• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.49-57
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• 2012

Success of any business solely is dependant on how to satisfy clients in healthcare-related industry. In the short history of Korea pet-care industry, there were not many guidelines on client satisfaction management of companion animal hospitals. The studies on many pet healthcare facilities were conducted based on their cost-benefits and the advantages of medical operation within special features of the traditional hospital management system. However the companion animal hospitals recently need to improve the service quality and client closed communication in keen competition on pet healthcare market. This study explores client satisfaction management could be the new issue of the veterinary hospital business. And it finally suggests of the critical factors affecting successful client satisfaction management of companion animal hospital based on the eight case studies.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.185-188
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• 2017

This study assessed the seroprevalence of Babesia gibsoni in companion dogs in Korea by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay using recombinant BgTRAP antigen. Dogs were randomly selected from those admitted for various reasons to local private veterinary hospitals and the Animal Medical Center of Chonbuk National University. With the owners' permission, extra blood was drawn from each dog for serological assays. Of the 188 selected dogs, seven (3.72%) were positive for B. gibsoni, including six of 167 (3.59%) indoor and one of 12 (8.33%) outdoor dogs. Of the seven dogs positive for B. gibsoni, four were aged > 10 years, two were < 1 year, and one was between 1 and 10 years; and two were Yorkshires and one each was Shih-tzu, Maltese, Pekinese, beagle and mixed. Concurrent diseases or chief complaints were anemia in two dogs, both of which had a history of confirmed babesiosis by polymerase chain reaction, and non-anemic diseases in five. Geographically, four dogs were from Jeonbuk/Jeonju, and one each from Seoul, Gyounggi-do, and Jeonnam/Gwangju. To our knowledge, this is the first report of companion dogs in Korea being seropositive for B. gibsoni. Serologic screening of subclinical or carrier dogs can detect this potentially dangerous disease and assess its epidemiology.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.47-56
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• 2022

Background: In modern society, the number of households raising companion animals increases, and the market for veterinary medicines is expanding even more. This study aims to investigate the perception of companion animal lovers' veterinary medicines, the necessity of specific guidance by pharmacists for veterinary medicines, the role of pharmacists at veterinary pharmacies, and ways to fulfill that role. Methods: This study evaluated veterinary medicines and medication guidance through Google online questionnaire targeting pet-lovers from December 20, 2021, until January 19, 2022. The questions consist of 1) characteristics of petlovers, 2) purchase history and drug recognition of veterinary drugs, 3) use of veterinary vaccines, 4) use of diagnostic kits, and 5) guidance of veterinary medicines by local pharmacists. Results: The respondents' experience purchasing veterinary drugs was as high as 94.4%. The most purchased drug was heartworm-preventing products, and vaccination was performed mainly at veterinary clinics (veterinarians). The respondents primarily purchased veterinary medicines for companion animals at veterinary hospitals and did not know the name of the drugs which they bought. In addition, respondents expected to receive specific information on veterinary medicines from pharmacists. Conclusion: As the number of veterinary pharmacies in the community will increase with the expansion of the companion animal market, pharmacists should play their role as experts in veterinary medicines through systematic and continuous professional education.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.39-46
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• 2009

Ten animal hospitals in Seoul were selected, and of which 41,305 practice in total for recent 1 year were analyzed based on international classification of disease(ICD) of WHO. Of the entire practice, prophylaxis cases accounted for 42.2%. Of the 9,376 cases of internal diseases, digestive system diseases accounted for 4,957 cases(52.9%), respiratory system diseases 1,776 cases(18.9%), circulatory system diseases 1,239 cases(13.2%), and neoplasms diseases 413 cases(4.4%), respectively. In the estate investment expenses, to be specific, rental guarantee deposit accounted for about 50% of the entire estate cost, foregift(48%), and monthly rent(2%). Dividing the income of animal hospitals into medical service, articles selling, and pet-dog beauty, medical service accounted for 71.6% of the entire sales, selling of articles 16.7%, and pet-dog beauty 11.6%. Publicity work for the animal hospital was done mostly through web sites on internet(47%), then through local advertising papers(23.5%), and through bulletins and telemarketing(11.8%). Manpower of the animal hospitals in this study was mostly composed of veterinarians(45.5%) up to about half of the entire staffs, while there was no veterinary technician who had specialized education in that area.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.17.1-17.13
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• 2021

Background: Klebsiella spp. is an important conditional pathogen in humans and animals. However, due to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, the incidence of antimicrobial resistance has increased. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate antimicrobial resistance in strains of Klebsiella strains and the phylogenetic relatedness of extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistance among Klebsiella strains isolated from clinically ill companion animals. Methods: A total of 336 clinical specimens were collected from animal hospitals. Identification of Klebsiella species, determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations, detection of ESC resistance genes, polymerase chain reaction-based replicon typing of plasmids by conjugation, and multilocus sequence typing were performed. Results: Forty-three Klebsiella strains were isolated and, subsequently, 28 were identified as K. pneumoniae, 11 as K. oxytoca, and 4 as K. aerogenes. Eleven strains were isolated from feces, followed by 10 from ear, 7 from the nasal cavity, 6 from urine, 5 from genitals, and 4 from skin. Klebsiella isolates showed more than 40% resistance to penicillin, cephalosporin, fluoroquinolone, and aminoglycoside. ESCresistance genes, CTX-M groups (CTX-M-3, CTX-M-15, and CTX-M-65), and AmpC (CMY-2 and DHA-1) were most common in the K. pneumoniae strains. Some K. pneumoniae carrying CTX-M or AmpC were transferred via IncFII plasmids. Two sequence types, ST709 and ST307, from K. pneumoniae were most common. Conclusions: In conclusion, this is the first report on the prevalence, ESCresistance genotypes, and sequence types of Klebsiella strains isolated from clinically ill companion animals. The combination of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance by Klebsiella in companion animals suggest that, in clinical veterinary, antibiotic selection should be made carefully and in conjunction with the disease diagnosis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.425-432
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• 2010

Staphylococcus intermedius is a common cause of otitis externa, pyoderma, and wound infections in companion animals. Although S. intermedius infections are rare in humans, it is zoonotic, with several case reports describing fatal human infections. Presently, we sought to isolate S. intermedius strains from various sources at animal hospitals nationwide in Korea, examine their antibiotic susceptibilities, and determine the possibility of horizontal transmission between animals and humans. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pFGE) was used to compare the mecA gene in S. intermedius strains from humans, animals, and the environment in animal hospitals. A total of 119 S. intermedius strains were isolated from 529 samples. Using the disk diffusion method, over 90% of the isolates were found to be susceptible to cephalothin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, vancomycin, imipenem, nitroflurantoin, and amikacin, whereas 97.5% and 98.3% of the isolates were resistant to penicillin and ampicillin, respectively. Among the 39 S. intermedius strains harboring mecA, similar PFGE patterns were observed between seven isolates from an animal, two isolates from veterinary staff, and the environment in one animal hospital, and single isolates from an animal and a veterinarian at another hospital. This result suggests the possibility of horizontal transmission of S. intermedius containing mecA between humans, animals, and the environment in animal hospitals and also emphasizes on the importance of S. intermedius with mecA as a possible emerging threat to public health.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.53-60
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• 2019

This study was performed to investigate antimicrobial resistance in bacterial isolates obtained from companion dogs in veterinary hospitals and an animal shelter in Incheon. Drug resistance was examined respectively with the isolates of Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. The prevalence of drug resistance was calculated for each bacterial species towards 163 E. coli isolates, 156 E. faecalis isolates, and 86 S. pseudintermedius isolates by using selected antimicrobials. E. coli isolates were highly resistant to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline (47.9%, 28.2% and 28.2%, respectively). E. faecalis isolates were highly resistant to quinupristin-dalfopristin, tetracycline, kanamycin, rifampicin (69.8%, 66.0%, 53.8% and 51.9%, respectively). Higher levels of resistance were detected for ampicillin, penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, telithromycin in S. pseudintermedius isolates (83.7%~52.6%, respectively). Occurrence of methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) was confirmed by oxacillin disc diffusion method, resulted in 23.3% occurrence among the S. pseudintermedius isolates (20/86 strains). The occurrence ratio of multidrug-resistance in the isolates of E. coli, E. faecalis, and S. pseudintermedius was 34.5%, 56.9%, and 67.9%, respectively. In this study, higher levels of antimicrobial drug resistance were observed in bacterial isolates obtained from dogs in Incheon. A regular monitoring and surveillance program should be implemented to prevent the emergence and spread of the drug-resistant bacteria carried in companion dogs.

• Journal of Platform Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.60-71
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• 2023

The pet industry is also developing and growing in various ways as the number of companions is steadily increasing around the world and social awareness of pets has changed to members of the "family." The pet tech market, which can check health changes early by utilizing IOT technology, is also drawing attention as pets often cannot be expressed even if they have health problems. Based on this problem recognition, this study aims to promote the cold chain service market by developing important animal sample transport services in the pet healthcare market and to develop solutions that satisfy all stakeholders such as pets, pets, and animal hospitals. It was developed to apply sustainability related to society and culture as well as economic and environmental values in the research process.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.574-583
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• 2020

The aim of this study is to investigate the expenditure items and expenses for companion dogs and the appropriate considerations when choosing companion dog food for consumers who purchase dog food through the internet. The survey subjects consisted of 39 males (6.8%) and 532 females (93.2%), and it was found that most women purchase dog food through the internet. According to the age of dog owner, 184 (32.2%) were in their 20s and 241 (42.2%) in their 30s and 146 (25.6%) in their 40s or older. According to the age of the dogs, 200 (35%) were under 3 years old, 202 (35.4%) over 8 years old, and 169 (29.6%) were between 4 and 7 years old. The most preferred ingredient was chicken, regardless of dogs' owner or the dogs' age. Spending less than 100,000 won was most frequency reported, regardless of dog owner and the age of the dog, and major dog food was reported to be purchased in the order of online shopping malls and animal hospitals. In order to improve health function, it was determined that improvement of skin and hair is the most important, and next, was improvement of tooth bone formation and digestibility. When choosing food for companion dogs, nutritional composition of all the products was the most important consideration, followed by brand products with recognition, color, smell, shape, functional improvement products, and price of the products. Therefore, when developing a new product for companion dog food, consideration must be given not only to the nutritional components of all products, but also the brands, color, odor, shape, nutritional balance, functional improvement and price.