NAVTA announces Veterinary Technician of the Year

The National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America has announced the recipient of their inaugural Veterinary Technician of the Year Award.

Suzan Harrison Named President of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. North America
Suzan Harrison has been named President of Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. North America, which includes the market leading Hill’s® Prescription Diet® and Hill’s® Science Diet® brand pet foods. She succeeds Neil Thompson, who was promoted to President and CEO of Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. in April.
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National Hairball Awareness Day is April 27
Hairballs are the number one health condition reported by 35% of cat-owning households. Is your household one of them?
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Dr. Mark Morris Sr.

Born in 1901, Dr. Morris was a founder of Hill's Pet Nutrition. A visionary in the area of clinical nutrition, he believed nutrition could be used to aid pets with certain diseases. At a time when most veterinary work revolved around farm animals, he cared for companion animals and their owners, opening Raritan Hospital for Animals in Edison, New Jersey, in 1928. This was the second exclusively small animal hospital in the United States.

Dr. Morris had new ideas for the management of diseases in companion animals. He worked with Dr. Jim Allison at Rutgers University's biochemistry department to develop techniques for diagnosing diseases in small animals. His ideas were new and not always well received, but Dr. Morris soon established himself as an expert in pet food.

After he joined with the Hill Packing Company in Topeka, Kansas, to can his pet foods, Dr. Morris established a charity for small animals. The Morris Animal Foundation continues to provide funding for small animal research, wildlife research and funding for veterinary student scholarships. Today it's the largest nonprofit foundation in the world for companion animal and wildlife health studies, with funds approaching $50 million since its founding in 1948.

Throughout his life, Dr. Morris was active in the small animal arena. He was the first president of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and president of the American Veterinary Medial Association (AVMA). He also led a committee to establish nutritional standards for pet foods and these efforts later formed the basis used today be the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

Dr. Morris died in 1993 at the age of 92.