Regional vendors vying for veterinarians' attention at convention

When Syl Caditz plunked down $2,100 for the chance to pitch his line of "dogwear" to veterinarians from around the country this weekend, he knew he was taking on a challenge — even a bit of a gamble.

"I've got a lot riding on this," said the 84-year-old Leschi resident, a retired psychologist. "It's my first real significant test of the [veterinary] market."

Caditz expects to spend today putting the final touches on what he's been told will be the smallest of more than 200 booths at the 146th annual convention of American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), which opens Saturday.

Vendors offering everything from state-of-the-art surgical equipment to frozen doggy treats to containers for an animal's cremated remains will be vying for the attention of 10,000 attendees in an exhibit hall in the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

Caditz is selling nylon fabric tubes with Velcro straps, designed to put over an injured dog's leg bandage to protect it from wear, weather and the animal's own gnawing. He sees them as replacing the awkward plastic cones that make an injured dog look like it's wearing a megaphone.

The exhibit hall is just one dimension of the convention, which also will feature discussions on topics as wide-ranging as tougher enforcement against animal-fight promoters, the popularity of reptiles as companion animals and the increasingly rapid spread of diseases around the globe — both in humans and animals.

Conferencegoers will even hear from a veterinarian from Afghanistan about the special challenges of caring for animals in that war-ravaged country.

And several hundred attendees will fan out into the community on "voluntourism" projects to do cleanup work at the Seattle Animal Shelter, get animals ready for an adoption at King County Animal Care and do painting and repairs at the Hope for Horses shelter for abused and neglected horses near Woodinville.

David Kirkpatrick, a spokesman for the AVMA, said the idea of adding work projects to the group's annual convention began last year, when members met in New Orleans and some helped out at animal shelters still damaged from Hurricane Katrina.

The AVMA, founded in 1863, last held its convention in Seattle in 1991. The gathering is not open to the general public.

About 20 of the exhibit-hall booths feature companies or organizations based in Washington state. Among them are Aesculight LLC, a Woodinville-based designer and manufacturer of surgical lasers; Dogwise Publishing of Wenatchee, which produces and distributes books and DVDs on dog care and training; and OrthoVet of Vancouver, a small company making plastic-and-fabric splints and braces.

Christian Veterinary Mission, part of Shoreline-based Crista Ministries, will have a booth describing its activities in developing nations, where it assists with livestock-related projects and promotes an awareness of the Christian faith.

For exhibitors, the convention represents a chance both to network with professionals in veterinary medicine and to land customers.

Caditz, who started Sylmar Dogwear about a decade ago, is a newcomer to the veterinarian market but already has sold his creations in outdoor-supply stores. A popular item has been a chest protector he made for hunting dogs to protect them from brush, barbed wire and corn stubble as they chase through fields to retrieve hunters' prey.

He's also particularly proud of a reflective jacket he designed to keep sled dogs from overheating by reflecting the sun's rays and creating a small wind tunnel across the animal's back. Even though that's not the product he's pitching to veterinarians, he'll top his booth with an 8-foot-wide photo of dogs wearing his jackets in Alaska's Iditarod race.

"I have to catch the eye of people walking by," he said. "That's the name of the game."

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com