Our local kennel club couldn’t have said it better. “Today is our dogs day!! It’s National Purebred Dog Day! Today we celebrate the bond between humans and the purposely bred dogs that have shaped our evolution and educate others about the importance of preservation breeders who keep these special breeds from going extinct. So in honor of today show us your dogs! And spread the word!”

So, here is an infographic about Labradors. ... See MoreSee Less

DOG AUCTIONS
The American Kennel Club® considers auctions and raffles not to be reasonable and appropriate
methods to obtain or transfer dogs.
AKC's current inspection program shall include kennels/individuals offering dogs for sale at
auctions.
Any dog sold at auction that is under 8 weeks of age or without microchip identification will be
ineligible for AKC® registration and shall be placed on permanent referral.
The American Kennel Club discourages Parent Club rescue groups from purchasing dogs at
auctions. Although Parent Clubs may be doing good things for individual dogs purchased at
auctions, it perpetuates the problem and tends to create a seller's market. Reciprocally, auctioneers
seek more dogs of those breeds to offer at auctions. AKC applauds the work of Parent Club rescue
groups on many fronts. However, AKC believes that the purchasing of dogs at auctions is not
overall in the best interest of purebred dogs.
This link will take you to the entirety of AKC's published list of position statements.
www.akc.org/.../government.../position-statements/
Bryan-College Station is a licensed club of the AKC. ... See MoreSee Less

World Veterinary Day on April 26 is "Animal health takes a team," highlighting the field's collaborative nature.

“Veterinarians are typically looked at by the public as caretakers of their beloved pets, but the reality is, we are so much more than that,” Dr. de Jong of the WVA said. “We as a profession need to be loud and proud about all that we do and speak up for veterinary medicine,” including advancing food safety ,production animal medicine, equine medicine, epidemiology, research and education, animal welfare, the human-animal bond, public health, aquaculture, and One Health.

World Veterinary Day, annually observed on the last Saturday of April, aims to celebrate the contributions of veterinarians to the health of animals, people, and the environment.

“This year’s theme focuses on the importance of teamwork in veterinary care, acknowledging that effective veterinary services often rely on the collective efforts of a range of professionals, including veterinary nurses, technicians, researchers, and other allied health professionals,” ... See MoreSee Less

ICYMI: many of us follow the National Snakebite Support page (for humans and pets). It is a heavy moderated page with a massive following, specific rules and lots of posts.

The question came up about coralsnakes in Texas and antivenom for dogs. This is a bit of a read but very informative.

Texas, no. You'd want to seek out an emergency facility with ventilators. The University of Florida does import it -- complicated process -- and has it on hand.

From Dr. Cory Woliver (veterinary snake expert):

Let’s talk coralsnake envenomations in pets. There are three species of coralsnakes in the United States. Micrurus fulvius (eastern coralsnakes) and Micrurus tener (Texas coralsnakes) both have the potential to cause fatal envenomations in pets. There are no reports of significant injuries or death in pets following an envenomation from Micruroides euryxanthus (Sonoran coralsnakes), but if a pet is bitten it should still be observed by a veterinarian. Coralsnakes have very tiny fangs and are typically very docile. But they will bite if picked up or attacked, which often happens during encounters with pets.
In humans, severe systemic effects are rarely seen following Texas coralsnake bites, but are more common in envenomations from eastern coralsnakes. In pets, we see significant effects, including paralysis and death, following envenomations from Texas coralsnakes as well as easterns.
Both Micrurus species have a neurotoxic and a hemotoxic venom. The main components consist of Phospholipase A2 and alpha neurotoxin. The neurotoxic components cause paresis and paralysis, and if left untreated can lead to paralysis of the respiratory muscles leading to death. The hemotoxic component causes lysis (breakdown) of the red blood cells which can lead to anemia. If enough RBCs break down it can cause injury to the kidneys. Some early signs you may see are weakness, drooling, vomiting, and rapid breathing. Other times you may see what looks like bloody urine.
Antivenom is the only thing that can slow down or stop the effects of the venom. Unfortunately it is very hard to come by and very few places have access to it.
Treatment consists of antivenom where available, fluids, and supportive care. If a coralsnake envenomation progresses far enough to cause respiratory paralysis (which happens often when antivenom is not available), the pet needs to be intubated and placed on a ventilator to breathe for it. One study found the average time on a ventilator to be about 58 hours.
The chance of survival once ventilated is high (the same study showed about a 90% survival rate). However, cost may be a limiting factor, as it is very expensive to ventilate. Even though survival is good on the ventilator, it still comes with risks such as pneumonia and barotrauma. In cases where an envenomation leads to paralysis, recovery to walk again normally takes about 1-2 weeks, sometimes longer. Most pets will recover with ventilation even in the absence of antivenom.
The tricky part of treating these bites is that there is no simple way to tell if a dog or cat has been bitten. Unlike pit viper bites, you almost never see bite marks from coralsnakes. There is no swelling, bleeding, redness, bruising, or pain. We will run some blood work to try and see if we can find evidence to support a bite. We will perform a packed cell volume and total solids (PCV/TS) and look at the color of the serum (fluid part of blood), and if it looks red (indicating hemolysis) that increases our suspicion. We will also look at a blood film under the microscope and look for evidence of echinocytes (when red blood cells look like a sea urchin). If these are present it also is suspicious for an envenomation. If both are present it is very likely. Unfortunately this doesn't happen in every case.
Because antivenom cannot reverse injuries from venom, only slow or stop further damage, it needs to be administered prior to the onset of full respiratory paralysis to prevent the need for ventilation. So the moral of the story is, if a pet is observed with a coralsnake in its mouth or if the pet is seen playing with one, we will administer antivenom prophylactically.
In areas where antivenom is unavailable, it is especially important to try to locate an emergency vet with the resources to provide critical care ventilation which will greatly improve the pets’ chances of survival.
Edited to add: coral snake bites don’t always show immediate signs like a lot of pit vipers do. It can take 24+ hours for signs to show up. We recommend watching them in the hospital for a minimum of 24 hours, sometimes longer to monitor them for signs of envenomation. ... See MoreSee Less

“DANGEROUS DOG” CONTROL LEGISLATION
The American Kennel Club® supports reasonable, enforceable, non-discriminatory laws to govern
the ownership of dogs. The AKC® believes that dog owners should be responsible for their dogs.
We support laws that: establish a fair process by which specific dogs are identified as “dangerous”
based on stated, measurable actions; impose appropriate penalties on irresponsible owners; and
establish a well-defined method for dealing with dogs proven to be dangerous. We believe that, if
necessary, dogs proven to be “dangerous” may need to be humanely destroyed. The American
Kennel Club strongly opposes any legislation that determines a dog to be “dangerous” based on
specific breeds or phenotypic classes of dogs.
This link will take you to the entirety of AKC's published list of position statements.
www.akc.org/.../government.../position-statements/
Bryan-College Station is a licensed club of the AKC. ... See MoreSee Less