Newsmagazine

p 16 Reinventing

education Consortium starts

national dialogue on educational reform

raquo

The Voice of Ve ter in ar y News April 200

Anew attitude Study examines changing personality types among incoming veterinary students BY R AC ItAEI WHITCOMB - r w s eO IT OR

AT10NAL REPORT - Its not just yea rs that l re defiDing gen era tional differences - personalities actually arc according to a ne study of veteri nary students

Aftcra lJ when it comes to the veleri middot nar y profession fundamental changes have been going on for years eXln tgt say More women continue to enter the profession and the m arket contil]ues to brcak from its roots in ag riculture to companiOJl -nnimal ca re Technology and CO[ll ll1Ullication is aiso cha nging th e land SCll pe

TI e result is at tracting a different ki 1lel (veterinaria n explains Joseph Tahoadn

CONT INUED ON PAGE 24 raquo

Inside the black market New ammaJ health

risks posed by growing illegal

dog importation

BY CHRIS Swm NfY C () NTHllilI T I J I ll lllnll

N ATIONAL REPORT - It s syn01lymous with weapon and drugs But the black market dog trade in the United Slates is vast and ome helieve it s growing

Across the USllkxican bord er and through the airports a st ream or illegal puppies arc crossing Us horders l3ig profits arc made important humanilltlrian buc ignored and signitkant health risks propagated with each illtgltll dog that is trafficked into the cou ntr ) - CONTINUED ON lI ( c 28 raquo

p 3 Yelp and extortion claims p 12 First blood test unveiled for canine cancer

p6 Top honors dvm360com and DVM Newsmagazine win two coveted journalism honors laquo

p22 Whistleblower Dr Dean Wyatt GAO call for welfare reform

p43 An associates perspective So you are a doctor Now what

AN ADVANSTAR PUBLICATON

DVM Newsmagazine I dvm360(om 28 IApril 2010

A lt11l111l1Hmiddot SPI (fAf

Inside the black mdrket raquo CD KTINUED FIWv1 PAGE 27

collec t evidence that puppies were in fact being smuggled into the United States Officers from the tas k force worked hand in hand with Immigra-tion and CutOJ11S Enforcemenl offi-cials for two-week periods scvcn days a wcek two shifts a day

The effort is to sh)w t he powers that be that this is a ver) serious issue the most serious aspcct being the health problems including zoonot ic issues an the fact that tlwsc puppiescnu up in our

RI PURl

kids beds Reyes says Among the dogs being smuggled in

from Mexico parvolirus and distemper are rampant says Karen Ehncrt senior veterinarian lor the County of Los An-geles Department of Public Health

nd while legitimate breeders and pet stores would advise consumers on how to properly care (or and vaccinate a new pet someone selling smuggled dogs on the street isonl) looking to makea quick buck and is not Ii kcly concerned about the animals well-being after it is sold

We tend to vaccinate our distemper and parvo but in Mexico vac-cinesarcnt given that often The mother is not vaccinated so shes not passing along an) immunity to thc puppies Elmert says

Butlvlexico is not the only place pup-pies are being smuggled (rom and Ehnert has documented the problem of dog coming into the US from around the world through Los Angelcs International Airport

During the Summcr of 2008 we

I

started getting reports from the air-port ofpuppie hcing dead she ay Over a month period we had about four and normally we would sec only one or two per year

Ehnert and colleagues conducted till) full c(muses at the airport the most recent in August 2009 and says the bulk o(the puppies werc being shipped from Suuth Korea though a lot of singletons were coming in from Australia and Bulldogs from Hungary FI)ing from Korea to Los Angeles call be strain f(l r humans let alone 6-week 01lt1 puppies and Ehner points out that many of the pups were dying from hypoglyctmia while in transit

And thcrcs pmbablyagenetic compo-nent t here as t he ani mals used ft)r breed-ing have genetic problems Ehnert says

While documentation and verifica-tion ofa dogs age is needed to ship dogs into the United State Elmert a)s the censuses at the airport showcd that falsi-ned paperwork was rampant

People fignred out that if the) pre-sented paperwork showi ng t he dog was 4 mont hs old or older there wou Id he no restrictions after they were imported she says

As the nUlllherofcollntries shipping dogs into Ihe United Slates increases the risk of diseases more harrnfulthan distemper and larvu increases

CDCs biggest concern with these imported dogs is the risk of rabies says G Gale Galland a vcterinarv with thc Center for Disease Control lt11d Preven-tion Exacerhating the threat of rabies is Ihe fact that most of the dogs being shipped arC too young 10 evcn he vacci-nated lor rabies Owr the past few ycars there have xCn a handful ofcases of rabid dogs beingsmuggled in but enlorcement both at border crossings and airports is proving difficult

Thc Border Puppy Task I orce relies on grants to conduct their censuses Reyes says that while the task force has not been able to conduct any recent border censuses it has been cracking down on

Isellers within the cities and takinga monmiddot

I

localizcd approach to addressing the problem When like Reyes and Ehners are not at t he borders and

theres dearth oft rained an-mal health prolessionals tht can identity sick and underage animals

Mike Carne) deputy special agent in charge at Immigrations and Cus-[oms Ent(lrccmcnt Office of Invcsti -

--------- D V M Newsmagazine I dVnl160coll1 2010 I 29 -

gatio n readil) admits that national required lor all dogs entcn ng the countr) and drugs takc precedent An idea l situation would be to have spc-

over illegal puppies cia II) trained inspectors at major points I middotOur biggest threat bereon the south - of cntr) but such an arrangement would

vest border is narcotics from Mexico be costly and resource intensivc I and we haw a 101 of resources dedicated Reycs rcached out to the local veteri-to that Carncy sa)s middotmiddotBut we do have a nary community to raise awareness and dedicated group of investigators at the IXllstcr support for the issue I Ie spoke at border ca lled our Commercial Fraud nKlingsofthc Soulhem C11ilomiaVetclc

Group which focuses on preTnting inar) iIOOical issociationandsays many contrahand introduced in to the United vets were llIJlware ofthc problem Stales and that s where the pUpP) smug- It was a hock to the animal health gling Calls under communit) he says We uncowreJ

Carne) SJ)S l liling to declare puppies and srnuggling them is a federal fclony that could come with as much as 20 )ears in jail While national security and narcotics are the agellcy lop nmccrn Ca rne) sa)s the agency is parlicularly concerned with thewdfareofthc animals and the possibilit) ofn(wJiseascs being introduced in thcregion addingthatthe agency isnt taking completeiyciinical approach to the problem C Ulle) sug-

thaI fCver dogs have hem smugglL during the past two)carswhen COrnpItli with pre vious years but harJ accu rate statistics arc dimwit to gather Ca rne) attrmiddotibut e the supected decline to the weak economy as well as heightened s(eurit) and beefed-up cnilfccmenl

Customs and Borders protect ion just silllply has to prioriti ze and hang on I(lrthe ride Rc)es sa)s lauding the agende5 wi IliJ)gncss to collaborate wit h The Border Puppy Task Fore When )oure dealing wilb tens of thousands of a day that 110 easy task

T he t ramckees wbo arc able to slip tbrough the borderwilh puppies stand to r maKe a he llthy prollt from sdli ng t helll A )orkie can be purchased in Mexico for jusl a few hund red doilars and resold fi r more than $1000

We buslxl big loca l sick and Ull -

(k rage puppy smuggler in our jurisdic-tion This person had $40000 in cash receipts for pllpp) salcs in nne Illonth This is just one inlividua] I think it is sa l to amp1V that it is a mulli -million dollar imjllstr)gt Rt)ts sols

Both Reyes and Ehner agree that a Illulti -prong approach is nttxled to admiddot d ress the issue Ehnert suggests that re-quiring mk rochips for all dogs brought into the United Stales could help better Ulon itor theSItoation and she also recom-mends th ilt health certificates should he

something that is wr) disturbing RaIT) Dorian DV lvi oflhe San Diego-

based Market Street Veterinary Clinic sa)s one problem is that clients are sbeep-ish when it comes toadmilting that they purchased a dog from someone on the st reel Puppies with distemper and paro art common at his practice but unless thecticnt open I) admits that the dog was I

from Mexico theres no wa) of determining the animals origin

The veterinary has to understand the big picture and implica-

tions of this unscrupuic)us industry of smuggling in sick and underage pup-pies Reyes says If Lhey dont they stand to lose as well

The stream of illega I puppies cannot simply be dammed Consumers need to be educated lawrna kers need to take ac-lion 1I1d vetrinarians need to be alert in order to prevent the prohlem from swelling into an ocean dvm

Mr SWPenoy Is ImelBnce Chicago

--------- D V M Newsmagazine I dVnl160coll1 2010 I 29 -

gatio n readil) admits that national required lor all dogs entcn ng the countr) and drugs takc precedent An idea l situation would be to have spc-

over illegal puppies cia II) trained inspectors at major points I middotOur biggest threat bereon the south - of cntr) but such an arrangement would

vest border is narcotics from Mexico be costly and resource intensivc I and we haw a 101 of resources dedicated Reycs rcached out to the local veteri-to that Carncy sa)s middotmiddotBut we do have a nary community to raise awareness and dedicated group of investigators at the IXllstcr support for the issue I Ie spoke at border ca lled our Commercial Fraud nKlingsofthc Soulhem C11ilomiaVetclc

Group which focuses on preTnting inar) iIOOical issociationandsays many contrahand introduced in to the United vets were llIJlware ofthc problem Stales and that s where the pUpP) smug- It was a hock to the animal health gling Calls under communit) he says We uncowreJ

Carne) SJ)S l liling to declare puppies and srnuggling them is a federal fclony that could come with as much as 20 )ears in jail While national security and narcotics are the agellcy lop nmccrn Ca rne) sa)s the agency is parlicularly concerned with thewdfareofthc animals and the possibilit) ofn(wJiseascs being introduced in thcregion addingthatthe agency isnt taking completeiyciinical approach to the problem C Ulle) sug-

thaI fCver dogs have hem smugglL during the past two)carswhen COrnpItli with pre vious years but harJ accu rate statistics arc dimwit to gather Ca rne) attrmiddotibut e the supected decline to the weak economy as well as heightened s(eurit) and beefed-up cnilfccmenl

Customs and Borders protect ion just silllply has to prioriti ze and hang on I(lrthe ride Rc)es sa)s lauding the agende5 wi IliJ)gncss to collaborate wit h The Border Puppy Task Fore When )oure dealing wilb tens of thousands of a day that 110 easy task

T he t ramckees wbo arc able to slip tbrough the borderwilh puppies stand to r maKe a he llthy prollt from sdli ng t helll A )orkie can be purchased in Mexico for jusl a few hund red doilars and resold fi r more than $1000

We buslxl big loca l sick and Ull -

(k rage puppy smuggler in our jurisdic-tion This person had $40000 in cash receipts for pllpp) salcs in nne Illonth This is just one inlividua] I think it is sa l to amp1V that it is a mulli -million dollar imjllstr)gt Rt)ts sols

Both Reyes and Ehner agree that a Illulti -prong approach is nttxled to admiddot d ress the issue Ehnert suggests that re-quiring mk rochips for all dogs brought into the United Stales could help better Ulon itor theSItoation and she also recom-mends th ilt health certificates should he

something that is wr) disturbing RaIT) Dorian DV lvi oflhe San Diego-

based Market Street Veterinary Clinic sa)s one problem is that clients are sbeep-ish when it comes toadmilting that they purchased a dog from someone on the st reel Puppies with distemper and paro art common at his practice but unless thecticnt open I) admits that the dog was I

from Mexico theres no wa) of determining the animals origin

The veterinary has to understand the big picture and implica-

tions of this unscrupuic)us industry of smuggling in sick and underage pup-pies Reyes says If Lhey dont they stand to lose as well

The stream of illega I puppies cannot simply be dammed Consumers need to be educated lawrna kers need to take ac-lion 1I1d vetrinarians need to be alert in order to prevent the prohlem from swelling into an ocean dvm

Mr SWPenoy Is ImelBnce Chicago