Veterinary Studies
The landscapes of violence have become too familiar, too close to home. Despite decades of scientific research, we are only beginning to understand the roots of violence that connect child maltreatment, spouse and partner abuse, and aggression in our neighborhoods and communities. Cruelty to animals is often part of these landscapes of violence-at times, a strong link to destructive interpersonal relationships. Research on this link has recently received increased attention. However, the layperson, student, and professional interested in this link often face the daunting task of locating the critical references in this area of inquiry. Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence presents in one volume historical, philosophical, and research sources that explore the maltreatment of animals and the ways people hurt each other. Diverse disciplines are represented among the readings, including psychology and psychiatry, criminology, social work, veterinary science, and anthropology. A bibliography of related books and articles is provided for readers who wish to pursue this topic in greater detail.
Would you like to be a veterinarian? Veterinarians are scientists who are doctors for animals. In this book, you get to be part of the veterinary team by using science to solve cases, learning about careers in veterinary medicine, and seeing how advances in animal health can help people too.
Be the VET! Solve the Case!
Veterinarians have fun and exciting jobs! In this book you will meet veterinarians from all over the world. These veterinarians work hard to make sure people and their animals stay healthy. Maybe one day you will be a veterinarian too!
From ancient Egypt to modern times, scientists have been learning new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. In this book, you’ll learn about cancer and how veterinarians, veterinary technicians, physicians, and other scientists are working together to find a cure for cancer in people and their pets.
This book addresses the continued lack of the diversity in veterinary medicine, the least inclusive of all medical professions. Effective navigation of the complexity of diversity and inclusion in veterinary medicine requires clear enumeration, recognition, and understanding of key issues, challenges, and opportunities. In a nation with rapidly changing demographics, public needs and expectations of the veterinary profession will continue to evolve. A more diverse scientific workforce is required to feed the veterinary profession, not just for the purposed of equity, but as necessity for its sustainability and relevance.
The book lays out the history of diversity in the veterinary profession, in the context of historical changes and actions within US society. An overview of selected strategies from dental, pharmacy, and (human) medical schools is then offered. The impact of social constructs on career interest development is explored using the examples of race, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Practical strategies for attracting preschool through undergraduate students to careers in the veterinary profession are presented, as well as metrics and tools to assess the impact of diversity and inclusiveness strategies. A systems approach to diversity and inclusiveness in the veterinary profession is called for in a manner that frames barriers as opportunities for improvement and progress. There is much that needs to happen to achieve professional inclusiveness and cultural competency, but the path to achieving this is clear. System-wide commitment, planning, execution, and continuous assessment will position the profession to better suit the population of the nation and the world that will be served. This book is a call to action for consistent championship and cohesive approaches, and it provides a road map to building a sustainably inclusive future.
This annually updated publication provides a comprehensive overview of the admission process for the national and international veterinary schools that are members of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). The following need-to-know information is provided for each school: summary of application procedure; requirements for application and residency; prerequisites for admission; deadlines for each component of the application process; description of campus and campus life; and cost of tuition and fees.
Additional information includes an overview of the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) and information about the accreditation of veterinary schools and professional licensure as a veterinarian. A fold-out chart provides easy-to-use information about the course prerequisites for different vet schools. The book provides the best concise, current, and comparative information for those students interested in preparing for a career in veterinary medicine, as well as their advisors and counselors.
For a happy relationship with your cat, go beyond the looks and make your pick based on demonstrated breed behavior. This is the advice of the Harts, two experts in animal communication and behavior, whose new book takes the process of selecting a cat to the next level by offering data-based behavioral profiles of a wide range of cat breeds. Developed over a lifetime of research and through extensive interviews with eighty veterinary experts, the profiles are presented in easy-to-use graphical form. A history of the development of different breeds is presented, and then breed-specific differences across a range of variables are discussed. These include twelve behavioral traits, in areas such as affection, sociality, activity level, and litter box use. After giving guidance about choosing a cat, the authors present some strategies for avoiding problem behaviors and resolving those that emerge. They also share fascinating theories about the origins of various common cat behaviors, including purring, yawning, eating grass, “flipping out” on catnip, and staking out territory. While the focus is on purebred cats, there is also lots of good information for owners of blends. The book ends with helpful guidance on further reading. Based on the latest science, this is a great book for anyone interested in the fundamental building blocks of feline behavior, and an invaluable handbook for cat owners.
This book is the first of its kind to discuss in detail the actual management of local animal control programs as opposed to the care of the animals. The book covers those financial, personnel, legal, health, and safety issues that animal control directors and management staff need to know in providing direction and oversight of animal control programs.
Chapters examine selected topics in which the author assesses the strengths and weaknesses, offers new insights and strategies for managing more effectively. For example, the two chapters on contracting discuss the steps in the process, strategies, and suggested provisions in the written agreement to make the program more effective. The animal law chapters explain the basis for the laws, but also highlight those provisions that if enacted into law, can strengthen enforcement options. The chapter on budget and revenues explains funding variations among programs and how local officials have been creative in financing these programs.
Subjects addressed in this book include many recently recognized as vital to the management of animal control programs. They include: need for Web sites, use of program evaluations, and the value of forms, records and reports. In addition, the author discusses and assesses from a new perspective: interacting with the public and the media, liability issues, wildlife problems, and the politics of animal control.
This book gathers, in one place, those measures presently used to study the human-companion animal bond. The measures chosen for inclusion are the most heavily used by researchers, as well as measures that appear to be innovative or relate to the different aspects of the human-companion animal relationship. The measures cover the human-animal bond principally by attachment, but also by fear, abuse, or neglect.
This is an authoritative study into a traditionally taboo subject. It is not a work of erotica but presents the works of authorities on the subject. The authors have researched, as far as is possible, those who do, or have indulged in the practices since the beginnings of human history. The book also contains a useful bibliography.
Pets play a greater role in our emotional and physical health than ever before, says the Purdue University professor who is co-author of his revised edition of Between Pets and People: The Importance of Animal Companionship. The book by Alan M. Beck of Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine and Aaron H. Katcher, psychiatrist and professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, explores the emotional and physical benefits of owning a pet and analyzes the complex relationship between people and pets. "The study of the importance of the relationship between people and animals is a growing field and has the potential to be part of the whole human-health field," says Beck, director of Purdue's Center for Applied Ethology and Human-Animal Interaction. "The social milieu on where animals fit into society has really changed in the last 13 years. We've gone from recognizing the potential of animals being a significant positive contribution to certain populations, such as the elderly, to actual documentation." Beck and Katcher note a 1992 study by an Australian cardiologist of 5,000 people who visited a clinic to find ways to reduce heart disease. The study found that people with pets had lower blood pressure and lower blood fat levels than those without pets, even though the two groups were alike in diet and exercise. The authors also point to the trend by nursing homes to incorporate animals into the routine and environment for patients. For example, in the early 1980s nursing homes typically did not allow pets to visit patients, while today nearly half of the homes have an organized program for animal therapy, Beck says. In addition to exploring physical benefits, the book covers such topics as pets as family members, pets as therapists, talking to pets, and how pets can teach us to become better companions to friends and family. The book also has a list of Web sites by such organizations as Canine Companions for Independence and the American Kennel Club. While pets provide health benefits, they can create problems, Beck and Katcher say. "There is no medicine that doesn't have some side effects," Beck says. For example, more pet ownership has public-health implications such as more dog bites, he notes. And some people whose pets die grieve to the point of illness, he says. But grief over the loss of an animal is not new, Beck says. Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows after their cats died, and the Roman emperor Caligula had his horse entombed.
What happens behind the doors of the animal shelter? This book will introduce the reader to the work culture of animal shelter employees, volunteers, activists, educators, and pets. By weaving together her own personal memoirs with interviews with workers, the author describes the traditions, philosophies, history, and current social dynamics of a typical animal welfare community. She examines how the daily interactions, personal philosophies, disparate methods, technology, and life experiences of the humans and pets influence the care of homeless animals, often playing an intricate role in the life or death situation each pet eventually faces.The author also describes her own experience with a "rescued" dog, touching upon the issues of victimization and redemption that she finds characterize the animal welfare field. The animals in the book are presented as active participants in this daily drama, able to communicate their needs to their caretakers and form lasting impressions. Throughout the book, workers, volunteers, and activists tell their own stories-stories that embody the hopes, frustrations, successes, and failures in bridging the bond between homeless pets and new families.
Brood Bitch is a mother's reflection inspired by her hand-raising a litter of Pembroke Welsh corgis whose own mother died after a Caesarian delivery. Devastated by the loss of her only companion and awed by the task of saving the puppies, the author is surprised to discover she enjoys this exclusive commitment. With an education, a career, a marriage, and mothering all behind her, Wells broods on these past commitments-usually conflicted-in light of her success in the role of a canine mother. Parallels between the birth and care of the puppies and her daughter keep coming to her consciousness, helping her to understand her sense of failure as a human mother. However, nurturing the puppies leads to profound introspection, which eventually heals the pain of her insecure mothering. The experience also enables her to appreciate the vast scope of motherhood in both corgis and women-its variations, illusions, ideals, realities, frustrations, and rewards. Wells realizes that she is a mother for life. Having mothered the litter so happily and bonded so closely with the one she kept, she is able to forge a bond with her daughter through links to their past that extend into the present. Though a slow process that may take most of a life re-lived, rearing the puppies makes it possible for her. Her final recompense is a guarded hope that the lovely young bitch, who never knew her natural mother, will succeed in the role and provide them both with a corgi companion for the rest of their lives. It becomes a reality under conditions even more rewarding than her mothering of this brood bitch because she now recognizes so many of the complications of motherhood. She at last observes a mother superior, whose existence among women requires a vow of celibacy.
"In one instance, an officer investigated a case on an extremely thin dog - a sixty-pound Rottweiler - that should have weighed about one hundred pounds. 'The dog was skin and bones, so weak he couldn't even get up. The person told me he was minding the dog for his son because his son had been away. He'd go out every night at 5:00 and dump food on the ground, and because it was dark, he really couldn't see if the dog was thin. That was his excuse.' The officer told the respondent, 'Listen, it is your house. You agreed to care for the dog.' He even spoke with the son who said his father had been caring for the dog. So the respondent surrendered the dog and it was euthanized by a veterinarian. "It was too far gone. We had to carry it on a stretcher. It was unbelievable. It was really bad. The dog also had a large abscess on its left ear that looked like it was infected. So I charged him with animal cruelty - failure to provide necessary sustenance.'" -- How do animal cops cope with a doubting public and still face the abuse they see? -- Why do the courts brush aside many cases of cruelty when the link between interpersonal violence and animal abuse is undeniable? -- Why does society view animal cops as wannabes or second-rate cops?Arnold Arluke, a senior research fellow at the Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy and a professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern University, has produced a book that looks at attitudes in action as he follows animal cops on their daily routes and routines, emotional highs and lows, and from the mundane to the macabre. "[A] richly textured, and at times deeply disturbing, ethnography of the occupational practices, roles, and ideologies of humane law enforcement officers as they encounter, investigate, and prosecute incidents of animal cruelty." -- Qualitive Sociology Review"...offers a crucial perspective that is ignored in the prescriptive calls for animal rights." -- Law and Politics Review
When the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine was founded fifty years ago, it would have been hard for the instructors and administrators who taught in makeshift classrooms and laboratories to imagine all of the accomplishments that would be born from their pioneering spirit. Learn when: the first women graduated from the school; the Veterinary Technology Program was established; the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program was founded by the Veterinary Medicine faculty; the School offered DVM students choices for specialization, including small animal, large animal, and equine medicine. This book gives an insider's view into the birth and growth of the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. From those early days-when veterinary care was primarily for draft and coach horses- to today's comparative medicine programs that benefit both humans and animals. This book details how the school has continuously provided excellent education and care.
Animal abuse has been an acknowledged problem for centuries, but only within the past few decades has scientific research provided evidence that the maltreatment of animals often overlaps with violence toward people. The variants of violence, including bullying or assaults in a schoolyard, child abuse in homes, violence between adult intimate partners, community hostility in our streets and neighborhoods, and even the context of war, are now the subject of concerted research efforts. Very often, the association of these forms of violence with cruelty to animals has been found. The perpetrators of such inhumane treatment are often children and adolescents. How common are these incidents? What motivates human maltreatment of animals? Are there cultural, societal, neighborhood, and family contexts that contribute to cruelty to animals? How early in a child's life does cruelty to animals emerge and are these incidents always a sign of future interpersonal violence? Are there ways of preventing such cruelty? Can we intervene effectively with children who already have a history of abuse and violence?Children and Animals: Exploring the Roots of Kindness and Cruelty presents the current scientific and professional wisdom about the relation between the maltreatment of animals and interpersonal violence directed toward other human beings. However, the author, Frank R. Ascione, a noted expert in these areas, writes in a style and presents the findings in language that will be understandable to parents, teachers, counselors, clergy, animal welfare professionals, foster parents, mental health professionals, youth workers, law enforcement professionals, and any one else whose work or interest crosses into the lives of children and adolescents.
This readable contribution should be in the hands of any city or state agency dealing with dog problems or with public health problems. The book should also be of considerable interest to all ecologists, behavorists, and biologists."-Choice"This is a unique book in which the ecologist's methods are applied to understanding and possibly solving one of our urban problems."-Library Journal"This fascinating small monograph is the work of a man who-armed with camera, tape recorder and thermometer and driving not a Land-Rover but a used sedan-studied free-ranging dogs among the bricks of Baltimore."-Scientific American
In The Golden Bridge, Patty Dobbs Gross provides both personal and professional advice on how specially bred and trained dogs help to facilitate communication for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. This important information compendium is a guide for parents dealing with the social, emotional, and educational issues of raising children with challenges. Myths and labels concerning autism are explored, examined, and redefined. While focused on children, the advice that Gross shares will be immensely helpful for anyone involved in breeding, raising, and training dogs to mitigate any type of disability at any age.The Golden Bridge provides advice about living with autism, animal-assisted therapy and autism, training an assistance dog to work with a child with autism or a developmental disability, and using an assistance dog to deal with a child's grief. This impressive volume also contains a vast list of resources, including web sites, for follow-up information, a section on books about autism, and a directory of assistance dog providers.
"Scientists have fun and exciting jobs! In this book, you will meet scientists from all over the world who work with animals. These scientists work hard to make sure people and their animals stay healthy. Maybe one day you will be a scientist too! You can start your science training now by completing the activities in this book."This activity book highlights how eight people became scientists. Published in full color, the book features fun activities relevant to the different scientific specialties represented for children to complete. The publication of the book has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Center for Research Resources, and a Scientific Education Partnership Award. An online version is available free of charge to download and print at: http://www.purdue.edu/svmengaged/docs/SEPA/3rd-Grade-Activity-Book-LoRes...
Mention the words “Seeing Eye,” and most people will associate them with guide dogs for the blind and partially-sighted. Mention the name “Dorothy Harrison Eustis,” and most people will not recognize it, even though she is the woman responsible for founding The Seeing Eye, the first guide dog school in the United States.
Since its inception eighty years ago, The Seeing Eye has trained thousands of people who are visually impaired to use guide dogs. The success of the program has spawned guide dog schools across the country and around the world, and the concept has been further expanded to include service dogs for people with other kinds of disabilities.
Drawing on correspondence, private papers, and newspaper accounts of the day, Miriam Ascarelli chronicles the life of Dorothy Harrison Eustis from her upper class childhood in Victorian Philadelphia to her years as a young mother in the upstate New York boomtown of Hoosick Falls, her widowhood, her failed second marriage to a man thirteen years her junior, and the confluence of events that led to her launching The Seeing Eye. In doing so, Ascarelli reveals both a driven woman and a very private person who shunned media coverage of herself but actively courted it for her organization.
Inside Animal Hoarding profiles one of the largest and most intriguing cases of animal hoarding in recent history. Celeste Killeen's investigation pries open the door to Barbara Erickson's hidden and closely guarded life, offering an in-depth view of animal hoarding. The chaos and torment discovered by local officials who'd responded to a ramshackle farmhouse in eastern Oregon was described as otherworldly, unbelievable. But, it was only the sad ending to a lifelong story of betrayal, abuse and abandonment. This in-depth look at how animal hoarding developed in one woman's life offers the rich detail and context so important in understanding how to recognize and respond to it and maybe even prevent it. Dr. Arnold Arluke's discussion follows the Erickson story with current research on animal hoarding and how it ties into the Erickson case. Drawing from his background in sociology and extensive study of the human/animal relationship, Arluke offers further insight about animal hoarders, how they see themselves, how society deals with them, and why people find them so perplexing. This integration of investigative journalism and scholarship offers a fresh approach with appeal to a broad audience of readers, those new to learning about the phenomenon, and those with first-hand experience in the animal welfare field.
It's hard to imagine eight million people trying to avoid dog refuse on the streets of New York City on a daily basis. Likewise, it's harder not to imagine New Yorkers from all walks of life picking up after their canines. Using plastic bags or trendy, mechanized devices, pet owners have become a unified force in cleaning up the sidewalks of the Big Apple. Not long ago, picking up after your Poodle, Puli, or Pekinese was not a basic civic duty. Initially, many politicians thought the idea was absurd. Animal rights activists were unanimously opposed. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals condemned the proposed legislation because it would impose undue hardship on dog owners. New York's Poop Scoop Law chronicles the integration of dog owners, a much-maligned subculture, into mainstream society by tracing the history of the legislation that the York's City Council shelved twice before, then Mayor Ed Koch was forced to go to the state level for support. Brandow shows how a combination of science and politics, fact and fear, altruism and self-interest led to the adoption and enforcement of legislation that became a shining success.
Dogs know when we are feeling down. They love it when we are happy and seeking friendship and fun, and they understand when we are feeling sad and desperate. This book presents a series of real-life tales of the positive effects dogs have had on people at the end of their lives, chronicling the visits by two therapy dogs, Woody and Katie, to patients in a south Florida hospice facility.
Through twenty-one stories, infused with humor amidst the sadness, Michelle Rivera, an experienced animal therapist, explores the many ways in which animals can ease human suffering. Her book begins with the deeply personal story of her own mother Katherine’s illness and dying appeal to have the company of a dog, and proceeds to tell the stories of patients young and old who the author was inspired to visit with her “hospice hounds.” As well as demonstrating many of the techniques of animal therapy, Rivera argues powerfully that not allowing pets in health care facilities is a counterproductive policy that deprives patients of comfort at the time they need it most.
Some of the stories were previously published in Hospice Hounds (2001), but the author has substantially expanded her introduction and added an invaluable final section that gives practical tips on training and certifying your dog to be a therapy animal.
On temporary assignment in Houston, Texas, at the start of 1998, Aleksandra and her husband, Norman, never expected that their lives would be changed forever when a small, chocolate-gold-black, stray cat stalked into the apartment complex where they were living and adopted them. Suzy soon became a key family member and travels extensively with the author. In a life full of animals, Suzy's owners have had to confront many of the dilemmas that cat ownership entails. This is the story of a deepening relationship between a couple and their cat, written by an award-winning author and filled with insightful comments about cat behavior and the nature of the human–feline bond. The episodes in this book will delight and inform other "cat people" and will leave readers with a new understanding of the way interactions with animals transform our lives.
A child can't be owned, but parents are legally responsible for their child's care. A painting and a dog can be owned; both fall under the jurisdiction of the law and in particular, property rights. But why should a dog, man's best friend, an animal with a mind and emotions, fall under the same category as a painting? How could the law be so foolish? Requiring legal guardianship for animals would have radical consequences for how we live our lives.