Photos courtesy of Thomas Hines, Class of 1987.

Striving to assure humane euthanasia of animals in Iowa, ISU's College of Veterinary Medicine is expanding its educational program. Its first three-day Euthanasia Technician School will be offered to animal shelter personnel and animal health technicians May 29-31. Interested parties should contact Dr. Grier at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, 515-294-4900.

Skin disorders are the most common cause for patient visits to the veterinarian's office, according to a nationwide survey of small animal practitioners conducted by the Alpo Pet Center in June, 1985. Of the 2,540 veterinarians polled, 90 % indicated dermatological disorders as the most frequently seen animal health problen1 in their practice.

Mankind for centuries has been hiding or ignoring the less than perfect examples of its own species. Society has recently recognized this problem by undertaking goals to mainstream into daily life those people with special needs. This is evident by the appropriation of tax monies and public funds for the building of hospitals designed with special living quarters for the handicapped, for the development of equipment and prosthetic devices intended to normalize the appearance and abilities of the handicapped, for legislation and changing of architectural regulations to provide increased accessibility for the disabled, for providing attendant care and jobs for the disabled, and for changing the general public's concept of the "norm" in regards to those with special needs. However in times of economic difficulties, advances in technological aids, accessibility, and general acceptance of the handicapped into society have been slow. Society is recently exploring ways in which animals can be specially trained to assist the handicapped in performing the daily tasks of qn independent life style. Here we will review the overall benefits of animals in improving the well-being of the handicapped, the specialized training received by such animals, and legislative regulations pertaining to the legal rights of disabled individuals using these specially trained animals.

Respiratory diseases of poultry are some of the most costly problems plaguing today's poultry industry. These respiratory diseases can be devastating to commercial and backyard flocks. Veterinarians in Iowa are occasionally asked to deal with acute resiratory disease outbreaks in one of the many backyard flocks in the state. One disease that must be considered under these circumstances is infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT). Few cases of ILT are diagnosed each year in Iowa. There may be more ILT cases which are incorrectly diagnosed due to the nondescript clinical signs of this disease.