DC-bound Pet Obesity Awareness Tour Aims to Turn Fat Pets Fit
If you’re in the DC area at the end of the month or the beginning of next month, make sure you stop by the Pet Fit Tour to find out how to keep your dogs and cats lean and mean. Scroll down for the DC-area times, dates and locations.
Here’s the scoop:
From August 28-September 1, DC-area pet owners can learn more about pet obesity through the PetFit Tour, a mobile resource visiting several Washington, DC, area locations to raise awareness of the health risks associated with pet obesity, the importance of veterinary visits, feeding the right nutrition, and encouraging pet owners to increase playtime with their pets.
Located at locations throughout the National Capital Region (scroll down for list), PetFit tour volunteers will be on hand to lead interactive exhibits such as the “Treat Translator,” which gives pet owners a better sense of the health and nutritional consequences of common snacks given to our dogs and cats. Weighted vests that simulate just how much those extra few pounds on your dog would feel on you are also part of the experience.
The PetFit Tour is part of the Alliance for Healthier Pets: Obesity Awareness Program, developed by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc.
“The purpose of this Alliance is to provide veterinary health care team members with creative tools that will assist them in educating their clients,” said Gregory S. Hammer, DVM, president of the AVMA. “Through the adoption of proper nutrition, increased physical activity and regular veterinary visits, owners can help their best friends live longer and healthier lives.”
The emphasis will be directed at promoting positive weight management behaviors by combining veterinary health care team communication and pet owner compliance, proper nutrition, daily fitness and regular weight examinations.
For more information, visit www.PetFit.com.
DC Area Locations, Dates and Times:
September 3, 4:00-7:00 p.m. — VCA Lewis Animal Hospital, 10665 State Route 108, Columbia, MD
September 4, 4:00-7:00 p.m. — Macarthur Animal Hospital, 4832 Macarthur Blvd NW, Washington, DC
September 5, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and 5:00-8:00 p.m. — PetSmart #1348, 6800 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase, MD
September 6, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. — PETCO #782, 3505 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC
September 6, 4:00-7:00 p.m. — PETCO #767, 6612 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria, VA
September 7, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. — PETCO #731, 1929 Old Gallows Rd, Vienna, VA — Tyson’s Corner
September 7, 3:00-6:00 p.m. — PetSmart #447, 3351 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Alexandria, VA
Spotlight: U.S.D.A. APHIS
The United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service(USDA APHIS) is the agency within USDA that is charged with protecting American agriculture (http://www.aphis.usda.gov ). APHIS was founded in 1972, consolidating the plant and animal health bureaus under one roof. According to their website, APHIS’ broad mission area includes protecting and promoting U.S. agricultural health, regulating genetically engineered organisms, administering the Animal Welfare Act and carrying out wildlife damage management activities. APHIS has six operational units: Animal Care; Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS); International Services and Trade Support Team (IS); Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ); Veterinary Services (VS); and Wildlife Services (WS).
APHIS employees 673 Veterinary Medical Officers (VMOs) located throughout the United States and in many foreign countries. In the Best Places to Work in the Federal Governement 2007 survey, APHIS ranks in the top 50 out of 222 agencies surveyed (http://bestplacestowork.org ). APHIS has scholarship and internship opportunities (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/career_opportunities/student_programs.shtml )–the GRD staff has met many of the APHIS interns, and one former AVMA Extern, Kate Bowers (Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine-Go Hokies!), worked at APHIS for three years, then received an APHIS scholarship to attend veterinary school. Information about employment opportunities can be found at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/career_opportunities
“It’s a Great Day to Work for APHIS!”
The World is Your Oyster
We are now in our second full week of the August Recess. We are enjoying the quiet time around Washington, D.C. Even though Congress is gone, the GRD staff is still working to advance the AVMA’s legislative agenda. The Congressional offices are still open, and it is a great time to visit with a relaxed staff to discuss our issues.
I’ve often been asked how I ended up in Governmental Relations. I often ask myself that question! After graduating, I worked small animal medicine before taking a position with ALPO Petfoods as their Pet Center Manager. From there (because of Nestle’s acquisition of ALPO), I went to Marketing Communications before ending up with the AVMA Governmental Relations Division in 2003. I like to tell people that I’ve had four careers in veterinary medicine. But that’s the great thing about veterinary medicine—our knowledge and training allow us to work in many different areas. We also have many “transferable” skills—skills you can take from one job to another. I have been fortunate to meet veterinarians in the USDA, FDA(featured in my August 7th blog), EPA, DHS, Uniformed Services, CDC, State Department, Congress, congressional staffs, state government, industry, non-profits, small animal medicine, mixed animal medicine, large animal medicine, zoo animal medicine, exotic animal medicine and aquatic animal medicine.
So what does this mean to you? The world is your oyster….as long as you keep an open mind, and are willing to try new things. Network with veterinarians in the career you may want to pursue. We provide our student externs with a list of veterinarians in D.C. that they can visit to expose themselves to other veterinary careers. Find a mentor to help you along in your career. Attend professional development seminars at the national conventions. Don’t be afraid to ask….you never know what the answer will be!
On a less serious note……Here is a picture of our new dog, Phoebe. We adopted her from the Montgomery County (MD) Humane Society. She is a Corgi-Beagle mix—with the biggest ears! Helps us to remember why we became veterinarians!
Spotlight: FDA
Since we do not have AVMA Student Externs at the GRD in August, the GRD staff has taken over writing the blog for externsonthehill.com. We hope you enjoy our musings!
We always seem to talk about the legislative side of Washington, DC, however, I would like to hig
hlight some of the Executive Branch agencies that employ veterinarians. The first agency I would like to highlight is the FDA-Center for Veterinary Medicine. (www.fda.gov/cvm)
The FDA-CVM’s mission is simple: “The Center for Veterinary Medicine is a consumer protection organization. We foster public and animal health by approving safe and effective products for animals and by enforcing other applicable provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other authorities.” According to their website, The Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) regulates the manufacture and distribution of food additives and drugs that will be given to animals. These include animals from which human foods are derived, as well as food additives and drugs for pet (or companion) animals. CVM is responsible for regulating drugs, devices, and food additives given to, or used on, over one hundred million companion animals, plus millions of poultry, cattle, swine, and minor animal species. (Minor animal species include animals other than cattle, swine, chickens, turkeys, horses, dogs, and cats.). In 2007, CVM approved 15 original or supplemental New Animal Drug Applications (NADAs)
The Center is led by Dr. Bernadette Dunham, a former AVMA GRD Assistant Director. Dr. Dunham and her staff are always gracious with their time when our AVMA Externs visit CVM. Ninety-nine veterinarians work at the FDA, including Dr. Gerald Rushin, another former AVMA GRD Assistant Director. CVM always ranks high in employee surveys, and has a low personnel turnover rate, indicating that the employees like working at CVM. For more information about careers in CVM, go to http://www.fda.gov/cvm/careeropps.html.
To find out about CVM’s student intern program, go to http://www.fda.gov/cvm/student_intern.htm.
To find out about FDA Commissioner’s Fellowship Program, go to http://www.fda.gov/commissionersfellowships/default.htm
I hope you enjoyed our spotlight on FDA-CVM. Come back next week and see what the GRD staff has to say!!
Bernadette-Sorry about the video 
Summer in the City
Greetings from DC. We are enjoying the August recess, when Congress goes home and the GRD staff can caught up with our work. We’ve had a busy Summer! The Farm bill passed in late May with language that gave the USDA 270 days to promulgate regulations for the National Veterinary Medical Service Act. This is exciting news, and we expect to see the final regulations completed by next April (2009). We also received great news that the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee allocated $5M for NVMSA!! This is by far our biggest appropriation for NVMSA, and it demonstrates the importance of this issue to Members of Congress. The House Agriculture Committee allocated $1M for NVMSA. We still have work to do to make sure that the money remains in the final Appropriations bill……and we would prefer the $5M!!
Some of our AVMA externs worked on the Animal Drug User Fee Act reauthorization legislation. I am pleased to tell you that this legislation passed in the House and Senate, and has been sent to the White House for the President’s signature.
I met many students at the AVMA Convention, and was very excited with your level of commitment to the veterinary profession. Please get involved with state and federal legislative issues. We will not be able to advance our legislative agenda if our Legislators do not hear from us!!
Energy Drinks and Espresso
It has been quite busy around the AVMA-GRD recently. In fact, you would think that DC as a whole was running on energy drinks and espresso. Here’s a little bit of what’s been going on. On Monday July 28th, our newest staff member, Gina Luke (picture to follow) started as the Assistant Director who will handle the issue portfolio that includes the National Veterinary Medical Services Act and the Veterinary Public Health Workforce Expansion Act. We are very happy to have her on board.
Secondly, the Animal Drug User Fee Act is being considered by the House today under Suspension of the Rules. This is great for veterinary medicine and the AVMA agrees with the language of the act.
Additionally, Washington, DC has been abuzz talking about the Vice President nominee picks by Sens. Obama and McCain, or as some call it, The Veep Stakes. The candidates have been in and out of town, Senator Stevens (R-AK) was indicted, and the respective national parties are in a race to raise a lot of cash for the upcoming congressional elections.
Be sure to visit some of the other blogs listed on the bottom left of this page, they have some great information about the current political climate and recent news in the DC area.
Fellows Fellows Everywhere
Well we are officially back from the AVMA Convention. And I have added some pictures below so you can see some of what we did. I have to say overall that is was a fun experience. We had the opportunity to talk to countless groups and executive boards about the Fellowship program, and we even had to chance to address the SAVMA House of Delegates which is always exciting!
As for what’s next, well we have new Assistant Directors coming on board over the next month, Congress starting to wrap-up its work before the August recess, and even some office swapping in the building. Be sure to look at the pictures and write in with any comments or questions!
Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!
The First Sentence Says it All…
What a day it has been! Today, the Fellows and I had a number of meetings and were privileged enough to attend the AVMAPAC luncheon with approximately 300 AVMA members, it was a great experience. At the luncheon, we got to hear Charlie Cook speak and offer insight on the presidential election. We also witnessed the awarding of the very first AVMA Advocacy award to Congressman Chip Pickering of Louisiana. This award is given to an individual who is an ally of the profession and has worked tirelessly to enhance veterinary medicine.
We also were able to host the annual Fellow and Extern reception. Numerous AVMA Executive Board Members attended, past externs, past fellows, and even two of our incoming Fellows, Dr. Gail Hansen and Dr. Whitney Miller. It was great to see how all of these individuals, who have experienced working on behalf of the profession and science in Washington, DC, had shared experiences and great memories of their time in DC.
Tomorrow is our last full day in New Orleans, and it is jam-packed with presentations and meetings to further expose veterinarians and specialty groups with the Fellowship Program. We will also be speaking in the afternoon with the SAVMA House of Delegates, I’m sure it will be a great time!
On your mark, get set, GO!
The AVMA Leadership, staff, and some members have descended upon New Orleans over the past two days. Meetings are going on in every ballroom or meeting hall in nearly 6 hotels in the downtown area, and everyone is having a chance to meet with colleagues from across the country and even around the globe. It is quite an amazing experience.
As promised, I, and other staff members are going to keep you up to date on the happenings here over the next few days. I would like to apologize for not posting yesterday, an electrical problem crippled the internet in the downtown area, but thankfully it is back!
This is the time before the Convention officially begins where various business meetings are held by the Allied and Associated groups of the AVMA, and I have the privilege of escorting the outgoing AVMA Congressional Science and Executive Branch Fellows around to present to these groups. We have the opportunity to thank these groups for their support of the program as well as explain the great things the Fellows have been doing on The Hill for the past year.
So far we have spoken to the American Association of Avian Practitioners as well as the College for Veterinary Preventative Medicine. Both groups were very receptive and interested in the public policy process. I highly encourage you to visit their websites as well as the Fellowship site.
Time for another meeting, but we will be sure to keep you posted on any exciting news as it happens, so keep checking back!
Watch Out New Orleans, Here We Come!
So it is just a matter of hours before the AVMA GRD staff takes flight for New Orleans! We are headed to the 145th AVMA Convention where we will educate members on the importance of government involvement, visit associated and allied groups, sign up members for the AVMA-CAN and AVMAPAC as well as listen to talks from some of the best political minds.
If the weeks, well months of preparation are any sign, it is going to be a whirl-wind week of exciting experiences and sleepless nights. If you are going to be in New Orleans for the Convention be sure to stop by one of the two GRD booths and say hi! If you’re not going to be in New Orleans, don’t worry we will have you covered. We are going to try to update the blog daily and keep you connected with the latest happenings. Be sure to write in comments or ask any questions you may have!
See you in New Orleans!