Newsmagazine

p. 16
Reinventing
education
Consortium starts
national dialogue on
educational reform

The Voice of Ve t er inar y News April 20'0
Anew
attitude
Study examines
changing personality
types among incoming
veterinary students
BY R AC ItAEI. WHITCOMB
- r w .s eO ITOR
AT10NAL REPORT - It's not just
year s that \l re defiDing generational
differences - personaliti es actually
arc according to a ne\\ study
of veteri nary student s.
AftcralJ . when it comes to the veleri
nar y profession, fundamental changes
have been going on for years, eXl'nt>
say. More women continue to enter the
profession, and the market contil]ues to
brca,k from its roots in agriculture to
companiOJl -nnimal care. Technology
and CO[ll ll1Ulli cation is aiso cha nging
the landSCll pe.
TI, e result is at tracting a different ki 1lel
(veterinaria n, explains Joseph Tahoadn,
CONT INUED ON PAGE 24
Inside the black market
New ammaJ health
risks posed by
growing, illegal
dog importation
BY CHRIS Swm; Nf.Y
C () NTHllil,I T I J., I ; /\ll ' lllnll
N ATIONAL REPORT - It 's syn01lymous with weapon.' and drugs. But the black
market dog trade in the Unit ed Slates is vast and ,ome helieve it 's growing.
Across the U.S.l l\kxican border, and through the airports, a st ream or illegal
puppies arc crossing U.s. horders. l3ig profits arc made, important humanil<lrian
b,uc:. ignored and signitkant health risks propagated with each illt' g<ll dog that
is traffi cked into the cou ntr),. - CONTINUED ON l'!I ( ; c 28
p. 3 Yelp and extortion claims p. 12 First blood test unveiled for canine cancer

p.6 Top honors
dvm360.com and DVM
Newsmagazine win two
coveted journalism honors

p.22
Whistleblower
Dr. Dean Wyatt, GAO
call for welfare reform
p.43
An associate's perspective
So, you are a doctor.
Now what?
AN ADVANSTAR '* PUBLICATON
DVM Newsmagazine I dvm360.(om ...
28 IApril 2010
A '\;<:\\,11l.1!:.11l1H SPI (fAf
Inside the black mdrket
CD KTINUED FIW,'v1 PAGE 27
coll ect 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 Cu,tOJ11S 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. parvol'irus 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 kclyconcerned about the
animal's well-being after it is sold.
"We tend to vaccinate our
distemper and parvo. but in Mexico vac-
cinesarcn't given that often. The mother
is not vaccinated. so she's not passing
along an)' immunity to thc puppies."
Elmert says.
Butl'vlexico is not the only place pup-
pies are being smuggled (rom, and Ehnert
has documented the problem of dog,
coming into the U.S. from around the
world through Los Angelcs International
Airport.
"During the Summcr of 2008, we
I
started getting reports from the air-
port of puppie, 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 01<.1 puppies,
and Ehner! points out that many of the
pups were dying from hypoglyct'mia
while in transit .
"And thcrc's 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 dog's 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 l'arvu 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 <11;d 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 \x'Cn a handful ofcases of rabid
dogs being.smuggled 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
I
sellers within the cities and takinga mon.
I
localizcd approach to addressing the
problem. When like Reyes'
and Ehner!'s are not at t he borders and
there!s" dearth oft rained an!-
mal health prolessionals th"t 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 dVnl.160.coll1
2010 I29
-
gation, readil), admits that national required lor all dogs entcn ng the countr),.
and drugs takc precedent An ideal situation would be to have spc-
over illegal puppies. cia II)' trained inspectors at major points I
Our 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. But 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 call ed our Commercial Fraud nK"lingsofthc SoulhemC11ilomiaVetcl
c
Group . .. which focuses on pre'Tnting inar)' i"IOOical i\ssociation,andsays many
contrahand introduced in to the United vet s were llIJ;lware ofthc problem.
St ales, 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 isn't taking" "completeiyciinical
approach" to the problem. C Ulle), sug-
thaI fC\ver dogs have hem smugglL'"
during the past two),carswhen COrnp,'It'li
with pre vious years, but harJ, accurate
statistics arc dimwit to gather. Carne),
attribut e;; the su;;pected decline to the
weak economy, as well as heightened
s(eurit)' and beefed-up cni'lfccmenl.
"Customs and Borders protect ion
just silllply has to prioriti ze and hang
on I(l.rthe ri de," Rc)'es sa)'s, lauding the
agende5 wi IliJ)gncss to collaborate wit h
The Border Puppy Task Fore. "When
),ou're dealing wilb tens of thousands
of a day, that \ 110 easy task,"
The 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 hundred doilars and resold fi, r
more than $1,000.
" We busl.xl " big, local sick and Ull -
(k rage puppy smuggler in our jurisdic-
tion. This person had $40,000 in cash
receipts for pllpp), salcs in nne Illonth.
This is just one in.lividua], I think it is
sal" to &1V that it is a mulli -million doll ar
imjllstr),> Rt')'t's sol's.
Both Reyes and Ehner! agree that a
Illulti -prong approach is nt'txled to ad
dress the issue. Ehnert suggests that re-
quiring mk rochips for all dogs brought
into the Unit ed Stales could help better
Ulon itor theSItoation, and she also recom-
mends thilt 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 par"o
art.' common at his practice, but unless
thecticnt open I)' admits that the dog was I
from Mexico, there's no wa), of
determining the animals' origin.
"The veterinary has to
underst and the big picture and implica-
tions of thi s unscrupuic)us industry of
smuggling in sick and underage pup-
pies," Reyes says. "If Lhey don't, they
stand to lose as well."
The stream ofillega I puppies cannot
simply be dammed. Consumers need to
be educated, lawrna kers need to take ac-
lion '1I1d ve!t: rinarians need to be alert
in order to prevent the prohlem from
swelling int o an ocean. dvm
Mr SWPenoy Is ImelBnce
Chicago,