In Short

New Hill’s facility to focus on nutrition for small dogs

Hill’s Pet Nutrition broke ground this August for a $20 million, 25,000-square-foot facility in Topeka, Kansas, focused on the nutritional needs of small dogs—Small Paws—and a center for engaging veterinarians and other pet caregivers.

The new Small Paws center will include state-of-the art facilities and will house 80 dogs weighing less than 12 pounds that will receive specially formulated nutrition developed to meet their unique needs. The facility will be devoted to veterinary care and offer a variety of indoor and outdoor enrichment activities that the dogs can choose during the day, including an outdoor park.

The Engagement Center will have dedicated space for educational seminars and continuing education programs for veterinary students and professionals.

“All around the world, there’s a steady increase in the popularity of small dogs. Our investment in this specialized facility will help us develop food with the taste and aesthetics that small dogs prefer and that works best with their distinctive behaviors and unique physiology,” said Dave Baloga, Hill’s vice president of science and technology, in a statement.

More than half of dogs in the U.S. are small and miniature, and the percentage is growing, according to the pet food company.

AVMA announces members’ annual meeting

The 2020 annual meeting of AVMA voting members will be held at 9 a.m. CST on Jan. 10, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, 540 N. Michigan Ave. As determined by the AVMA Board of Directors, the meeting will be held in conjunction with the regular winter session of the AVMA House of Delegates, during the plenary session of the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference.

The meeting will include reports from the treasurer and AVMA staff, a message from the president, speeches by candidates for president-elect and vice president, and other information as determined by the House Advisory Committee.

DEA updates opioid order forms

The Drug Enforcement Administration is using a new form, effective Oct. 30, for ordering controlled substances.

Veterinarians, among other DEA registrants, still need to send paper order forms when buying schedule I or II controlled substances. But the new process eliminates three-sheet carbon copy forms.

The change replaces DEA Form 222. The old version remains viable for two years.

With the new version of Form 222, agency officials send doctors stacks of numbered forms on paper with fraud-prevention features. Doctors place an order by filling out a form, making a copy—electronic or paper—for their own files, and sending the original form to their controlled substance supplier.

That supplier keeps the physical copy, fills the order, and submits information on the order to the DEA through an automated system or by email, mail, or fax. Doctors and suppliers need to keep copies of the orders for at least two years.

Please send comments and story ideas to JAVMANewsavma [dot] org (JAVMANews[at]avma[dot]org).