Wednesday the 14th of November 2007

Dear fellow "rehabilitators"! First, I would like to start this letter by thanking the organizing committee, the lecturers and sponsors, and the participants for making "The 4th International Symposium on Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy in Veterinary Medicine" such a great meeting! Not only did we have an opportunity to learn a lot of new things- we also had the chance to meet and interact in a warm and friendly atmosphere! I think that more people than I returned home with lots of energy and ideas for how to continue our work at home. Besides having a great symposium, we now, after three symposiums and several discussions, have created "The International Association of Veterinary Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy". A committee was elected at the symposium and their first meeting took place the 28th of October 2006, when the organization was constituted. As the chairperson, it is my intention to keep you informed regarding how the work and discussions of the committee proceed. This will be accomplished by regularly posting a letter and I am now so happy to be able to publish this first letter on our new website. The formation of a website has been of the highest priority for the committee and a big acknowledgement should be given to Lin and Steff McGonagle, May Römer-Bartels and to the Dutch IT people for making this possible! The committee's first meeting resulted in a long "to-do list"! During the years prior to the next symposium, we will focus on administration (doesn't that sound like fun?!) and the next symposium. Our first task was to find valid information on how to start an international organization when it comes to administration, membership, ethical rules, jurisdiction and financial issues, and to be able to not only constitute the organization- but also to make the organization work. We are in the middle of this task, information on the requirements for membership and fees will be announced on the website as soon as possible, and our aim is to present all the facts regarding the organization at the next symposium. So on to the next symposium. The University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and International Association of Veterinary Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy are pleased to announce the dates and location of the Fifth International Symposium on Veterinary Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy. The Symposium is scheduled from Wednesday, August 13 to Saturday, August 16, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. A big thank you to Amie Lamoreaux Hesbach and Dr. LaFond who already have put a vast number of hours into the planning! As to the symposium 2010, we are looking for volunteers to host the meeting- so if interested or if you have any suggestions on where to arrange the symposium- please contact the committee! Although the focus of the committee, at the moment, is mainly on administration of the organization and the symposium, we are also making plans for the future. We are discussing different forms of "working groups" in order to spread the joy and work of the organization. But we can not and do not want to work alone! Please feel free to mail us your great ideas concerning how we together can make the best out of our new organization! The organizing committee, through Anna Bergh E-mail addresses: