In recognition of National Pet Week, the AVMA recently announced it would roll out a national campaign targeted to first- through fifth-grade students. National Pet Week takes place May 7-13, 2006.

First- through fifth-grade students will be encouraged to submit essays and drawings about their relationship with animals for a national contest that will be funneled through schools or directly to the National Pet Week Web site, www.petweek.org, said James Flanigan, director of marketing for the AVMA. National winners will be chosen and announced later in the year.

In addition, classroom activities for teachers that fulfill national standardized teaching standards in mathematics, language arts, and science will be available at no charge through the National Pet Week Web site.

The AVMA will offer veterinarians practice guides and other materials, including a sample Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, to help them build community awareness about their practices and the increasingly complex veterinary care they provide. The materials will be available in late March at the event's Web site.

Subaru of America and Novartis Animal Health's GrowingUpWithPets.com have signed on as presenting sponsors of the event. Their commitment will allow the AVMA to expand its outreach in support of the event's three goals, which are to educate the public about responsible pet ownership, celebrate the human-animal bond, and promote awareness of veterinary medicine's impact on animal and human health.

The AVMA and the Auxiliary to the AVMA jointly founded National Pet Week in 1981. The Auxiliary offers its own promotional campaign for the event (see JAVMA, Jan. 1, 2006 issue, page 13).