Please note that the VIN office will be closed Friday, December 30.

Responses to calls and email may take a bit longer than usual during this time. Thanks in advance for your patience.

If you have a truly urgent issue, Paul's phone is always on -- 530-757-6881.

Don't worry, your colleagues have your back. Visit the VINner Answers to Tough Questions project to find how your colleagues answer those tricky questions such as when (or if) to discount a service or procedure.

Do you have a great message board post to highlight in the project? Email Christy Corp-Minamiji, DVM to have it added.

Sharing the Love in Positively Positive Message Board Threads
Need a pick-me-up? Read these threads where VINners share their positive interactions with clients, patients, and colleagues.

Take a moment to stop by these threads in the Professional Motivators folder and share your happy experiences.

• Happy Veterinarians
• Positive Dear Client Letters
• Best Thing to Happen Today

NEWS THAT'S FIT TO CLICK, reported for YOU...

• Veterinary-drugs seller Sean Gerson arrested
  Public | VIN | Discussion
• Free workshops on business savvy in rural veterinary practice
  Public | VIN | Discussion
• Cat declaw under fire in New Jersey
  Public | VIN | Discussion

Evolving stories:
- School closures leave veterinary-tech students in lurch
- Antech litigation threat takes new twist
- U.S. veterinarians working abroad

Be a VIN newshound:
VNS is your news service. Have an idea for a story? Have a story that needs covering?
E-mail Reporters@vin.com.

Share news.vin.com with non-VINners. The VIN News Service stories (without access to the community discussions) are publicly available.

Follow VNS on Facebook and Twitter!

New and Revised Articles to Share With Your Clients!

Veterinary Partner

• Cimetidine (Tagamet) revised

Texas Farm Radio

• Barefoot Versus Shod Horses revised

VetzInsight

• Can One Letter be the Difference Between Life and Death?

Anterior ocular abnormalities of captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) in Thailand
A total of 17.83% (527/2956) of examined eyes from 24.97% (369/1478) of examined elephants had anterior ocular abnormalities. The most common lesions in these examined eyes were frothy ocular discharge (5.85%), corneal edema (5.31%), and conjunctivitis (5.18%). In addition, epiphora, phthisis bulbi, other corneal abnormalities, anterior uveitis, and lens abnormalities were noted. Almost all lesions increased in frequency with age.

Intravenous infusion of amino acids in dogs attenuates hypothermia during anaesthesia and stimulates insulin secretion
Amino acids infused at 1.2 g kg(-1) hour(-1) in dogs attenuated the decrease in rectal temperature, heart rate, and mean arterial pressure during anaesthesia, and induced a significant increase in plasma insulin concentration.

Laser surgery as a treatment for histologically confirmed sarcoids in the horse
Ninety-nine horses, with a total of 235 sarcoids, were included in the analysis; 82 (83%) had no recurrence of the sarcoid removed and 71 (72%) had no occurrence of any sarcoids following surgery. Horses with sarcoids on the head and neck and those with verrucose sarcoids were at increased risk of recurrence.

Geriatric Leopard With Ear Mass And Chipped Tooth; Tips For Training Large Exotic Cats To Allow Blood Collection; Immobilization Drug Cocktail
Thank you so much for the tip on venipuncture from the lateral tail vein. We were successful and he did great!!

Why Does Rabies Vaccine Not Require An Initial Booster?
Veterinary immunologists and infectious disease specialists are looking at this and considering a change in the rabies vaccination protocol. However, this is not yet part of the Rabies Compendium recommendations.

Client Rescued Adult Sugar Glider: Is Socialization Possible At This Age?
The typical window for socialization is 7-12 weeks out of the pouch.

Bandaging Techniques For Secondary Healing After Tumor Removal
For a fresh surgical wound as you would create by removing a tumor, you should use a non-adherent contact layer.

Wondering how long it is until the next Rounds session? Take a look at the Rounds Countdown Clock!

Venting Over a Venti
Tuesday, December 27 - 9:30 p.m. ET
(Wednesday, December 28 - 2:30 a.m. GMT)
Need to vent about life away from the office?
Christina McRae, DVM, and other colleagues are here to lend an ear.

VIN Rounds
Sunday, January 1 - No Rounds
Celebrate the new year!

Venting Over a Venti
Tuesday, January 3 - 9:30 p.m. ET
(Wednesday, January 4 - 2:30 a.m. GMT)
Need to vent about solo vet issues?
Christina McRae, DVM, and other colleagues are here to lend an ear.

How to Use VIN, Part 1
Wednesday, January 4 - 9:30 p.m. ET
(Thursday, January 5- 2:30 a.m. GMT)
The VIN Representative Committee will show you how to get more out of your VIN experience.
Email HowTo@VIN.com for more information about this free, three-session course.

Need help remembering when Rounds sessions are happening? Check out the list of ways to be reminded about VIN Rounds sessions.

Want to See What You've Been Missing?
(@ = VINCast available; R = Replay available)

• Paradigm Shifts, Truths, and Trivia Interim VIN/VECCS
• My Client Brought in a Wild Bird @ VIN/VSPN
• Telemedicine in Veterinary Practice
• Veterinary Feed Directive @ (R)
• Designing & Building Your Veterinary Practice @ (R)

Download VINCasts (@)
Download VINCasts with your mobile device
Browse Rounds Transcripts

Rounds are also searchable! Use the filters on the right of your Search Results page.

Employee Pet Allowance vs. Discount
We have provided what we call Veterinary Care Credits (VCC) at my practice for the past 8 years. I believe that it has worked better for us (more fair and easier to manage) than the discounting programs I have seen in other practices.

Website of the Week
Holiday Safety For Pets

Upcoming Conferences
Looking to attend or contribute a paper to a veterinary conference? Check out the On the Road with VIN folder or the Press Releases folder to see which upcoming conferences VIN will be attending. Be sure to stop by the Cyber Café or any of the other VIN booths if you’re attending NAVC, OAVT, WVC, SAVMA, ICARE, or AAHA.

NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT!
Visit the CE Main Page and check out the Course Catalog to see what other courses are starting soon.

NAVLE Review and Preparation Spring 2017
February 3 - April 12, 2017
Presenter(s): Steven I. McLaughlin, DVM, MPH, DACVPM; and Waiva A.Worthley, DVM;
With technical support from board certified specialists: Lisle George, DVM, PhD, DACVIM;
Emily Graves, VMD, MS, DACVIM; Laura Ridge Cousins, DVM, MS, DACVIM; Michele Gaspar, DVM, MS, DAVBP; Bob Doneley, BVSc, FACVSc (Avian Health), CMAVA

Organized by species, each Real Time Session will highlight the "Top 20" diseases and conditions encountered by practitioners in the U.S. and Canada. All Real Time Sessions will include multiple-choice questions similar to those that candidates will encounter on the NAVLE.

Anatomy of an Exotic Pet Practice
January 13 - February 8, 2017
Presenter(s): Rose Ann Fiskett, MS, VMD, DABVP (ECM)

This presentation will explore the reasons for starting an exotic pet practice or adding an exotic component to an existing practice. Whether or not one pursues this journey to completion depends on some soul searching and critical background preparation. There are drugs and various types of equipment unique to exotic pet practice in addition to essential whole hospital staff training. Only after careful preparation, whole hospital commitment to excellence in exotic pet care, staff training and compensation, equipment and drug purchases, etc. should the practice open the door to patients.

Visit the CE Participant Resource Center to learn the basics of online CE, how to find your course area, CE participation requirements, and much more!

Check the World Clock Time Zone Converter to confirm session start times for your area.

Follow VIN CE and VSPN on Facebook!