Twenty‐three dogs with pericardial effusions were identified from case records made between 1992 and 2000. Fourteen of the 23 were diagnosed with idiopathic pericardial effusions, and three of these were treated successfully by one pericardiocentesis. In the remaining 11 cases the pericardial effusion recurred; six cases were managed long‐term by either two (three cases), three (two cases), or 11 repeated pericardiocenteses, and the remaining five were treated by pericardiectomy. The median survival time of the six dogs treated by repeated pericardiocentesis was five years and nine days.

The development of veterinary specialization in Europe is described, from its inception in 1989, through the establishment of the European Board for Veterinary Specialisation (EBVS) in 1996, to the establishment of the supervising European Coordinating Committee for Veterinary Training (ECCVT) in 2005. Currently there are about 1,500 European veterinary specialists in 21 different disciplines, which can be organ, species or discipline oriented. Each specialization is supervised by a college. Each college has representatives on the EBVS, which defines the rules, oversees procedures within the colleges, and deals with appeal procedures. The ECCVT, which consists of representatives from the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE), the Federation of Veterinarians in Europe (FVE), and the EBVS, is the supervising body that can approve procedures for the recognition of European veterinary specialists and acts as a liaison between the veterinary profession and relevant European and international bodies with respect to matters relating to post-graduate education.

This report describes two cases of pneumoperitoneum in cats receiving treatment for hypercortisolism and diabetes mellitus. Both cats presented with abdominal distention and lethargy and diagnoses of pneumoperitoneum were radiographically confirmed. No clear underlying cause or other predisposing factors were documented and both cats were subsequently euthanased. One of the cats underwent necropsy, which confirmed a perforated gastric ulcer with no evidence of underlying neoplasia or other pathology. This case report may suggest a possible association between pneumoperitoneum and hypercortisolism and/or trilostane therapy in cats, which has not been documented previously and warrants further investigation.