Join fellow VINners in remembering Roger in this discussion.

Emergency Medicine Specialty Center to the Rescue!
Thanks to the efforts of the VIN community and the Consultants and Associate Editors from the emergency medicine folder, the Emergency Medicine Specialty Center is ready to start helping you save lives and keep you company during those long graveyard shifts. Now the most relevant information is gathered in one place. Get quick access to blood administration guidelines, help with managing poison emergencies and more.

The Emergency Medicine Specialty Center can be found in the Specialty and Species area of the VIN Library and on the About Page of the Emergency Medicine folder in the VIN message boards. Keep your eyes peeled for more new information centers coming soon!

More New Content!

Thousands of new and updated message board discussions, journal abstracts and other information resources are added to the VIN Database and Library each month.

Save time. Search the VIN Database, and check the Medical FAQs and the VIN Library -- before you post on the message boards.

New Handouts and FAQs:

• Balancing your Parrot's Lifestyle
• Vaccines for Your Cat
• Vaccines for Your Dog
• Vetsulin Availability

Proceedings:

• International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine 2009
• Metacam Symposium on Arthritic Disease in Cats (2007)

New Chocolate Toxicity Calculator
The holiday season is upon us! This time of year, owners want to include their pets in the fun by giving them special treats. It's well known that although chocolate is good for us, it can be dangerous for your patients. If you're not sure how much is too much let the new Chocolate Toxicity Calculator help you plan your treatment strategy.

The new Chocolate Toxicity Calculator is now available on Beta.vin.com. Give it a try; your feedback is greatly appreciated! Email feedback@vin.com to let us know what you think and how it can be even better.

If you like the Chocolate Toxicity Calculator, you'll love the VIN suite of Calculators. The MyCalculations suite allows you to save data for your patients, so that you can compare, print and share results from different visits. MyCalculations is available on Beta.vin.com and www.vin.com and can be found in the VIN Library and the VINDEX (Calc./Conversions).

More great new features are making their debut on Beta.vin.com! If you want the latest and greatest and want to be on the "bleeding" edge of where VIN is going, make Beta.vin.com your VIN Homepage.

NEWS THAT'S FIT TO CLICK and Discuss
News Reported for YOU...

• Confounding compounding
  Part 1 VNS Report | Discussion
  Part 2 VNS Report | Discussion
• Key ingredient in Merial's Frontline to go off patent
  VNS Report | Discussion
• Canine flu: How big a threat?
  VNS Report | Discussion
• The kindness of strangers restores faith in human nature
  VNS Report | Discussion
• Webinar addresses problems with Vetsulin, questions from veterinarians
  VNS Report | Discussion
• 'Swine flu' could also be called ferret, feline and fowl flu
  VNS Report | Discussion

Evolving Stories:

• Are we forgetting to care enough to offer alternatives?

Be a VIN newshound:
VNS is here to give YOU a voice and report news that is important to YOU. Got an idea for a story? Have a story that needs covering? Post it on the boards or email News@vin.com.

Share news.vin.com with nonVINners. The VIN News Service (without access to the community discussions) is now publicly available.

Now you can follow VNS on Twitter! Send a Twitter request to prompt the VNS crew add you.

New and Revised
Share these with your clients!

• Parrot Toys are not Optional
• Dental home care (revised)
• Leptospirosis (revised)

Texas Farm Radio

• Equine Piroplasmosis

Canine mammary gland tumours; a histological continuum from benign to malignant; clinical and histopathological evidence
This study provides clinical and histopathological evidence suggesting that spontaneous canine mammary tumours progress from benign to malignant. Canine mammary tumours provide a powerful spontaneous research model that lends itself readily to close clinical monitoring and easy access to repeated biopsy and tissue collection for molecular analysis.

Evidence-based medicine in small mammals
This article describes how a practical problem-solving methodology was applied to manage a case of chronic weight loss in a guinea pig.

Diagnostic challenge
Although musculoskeletal signs are not the most common presenting sign of avian mycobacteriosis, they are an important consideration for diagnosis of early cases because the intermittent, shifting leg lameness can often be identified by an owner before identification of other clinical signs.

Veterinary technician student wants access to the controlled substance cabinet
A student pressing for access is a red flag. I do not mean that she should be restricted from potential learning experiences such as calculating, drawing doses, and recording doses, but it should be *only* under direct and continuous supervision.

Cat with a large burn: would skin transplant help?
I think I would go ahead and shift some skin over the area. Since an attached flap brings its own blood supply, even if it doesn't immediately attach to the muscle, it should survive.

Is doxorubicin something we should avoid in cats?
As a single agent, Doxorubicin does not seem to be as efficacious in cats as it is in dogs, but it certainly still has a place in viable protocols.

Usefulness of echocardiograms as a preanesthetic screening test for cats
It comes back to a cost-benefit analysis. And a willingness to accept a certain degree of risk. And finally, evidence that your intervention actually produces a clinically meaningful beneficial outcome.

Virtual Coffeehouse
Tuesday, December 1, 9:30 p.m. ET
(Wednesday, December 2, 2:30 a.m. GMT/UTC)
Stop by and chat with your fellow VIN addicts!

This Week's Rounds Schedule
Use the Rounds link to join these discussions.
@ = VINCast available for this session

• Cockatiel Knowledge @
• Food Safety & Inspection Service @
• Tax Implications @
• Triangle of Care @
• Low Stress Handling @
• Fearful/Fear-Aggressive Dogs in Practice @
• Feline Hyperthyroidism @

Want to see what you've been missing?
Click the Rounds button on VIN's main navigation bar and read the transcripts of the last few Rounds, click the complete list of Rounds to get to the list of the last 300 Rounds transcripts or click on Rounds and Discussions in the VIN Library.

Rounds are also searchable via the main VIN Search. Just remember to choose Rounds (under the Clinical Resources tab) as the "Source" in your search parameters.

For all you multi-taskers:
Download VINCasts to your MP3 player and listen to previous Rounds sessions while you run errands, exercise or steal a few minutes of me-time.

Message Board Drafts:
It's happened to everyone at least once...you spend precious minutes gathering your information, composing your post and copying your lab results only to lose your connection or power and have to start all over again. Well, you'll never have to rewrite your post again!

You can save your draft so you can come back later and finish posting without losing all of your work! Even if you forget to save your draft manually, no worries the post window will save automatically every 60 seconds!

To find your draft:
1. Click the Post New button.
2. Click the Open Drafts button.
3. Choose the proper tab at the top (new discussions or replies).
4. Click to highlight the draft you want from the list on the left side.
5. Click the Select Draft button.
6. Continue composing your post as you normally would, and Post Message.

Need a summary of your 2009 VIN Community membership and related fees for tax preparation or reimbursement? Try the easy Membership Statement tool -- in your MyVIN -- click on MyVIN in the main navigation bar near the top of the page. From there, choose Membership > Statement.

Your VIN membership and online access charges are likely tax deductible. Check with your tax professional.

Please let us know if anything doesn't seem right to you. Email feedback@vin.com or join the discussion.

Need Help?
Have questions about your membership? Can't find that reference you need for a tough case? Help is a click, email or phone call away! (Hint: you can find this page anytime by clicking HELP on the main VIN Navigation Bar.)

Book Review of the Week
Patient Assessment, Intervention, and Documentation for the Veterinary Technician

Web site of the Week
Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project

eVetsites Tip of the Week
Spread the Word Page

What's Your Diagnosis?
Archives of the Challenging and Fun Cases
Public Health Case 45
Ophtho Fun Case 97

Associate - Updated and New:
Icthyosis (canine)
Explore the rest of Associate!

Upcoming Conferences
Looking to attend or contribute a paper to a veterinary conference? Check out the On The Road With VIN folder, or the Press Releases folder, to see what conferences are coming up and to visit their Web sites! Links to information about upcoming conferences include: ACVP/ASVCP, NAVC and WVC.

My Blonde Moments
"Lisa mentioned that the tube was in a little too far, so I turned around to look at the rad, agreed, pulled the tube out about 4 inches, then immediately turned to look at the rad to see if I had pulled it out enough! (the same radiograph.) What a dufus!"

NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT!
Click on the links below to see the details, register and find more upcoming CE.

Incontinence: PPA and Beyond
December 8 - December 15, 2009

Participants will feel comfortable with the diagnostic evaluation and management of USMI in cats and dogs seen in general practice. They will further understand advanced and referral alternatives available for more difficult cases and which patients may benefit from them.

Common Avian Non-Infectious Diseases
December 9 - December 23, 2009

This course will cover diagnosis and treatment of common avian non-infectious diseases.

Guidelines for the Identification, Evaluation, and Management of Systemic Hypertension in Dogs and Cats: A look at the ACVIM Consensus Statement
December 10 - December 17, 2009

In 2007, ACVIM created a Consensus Statement entitled: Guidelines for the Identification, Evaluation, and Management of Systemic Hypertension in Dogs and Cats. In this two hour session, three of the panelists will engage you in discussion of its salient points, in addition to any new findings since creation of the Consensus Statement.

If you're looking for more information on CE opportunities for veterinary technicians, receptionists or practice managers, please visit the VSPN CE page. VSPN offers courses specifically tailored to veterinary support personnel, and certain VIN courses also are open to VPSN members.

Now you can follow VIN CE and VSPN on Twitter! Simply click the "Send request" button to prompt the (VIN/VSPN) crews to accept you as a follower.