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Sign up for free service-dog eye exams The American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) is launching the


6th annual ACVO/Merial National Service Dog Eye Exam Event in May, to screen service animals that dedicate their lives to serving the public. More than 250 board- certified veterinary ophthalmologists throughout the U.S., as well as Canada and Puerto Rico, will be donating their time and resources to provide free, sight-saving eye exams to thousands of eligible service animals. Registration for service-animal owners and handlers runs April 1–30 at ACVOeyeexam.org. To qualify, animals must be “active working animals” that were certified by a for-


mal training program or organization, or are currently enrolled in a formal training program. The certifying organization could be national, regional or local in nature. Owners/agents for the animal(s) must FIRST register the animal via an online regis- tration form beginning April 1 at ACVOeyeexam.org. Registration ends April 30.


Ben is a search and rescue dog that can climb a three-story ladder unassisted. He has participated in the ACVO/Merial National Service Dog Eye Exam Event for 2 years in a row.


Photo courtesy of ACVO


Prevent errors by avoiding interruptions Even something as innocuous as a phone call or “hello” from a co-worker can be enough to take a veterinarian’s head out of the game and cause errors. A study from Michigan State University showed


that interruptions of only about 3 seconds can double the risk of committing errors, according to MSU Today. This can be especially detrimental in professions where intense focus is required, such as veterinary surgery and airplane repair. During the study, researchers asked 300 partici-


Pfizer animal health business raises $2.2B in IPO Pfizer Inc.’s former animal health business unit is now a standalone company named Zoetis. The initial public offering—or IPO—was the largest since Facebook’s $16 billion deal. The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol


“ZTS” in February. According to NJBIZ, the company was initially prepared to trade at 86.1 million shares of common stock at $26 per share. On Feb. 1, those shares opened on the stock exchange at $31.50 per share; that’s approximately 21% higher from Zoetis’s offer price. Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary vaccines and medi-


cines for livestock and companion animals. According to a press release, Pfizer announced in 2012 that it would pursue an IPO of a minority ownership stake in its animal health business unit as part of its long-term strategy to focus on the company’s core biopharma- ceuticals business.


Trends magazine, April 2013


pants to complete a series of tasks where they had to follow certain alphabetic sequences. Occasion- ally, researchers would interrupt the participants and tell them to type two letters before returning to the primary task. According to researchers, the brief interruptions


that averaged about 2.8 seconds doubled the prob- ability of participants making errors. Erik Altmann, the study’s lead researcher, speculated that the error rate increased dramatically because the participants had to shift their attention from one task to another. After examining the study results, Altmann


recommended that people ensure that their work environment is designed to prevent disruptions such as calls on cell phones.


©iStockphoto.com/ gpointstudio


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