The following story is one that should scare you and should make you think about your preparedness if this happened in your hospital.  In Springfield, MO, a couple is mourning the loss of their 3 year old Maltese after a dog groomer allegedly threw it against the wall.  (Thanks to Dr. Ned Caldwell, VNN member in MO, for the alert and the reminder that we all need to be prepared for this type of tragic event).  Do you know how you (and your staff) would respond to local media showing up if this happened at your hospital?  This might be a good reminder to download and review Dr. Jim's Crisis Communications paper!

Another big story is the upcoming announcement from the Ohio Department of Agriculture about their findings in the cases of four dogs at a Cincinnati area day care that died of HGE.  Preliminary reports are that this could be a novel circovirus that has rarely been seen in dogs before, but we will have more complete details after a Monday news release.  Both Dr. Jim and I will watch this story and develop messaging as needed to address both clinic and client concerns.

You know you have clients that don't want to vaccinate their pets because they are "indoor only"...we all do!  Now, you can point them to this story about a rabid bat found in a suburban Chicago area home and let them know that sometimes, the diseases come indoors too!  If they still aren't convinced, share the story of a cat being killed by a rabid raccoon...indoors!

In Washington state this week, a pharmacist was admonished by the state's Pharmacy Board for challenging and even changing a veterinarian's prescription dosage.  The pharmacist told the client that there is no way that a dog would need that amount of valium and recommended a different dosage.  If you recall, we had a recent VNN story on errors made with pet medications and you could use these resources and the news hook of this recent story to help educate your community about this concern.

September is National Preparedness Month and despite the lack of major hurricanes and weather issues in recent weeks, this is still a good topic that most media outlets would love to discuss.  Use our VNN resources on Disaster Preparedness for Pets and make a pitch to your local producer.

Finally...I really liked what VNN Member and Certified Veterinary Journalist, Dr. Lori Huston, did with her recent blogs.  In one week, she discussed the mechanics of a pet food recall with a spokesperson from Iams and then in  her next installment, she did a story on how Iams has been helping the owner of the doggie day care center in Cincinnati where the four dogs referenced above were sickened.  To be transparent, she does get financial support from Iams for her blog, but, if you have followed her, you know that her topics are wide ranging and she is definitely an objective, rational blogger.  Thanks to our members, like Dr. Arnold Goldman, who have been provided comments on her blog columns!

Media Outreach