Diane Frank, D.V.M., co-founder of Clinique Vétérinaire Rosemere in Rosemere, Quebec, has been appointed the Friskies PetCare Resident in Animal Behavior at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The 1983 D.V.M. graduate of the University of Montreal will conduct her practice and research through the Animal Behavior Clinic at Cornell.

"Dr. Frank is entering a field with a desperate need for skilled practitioners," said Katherine A. Houpt, V.M.D., professor of physiology and director of the Cornell Animal Behavior Clinic. "Behavior problems in companion animals are the leading cause of euthanasia and of surrender of pets to animal shelters," she said.

"Fewer than 20 veterinarians in the United States are board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists to treat 54 million dogs and 56 million cats," observed Dan Christian, D.V.M., manager of veterinary relations at Friskies PetCare Co. Inc. in Glendale, Calif. "We hope our support will improve the profession's understanding of animal behavior."

In addition to handling individual cases, the animal-behavior resident will conduct research to evaluate treatments that have been applied to cases, assess new treatments and determine which are the most successful, Houpt said.

Before the 1986 founding of the Rosemere clinic, Frank practiced at the Hospital Vétérinaire Taschereau in Greenfield Park, Quebec. She has been an observer in behavior clinics at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. She is a member of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Veterinary Medicine, the Académie de Médecine Vétérinaire du Quebec, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association and the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behaviorists.