pet connection

VIN is the Veterinary Information Network, an independent source of news, sharing and information of, by and for veterinarians. It was founded by two well-respected professors of veterinary medicine and has been run for many years now by my “Cats For Dummies” co-author, world-renowned veterinary cardiologist Dr. Paul Pion.

Dr. Pion’s career is so remarkable that co-authoring a top-selling, award-winning book that has been translated into a dozen languages — which he did as a personal favor to me — doesn’t even rate a line on his curriculum vitae.

Those of you who have been with us through and since the pet food recall will remember Dr. Pion well.

We took a lot of heat here on the PetConnection for setting up a database for people to report sick and dead pets, which we soon realized counted in the thousands. The FDA would not put out a number beyond the handful of animals who had died in feeding trials, and we were accused of everything under the sun, including making the whole thing up to advance our careers.

Dr. Pion immediately looked to the VIN community of veterinarians, and the reports there more than substantiated our anecdotal findings. And then, he fearlessly went public with it, backing us up and working with us to help pet-lovers who needed help.

He didn’t care about anything except the truth. And he still doesn’t.

It wasn’t the first time Dr. Pion had taken such a courageous stand. As a young veterinary lecturer and cardiology researcher at the University of California, Davis, Dr. Pion found a link between dilated cardiomyopathy and taurine deficiency in cat food. His discovery, which made the cover of the prestigious journal Science,  was not well-received by the pet-food industry, to say the least, but he persevered, and today about 100,000 cats a year do not die because of Dr. Pion’s work.

I left The Sacramento Bee to work for Paul at VIN, and I left VIN to write books, including the ones I’ve written in the last couple of years with our Dr. Marty Becker, my friend and business partner. But I never really left VIN behind. When we are working on an important health story, I have always called Paul. He knows everyone and seemingly everything, is brutally honest — always — and will tell you when as a reporter you’re on the right track or the wrong one.

Last week, Paul called and asked for my help in developing his newest project, the VIN News Service. As is typical with Paul, he assembled a team of top veterinarians and award-winning science writers. He needed some help to coordinate it all, and he asked me to jump in and help.

I couldn’t refuse him.

Mind you, this in addition to everything I already do, but I believe in the courage and the honesty in what Paul’s trying to do, and I believe it will help pets and the people who love them, along with a lot of wonderful veterinarians.

How will this affect the blog? Ahhh … great news on that front.

We’ll be picking up some of the best and most important of the articles written by the VIN News Service and this talented team of science reporters, editors and veterinarians.

So keep watching this space, as we keep adding to the information we bring to keep you informed so you can make good decisions for the pets who are counting on you.