goes on to say that gold standard practices pay attention to all client input. Simply paying lip service to complaints is not a recipe for success.

It should never be forgotten that the pet owner is the veterinarian’s treatment partner. It is not the technician, the receptionist, or the management, although they are all valuable members of the assistance team. It is the pet owner who gives permission for the treatment and treatment protocol. It is the pet owner who is responsible for at-home treatment adherence. And it is the pet owner who ultimately lends credibility to the professional staff. When a client makes a suggestion or a complaint, address it seriously, just as was done at Boro Animal Clinic.

Clinic staff acts swiftly to improve clients’ experience

The dilemma: Seven common complaints

The Fourth of July is a festive celebration in the United States, marked by fireworks, barbecues, and outdoor gatherings. However, the loud noises and bright lights can be distressing for pets. To keep them safe, it's important to keep them indoors in a quiet, secure area, away from the commotion. Ensure they have identification tags and a microchip in case they get scared and run off. Providing distractions, such as toys or soothing music, can also help keep them calm during the festivities. Here are 3 articles that provide in-depth information on pet safety and offer advice to help owners keep their pets calm.

 The day the greatest number of pets go missing. According to a news release by Petco Love, more pets are lost on July 4th than any other day of the year.

 this 4th of July weekend. Help inform clients about microchipping, anxiety management, and the importance of creating a secure environment for pets.

 for summer heat and July 4th festivities. Share how to keep pets healthy and safe with the hot summer weather and fireworks.

Spotlighting 3 articles to help prepare pets and their owners for Fourth of July festivities 

3 must-reads for the Fourth of July

 Doug Aspros, DVM, chief veterinary officer of Veterinary Practice Partners, sat down with our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to discuss the inadequacies in veterinary education surrounding dentistry, highlight the importance of providing dental care as a general practitioner, and how to break down procedures into smaller blocks of time to provide better care and accurate estimates for clients. 

It's clear that [veterinary students] graduate without adequate training, certainly not adequate, sort of day one training. And there are a bunch of reasons for that. One is that the curriculum has expanded to cover a whole lot more stuff than perhaps you and I got when we were in veterinary school. All of that's good, but that also leaves gaps. And because a lot of veterinary hospitals, teaching hospitals, or tertiary care hospitals means they're not doing a lot of sort of routine dental care and so there are not a lot of opportunities for graduates to get that basic education. 

Then add to that, the fact that new graduates are reluctant to do the first one. The way I think about developing expertise over time is, you become expert by doing enough reps, but if you don't do the first rep, you can't do the second, you can't do the third, you can't do the fourth. You can't build on your experience to become an experienced and appropriate care provider, and so I think that even more so requires employers, especially employers of new vets, of younger veterinarians, to help provide that care and fill those back gaps in so that, so they can build expertise and become appropriately, great practitioners.

Podcasts

Doug Aspros, DVM, joins this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast to discuss education gaps in veterinary dentistry and how to potentially close them 

Bridging the gap in dentistry education

As we are quickly approaching the 4th of July holiday, many clients will utilize calming chews to help ease pet anxiety during fireworks and other loud, noise-making holiday celebrations. However, instead of calming her pets' anxiety, Jacque Dickson in Greensboro, North Carolina, had her own anxiety spike after her dogs, Elton and Chubbs, helped themselves to more than the recommended amount of calming chews.

"I had just moved to a new apartment, and I ran out to do some grocery shopping. My father had recently bought a bottle of calming chews for Chubbs, who can be anxious. The bottle was in an unopened box, but the dogs managed to get into it and consume the entire bottle of more than 160 chews,” explained Dickson, in an organizational release.

“My first call was to the pet emergency room and they had me call Pet Poison Helpline before I even left the house." By calling first, the toxicology experts at Pet Poison Helpline were able to start developing a recommended treatment plan based on Elton and Chubbs' individual situations that could be ready when Dickson arrived at the clinic.”

After providing information about Elton and Chubbs to Pet Poison Helpline, they determined that he was not in danger because he weighs 65 lb and is a fit cattle dog, according to Dickson. However, Elton is only 10 lb, so the team recommended she bring him to the hospital for treatment and observation.

Elton. (Photo courtesy of Pet Poison Helpline)

Dickson brought Elton to the Carolina Veterinary Specialists where the team was ready to begin treating him. The team at Pet Poison Helpline determined that Elton consumed a dangerous level of tryptophan, which is found in the product. The fear was that he would develop hypernatremia due to the amount he had ingested, potentially causing a fluid shift results in increased sodium concentrations.

 The experts were also concerned Elton would develop serotonin syndrome, which can cause numerous cardiovascular and neurological signs. According to the release,

 the specialists recommended to the Carolina Veterinary Specialist team antiemetic, electrolyte monitoring, intravenous fluids and monitoring for serotonin syndrome.

"The dedicated team at Carolina Veterinary Specialists took great care of Elton," said Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT, senior veterinary toxicologist and director of Veterinary Medicine at Pet Poison Helpline.

 "He was closely monitored overnight and went home the next day, where Dickson could monitor both him and Chubbs for any additional symptoms or changes in behavior."

Although the Fourth of July is a time for fun and relaxation, there are a major risk to pets lurking in all the festivities. Fireworks can cause anxiety and fear with pets, party goers coming in and out of houses can let pets out where they can get lost or injured, and alcohol left out can be poisonous to pets to name a few. Pet Poison Helpline shared in this 

that they have partnered with AKC Reunite, a not-for-profit pet recovery service to offer 24/7 toxicology expertise as an optional and unlimited benefit for its members.

"Enjoy the July 4th festivities with your family and friends, but don't forget about your furry loved ones," expressed Schmid. "Taking a few precautions can help protect your pet from a variety of dangers."

 have been successfully treated and fully recovered from the poisoning, including Chubbs and Elton.

Pet calming chews result in human panic. News release. Pet Poison Helpline. July 2, 2024. Accessed July 3, 2024. https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pet-calming-chews-result-in-human-panic-302187389.html

While trying to calm their pets' anxiety, 2 pups gave their owners anxiety instead 