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Last Known Status: Active
Latest Ringworm News
Below is our complete Ringworm news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
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Ringworm Working On New Album
Ringworm announce that they have a new album in the works, sharing the below message via Facebook:
"So, We here at the RINGWORM Corporation, over this past summer/fall, have been in the writing, rehearsing and molding stage of a new collection of musical compositions for your consuming pleasures. Some of the most foul, and most diabolical ear worms to date. Stay tuned, as more news will begin to ooze through the cracks of RINGWORM'S new album chrysalis."More...
Berserker IV Festival Lineup Finalized
On April 14-15th 2017, The Crofoot in Pontiac, Michigan will play host to the annual Berserker music fest. Now in its fourth year, the all-ages, two-day event is a wholly DIY affair founded and organized by Child Bite frontman Shawn Knight and his wife Veronica.
Berserker IV is capped offf with the addition of hardcore heavyweights Ringworm. This year's lineup boasts thirty bands on three stages with appearances by internationally touring acts like GWAR, OFF!, Weedeater, The Obsessed, Negative Approach, Brain Tentacles, Child Bite, and more as well as new and established underground artists including Immortal Bird, Cemetery Piss, Fuck You Pay Me, SNAFU, Artillery Breath, and others.
The festival also marks the official return of Eyehategod vocalist Mike IX William,s who will front the band for the first time since undergoing a liver transplant this past December.
For those who haven't recently replaced their livers, Berserker IV will debut the festival exclusive Blood Troll Mead, made with Michigan Wildflower Honey, fresh Elderberries, and fresh Gooseberries. It is made with fruits grown and used in Nordic tradition. We cannot promise no Trolls were harmed in the making of this mead. The full festival lineup will be as follows: More...
Ringworm To Tour With Darkest Hour
Ringworm has announced new U.S. tour dates supporting Darkest Hour through February/March 2017. Additional support will be provided by Rotten Sound, Tombs, and Rivers of Nihil. The full confirmed schedule is as follows:
Feb 17 Washington, DC Black Cat
Feb 18 Pittsburgh, PA Diesel
Feb 19 Cleveland, OH Agora Theater
Feb 21 New York, NY Saint Vitus
Feb 22 Detroit, MI New Dodge Tavern
Feb 23 Chicago, IL Reggies
Feb 24 Milwaukee, WI The Metal Grill
Feb 25 Vote on Fanbadassdor!
Feb 26 Kansas City, MO The Riot Room
Feb 28 Denver, CO Marquis Theater
Mar 01 Salt Lake City, Utah Metro Bar
Mar 02 Las Vegas, NV Beauty Bar (21+)
Mar 04 Reno, NV Jub Jub's
Mar 05 Portland, OR Analog Theater
Mar 06 Seattle, WA Studio Seven
Mar 08 San Francisco, CA DNA Lounge
Mar 11 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick
Mar 12 Phoenix, AZ Club Red
Mar 13 Tucson, AZ Club XS
Mar 14 Albequerque, NM The Compound 2
Mar 15 Lubbock, TX Backstage
Mar 16 Austin, TX Grizzly Hall
Mar 17 Houston, TX White Oak
Mar 18 San Antonio, TX Korova
Mar 19 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey
Mar 21 Cincinnati, OH Northside Yacht Club More...
Relapse Releases Free Sampler
Relapse has a new winter 2016 sampler available for streaming below and up for free download here. The label comments:
"Relapse Records is excited to present one of our largest and most diverse yearly samplers to date, featuring music from all corners of the metalsphere and beyond.
"We've gathered 41 tracks taken from new and upcoming releases, including music from rising stars like Gatecreeper, Nothing, Inter Arma, and Gruesome, tracks from sonic boundary-pushers Myrkur, Survive, Brain Tentacles, and Boris, and songs from brand-new signees The Obsessed, King Woman, Cloakroom, and Integrity.
"The sampler also includes new music from Relapse heavyweights Red Fang, Obscura, Obituary, The Album Leaf, and many more alongside selections from our recent reissues of classic albums by Death, Pentagram, and more." More...
Texas Revolution Fest Hosts Modern Metal Bill
October 22, 2016-Texas Revolution Festival held in Austin is a festival run by promoters Come And Take It Productions.
I've covered a lot of Come And Take It shows for Metalunderground.com, including the spring version of the festival, Texas Independence Fest in 2015. That festival featured such bands as Between The Buried And Me, Vital Remains, White Chapel, COC, Death Angel and Cavalera Conspiracy. Tonight billed such artists as Hatebreed, Devildriver, Soilwork and Crowbar.
The Independence Festival was a three-day outing, while Texas Revolution was only one day. Both festivals were held at the same venue—Empire Control Room & Garage. The Control Room stage was an smaller, inside stage that held many of the lesser-known and local acts. Ringworm headlined that stage. The Garage is an outside stage that housed the headliners. More...
Ringworm Announces New Tour Dates
Hot off the release of new album "Snake Church" (streaming here), Cleveland metal/hardcore group Ringworm just announced a headlining U.S. tour with Ontario metallic hardcore four-piece Exalt (additional guests TBA soon).
The tour will see the bands tearing through the U.S. from coast to coast over the course of three weeks beginning this October 5th in Brooklyn. Check out a full itinerary below.
Additionally, Ringworm will be embarking on a run of European dates with Hierophant and Noisem this coming December. The band has also been confirmed for So What Fest in Dallas and Texas Revolution Fest in Austin (alongside labelmates Incantation). More...
Ringworm Streaming Full Album
Cleveland metal/hardcore veterans Ringworm just shared a full stream of forthcoming full-length album "Snake Church" ahead of its release date this coming Friday via Relapse. Listen in below.
Additionally, Ringworm just announced a run of European dates this coming December. The band has also been confirmed for two festival appearances in the U.S. this fall and summer - This Is Hardcore Fest in Philly (alongside labelmates Iron Reagan and Integrity) and Texas Revolution Fest in Austin (alongside labelmates Incantation). See the band live:
Aug 5 Philadelphia, PA This is Hardcore Fest
Oct 22 Austin, TX Texas Revolution Fest
Nov 19 Roeselare, BE De verlichte Geest
Nov 21 Nantes, FR Scene Michelet
Nov 22 Montpelier, FR Secret Place
Nov 24 Zurich, CH Werk21
Nov 25 Liege, BE Reflektor Club
Nov 26 Rotterdam, NL Baroeg
Nov 27 Drachten, NL Iduna
Nov 30 Bydgoszcz, PL Estrada
Dec 2 Hamburg, DE Indra
Dec 3 Duisburg, DE JUZ St. Peter More...
Ringworm Premieres "The Razor And The Knife"
Ringworm premieres a new song entitled "The Razor And The Knife", taken from the upcoming new album "Snake Church", which will be out in stores July 29 via Relapse Records.
Check out now "The Razor And The Knife" below.
Ringworm Posts "Innocent Blood" Video
A new music video was just shared by Cleveland metal/hardcore crew Ringworm - the animated video (by Mitchell Luna of labelmates Maruta) is set to the thundering track "Innocent Blood," taken from the band's forthcoming new full-length "Snake Church."
Ringworm's 8th full-length album "Snake Church" is a 12-track, 30+ minute testament of vicious aggression recorded and produced by Ben Schigel (Chimaira, ZAO) at Spider Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Nails, Xibalba, Black Breath). "Snake Church" is due out this July 29th on CD/LP/digital formats via Relapse. More...
Ringworm Posts "Shades Of Blue" Video
Cleveland hardcore/thrash heavyweights Ringworm just shared a new music video from forthcoming full-length album "Snake Church." Check out "Shades of Blue" below, and the band also comments:
"Not horror, but more of a twisted love tale that accompanies the song. The story segments of the video where taken from a short film of the same name, 'Shades of Blue.' It's a sequel, a part 2. It picks up where the story told in the 2005 Ringworm video 'Justice Replaced by Revenge' leaves off.
|Surprisingly, the entire project came together quite organically, despite being shot 11 years apart.
We were able to get the same lead actors that we used 11 years ago and we were able to combine the original JRBR (Justice Replaced by Revenge) footage, current footage and secondary footage, (shot later) to tell the second part of the story. The 'Shades' video tells part of that story that is fully revealed in the short film." More...
Ringworm Premieres New Song "Destroy Or Create"
Cleveland quintet Ringworm premieres a new song entitled "Destroy Or Create" and a Venom cover version for "Poison", taken from a bizarre split 7'' with jazz-noise super-group Brain Tentacles (members of Municipal Waste, Keelhaul, Yakuza), featuring Venom and Celtic Frost covers from each act.
Check out now "Destroy Or Create" and "Poison" by Ringworm below.
Ringworm Announces New Album
Cleveland quintet Ringworm just announced that 8th full-length album, "Snake Church," is coming July 29th via Relapse Records.
A 12-track, 30+ minute testament of vicious aggression, "Snake Church" was recorded and produced by Ben Schigel (Chimaira, ZAO) at Spider Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Nails, Xibalba, Black Breath).
Check out the opening title track below. The full "Snake Church" track listing is as follows:
1. Snake Church
2. Brotherhood of the Midnight Sun
3. Fear the Silence
4. The Black Light of a Living Ghost
5. Destroy or Create
6. Shades of Blue
7. Innocent Blood
8. The Apparition
9. Believer
10. The Razor and The Knife
11. Angel of War
12. Temple of the Wolves More...
Unearth At The Subterranean
I took the Metra to the CTA Blue Line since I didn't want to pay for both gas and city parking. Besides, mass transit probably caused more damage to my hearing over the years that heavy metal ever did. On the way down to the city, the train conductor asked if I was in high school as he was offering student discounts and I looked like I could be a teenager. I'm 28. That's the downside of shaving my beard off every spring and staying clean shaven all the way through the summer until late autumn. With it, I look 16. Without it I look 45. I simply cannot win.
The venue is located in Wicker Park, which is the Hipster capital of Chicago thanks in no small part to the Subterranean being located right next to the Double Door. If there was any further proof that the hipster generation is a bunch of aging fossils, the Subterranean had a flier for an upcoming nu metal DJ night with a picture of Fred Durst. When your generation is old enough to get nostalgic and start looking backwards instead of to the future, they're officially as pathetic as retired hippies still pining away for the 60s. More...
Culture Killer Headed Out On Tour With Ringworm
Culture Killer will be heading north from the band's home base of Florida next month to tour with Ringworm.
The tour, which also features White Widows Pact, kicks off in Pittsburgh on August 16th. This will be an extra special set of shows: Ringworm will be performing the "Justice Replaced by Revenge" album in its entirety, so don't miss out!
More details about the upcoming Culture Killer album will be made available throughout the next few months. The album is expected to be released this fall.
08/16 Pittsburgh, PA The Shop
08/17 Baltimore, MD Ottobar
08/18 Brooklyn, NY Acheron
08/19 Allston, MA Great Scott
08/20 Albany, NY Fuzebox
08/21 Philadelphia, PA Voltage Lounge More...
Ringworm Announces New Tour Dates
Cleveland's metallic hardcore outfit Ringworm has announced an additional run of dates to follow a recent North American tour with Goatwhore, Black Breath and Theories.
One these new shows, the band will be supported by White Widows Pact and Culture Killer and will be playing the album "Justice Replaced By Revenge" in its entirety, which is celebrating it's 10 year anniversary. A complete listing of dates is available below.
Aug 15 Gwar-BQ Richmond, VA
Aug 16 The Shop Pittsburgh, PA
Aug 17 Ottobar Baltimore, MD
Aug 18 Acheron Brooklyn, NY
Aug 19 Great Scott Boston, MA
Aug 20 Fuzebox Albany, NY
Aug 21 Voltage Lounge Philadelphia, PA More...
Maryland Deathfest Names 45 More Acts For 2016
Promoters for Maryland Deathfest have announced 45 more acts for the 2016 edition of the annual Memorial Day festival bash. Among the list - U.K. doom metal legends Paradise Lost, U.S. doom metal upstarts Crypt Sermon, the reformed Swedish death act Centinex, U.K. legends Discharge, U.S. thrash legends Hirax, soon to be defunct legends Nuclear Blast, U.K. classic metal legends Satan and the mighty Bay Area thrash act Testament.
Tickets for the event will be available soon. Head over to this location for more information.
The freshly named act list is:
The Afternoon Gentlemen (UK)
Centinex (Sweden)
Claudio Simonetti's Goblin (Italy)
Crypt Sermon
Demonical (Sweden)
Demonic Christ
Deranged (Sweden)
Discharge (UK)
Dopethrone (Canada)
Dragged into Sunlight (UK)
Gets Worse (UK)
Ground More...
GWAR-B-Q Adds More Bands
Topping off what is already an insanely diverse and incendiary lineup for the weekend of GWAR B-Q 2015 in Richmond, VA, today GWAR announces even more bands that will ram heavy metal and punk rock so far up your ass you'll shit molten lead the rest of your life!
Bat, the side project of Ryan Waste from Municipal Waste, and hardcore legend Felix Griffin of DRI, will be performing at the GWAR B-Q on Saturday August 15th as part of a small string of ultra rare live appearances the band is making in late summer.
Also adding to the powerhouse metal onslaught at Hadad's Lake this year are horror inspired death metal peddlers Troglodyte, Kentucky based Stonecutters, and Richmond's own Gritter. The full lineup is as follows:
GWAR (Your Lords and Masters)
The Descendants (California Punk Rock Giants)
Clutch (Crushing Grooves and Pure Rock and Roll Fury)
Down (Phil Anselmo. PERIOD.)
Goatwhore (Blackened Death Metal from NOLA)
Cro-Mags (NYHC Legends)
mc chris (A rapper playing the GWAR B-Q?)
Ghoul (Blood Splattering Thrash)
The Dickies (The Clown Princes of Punk)
Cancer Bats (Canada's Sweethearts)
American Sharks (Who are heading to RVA from their recent beach feeding frenzy)
Valkyrie (Featuring Pete Adams of Baroness)
Mutoid Man (A super group featuring Steve Brodsky of Cave In and Ben Koller of Converge)
Dead Earth Politics (This band beat The Sword 3 times running as Austin's Best Metal Band)
Ringworm (Which is something JiZMak thought he caught from Big Foot)
Child Bite (Which is also something that happened to JiZMak visiting Housecore Records)
Gritter (Rhymes with Shitter)
RPG (Richmond Hard Rock Legends)
Bat (Yet another super group)
Stonecutters (Kentucky Fried Metal)
Troglodyte (Innovators of Neandercore) More...
Theories Gearing Up For Summer Touring
Pacific Northwest death / grind unit Theories will kick off a live takeover with Goatwhore, Ringworm, and Black Breath on June 6th. Theories will be touring in support of the debilitating fruitage of the "Regression" full-length released earlier this spring via Metal Blade Records.
Captured at The Red Room and The Boiler Room with producer/engineer Derek Moree (The Sword, Pelican, Minus The Bear et al) with mixing and mastering conducted by Visceral Sound's Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed), "Regression" delivers ten violent psalms of antagonistic, crust-infused death grind centered on the wanton truths of a society gone terribly wrong.
See the band live: More...
Ringworm Updates Tour Schedule
Cleveland's Ringworm has announced an additional run of dates around the band's upcoming North American tour with Goatwhore and Black Breath.
The band will play a series of headlining dates starting May 16th in Akron, OH and including a stop at the Fort Worth Metal Fest in Texas before joining Goatwhore on June 7th in San Antonio, TX. A complete listing of dates is available below.
Ringworm released latest album, and debut for Relapse Records, "Hammer of the Witch" last March. Give it a listen here: More...
Housecore Horror Film Fest Announces Day Schedule
Heavy metal legend Philip Anselmo and best-selling true crime author Corey Mitchell's groundbreaking horror-meets-metal extravaganza, the Housecore™ Horror Film Festival, has just released individual day tickets! On a tight schedule? Dying to see that one special band? Mean old boss won't let you have the whole weekend off? Never fear, HHFF is here for you! It's all going down at Emo's in Austin, TX, right before Halloween, between the unhallowed dates of October 23-26, 2014; tickets for each show are now available, as well as the Combo and Music badges. More...


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An estimated 30 to 40 percent of all robberies nationwide are robberies of smart phones. The top prosecutors in San Francisco and New York have announced a nationwide initiative to thwart smartphone thefts.
Published at 6:00 AM PDT on Jun 14, 2013 | Updated at 7:47 AM PDT on Jun 14, 2013

subset: commoncrawl


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WASHINGTON (AP)— The nation's largest association of African-American doctors is convening in Washington to discuss health issues in the black community.
Among the items on the agenda for the National Medical Association is the federal health care overhaul. The group says millions of patients could be harmed by states that refuse to fully implement the law.
On Monday, the group will announce a partnership intended to get more people to sign up for health insurance.
The NMA represents more than 37,000 African-American doctors. The conference at the Marriott Metro Center runs from Saturday through Monday.
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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I am interested in sculptures and cultures from the past, but not in going back to archaic forms.
Every one and everything is evolving. We are all part of evolution. I want to reach further and help things grow.
Michael Sean Kirby's expressive range of art works evokes a game with time, combining a wealth of ancient traditions, modern forms and contemporary materials. Based in Houston, Texas, the energetic sculptor and artist is steadily probing the future while knowing the past is not far behind. Across the border, Mr. Kirby achieved a Master's Degree in sculpture, with honors, from the San Carlos Academy, in Mexico City. Earlier in his career he studied fine art at the University of Texas and worked extensively with master sculptors, Willy Wang and Roberto Ventura. In 2009, Michael Sean Kirby founded The Sculpture Workshop to connect others to the language and expressive possibilities of sculpture.


text: booleansplit, Flickr [ This Will Be the Last Summer You Can Ever Buy Waterproof Sunscreen By Shauna Wright May 16, 2012 | TSMInteractive.com Products claiming to be 'waterproof' or 'sweatproof' will have to prove it. Read More Category: Missoula Lifestyle Tags: FDA, Sunblock, Sunscreen, Sweatproof, Waterproof Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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Most of the Dutch expats in Ivory Coast have chosen to ignore an advisory from the Dutch foreign ministry to leave the restive country.
The Dutch ambassador to Ghana Gerard Duifjes has told Radio Netherlands that some 12 of the about 50 Dutch citizens in Ivory Coast have left the country in the past few days. They are all people involved in non-essential duties.
Strong ties Ambassador Duifjes said that most of the Dutch residents who have chosen to stay have been living in Ivory Coast for a long time and have strong ties with the country, for instance because they married an Ivorian partner. The ambassador says they will only leave as a last resort. Most of them – about 20 – live in Abidjan, the country's main city and the focal point of clashes between the two parties fighting over the presidency. Mr Duifjes points out that most of the violence takes place in neighbourhoods where very few, if any, foreigners live. The Dutch embassy in Ghana checks on the Dutch citizens in Ivory Coast by phone every other day.
Political crisis The crisis in Ivory Coast broke out when incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo refused to admit defeat in last month's presidential elections. The international community has recognised his rival Alassane Ouattara as the country's legitimate president. Mr Gbagbo is still in control of the ministries and part of the armed forces. So far, more than 50 people have been killed in clashes between supporters of the two rivals.
© Radio Netherlands Worldwide


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Working with Morocco's Horses: Journey's End
- Jun 25, 2007
- Topics:
Follow along with student Jeremy Campfield as he posts electronic journal entries on TheHorse.com during his month at the American Fondouk Hospital in Fez, Morocco.
The American Fondouk is a full-service animal hospital in Fez that treats 50-100 animals per day, and more than 20,000 annually (in 2005, the hospital serviced a record 22,000 animals). Fez is considered the northern capital of Morocco, and it is the cultural and religious capital. The Medina (old city) in Fez is the largest contiguous car-free area in the world, with some streets as narrow as two feet and none wider than 16 feet.
The hospital's resident veterinarian, Denys Frappier, DVM, will serve as Jeremy's advisor.
Frappier at one point in his career was the head veterinarian for the Canadian Olympic equestrian team and has participated in six Olympic Games. He originally volunteered for a one-year stint, but was so struck by the plight of the people and animals of Morocco that, 12 years later, he is still working at the Fondouk.
Post 1: Ready to Go
Since no typed words will truly describe the goings on in Fez and the Fondouk, I can only recommend that anyone who gets the chance try and visit Morocco. Be forewarned that the culture is very different in all respects, and as an American you are a source of income for the people here. Moroccans can get pretty creative about getting tourists' money. There are a number of good travel references available, but the best situation is like the one I had at the Fondouk, where I lived with locals who could show me around and explain all of the ins and outs of functioning in this country, including how not to get ripped off. Speaking French was a tremendous advantage as well. Mohammed described it best today when he said "Morocco is always an adventure that starts the second you step off the plane." If you do decide to visit Fez, be sure to stop by the Fondouk and say "hi" to Dr. Frappier and meet the staff. The doors are open to the public weekdays from 7:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Spending just an hour or two observing what goes on in the Fondouk is guaranteed to be an eye-opener.
The political plight at the Fondouk seems direr every day. The depot of supplies and drugs are still sitting at the airport. Now the airport has been calling the Fondouk and threatening to return the shipment to the U.S. if the Fondouk does not pick it up. With no sign that Morocco is going to budge and grant the proper customs authorization for Dr. Frappier to pick up the supplies, the life blood of the Fondouk is trickling away. This is indescribably frustrating and has recently been a source of constant stress for the Fondouk's employees.
While the working animals in Morocco have it hard, many of the people are suffering as well.
As a near-future equine veterinarian (assuming that pesky board exam goes alright later this year), my time in Morocco has renewed my passion for veterinary medicine and offered me a totally new perspective of the role of the veterinarian in society. I could barely communicate with the rural Moroccan farmers, yet I constantly felt displeasure in observing some of their practices. Regardless of how I feel things should be done, or the political battle between the Moroccan government and the American Fondouk, the bottom line is that these animals never asked to be thrown into their current situation. They just need people who will devote themselves now to alleviating animal suffering and try to educate the horse owners, even though the latter makes pulling wolf teeth seem a piece of cake. The work at the Fondouk must never stop.
Working at the Fondouk is as much an emotional journey as one of veterinary science. After just a month here, I would easily stay and continue to work tirelessly for these animals, without thought about my student loans, salary, or what kind of truck I want to drive. Now I understand why Dr. Frappier has stayed here all these years with no plans on leaving.
Thanks again to everyone who followed the blog and many thanks to The Horse for bringing this situation to the attention of horse enthusiasts everywhere. To learn more about the American Fondouk and/or to make a donation, you can find their Web site at www.americanfondouk.org.
I have been forever changed by this experience.
I am sitting in the train, which has just pulled out of the Fez station. I had no idea that I would have so much trouble leaving. I'm actually finding myself a bit choked up, after having made so many new friends and feeling so good about helping the region's horses. This experience has touched me in a way that's impossible to describe.
Murphy looks a little confused... This is right before I left, so I got to enjoy the donkey smell on my clothes for the 5 hour train ride. It was worth it!
After a whole night of packing and preparing to depart, I stayed up to work this morning and enjoy the final moments of my Moroccan adventure. Working was a bit difficult because I was unwilling to get dirty, which would entail unpacking my bags for a change of clothes. I stayed surprisingly clean while passing a nasogastric tube for a fractious colicking mule that kept trying to go down, without so much as a few drops of mineral oil on my shorts.
The morning was bittersweet. I was sad to see that the neurologic mare had managed to rupture a hind flexor tendon over night, leaving her unable to bear weight on the right hind without the back of her fetlock touching the ground. The owner decided to sell her the butcher for 100 dirham (about $12). Moroccan people do not eat horse, but the meat will be used for dog food. The fact that the horse will go to slaughter before the proper withdrawal time for the medications she was administered really makes me appreciate our USDA and the strict regulations in the U.S. regarding drug use in food animals. There's no explaining such things to the Moroccan people. This mare's owner just sees the 100 dirham and would probably go so far as to walk into the Fondouk and take her away against doctor's orders.
I stood dejected in front of the mare's stall only to turn around and see a beautiful Arabian weanling. I talked to his proud owner for a while, who told me that the colt is destined to be a Fantasia horse. I didn't get to attend a Fantasia event this trip, but that's just one more reason for me to come back. The colt had a two-finger umbilical hernia. Doc referred him to a private practitioner for the repair.
In the last few minutes before I headed to the train station this afternoon, we managed to round everyone up for a great group photo. Then it was time for me to pose with our favorite pet/mascot at the Fondouk, Murphy.
Murphy is an orphaned yearling donkey that was dropped off at the Fondouk because his owner felt he would never be able to work. The farmer was right: Murphy has every major problem in the book. He is tiny (I estimated about 140 lbs), with hooves about as big around as my thumbs. The hooves don't hold him back as much as his hind legs--his hocks rub together and periodically catch on each other as he tries to walk. Thankfully he's also cryptorchid so we won't be expecting any baby Murphys any time soon!
The greatest part about Murphy is that he's the most friendly and happiest donkey I've ever seen. He acts like a dog. We let him out to graze in the concrete courtyard in the afternoons. He keeps the place clean, eating every little sprout pushing up through cracks and in the dirt around the Fondouk's trees. I laugh out loud every time I see the little guy. Doc said they will be relocating Murphy to a farm where he will not be expected to do any work. If I had even a quarter acre back home I would have taken him with me!
Sadly, this concludes the day to day journal. I had a great time sharing my experiences with all of you, and I truly appreciate the encouraging e-mails that so many have sent. I hope that the articles have been informative and entertaining. I'll write one more post to highlight some final thoughts before I get on the plane.
Well, the end of my stint here is approaching. I spent little time in the hospital today in order to get some last minute things done before heading back across the Atlantic. I finally got a chance to see the Medina! The Medina in Fez is the largest in Morocco, comprised of a maze of narrow alleys packed full of small shops, cafes, etc. The most impressive part was the tannery, where leather is processed the old fashioned way into all sorts of attractive merchandise.
I finally got to see the hard working animals that I've been helping to treat for the last four weeks in their usual milieu. They are essential for transporting the heaviest of loads through the streets of the Medina, where no autos are allowed or would even fit. Surprisingly, most of the animals I saw on active duty looked pretty well cared for. Alas, the rubber shoes were rampant but actually did seem to prevent the donkeys from slipping on the slick stone walkways, which tend to be sharply inclined. Our visit to the Medina was cut short when the "tourist brigade" stopped Azami (the farrier), asking him what he was doing touring four Americans around the Medina. They are trying to cut down on fake guides who charge tourists too much money to show them around the Medina, engaging in all sorts of shady business. Even after we explained to the officer that Azami was our friend and co-worker, Azami was ordered to leave the Medina. Ridiculous considering that the Medina is where Azami lived for 36 years. That incident left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
The evening ended on a terrible note. The other students and I returned from dinner to find that someone had left a dying dog propped against the doors of the Fondouk. He was old and in rough shape, and he looked lifeless except for his continued attempts at difficult breathing. We immediately woke up Doc to get the euthanasia solution and put the dog down.
I will be taking the train out of Fez tomorrow afternoon. I'll be staying overnight in Casablanca because of my early morning flight on Friday. Not much left to do but get packing and reflect on all that I've seen and learned here. I'm looking forward to posting the most important lessons and the general impressions I've gained. I'm not, however, looking forward to leaving and I have promised the staff at the Fondouk that I will return the next chance I get.
Today was exciting and fast-paced. Since it wasn't nearly as busy as yesterday, I enjoyed taking a little more time with the patients.
Today's funny moment was during another teeth floating. This mule had a mouth full of stalactites and stalagmites that warranted the power float. And since we weren't too busy, I enjoyed the luxury of having the time to do a thorough job. The mule's owner obviously (even though I couldn't understand a word he was saying to me) needed to get back to work pretty soon. Every time I turned around to grab a light or rinse the float, he tried to take off the mouth speculum and open the stocks as if he had an important rendezvous to get to. I was laughing as I finished the floating; this owner reminded me of a few of the more demanding horse owners I've met back home.
This is the cart injury horse. We knocked her down to put the pieces back together. Please disregard the split in Azami's coveralls; I know that drives all of the ladies here pretty crazy!
I was keeping busy when I heard Azami exclaim "wow…look what just walked in." The horse was spurting arterial blood all over the courtyard from beneath her hind legs. The story went that this mare spooks easily, and she did so while pulling a cart today. It must have been a sight to behold as the cart broke apart and a piece of the wreckage penetrated the inside of her thigh, severing some large vessels and severely damaging the muscles and other soft tissues. While unfortunate for the horse, I was excited that we would get to treat a fresh wound, since most of the traumatic injuries we see are weeks old and infected. This wound repair went well. We were a bit worried about putting her under general anesthesia considering the blood loss, but she did fine and recovered uneventfully. We'll keep her as long as possible to manage the wound healing.
The neurologic mare from yesterday is doing much better. She is still showing the neuro signs, but seems more comfortable and has been eating and drinking. We have to pass a urinary catheter several times daily since she still cannot urinate on her own. I have high hopes that she will pull through.
Post 19--June 18: Crowd ControlToday was the busiest day in the clinic since I arrived. It's just our luck that Houssine, the large animal technician is on vacation this week, magnifying the craziness. An overwhelming number of mules and donkeys came in because "he's losing weight and food falls out of his mouth," so I got to spend lots of time sweating it out with a hand float. The majority of the patients, though, were of the small animal type. At one point, I looked over to see a group of about 20 people getting loud and impatient because some were being seen before others. People were walking up to me, trying to hand me their animals, obviously distressed and wanting some attention. Trying to restore some order and prevent a riot, Azami and I frantically began tearing little pieces of paper and scribbling numbers on them. Thankfully the "please take a number" system was successful! Everyone waited much more patiently and we were able to see all of the patients before the doors closed for lunch.
Azami spent a lot of time translating Arabic for me today so that I could communicate directly with the animal owners and help things move along more quickly. I was staring at a gray horse that was showing signs of advanced neurological disease. When I went through the usual "please tell me what the problem is," I couldn't help but laugh when Azami relayed the message that the mare hadn't urinated in three days. I couldn't believe that the owner didn't seem to mind the fact that the poor animal could hardly stand! I suppose he would have figured it out sooner or later when she just fell over in the street. Forgive my sarcasm, but some of this stuff gets pretty hard to swallow at times. We hospitalized the mare for further observation and treatment. Indeed she has a raging urinary infection in addition to the generalized ataxia and some cranial nerve deficits. Our working diagnosis right now is equine herpesvirus-1 infection.
Unfortunately, we will not be able to confirm such a diagnosis because confirmatory testing such as antibody titers is generally unavailable and not cost effective for the Fondouk. The prognosis is guarded, but we are treating her and monitoring her condition closely.
I talked to Dr. Frappier today about another aspect of the situation that makes diagnosing diseases almost impossible. The owners seldom answer questions truthfully, or they just do not know the medical history because they don't see the animal every day. A great deal of veterinary medicine depends on acquiring an accurate and detailed history of the problem at hand and any past problems. Since that information is completely unavailable, we are blindfolded in a sense when it comes to prescribing an appropriate treatment. It makes things very difficult, but Doc seems to have learned to accept the fact and do the best he can under these circumstances.
Hassan Metsqual accepts his new Championship title.
I spent a fantastic Sunday afternoon at the horse show. Doc drove us about two hours to the Royal Polo Club Equestre Dar Es-Salam in Rabat, where "la Semaine du Cheval" (the Week of the Horse) is going on. This event is a weeklong competition presented by la Federation royal marocaine des sports equestres, under the High Patronage of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI. This year, this event incorporates the Moroccan national championship in jumping and dressage.
Doc was mobbed as soon as the car turned into the polo club parking lot. He is obviously a popular fellow with the jumping crowd. One rider seemed to be particularly happy to see Doc; it turns out that he is Hassan Metsqual, a contender for the Moroccan national title in jumping. The reason he was so happy to see Doc is that his horse, Ramazoti is a 13 year old that Doc nursed though acute laminitis three years ago. She then ran into some hock problems with persistent back pain, which Doc addressed as well. Hassan asked us to wish him luck and headed to the barns.
The competition was very entertaining. Best of all, Hassan took top prize and is the new Moroccan champion. During the second round, he and Ramazoti completed the only flawless run of the competition for the win. The crowd went crazy.
I did get a sense of how serious Moroccans are about their horses. Far from the intense labor and neglect I've seen at the Fondouk, this event was a portrait of people who have a long history of horsemanship and are very much into their horses. A huge banner of King Mohammed VI on horseback loomed over the arena, displaying the importance of the horse to the nation of Morocco.
Post 17--June 15: Poster for Parasite Control
I have to admit that I slept in a little bit this morning after last night's long colic escapade. The colicking horse from last night died early this morning. We couldn't find any specific or focal lesion on necropsy, just massive, gas-filled intestines.
Hang on to your lunch...
This pylorus was completely blocked by bot fly larvae, causing a stomach rupture.
With the day off on an already somber start, a mule with severe colic was being treated when I walked down to the courtyard. This one looked very bad off; the distressed look in his eyes despite medical treatment efforts revealed much about how the story would end. We finally euthanatized him this afternoon. This necropsy was much more revealing than the last. The stomach was completely infested with bot fly larvae. There were not just a few; the pylorus (the outflow tract of the stomach into the small intestine) was completely obstructed by the larvae. Because ingested contents could not leave the stomach through the pylorus and the fact that horses are unable to vomit, the stomach had ultimately ruptured--we found feed material freely floating within the abdomen.
On a lighter note, we spent some time with the lame horse that came in from Rabat yesterday. The diagnosis was straightforward. He was markedly lame in the left fore at the trot, after having sustained a jumping injury three days ago. He had a palpable bow just proximal to the sesamoids, and the flexor tendons were sore on palpation. The annular ligament was constricted, trapping fluid within the flexor tendon sheath proximal to it. We applied dressings and a bandage; stall rest is obviously indicated and we'll be seeing the horse back next week.
This afternoon I helped Houssine stitch a donkey's ear back on. Like so many cases, we're not sure of exactly what happened, but this donkey's attitude may have driven his owner to extremes. Not having worked much with donkeys in the past, I had a good time talking to Houssine about these tough little animals. Their stubbornness is amazing. Doc swears that they're smarter than horses in that they're capable of mentally abusing a person! The one today was no different--after sedation and copious local anesthesia, the beast was still shaking his head and squirming around in the stocks. It made for a challenging ear repair, but I think the ear will stay together.
We changed our plans and decided not to go to Rabat this evening. Two of the other students are not feeling well, and these past couple of days leaves us wanting to stay here and rest at the Fondouk. We're still planning on taking a day trip to Rabat on Sunday for the horse show.
One of the finer animals for sale at the souk.
The most dramatic case today was a bloated goat (the bloat persisted despite medical therapy yesterday). Suspecting a foreign body obstruction of the GI tract, which is very common around here because animals have easy access to all kinds of trash, we performed a rumenotomy. We removed a large amount of huge plastic bags and various other garbage from the rumen, which made for a very rewarding surgery. Considering the volume of the trash, I wonder how hard the goat had to try to eat all of that stuff.
A horse trailer pulled up around 5:30 pm, a sure sign that tonight would be a long one. The trailer had come in from Rabat carrying two very nice eventing horses. One was admitted as an emergency colic, and the other was to be evaluated for lameness (the lame horse will wait in a stall until tomorrow). The colic horse came off the trailer looking not so bad, but he had been painful for two days already, not passing manure, and a vet in Rabat had already trocharized him twice to release gas from the GI tract. We didn't get any net reflux from the stomach, but he was only minimally responsive to pain medications. We did the best we could with the available supplies to rehydrate and keep the horse comfortable. Even without the availability of diagnostic procedures, his clinical signs including progressing severe pain and abdominal distension suggested that this horse needed surgery. Equine laparotomy not being an option anywhere in Morocco, the owners had to stand by while their prized animal suffered and progressed toward inevitable death. I finally headed to bed at some wee hour, still hearing the sound of steel shoes on concrete most of the night as Adnan, the night watchman, continued to walk the horse around the courtyard.
Post 15--June 13: Local Beliefs
I have wanted to write a little bit about the animal trading, donating, etc that goes on here at the Fondouk. The perfect opportunity presented itself today in the form of one very funny situation. This one had us all laughing pretty hard. A couple of weeks ago, a man dropped off his mule for a hernia repair. Being very poor and in need of a mule to continue to work and support his family, he borrowed a mule from the Fondouk (the Fondouk occasionally keeps and cares for abandoned or unwanted healthy animals, to be given or loaned to individuals in need). Well, today the same man came back to the Fondouk with a completely different mule that had a wound he wanted us to look at. We asked him where the loaner mule was. As it turns out, he traded the Fondouk's mule for the one he brought in today (who knows for what reason--maybe the other one didn't work hard enough). We all laughed for a while; you have to have a sense of humor about this stuff. When we demanded that he "undo" the trade and bring back the same mule that the Fondouk loaned him, he told us that would be impossible because the person he traded the mule to is a butcher! If he was really being honest, maybe the motive was that the Fondouk had fed the mule enough to make it attractive as a food animal. In any case, whether he was trying to put one over on the Fondouk or not, his mule that we originally performed the hernia repair on is not yet ready to return to work. I suppose we'll sort it all out if he does come back to get his original mule.
The Fondouk's attitude about situations like this is one of understanding; I don't suppose you can blame such poor people for doing anything they can to survive. There are some people, though, who take advantage of the Fondouk by dropping off an animal for care, and then not returning to pick up the animal until they need it again for work, which might be months later, during a harvesting season. Those people are opportunists who know that their animal will be well cared for and fed to gain weight during their time at the Fondouk.
Today was pretty slow case-wise. We have some exciting things in the works. We're planning on going to see the animal souk (market) tomorrow. It will be an early one--people arrive from everywhere as early as 2:30 in the morning to do business. We probably won't partake in the festivities quite that early, but we'll try to see the souk before 6 a.m., when the market is at its busiest. Also we might be heading to Rabat this weekend for a horse show. I'm looking forward to comparing that event to the ones I've seen in the states. We also might get to see an event known as Fantasia--a type of contest of skill on horseback which involves up to thousands of riders separated into teams by their hometown and firing rifles (hopefully not at each other). I'd love to learn more about this activity; it will definitely make for a great blog entry if all goes as planned!
Houssine explained to me an interesting belief that the Moroccans have. I was talking to him about castrating practices here. For one, hardly anyone castrates any animal. I noticed early on that we don't see any gelding horses. The horse folks here must be pretty seasoned stallion handlers, as I've seen people (wearing sandals) walk into the Fondouk leading two stallions side by side, neither wearing more than a very thin rope halter and tiny lead rope. My conversation with Houssine turned toward the mules, which are routinely castrated despite being born infertile. The reasoning behind this can only be described as puzzling. Apparently, people hold the belief that if a mule were to mount a filly or mare (horse), then that filly or mare would become infertile. How does one respond to a statement like that? That is just one example of some of the beliefs that are rampant around here, but that will most likely never be changed because they are stubbornly perceived as absolute truth, having been passed down for generations.
Post 14--June 12: Learning Experience
The donkey that came in with colic yesterday did not make it. We continued supportive therapy today, but it was too little too late. On necropsy, we found that most of the small intestine was compromised and necrotic. The lesion was such that surgery early in the course of the disease would have been the donkey's only chance at survival. I got a bit frustrated by having to stand back and watch the disease progress without the proper equipment to make a definitive diagnosis or the ability to do anything to possibly save the animal's life. However, some good can come from this case: the other vet students and I, who watched and followed the animal's clinical signs as the disease progressed, have found a new appreciation for what we will be striving to prevent in our own animal patients in the future. We have now seen a case of small intestinal strangulation progress without surgical intervention and correlated our clinical observations with the ultimate findings on necropsy.
Several more colics came in today. I wonder if the recent increase in colic cases has something to do with the unusual weather we've been having. I'm told it hasn't been as hot as normal here for June (which doesn't bother me personally). At sunset, there have been strong winds that are borderline cold! The colics we keep seeing are fairly mild, probably brought on by dehydration, and resolve with medical treatment.
Otherwise, our morning was fairly uneventful with a lull just before lunch time. Several more sheep came in with respiratory problems, as is common this time of year, when everything is very dry and dusty. One common parasite here seems particularly unpleasant: Oestrus ovis is a bot fly that deposits its larvae to mature within the nasal passages and sinuses of sheep. Affected animals tend to present with bilateral nasal discharge, and that sign during this time of year is considered to be pathognomonic. Any sheep that come in with nasal discharge are treated immediately with the proper antiparasitic, but a complete exam is still performed to rule out other concurrent respiratory problems.
Tonight Doc took us to see a concert: Requiem de Verdi, performed by La Symphonica Toscanini. I don't listen to classical music very often, but I really enjoyed the show. We were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Moroccan Princess Lalla Salma as she exited the concert with her entourage and guards. She is the wife of Morocco's current King Mohammed VI.
Post 13--June 11: Back to Work
Houssine places the trochar to release gas from this donkey's massively bloated abdomen.
We saw one donkey with colic and obvious severe abdominal distension. In ideal conditions, exploratory abdominal surgery would have been the best option. Here at the Fondouk though, his last chance was the placement of a trochar through the body wall into the large colon to release gas and relieve the severe bloat. After we placed the trochar, foul-smelling air rushed out for a solid 10 minutes while the bloating decreased before our eyes. It seemed to me that the donkey started feeling better immediately. Now, only time will tell whether he will make it. If there is a primary lesion such as an intestinal torsion which does not resolve solely by releasing the gas, we expect that the gut will continue to distend and the condition will worsen. The owner kindly agreed to leave the donkey with us for observation, continued treatment, and/or euthanasia as needed. This afternoon, the donkey appears much more comfortable, his vital parameters have improved, and his abdomen still appears normal.
The morning ended with another abuse case. The mule came to the Fondouk because "he won't work anymore." I couldn't believe that it was only recently that the animal had shut down. He was covered with traumatic wounds, hematomas, lacerations, etc. I could hardly find a section of normal skin, and the more severe wounds were draining copious amounts of pus. He stood with an arched back while shifting weight between his hind legs, obviously in serious pain. He was euthanatized.
Post 12--June 10: Desert WanderingsWe are back from our Saharan adventure. The desert was definitely one of the more beautiful and mesmerizing places I've ever seen. Riding a camel into the dunes for one day to sleep in the sand under countless bright stars is something I'll never forget. Getting there was a feat in itself. Driving around Morocco as a tourist is not the easiest or most pleasant of activities; dealing with locals who can get quite pushy about exploiting tourists gets trying at times. Overall though, it was a fantastic trip, and I would definitely return to the Sahara in the future.
I didn't get up close to any horses during our little road trip. At a few towns just south of the Atlas Mountains, however, we did see large numbers of horse-drawn carts transporting people and goods. I noticed severe lameness in about 80% of those animals that were trotting as we passed by them in the car. That kind of sight made me pretty homesick, as I thought about all of the horse owners back home who pay so much attention to staying up to date with their farrier and maintaining their horses' soundness.
Jeremy's first clinical experience with tetanus.
The Fondouk did reopen its doors to the public last Wednesday. However, the situation is far from resolved. Doc still cannot pick up the necessary supplies. Another aspect of this situation involves conflict between the Moroccan and Canadian governments (Dr. Frappier earned his DVM in Canada). Moroccan officials are unhappy with the fact that Moroccan veterinarians must pass an equivalency exam in order to practice in Canada. Therefore, they do not feel that a Canadian (Dr. Frappier) should be allowed to practice in Morocco, and would rather see a Moroccan veterinarian take charge of the American Fondouk. That idea makes me cringe; however, Doc assured me that the MSPCA would not stand for such a change. There is no easy and quick fix for this situation, but Doc may have found a solution that will at least allow him to pick up the supplies on Tuesday.
Doc didn't waste any time in putting the students back to work tonight. He asked us to examine a mule in a stall and give a diagnosis. When we got to the stall, the mule was recumbent with apparent neurological problems including incessant muscle contraction, and a fairly recent wound over the right shoulder. This was the first clinical case of tetanus I've ever seen. Euthanasia was the best option at that point given how far the disease had progressed and the poor success rates of unavailable extensive treatment.
The desert trip was a fun distraction for a while, but now I'm looking forward to resuming work tomorrow.
Post 11--June 5: Taking a Break
The opportunity has presented itself for the other four students and I to go trekking in the desert! Since the Fondouk is closed again today, we are leaving this morning. We've rented a small car. The plan is for us to drive to Merzouga, which is south of Fez, and south of the Atlas Mountain range. We will charter a camel trip (lasting two or three days--that's yet to be determined) into the desert dunes and oases from one of the hotels in Merzouga.
I will be entirely without internet access until I return to Fez on Saturday or Sunday. I'll keep my eyes and camera peeled for anything horse-related that might be of interest. I'll post a summary of the adventure upon my return to Fez, at which time we'll hopefully also be able to resume treating the animals here at the Fondouk.
Post 10--June 4: Closed Doors
The Fondouk is closed today. The reason for this stems from the currently unstable political situation between the Moroccan government, the Fondouk, and Dr. Frappier. Doc has recently run into serious problems with the government's Ministry of Agriculture, which does not want to recognize him as a DVM (despite the fact that he's been practicing here for the past 14 years). The most puzzling part is that Dr. Frappier's Canadian diploma has been translated and recognized by Morocco's Ministry of National Education's Department of Higher Studies as the DVM equivalent in this country. Because the Ministry of Agriculture's "departement de l'elevage" will not sign off on his already-approved diploma, Dr. Frappier cannot even pick up a large depot of veterinary supplies that is currently waiting for him at the airport, since a DVM's signature is required. Needless to say, the situation is getting tougher for treating animals here at the Fondouk. We're running out of drugs and supplies--we used the last of the X ray films last week.
Political impasse closes the Fondouk.
Personally, I don't see a problem with the Fondouk maintaining a show-horse practice or with Dr. Frappier continuing to work for higher echelon equine clients by virtue of the stellar reputation that he's gained after years of equine practice all over the world. The time spent working with those horses does not affect the care of the less-fortunate patients in any way. I also think that Dr. Frappier should not have to completely give up working with top-notch horses, considering how much good he has done at the Fondouk and his love and dedication to equine practice.
Dr. Frappier's decision to close the hospital on a weekday was not taken lightly. He hopes that closing the Fondouk will serve as a powerful political statement, and that someone at the U.S. embassy will take notice and attempt to facilitate his position here. The Fondouk was closed for similar reasons only one other time, which was about two years ago. Back then the tactic was effective, and the Fondouk was able to resume work. Unfortunately, it is the animal patients and their owners who will ultimately suffer from the turmoil. People have been knocking on the Fondouk's doors every 10 minutes or so, to learn that their animals cannot be seen today. The Fondouk will also be closed tomorrow. We'll have to play it by ear and see what comes of closing today and tomorrow before Doc can decide how to proceed from here.
Post 9--June 2: Off to the Races
Saturday morning we headed out of town to catch some local horse racing. Eight races were scheduled for the day. Oh my, what a cultural experience that was! The scene as we drove down the dirt road through an old potato field was hilarious. I did a double take when I saw the track, which is just a plowed section of the field; it's very hard dirt and littered with rocks (although I think most of the potatoes were gone). No rails, no starting gate. I gave up trying to find the barns or wash racks or anything that resembled a horse training facility. The horses were scattered among the olive trees, tied to the vans they came in on. I use the word "van" loosely because they sure looked like the open top garbage trucks we have in the U.S.! The grooms and jocks milled about in preparation.
Down the home stretch! Notice some interesting riding styles...
Doc Frappier dropped us off to get out of dodge ASAP, but he couldn't escape one trainer who wanted to talk about a colicky horse.
The horses were Arab-Barb crosses. There were some nice horses, some of them showing the Arabian dished-head more prominently. They varied greatly in size and a few were quite small.
The goings on were surprisingly well organized considering that the whole operation was obviously a temporary setup that gets thrown together by the locals on race days. There was a large tent where the older gents were sitting, which also contained the weigh in--a flat scale and a table where the officials sat. I got the chance to speak with an official from the Moroccan ministry of agriculture, who introduced himself to our out-of-place group of American students. I was surprised to learn that the races are actually sponsored by the Moroccan government. He even let me take a peek into the envelope he was holding, which contained the list of purses. Most of the sums were in the several hundred Dirham range, with a few up to 20,000 Dirham (about $2,500).
I was also impressed when I inquired about drug-testing practices. They perform testing on random days (this Saturday was not a test day), collecting blood and urine from first and second place, as well as one random from each race. Samples are shipped to different labs in Morocco and France for analysis.
My jaw hit the dirt when a jockey--of all people--walked up with a tray to serve us all hot mint tea, Morocco's traditional beverage. It was almost as good as mint juleps!
The races were started behind a red rope at the drop of a flag and usually took several tries, involving much yelling and runaway horses. The races were exciting. And since there's no rail to keep spectators off the track, everyone kept walking in front of each other for a better view of the home stretch, moving farther out onto the track until they were standing just yards away from the running horses. At least one older gentleman worked to move people back, and I was startled when he began screaming at me in Arabic and beat me with a piece of paper to coax me out of harm's way. It was all in good fun and made for a very memorable video! The hollering continued later with an altercation on the track among several men. It got pretty heated and I expected the fists to start flying any minute, but they didn't. While we had no idea what the situation was, we gathered that a trainer or owner hadn't been happy with the start of that race.
I can't say that the husbandry was any more ideal for the horses than the facilities. They were tied back up immediately after racing and there was no water in sight.
What a fun trip back in time this was. I can imagine that the early days of Thoroughbred racing in our country probably played out as a similar scene. I didn't see any open wagering, but I'm fairly certain that the old men under the tent weren't there purely for the entertainment.
Post 8--June 1: A Shocking Case
As promised, today was very busy after yesterday's Souk. We rushed through routine deworming and wound treatments as people brought in their newly purchased animals this morning. One man walked in with eight donkeys in hand!
The slew of normal activity was interrupted abruptly with a bit of commotion at the front door: I heard several exclamations in Arabic as I caught a glimpse of a group of men carrying something into the courtyard--I didn't believe that I could still be shocked after what I've seen here already, but I was. A mule was carried in, slung over and tied to a couple of poles. When they laid her on the concrete, I could see that the right front leg was dangling irreparably, despite the makeshift bandage wrapped around the injury itself, just below the elbow.
As Houssine cut off the bandage, the overwhelming number of flies, maggots and numerous other insects were a good clue that we would find an open fracture (bone fragments penetrating the skin). The injury itself wasn't the most disturbing part. What got to me was that the fracture had happened four days ago. Your guess is as good as mine as to why someone didn't put her out of her misery much sooner. We euthanatized her immediately.
Azami laughs as I struggle to keep it together!
This afternoon we performed a standing mass removal from the chest of a gray mule. We found that the softball-sized melanoma was firmly attached to the jugular vein and some large arteries. We were finally able to separate the tumor away from the surrounding tissues without too much bleeding. The removal was a success and the owner was extremely grateful for our efforts.
It looks like I'm going to get to go watch some local horse racing tomorrow! We're meeting a local horse owner early tomorrow morning and he is going to take us to see the show. I should get lots of great photos. I wonder if there will be any wagering. Getting out to do fun things like that has been a fantastic part of the experience here.
Dr. Frappier and the Fondouk's team are incredibly accommodating toward the visiting students. There are five veterinary students here at the moment including myself. Matt Cantrell is from Purdue University, Tamerin Scott and Lindsay Tangeman are from Western University, and Shannon Guy is from the University of Minnesota. We've all been so grateful for this learning experience and are amazed at the lengths that Dr. Frappier goes through to make this a great environment for students. They just finished building a swimming pool here at the Fondouk, which they are going to start filling tonight!
Now we're just waiting eagerly in hopes that the wells hold enough water to fill it...
Post 7--May 31: Market Day
Thursday in Fez is a day of the Souk, or market, where a lot of livestock is traded. For that reason, the caseload tends to be light on Thursdays, but many people will come to the Fondouk tomorrow with animals they purchased today.
A sad sight walked through the doors this morning. The donkey was three-legged lame, his left hind hoof severely traumatized and sloughing off. The injuries were secondary to a common method of restraint here: ropes or wire (or whatever they can find that will work) tied around the legs. The restraints are generally placed around the pasterns and/or cannon bones as well. Most of the animals bear the white hair and scarring over all four legs from being restrained in this way. I suppose it's cheaper than putting up fence. The donkey we saw today obviously had to be euthanatized. The owner said that the injury was only three days old, which is kind of hard to believe. The most likely scenario we could theorize was that the donkey was left to graze while tied up for an extended period of time while the rope became tightly wrapped around the pastern, causing devastating tissue damage and disrupting the blood supply to the hoof. Probably the owner not gone to check on the animal until three days ago.
The donkey's hoof was traumatized and sloughing off.
I was relieved that were allowed to euthanatize the donkey today and end his suffering. Not all sick or injured animals are so lucky here. The locals will oftentimes refuse euthanasia because of their feeling that it is not up to people to "interfere" with the process of life or death. In those cases the owner will take the animal home to suffer until they die on their own because "God wills it."
The foal we saw on Monday did not come back today, so I may never learn whether or not he survived.
The horse with the injured eye (see yesterday's picture) was brought back today. The swelling had gone down a little bit to reveal a small section of cornea. The owner agreed to continue returning on a daily basis for continued treatment and monitoring.
To continue my discussion yesterday about the importance of the farrier work done here, today Azami showed me his method for trimming the longest hooves, when nippers just won't do the job. He uses a hammer to pound a sharp straight blade through the hoof, removing most of the excess length. In cases like this, the ideal situation would be repeated trimming every three weeks or so to try to correct the severely underrun heel and reestablish hoof balance. Unfortunately, Azami usually gets only one chance to help the animal. He told me that only about 30% of the owners follow his recommendations to come back for repeated trimming.
Old vehicle tires are reborn as shoes for working animals.
The swollen conjunctiva and surrounding tissue made examining the orb impossible.
Pretty light work day at the Fondouk. Most of today's patients were of the small animal type. I'm feeling a little better although still not 100%. I took advantage of the lull in large animal patients to spend some time with Azami, the farrier. Fitting right in with my farrier stereotype, Azami loves talking about horse feet. Of course laminitis was a topic of discussion.
Laminitis is one of the few things that the donkeys and mules do not have to worry about, as they are rarely affected. Azami explained that when he does see a case of laminitis, it's usually because someone buys a horse, and then feeds it loads of grain out of ignorance. Like many conditions around here, it's not seen by a vet until it's too late. Azami has seen plenty of P3s sticking out of the sole of the foot.
I also asked questions about the recycled-tire shoes adorned by many of the working animals. The reasoning behind using the tires is that it's free and creates traction for the animals on the slippery stone streets of the Medina. Unfortunately, they apply the shoes so that they cover the entire sole, creating a wet, nasty environment for bacteria and yeast to live. I shudder to think about how often the shoes are reset; Azami literally has to trim inches of hoof at a time when the animals are brought to him. I'll get my hand at trimming some donkey feet over the next few days!
A mule came in this morning with serious eye trauma. The conjunctiva and surrounding tissues were so swollen that the eye itself could not be examined. Today's treatment was aimed at reducing the inflammation so that a thorough exam can be performed tomorrow. The mule was sent home with a hood to cover the eye. I'm going to (tactfully) ask more questions during tomorrow's visit to try to ascertain whether the trauma was human-induced. Azami pointed out to me another common area of trauma. I saw a bunch of donkeys with a lot of swelling around the tail head and rump--apparently the "gas pedal" for a donkey-powered cart involves swinging a wooden stick.
Dr. Malika Kachani from Western University was visiting the Fondouk today. She gave us some lessons about various infectious diseases and helped us prepare blood smears and other diagnostics. Several hemoparasites are rampant in Morocco, including the tick-born disease known as theileriosis, which is important as a cause of death in cattle.
Post 5--May 29: Sensing the Patterns
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to participate with very much of the work today. I woke up this morning feeling pretty ill. I don't think it will affect me for too long. I was still able to hang out and see some interesting cases in between swigs of Pepto!
The allograft is trimmed to size and applied prior to being sutured in place.
Wound management is an everyday necessity here. The working animals experience all sorts of friction injuries over the withers, girth, hips, etc. from improperly fitted "tack" and poorly distributed weight loads. A common procedure used to treat the more severe of these injuries is the placement of full-thickness skin allografts. These skin grafts are harvested from a different animal of the same species (usually from the intact skin of an animal that is euthanatized for any reason), and are preserved and refrigerated for later use. The goal is not for the graft to be accepted by the recipient as their own skin, but rather to create a favorable environment for wound healing. The graft is kept moist and maintained for as long as possible, until it dries out and must be removed. I removed one such graft yesterday. While it wasn't a pretty sight (the smell was awful and maggots were involved--that's right, maggots), the underlying tissues had granulated in nicely, covering a wound over the withers that had once exposed bone of the thoracic vertebrae. We placed an allograft over an open sore on a donkey's back today. I'll get to follow this wound as it progresses, although the graft might not be removed before I leave here, since the allografts are maintained for as long as possible--up to several months in some cases.
In addition to helping the animals in Morocco, I am also trying to gain an understanding of the culture, specifically those aspects that involve husbandry practices and treatment of animals. I don't think that I'll ever truly grasp the peoples' unwillingness to educate themselves about their animals and change their current mentality, but I can try to describe the overall environment and attitudes.
First off, there seem to be two populations of animal owners here. The rural farmers and laborers tend to be a bit more conscientious and show some concern: for the most part, these people bring in equids that are in comparatively decent condition. The other group is those who work in the more urban areas as porters on streets and in the Medina: these folks seem to neglect their animals as long as possible before a trip to the Fondouk. The theme across the board, however, is one of tradition and poverty. A horse's value never exceeds the price paid for it, regardless of whether it has faithfully delivered years of service to its owner. For this reason, the private veterinarians in Fez do very little business. When the cost of caring for the animal exceeds its monetary value, there is no motivation to pursue treatment. It's kind of like when you or I decide whether to fix an old used car (excluding those people who get sentimental about their cars!).
The traditions of horsemanship here are based on domination and negative reinforcement. Very few of these horses will turn to face me when I walk into a stall, let alone show any curiosity or greeting. While I'll never proclaim to be an expert horseman, it seems to me that working with an animal who wants to do its job because of proper training would require much less effort than having to constantly beat the horse to try and make a point. It's a far cry from natural horsemanship or horse whispering, but it's a way of life for these people.
Post 4--May 28: Ups and Downs
My first weekend here in Fez was quite the adventure. Mohammed, an employee at the Fondouk, showed us around the "new downtown" area, which is much like a U.S. city; it has a lively atmosphere with many places to shop and eat. I also got a superficial view of the Medina, which is the ancient city. The Medina is kind of a sensory overload, with its crowded narrow alleys packed with merchants, all of whom seem eager to speak with Americans (many of them speak very good English). We'll be seeing more of the Medina later this week.
The injured foal is loaded back onto the moped to head home. We hope to see him back on Wednesday.
I was happy to see a couple of good-looking and well cared for Warmbloods: a stark contrast to the herds of neglected working animals. The Warmbloods presented for mild lameness. Performing some lameness exams with Dr. Frappier was a welcome distraction from time with the suffering and mistreated animals. The experience also reminded me of a great blessing: digital radiography! Today was my first experience developing plain X ray films by hand--and I REALLY miss digital.
The day ended on a great note when a pregnant ewe presented with an abdominal hernia. Hernias are extremely common here in all of the large animal species, and are usually due to blunt force trauma by other animals or handling practices. The ewe was very old and past the end of her pregnancy term. Because she was a high risk pregnancy and the hernia repair would fail if she were left to lamb on her own afterwards, we decided to perform a caesarian section and repair the hernia at once. We elatedly delivered three live, healthy lambs. The surgeries were successful, and mom was sent home with her new babies. Experiencing so many cases in one day with all of their ups and downs is physically and mentally exhausting!
This week should bring lots of nice horses to the Fondouk, as people prepare for a horse festival in town. Over the weekend I also saw pictures of some local Arabian racing. It looks completely crazy: the racing takes place on hard ground in wild, unmanicured fields full of rocks. Some of those races will be going on next Saturday, so I'll try to go see it and take some exciting pictures.
Post 3--May 25: Getting Settled
I am feeling more comfortable here at the Fondouk, and today I started to function better in the clinic. I was even able to get up and going when the doors opened this morning at 7:30. The daily routine here is that walk-in patients arrive between 7:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Then there is an hour break, after which we do the more involved procedures, surgery, etc., and continue treating any inpatients. So, no animal owners enter the Fondouk in the afternoons, when we stay busy finishing up all of the procedures to be done that day.
Patients of all shapes and sizes come and go.
There are not really "appointments" as far as I can tell. I entered the courtyard this morning to find about a dozen people waiting with their horses, donkeys, and mules in hand. Houssine, the large animal technician, started working through the cases one by one, providing necessary treatments, and kept me busy giving injections, doing physical exams, treating minor colic, etc. Treating so many animals at once had my head spinning; I had to keep checking which injection was for which mule or sheep or goat. All the while a continuous menagerie filed into the small animal treatment room--pigeons and chickens in addition to the cats and dogs, all of which are seen by Houria, the small animal technician. Dr. Frappier stays busy between all of the cases to help make the difficult decisions. The technicians are incredibly self-sufficient, surely owing to their extensive experience and training. They've all been graciously willing to teach and answer my questions (we are able to communicate in French quite well).
Notable cases today included a large head laceration (a graphic reminder of why we prefer rust-free trailers with plenty of head room), a dog that had apparently been attacked with a knife (amputated tail in addition to multiple lacerations), an Arabian foal with septic arthritis, and a mule with a prolapsed rectum. The latter, which seems to be a daily occurrence here, are a preventable management problem. The combination of poor quality forage and feed, dehydration, and constipation are the main factors leading to a prolapse. While relatively easily to treat, the animals don't seem to particularly enjoy it.
Ring bits, which can cause tongue paralysis, are a common piece of equipment.
Such a scenario of people not willing, able, or caring enough to follow the doctor's instructions and husbandry advice is replayed as the day goes on. I can tell that the technicians get irritated (understandably) on occasion, as they spend their time and efforts to treat injuries that should and could have been prevented. Another example: I made the observation today that many of the equids' tongues seem to just hang out of one side of their mouths. When I asked Dr. Frappier about it, he showed me the ring bit that is commonly used for leading; the pressure it exerts can eventually cause permanent tongue paralysis. At one time, the Fondouk tried to distribute humane, properly-fitting halters and snaffle bits. Despite being given a snaffle, an owner returned with an animal in the same old ring bit again. When Dr. Frappier demanded an explanation, the owner replied that he had sold he snaffle! Very frustrating.
As the Fondouk is closed on the weekends, I'll post another entry when the clinic opens back up on Monday.
After three planes, a train, and almost 30 hours, I finally arrived in Fez completely exhausted. Dr. Frappier welcomed me, and I soon found myself eating a much-needed meal in a beautiful Moroccan hotel/restaurant. The horse speak began immediately--a client wanted Dr. Frappier to examine two of his Arabians before an upcoming race. After some conversation over a bottle of wine, we headed to the American Fondouk, where I will be working for the next month. As we drove past the high white walls and through the wooden gates of the Fondouk, I felt immediate excitement and a surge of new energy. Several concrete stalls housing open right into the main courtyard, which is also surrounded by the treatment area, farrier station, and apartments. I went to sleep feeling that this is truly going to be an amazing experience.
I was awakened at 2:00 a.m. by the sound of prayers in Arabic broadcast over a loudspeaker in town, and again at 6:00 by a donkey braying in the courtyard.
Jeremy's new "home away from home."
I hope to settle in over the next couple of days and get more involved. Dr. Frappier is a wealth of knowledge and experience, and I am sure to learn a tremendous amount over the next month.
Jeremy keeps an eye on a patient's recovery during a sophomore year surgery lab at University of Florida.
Clinical experiences in veterinary school consist mainly of specialized procedures in a referral practice setting. Vet students are taught, for the most part, the gold standards of how animal diseases should be treated. As a student, working in Morocco will be an opportunity for me to solidify my basic veterinary knowledge and be challenged to function in a not-so-ideal world without advanced techniques or optimal facilities. This is also a chance for me to be of service and contribute to the veterinary community. The nature and geography of the country will present opportunities to see diseases and conditions that I might not encounter elsewhere. Animal neglect will be rampant for sure, in addition to the possibility of infectious diseases that are rarely (if ever) encountered in the U.S., such as foot and mouth disease and African horse sickness. It will also be exciting to learn horsemanship and agricultural practices that differ from the American norms.
I will be leaving on May 22, hopefully prepared for hard work and very high temperatures. I expect that I'll also have time to enjoy the local culture--I hear the Moroccan cuisine is outstanding! I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with readers of The Horse.
About the Author
Jeremy Campfield, DVM
Jeremy Campfield, DVM, graduated from the University of Florida in 2008. He then completed an equine-exclusive ambulatory practice internship at Peterson & Smith in Ocala, FL in 2009. Currently, he works at a central California equine practice.
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CARDIFF-BORN Holby City star Rakie Ayola is swapping her nurse's uniform for high- heeled glamour in an eagerly-awaited children's TV show.
As Shalondra Swann in My Almost Famous Family, which starts today, Rakie leads a family pop band in a modern-day Brady Bunch.
But the actress has revealed how her own family life began with the trauma of being left by her mum as a baby to be brought up by cousins in Cardiff, although the pair have since been reconciled.
Rakie, 41, said her birth mother was the second wife of a Nigerian whose first wife disapproved, forcing her to spend much of her life travelling the world and therefore giving up her daughter.
"I made up with her last year. I thought 'I'm hacked off with this situation'.
"I needed to ask her a few questions," she said.
"She lives in Sierra Leone and she came over and we sat and cried and talked and I called her 'mum' for the first time."
Rakie's mother had never met her daughter's husband, the actor Adam Smethurst or their daughter Tansy, five, until she visited last year.
During the reunion Rakie, then pregnant with her second child, took her mother to an ultrasound scan to ensure she'd bond with new granddaughter Shani, now eight months old.
"She'd never seen a scan before and it was emotional," Rakie added.
"Taking her to the scan was my way of saying 'we've started to manage our relationship and now I need a grand gesture, something that shows you're serious about being my mother'."
When Rakie's mother saw her tiny granddaughter on the scan screen she began to cry.
"It was then I thought 'it's all right. Now I don't need to be mad at her'," Rakie said.
"Now we have the relationship we perhaps always would have had.
"I took her to lunch afterwards and felt I'd forgiven her."
Meanwhile the new show, which starts on BBC Two at 10am today, sees the actress move away from gritty realism and into children's TV for the first time.
Growing up in Ely and attending Windsor Clive Primary and the old Glan Ely High, she was a member of the Orbit Youth Theatre and South Glamorgan Youth Choir.
A teacher encouraged her to audition for the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff and she's never looked back since graduating.
Rakie's since found fame on stage and television including parts in Soldier Soldier and the role of Kyla Tyson in Holby City and is one of Wales' most successful actors.
But Rakie says the 11-part musical comedy My Almost Famous Family is one of the things she's most proud of.
"I loved doing things like Holby City but it was nice to wear lip-gloss, make-up, wigs and heels and camp it up for this new role.
"It's feel-good and funny.
"When I first read the script I laughed out loud."


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In Reply to: drug identification problem. What is it? posted by george on March 10, 2000 at 09:26:09:
: Is there a web sight that shows pictures of different drugs? The descriptions i am reading are no meshing with something I saw. Maybe someone here can tell me...: amber, short vial with amber liquid and small white pellets (round white).
Homes,, it sounds like you got some sammies, it can cause you to loose your manhood.
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Sara Evans Manages Work & Family: On TONIGHT Show With Jay Leno TONIGHT
Sara Evans admits it's not easy to juggle her career with her family life but, the key to finding that balance is time management.
In the six years between albums Sara prioritized her personal life. She went through a messy, high-profile divorce; met and married Alabama radio personality Jay Barker; and with her kids became a family with Jay and his children.
Sara will appear on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno TONIGHT. She'll perform her latest single, "A Little Bit Stronger."
The Tonight Show is on 11:35pm ET/10:35pm CT on NBC.


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"… a form of low-level harassment that isn't about public safety. It's about money."
"The reason the streets of Ferguson look like something out of a movie is that they sort of are. The reason they look like a collective nightmare is that they are."
How Ferguson Became a War Zone


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Perrigo Acquires ANDA for Generic Version Duac(R) Gel From KV Pharmaceutical
Perrigo Company has announced that it has purchased the ANDA forclindamycin phosphate (1 and benzoyl peroxide (5%) gel from KVPharmaceutical for $14 million in cash at closing and a $2 million milestonepayment upon the completion of a successful technical transfer. This productis the AB-rated equivalent to Stiefel Laboratories' (a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline) Duac gel, indicated for the topical treatment of inflammatoryacne vulgaris. Annual sales for the brand were approximately $165 millionaccording to Wolters Kluwer data. KV Pharmaceutical was the first to file its ANDA for clindamycin phosphate(1 and benzoyl peroxide (5%) gel containing a Paragraph IV Certificationwith the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. After KV Pharmaceutical notifiedStiefel Laboratories, the patent owner and New Drug Application holder forDuac gel of their filing, Stiefel filed suit in May 2009 in the United StatesDistrict Court for the District of Delaware, alleging patent infringementagainst KV Pharmaceutical. Perrigo has assumed responsibility for thislitigation. Subsequent to the acquisition, Perrigo will immediately beginworking on the transfer of production to a Perrigo site with the intention toamend the ANDA accordingly. Perrigo's Chairman and CEO Joseph C. Papa concluded, "This acquisition isanother example of Perrigo's commitment to make the investments to build ourproduct portfolio and deliver quality affordable healthcare products, as wellas solidify our leadership position in the generic topical space."


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For many of the 100 or so employees who work the second assembly line shift at Unison Industries, the biggest challenge of the day comes before they even get to their work stations.
It comes in the parking lot, when they navigate for a precious spot to leave their car. Unison, a company that manufactures and sells ignition pieces for airplanes and helicopters, has about 600 employees, but only about 415 parking spots for its building, tucked away in a Southside industrial complex.
But while a pain for the rank-and-file workers, the Unison parking problem is a blessing in disguise for company president Rick Sontag. It's a signal that even as the national economy takes a nosedive, the global economy hovers in mid-air and the airline industry consolidates at jet-like speed, Unison is still humming along.
"So far, we are not seeing the effects of a slowdown," Sontag said last week from a conference room at Unison's office. "Our business is just as strong as it was six months ago."
And indeed, business has been strong. Sales at the privately-held company were up 13 percent to more than $150 million in 2000 and were up a sizable amount in 1999 as well. And the company has been churning out contracts for new parts deals at an unusually fast clip, and as a result has hired about 70 employees in the past few months.
The ability to continue growing a business, or even keep it at the same performance, is a rarity in a slowing economy. In the past six months, dozen of Internet companies have gone belly-up and just as many traditional bricks-and-mortar companies have filed for bankruptcy. Victims of the slowdown have been employees and the job losses run the gamut, from cuts at the news divisions for Web sites produced by CNN and NBC, to layoffs at one of the nation's largest railroads, Union Pacific.
A special welder welds a small ring onto a piece of an ignition plug.
-- Rick Wilson/Staff
But the Unison story is one of growth, in an effort to face those challenges. New product lines and new customers help the company in two ways: One, it obviously adds to the revenue numbers, and thus the bottom line. And second, and just as important, is the expansion into new areas puts the company in a position to take over its competitors, not be taken over.
"You have to make a decision whether you are going to be a consolidator or a consalidatee," Sontag said. "So far, we've been a consolidator."
Research and development
Unison was born in 1980, after Sontag invested his life savings -- $50,000 -- so he could secure an $8 million loan to buy an airplane ignition manufacturer in Rockford, Ill. The company was originally called Slick Electro and mostly made ignition systems for piston aircraft engines.
-- Rick Wilson/staff Unison employee Tommy Leverett (right) works on ignition leads at the plant last week.
In the mid-80s, the small plane market was temporarily grounded, and Sontag had to re-think his company's future. He moved the business to Jacksonville, repaid the loan and began building the current version of Unison: A cross between a research and development center -- its payroll boasts one of the largest amounts of engineers on the First Coast -- and a manufacturing facility.
Its current product line includes ignition parts for a variety of planes, from two-seat Piper Cubs to Boeing's 777 passenger jets to U.S. Navy fighter aircrafts like the F-14 and the F-18. Unison ignition parts are also found in cruise missiles and Delta rockets that push communications satellites up into space.
And besides planes, Unison ignition products also are used to light gas flares at the top of oil refinery towers and to start the gas turbines that propel natural gas through pipelines across Canada and the turbines that power many U.S. Navy ships.
Like its product line, Unison's customer base also has expanded over the past five years. Current customers include General Electric, Rolls Royce, the federal government and NASA.
And then there has been the consolidation Sontag referred to. The company's most significant acquisition in recent years came in 1997, when it bought B.F. Goodrich's aerospace engine electrical system division. The unit had about 600 employees in a pair of facilities, one in upstate New York, another in Forth Worth, Texas. Those manufacturing plants remain a Unison property today.
-- Rick Wilson/staff A Unison employee places very small pieces of nickel for brazing onto a stem for an ignition plug.
Before the deal, roughly 90 percent of commercial planes flying in North America had a Unison product in their ignition systems. The Goodrich deal made it about 98 percent.
"We're on just about everything that flies," Sontag said. "Just about everything you can get into, we have a component in it."
Planes and space shuttles
The Goodrich deal also foreshadowed an expansion process that hit full stride last year and has blossomed in 2001. Unison continues to have the new contracts roll in, despite the fact that other businesses around them have suffered.
Sontag chalked that up mostly to the theory that Unison's products are still in need, no matter how good or bad the economy is doing. For example, if less people are flying on a commercial flight, say from 200 in 1999 to 150 in 2000, that means a cut in revenue for the airline. But the planes still need to take off, no matter how many passengers are in their seats.
Another way Unison has been able to fight off a potential recession is through a change in the kinds of planes some of the major commercial airlines have been using. The trend has seen airlines like Delta and United go from predominantly using large jets to flying more regional jets, smaller planes that take shorter trips, albeit more often.
The extra trips is where Unison's profits soars, according to senior vice president for marketing Brad Mottier. That's because the more often a plane takes off and lands, the more often it uses an ignition system.
Recent deals Unison has signed include one last week with GE Engine Services, a three-year contract to repair Unison equipment in dozens of GE engines. The deal is worth $1.7 million a year.
New product lines, too, are keeping Unison's bottom line steady amid the current downswing in the economy. One of those is a high-tech operation to develop a new generation of pulsed plasma thrusters for NASA.
Pulsed plasma thrusters are used primarily to position and orient a satellite accurately once it has been placed into orbit on a rocket.
"Satellite communications, navigation and space science missions have become such an integral part of our daily life that a satellite's maintaining an exact orbital position is essential," John Frus, Unison's vice president of research and development, said in a press release touting the announcement. "Our team's micropulse thrusters should provide a low-cost solution for the desired fine tuning of satellite position."
Industry consolidation
Sontag doesn't think Unison is immune to an economic recession, only that it will likely take a little longer before the company sees a decline in sales. The next biggest concern on Sontag's radar screen is consolidation, both within the airline parts industry and connected fields.
One of the most publicized mergers is in the commercial airline sector, where earlier this month, American Airlines said it plans to buy TWA. That comes on the heels of last year's announcement that United will buy USAirways.
Sontag said there is a possibility that down the line, if there are fewer airlines, there could be fewer flights. And fewer planes taking off and landing would cut into Unison's business.
Closer to home, there have been mergers in the airplane parts industry. Aerospace company Rolls Royce has made a few acquisitions over recent years, and so too has TRW, an aerospace and automotive technology company. And then there was the staggering $45 billion deal last year between Honeywell and General Electric, with Honeywell being bought out.
Unison has done business with all of those companies in the past.
Merger talk within Unison has cooled off lately, but Sontag said he is rarely surprised by what happens in his field. So he is not making any predictions about the next move involving Unison.
"We are in an industry that has a whole bunch of things going on," Sontag said, "so who knows?"
Unison Industries
Founded: 1980
Employees: 1,350 worldwide, 615 in Jacksonville
Locations: Manufacturing plants in Jacksonville; Fort Worth, Texas; Norwich, N.Y.; Orange, Conn.; Rockford, Ill.; and Saltillo, Mexico. The Jacksonville facility is the company's headquarters.
Sales: $150 million in 2000
Web site: www.unisonindustries.com
Recent contracts
Unison Industries has continued to grow over the last few months of 2000 and this year as well, despite a gloomy forecast on the nation's overall economy. Here is a sampling of some recent deals Unison has made:
Oct. 30, 2000: A two-year agreement -- with an option for three more years -- to build signals and ignitions for a variety of military airplanes. The contract, signed with an arm of the Pentagon, is worth $5 million. Aircraft that will fly with Unison equipment through this deal include the T-38 Talon, F/A-18 Hornet and the UH-60 Blackhawk.
Nov. 28, 2000: A multi-year contract with MD Helicopters Inc. to provide wiring harnesses for up to four lines of helicopters. The deal, worth more than $1 million, was made shortly after another agreement naming Unison as a primary supplier of wiring harnesses and electrical panel assemblies for MD Explorer helicopters.
Dec. 7, 2000: A contract with France-based Snecma Services, an aircraft engine repair company, to provide exclusive overhaul services for Unison-manufactured components found on engines used on Boeing 737s and several popular lines of Airbus planes.
Jan. 4, 2001: A four-year deal with aerospace and engine company Honeywell to supply permanent magnet alternators and other products for the company's international engines and systems divisions.
Jan. 15, 2001: A three-year contract to make turbine engine ignition systems and related alternator components for units made by aerospace company Hamilton Sundstrand. The Hamilton engines Unison is working with are found in Boeing 737s, Airbus A320s and F-16 fighter jets. The contract is worth $5 million.
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In Kangiqsujuaq, Elsie Adams, the widow of the late singer and songwriter Charlie Adams, received a special lifetime award for her late husband's contributions.
Adams died five years ago at the age of 55.
A pioneer in the development of recorded Inuktitut pop music, Adams played at numerous music festivals throughout the eastern Arctic over his 30-year career. He also toured in the United States and in Europe.
As a singer and guitarist, Adams was always generous with his talents. His most famous song: the cheerful "Quviasupunga" (I'm Happy).
In July 2004, Adams suffered a near-fatal accident when a car drove over him while he lay in a Montreal alley, and he never fully recovered from his injuries.
A video tribute to Adams was shown before Elsie Adams accepted the award, which reads, "thank you for all of your beautiful songs that touched our lives and the inspiration they bring to Inuit today and tomorrow."


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Unpublished - Duplicate
24 Shelving and Storage Concepts
More Stats +/-
Atypical Customizable Shelves
Quirky Custom Shelving
Flexible Wooden Shelving
Dark Side Storage Shelves
Batty Book Organizers
If your house is a mess, or just needs some pizzazz, these weird and wonderful shelves and bookcases are the perfect place to start.From shelves shaped like Imperial AT-ATs from Star Wars and book cases shaped like the Bat Signal, to shelves made from flexible wood or divided with string, there's something strange and exciting here for every homeowner. You may even be inspired to come up with your own quirky twist on the book case. These weird and wonderful shelf and bookcase concepts can be everything from fun and artistic to pop culture savvy, and some are even customizable to suit your space and needs. From unusual shapes to even more unusual building materials, the utilitarian bookcase is being taken to new heights. Maybe the future will bring computer interactive shelves and bookcases with digital organizing systems. As it stands today, These weird and wonderful shelves are a creative and useful way to personalize your home - wherever it may be - and organize your life.