Happy National Pet Week! Well, it’s slightly belated, but nonetheless May is an important month to revel in the unique, quirky, loveable traits that make our pets the best in the world! National Pet Week®was May 4-10, 2014 and is always celebrated the first full week in May. National Pet Week®was created in 1981 by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the idea behind its commencement was to recognize the 200 million pets that enhance American’s lives each day. The week is a celebration of the human-animal bond that is present on so many levels in our relationships with our animal friends.
So who is the AVMA, you ask? We veterinarians often throw out acronyms like it is part of our job description, but this one in particular is very important to the livelihood of our profession. The AVMA is a not-for-profit organization that represents more than 85,000 veterinarians working in the veterinary profession: private practice, corporate practice, government, industry, academia, and armed forces. The mission of the AVMA is simple: “ To improve animal and human health and advance the veterinary medical profession. “ For you, the pet owner, this translates into extremely useful, relevant information to help your pet live a happy, healthy life every week of the year.
The AVMA understands and adheres to the concept that keeping pets healthy requires teamwork. Educate yourself on proper pet care and pet health problems by asking questions and finding the answers from reliable, trusted sources of information – such as the site that our staff at Veterinary Medical Center has put together: www.vmceaston.com or the website provided by the AVMA: www.AVMA.org.
As pet-owners living on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the idea of learning how to better the lives of our beloved animal friends is exciting (let’s face it, we have some awesome pets living here!). National Pet Week® comes at a great time of year as the start of summer is around the corner. With so much to do in our community with our pets, why not brush up on summer safety tips, or get the facts about pets in vehicles? And for all those puppies that are finding their “fur-ever” home this spring, why not learn more about vaccinations, spaying and neutering and pet insurance? Check out the AVMA’s “For pet owners” section of National Pet Week® to learn more, or ask any staff member at Veterinary Medical Center. We’d be happy to help make National Pet Week every week on the Eastern Shore!
