Weekend Rounds - 10.23

Good morning to your dog's favorite person!

Here's a friendly reminder that we're less than 70 days from the end of 2022. Winter is coming, and you probably still need to complete those last few hours of CE. If it were us, we wouldn't waste time on a boring webinar that won't help you at work. We'd go find on-demand lessons that are designed to improve retention for use in clinical practice. But that's just us. 😉Before you get going on that, let's check out:

🛫 The logistics behind moving an entire zoo

😆 Comedy Wildlife Photo Finalists

🐕 A vet's recommended dog breeds

🚀 Quick hits

There's something special about a collaborative effort to care for, treat, or in this case, transport animals. Maybe it's just our desire to get out of the clinic once in a while, but it's very inspiring to hear stories of the veterinary professionals leading these projects.In September, we told you about Operation Rewild Zambezi in Zimbabwe which re-homed more than 2,500 wild animals in order to save them from the devastating effects of climate change. And today, we're checking in on the animals at Bristol Zoo Gardens - the world's 5th oldest zoo which is closing it's doors after 186 years in business. To ensure the animals are re-homed safely, a coordinated effort between zoo employees, veterinarians and collaborators across the world is underway to get them all new homes. While some trips are relatively simple (like flamingos hopping into the back of a padded van), others were a bit trickier. Here are some of the more unique journeys planned:

• The zoo’s Aldabra giant tortoises will be transported in custom made wooden boxes that are just large enough to fit each tortoise - ensuring they do not injure themselves during transit.

• American paddlefish have spoon-like bills, which are so heavy that they could snap off when the fish are briefly lifted out of the water so an elaborate operation has been planned that started with several divers entering the water and lifting the fish out on giant green stretchers. The fish are then passed to land-based assistants who will gently carry them to a large swimming pool which is loaded onto a truck and driven to their new home

• Gorillas are such intelligent and social species that they will need to be moved as a family unit to avoid disruption and separation anxiety. By persuading the silverback into a crate, the team is hoping the female and children follow.

In perhaps the understatement of the century, Sarah Gedman, the zoo’s mammal team leader told

The Guardian

, "the logistics of actually getting eight gorillas into crates, all at the same time, is a huge undertaking”.

Hats off the teams working to ensure all animals, big and small, are transported safely to their new homes.

Bristol zoo’s curator of reptiles, Tim Skelton (right), measures the giant Aldabra tortoises for their transport boxes with animal keeper Adam Davis. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian

Finalists for the 2022 Comedy Wildlife Awards have been announced and they did not disappoint. Here are a few of our favorites that we hope brighten your day.

If you'd like to see all the finalist or vote on the People's Choice Award

check them out here.

An English veterinarian has gone viral on TikTok (over 10.5 million views) for sharing the dog breeds that he would and would not recommend getting. We'll save you the click, and let you know what he said.

The top 5 breeds he would

never recommend

are:

1. The chow chow

2. Cavalier King Charles spaniel

3. Daschunds

4. Shar Pei

5. Any brachycephalic dog breed like pugs or bulldogs.

And the breeds

would recommend

are:

1. Greyhound

2. Border Terrier

3. Hungarian wire-haired Vizsla

4. Labrador Retriever

5. Mixed-breed dogs

We don't share this because we want to disagree with any of his choices, or think they were particularly interesting (although name dropping the Hungarian wire-haired Viszla was a bit of a flex). But we do think it's interesting that he's using his platform in this manner. Social media is a powerful tool to influence behavior and everyone's situation is unique.

What do you think?

Should more vets be using their platform to push for change in breedership and purchasing behavior?

Here are some stories we're following this week from around the veterinary world and animal kingdom:

Wildfires reshape forests and change the behavior of animals that live there [The Conversation] 

Why animals' bright colors can be warning or seduction [Futurity] Feline Grimace Scale best practices for evaluating pain [DVM 360]  How to Build an Unstoppable Practice Team [Today's Veterinary Business] Deer and mink can harbor Covid-19: Why animal virologists say we need to worry [Inverse] Considering One Health in daily veterinary practice [DVM360] Urban Wildlife: How Animals Are Taking Over Our Cities [Earth.org] 

Help us improve Weekend Rounds by letting us know if you enjoyed this newsletter:

Share Weekend Rounds:

Post

Forward