National Report —Though many veterinarians fret about student loans prohibiting them from buying a practice, the real killer is revolving credit, such as credit cards and car loans.

National Report — Veterinary medicine is more specialized today than it was just a few years ago. Not only are general practitioners offering significantly more diagnostic, dentistry, imaging and surgery services in-house, they say they are referring more patients to specialists, too.

About 780 veterinarians are deployed or working in 90 countries to support combat and stationed troops. They service hundreds of working dogs and an array of mountain mules in addition to their food-safety responsibilities, research and development. They've been doing so for nine decades.

New York — After five horse-related accidents this year — including one in January that put a driver in a coma and one in late April that knocked a 71-year-old man unconscious — Councilman Tony Avella of Queens plans to hold a hearing this fall on a resolution to restrict horse-drawn carriages to Central Park and its surrounding streets.

National Report — He didn't stage a heroic rescue effort or man an impromptu staging area when Hurricane Charlie battered Port Charlotte, Fla., in 2004. He had more pressing duties: picking up the pieces of his shattered home and displaced family.

Tragedy tugs at the heart. A county or region never realizes its potential solidarity until it must unite to overcome odds.

Washington — Small business health plans were shelved May 11 to the chagrin of the American Veterinary Medical Association. But opponents say the proposal will do little to aid the millions of uninsured Americans and could actually raise the cost of healthcare premiums in the long term.

National Report — Good employees are hard to come by, and it won't get easier any time soon.

He was a registered veterinary technician before earning his DVM and eventually buying Woodcrest Veterinary Clinic in Riverside (Calif.) in 1992. He is the only American Animal Hospital Association president who worked as an RVT, and that experience on both sides of the employment equation gives Dr. Michael P. Andrews unique perspective on why staffers choose to stay at a practice.

Study groups can negotiate significant benefits from better-known vendors.

Louisville, Ky. — The Thoroughbred racing Mecca was amid heightened biosecurity following recent outbreaks of equine herpesvirus and a mysterious illness that claimed the life of Kentucky Derby contender With a City.

National Report — Veterinary practices are trending toward higher-quality medicine that serves higher-quality clients.

Washington — The U.S. government has joined the microchip fray at the request of the two-year-old Coalition for Reuniting Pets with Families.

Austin, Texas — A partnership between ViaGen Inc. and Encore Genetics produced the first commercially cloned mare in the United States. Royal Blue Boon Too is the genetic replica of a champion cutter owned by Elaine Hall.