- Contacts
- About the OVMA
- Breaking News & Press Releases
- Resources
- Fast Facts: Veterinarians
- Fast Facts: Animals
- Veterinary News Network
Contacts
The OVMA is available to assist the media in story development and breaking news coverage. We have extensive contacts within Oregon's veterinary community and can provide you with information and resources for coverage of animal health care issues.
PR Director: Raina Dey or Executive Director: Glenn Kolb
Phone: (800) 235-3502 or (503) 399-0311
Fax: (503) 363-4218
About the OVMA
Our mission is to serve veterinarians in Oregon, the veterinary profession and the public through education, public relations, and political action, and by promoting among veterinarians the highest standards of animal care and professional ethics.
The OVMA is a non-profit membership association with about 1,000 members, or about 80% of the practicing veterinarians in the state. Since 1911, the OVMA has been serving the needs and interests of Oregon veterinarians and their patients by vigorously advocating for the veterinary profession and helping to ensure that practitioners from all parts of the state can continue to practice medicine in their patients' best interests.
The OVMA is governed by a Board of Directors, made up of the Executive Committee, the elected officers of the OVMA, plus eight elected regional directors.
Resources
Health alerts, seasonal topics, and coverage of ongoing stories:
- Recalls and warnings
- Veterinarians
Note: News stories for our members may be password-protected; in that case, please contact us. - Companion pet owners
- Livestock and other large animal owners
- Equine owners
Animal health care information library:
Frequently requested topics:
- Why Spay or Neuter My Pet?
- Kitten and Puppy Care Tips
- About Veterinarians/How to Become a Veterinarian
Fast Facts: Veterinarians
- Veterinarians are medical doctors who attend four years of veterinary school after college. A typical veterinary student spends about 4,000 hours in the classroom, laboratory, clinical study, and internships.
- Veterinarians must pass a national examination and must acquire a license in the state they wish to practice in. In Oregon, the licensing organization is the Veterinary Medical Examining Board.
- Veterinarians are The Other Family Doctor™. In many cases, veterinarians are your pets' obstetrician, pediatrician, dentist, dermatologist, internist, surgeon, radiologist, anesthesiologist, gerontologist, and ophthalmologist, and more.
- There are about 80,000 veterinarians in the country; more than 54,000 are in private practice.
Source: American Veterinary Medical Association - According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) , the average starting salary for 2008 veterinary college graduates who entered private practice was around $62,000. Nationally, the median income for all private practice veterinarians is $79,000.
- In Oregon, the median income for all private practice veterinarians is $70,000, and the median income for new graduates (those with less than 3 years of experience) is $60,000.
- According to a 2007 Gallup poll, veterinarians ranked third for honesty and ethics among 23 occupations. About 71 percent of survey respondents rated the honesty and ethical standards of veterinarians as high or very high. Nurses (84%) and pharmacists (73%) filled the top two spots. Physicians and dentists followed veterinarians—at 69 percent and 62 percent, respectively.
- According to a 2008 AVMA survey,
veterinarians report a high level of job satisfaction (3.55), just behind clergy (3.79), teachers (3.61) and psychologists (3.59), but above physicians (3.47) and lawyers (3.33).
Veterinarians with the highest job satisfaction are food animal veterinarians (3.69).
Source: American Veterinary Medical Association - Find out more about veterinarians and how to become a veterinarian.
Fast Facts: Animals
- Oregon's pet population (approx.):
- 842,912 dogs
- 950,944 cats
- 130,704 birds
- 84,024 horses
- According to the American Veterinary Medical Association's 2007 “U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographic Sourcebook," there are 43 million dog owning households (with 72 million dogs) in the country, compared with 37.5 million cat owning households (with 81.7 million cats). About 64% of pet-owning households owned more than one pet, and all pet owners spent a total of $24.5 billion on veterinary care in 2006. (More data from this study.)
- According to 2002 data, Clackamas County ranks 9th in the United States in horse ownership.
- Pets age faster than humans. If your cat is ten years old, its equivalent age in human years is 60. If your dog is ten years old, its equivalent age in human years ranges from 56 (small breed) to 78 (giant breed).
- The American Pet Products Association estimates Americans will spend $43.4 billion on their pets in 2008.
Source: American Pet Products Association - Over the lifetime of their pets, the average owner will spend $10,000 on a cat, $12,000 on a small dog and $23,000 for a large dog.
Source: American Veterinary Medical Association - Portland, OR ranks first in the country with 5.8 dog parks per 100,000 residents. San Francisco ranks second with about half of the dog parks per capita as Portland.
Source: Portland Tribune - March 2009: Portland was ranked the 4th most cat-friendly city in the country by the CATalyst Council, a coalition of the veterinary community, academia, nonprofits, industry and animal welfare organizations. The list was compiled after reviewing the top 25 standard metropolitan areas for such data as cat ownership per capita, level of veterinary care, microchipping and cat-friendly local ordinances.
- October 2007: Forbes magazine ranked Portland as the second most pet-friendly city in the country, partly due to having the most dedicated dog parks per capita.
- June 2007: According to Men's Health magazine, Portland ranked number 2 in the nation for happy dogs. The magazine looked at seven criteria, including percent of ownership, dog parks, pet stores, animal shelters, boarding/day care, veterinarians and the fewest cases of heartworm. Portland ranked no. 1 in dog parks and pet stores, no. 2 in veterinarians and heartworm, no. 8 in animal shelters, no. 25 in ownership and no. 27 in boarding/day care. Overall, Colorado Springs ranked number 1 and Seattle was number 5.
- October 2006: Dog Fancy magazine ranked Portland at No. 1 as the best all-around city for dogs in America. According to Dog Fancy, there are 136,332 dogs living in Portland, which has a human population of 554,130. With Forest Park and 33 city-maintained parks with off-leash areas, Portland is "one giant dog paradise."
Veterinary News Network (VNN)
The Veterinary News Network provides the media with pet medical story ideas, video tools, talking points, and print media story ideas and outlines, as well as referrals to local, trained veterinarian reporters or media contacts who are part of the VNN.
Updated 4.1.09