Provided

The Partners in Animal Health Web site offers free, state-of-the-art videos with 3-D animations on such topics as basic pet care, diabetes management and cancer in pets.

Since Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine posted a new Web site a few weeks ago, thousands of people in more than 50 countries have watched its free, state-of-the-art videos with 3-D animations on such topics as basic pet care, diabetes management and cancer in pets.

Veterinarians have also benefited from the new Partners in Animal Health Web site, which offers subscriptions to professional training videos with animations that describe technical procedures on cows, horses, dogs and cats. DVDs on select topics are also available for purchase through the Web site.

"Our mission is to provide educational outreach on a variety of animal health topics for students, veterinarians and animal owners," said Jodi Korich, a Cornell veterinarian and director of the Partners in Animal Health Program. "We are providing a valuable service to the public, putting information directly into the hands of people through the click of the mouse."

Last year, Partners in Animal Health began offering free videos on basic cat care -- including best practices for trimming claws, brushing a cat's teeth, giving medications -- and a video series on caring for a cat with diabetes. Now, the new "Pet Owner's Guide to Cancer" offers information on how to protect pets from cancer, through screening tests, and information on such treatment options as radiation and chemotherapy. Cancer is one of the leading causes of pet deaths.

"People are often surprised to learn that pets have many of the cancer treatment options available to humans," said Korich. "We want people to know that cancer is a treatable disease and that pets undergoing therapy have a very good quality of life."

The videos offer a behind-the-scenes look that follows pets through their treatments at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, so owners can see what the experience is really like, Korich added.

The Pet Owner's Guide to Cancer was developed in partnership with the Cornell University Hospital for Animals and the Cornell Feline Health Center and was funded in part by a charitable gift from the Clara L.T. Jeffery Charitable Trust. The Partners program is supported by private gifts, charitable organizations, corporate sponsors, grants and contracts. Key funders in 2008 also include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Nestlé Purina Veterinary Diets and a bequest from the estate of Rhoda A. Hogan.