News

Need Adobe Acrobat Reader? Click here.	The CUSP (December 2011) Things to consider when deciding to treat or extract a tooth. Links to all the chapters of Understanding Veterinary Dentistry, 2004.
New to Old	Below are a bunch of tid bits about our lives outside of work. As it is my website, it is most about my family. It is in reverse chronological order with newest news at the top of the page and older news below.
You did what now?	From some of the stories below, you will see that we are an active family, with lots of running and riding and outdoor pursuits. This year, our son, Will, out-did us all with a feat I know I will never come close to matching. He competed in the Petawawa Ironman competition, representing the Royal Canadian Dragoons. The competition has entrants wearing combat boots and pants, carrying a 40 pound ruck sack plus any food and water they want. They start at 4:00 am with a 32 km march/run. Then they keep the pack and pick up a canoe to portage 4 km, After that, they get to rest their legs by paddling their canoe 8 km down the Ottawa River. Now that their legs have had an hour or so to seize up in the canoe, they get out, put their packs back on and march/run 6 more kms from the shores of the river back to base at the top of the Ottawa Valley. Yes. That is 50 km, most of it on foot carrying 40 pounds +/- a canoe. My wife (Monica), Will's girlfriend (Chelsea) and I all went to Petawawa to watch and cheer on our troops (with special cheering for Trooper Hale). It was an amazing day. I have attached a pdf photo essay here - Petawawa Ironman Photos
Ride On To Victory	Our daughter, Marnie, has been working with a failed race horse, trying to turn him into a hunter/jumper. This year, according to Marnie, Benny finally got a brain and things started to click. This summer, competing in the Old Orchard Farm schooling show series (five shows, combined results), she and Benny took 4th in the Hack Division, 3rd in the Open Hunter and 1st (by a mile) in Development Hunter 2'6". Hard work and persistence pay off once again. Well done my dear! Not the best picture of Benny, but a nice one of Marnie.
That's my boy!	On the spectrum from pacifist to war-hawk, I would say I am closer to the former than the later. I would always favour non-violent conflict resolution to a military response. However, one of the responsibilities and duties and a "Have" nation is to be prepared to protect the safety and security of all the citizens of the world and in this regard Canada does have an important role to play. So when our son, Will, informed us he wanted to enlist in the Canadian Forces, we met the news with a wide range of emotions. Presently we are opting to focus on the pride we feel that he has chosen a goal and has been working very hard to achieve it. The photo was taken after his Basic Military Qualification Graduation Parade early November 2010. From there he has moved on to CFB Gagetown for further training in the Armour School. And as of May, 2011. Trooper Hale of the Royal Canadian Dragoons is station at CFB Petawawa. This is great as it is close enough he gets to come home at least once a month. Left to Right: Me, Marnie (Will's sister), Will and Monica (Will's Mom). And here is his graduating from the Armour School in April, 2011. Now it is off to CFB Petawawa as a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons.
Just Keep Running!	Under the heading "It seemed like a good idea at the time." a group of my running buddies committed to qualify, enter and run the New York City Marathon in November of 2010. In terms of participation, this is the largest marathon in the world with over 45 000 entrants this year. (all marathons are the same length at 42.2kms). There are a few ways to become one of those lucky thousands, but the most certain way is to have a qualifying time in another official marathon or half marathon in the year prior to the opening of registration. So we all had to prepare for and successfully complete a qualifying run in 2009 to get guaranteed entry for the 2010 race. By the time race day came, our numbers had dwindled (injuries, other commitments, failure to qualify), but four of us and our families managed to make it to the Big Apple for the weekend. All in all, it was a great experience and I highly recommend it to any marathon runners out there. For those of you who are not runners, I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say it was a lot of work (both in preparation and on race day) and by the 40th kilometer I was seriously questioning why I do this to myself, but I finished within my target time at 3:19:29 and by the next day was feeling ready to start planning for the next big race.
More Accolades	At the 24th Veterinary Dental Forum in San Antonio, I was the recipient of the 2010 American Veterinary Dental Society, Hill’s Research and Education Award. The plaque reads “In recognition of his outstanding contributions in the area of veterinary dentistry, and in achieving the AVDS mission, ‘a global society for the advancement of veterinary dental education’.” In announcing the Award, Dr. John Lewis of the AVDS Awards Committee made reference to my many peer-reviewed publications, my textbook, my service on the examination committees of the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry and the American Veterinary Dental College, my frequent appearances on the podium of conferences large and small, my educational newsletter and website and my efforts as a consultant on the dental discussion board of the Veterinary Information Network. In accepting the award, I said “It is a great and humbling honour to have my efforts recognized in this way and to join the ranks of former winners whose dedication and generosity have been my inspiration.” As well as a plaque and a monetary award from Hill`s Pet Nutrition, the award comes with a gold pin bearing the likeness of Saint Apollonia, the patron saint of dentists (google her to find out why – ouch!). The pin was crafted by the one of the fathers of veterinary dentistry, Dr. Peter Emily. Left to Right, Kara Burns, RVT of Hill's Pet Nutrition, Dr Peter Emily, me and Dr. John Lewis.
We Don't Do Horses	So why would I have my sign at the 'in-gate' of the west sand ring at Old Orchard Farm in Moffat and why would I annually sponsor the Low Adult Division of their horse show season? Maybe it is because the owner of Old Orchard Farm is my sister, Linda Hale. Maybe it's because my children took riding lessons there for years and my daughter, Marnie, keeps her boy Benny there. That is Marnie on Benny at a show in June of 2010.

Fraser's daughter, Marnie, with her new "boyfriend". Benny is a 4-yr-old thorough bred who did not make it as a race horse. Marnie is in the process of training him as a show jumper. Though he is still very young, he seems to have some potential and he is really sweet!
In March of 2009, Marnie traveled with her mother, Monica, to Belize. In the first photo, Marnie is posing with a spider monkey that came out of the jungle to accept a banana. In the second shot, Marnie is playing tag with the children of Indian Church Village.
Father and Son Adventure At the end of February, 2009, my son Will (age 21) and I enjoyed a fabulous week of salt-water fly-fishing in Cuba	Will to the left, our guides, Alfredo and Manolo (also father & son) and me to the right. Will with a fine Cuban bonefish.
In 2008 I participated in the Shore-to-Shore Relay. Our team come second in our age group and third overall. For some video of our adventures go to youtube.com I am running under my alias, "Sandy" That's me to the far right in the team photo.
On October 24, 2004, Dr. Hale and his wife, Monica Forget, participated in the Casino Niagara Half-Marathon. Monica walked the 21.1 kms well under her goal of 3 hours and Dr. Hale ran it in 1:36. The satisfaction of setting a long-term goal, working toward it and then surpassing it is what makes life worth living.
As part of the Live-Fit course at school, Monica and Fraser's son Willy ran the Billy Taylor Memorial 15K in March of 2005 in very nasty conditions to take second place in his age group. That's Will in the gray toque. Our running mentor, Art is in the white and black cap at the far right.
Having walked a half marathon at well below her target pace, Monica was looking for a "what next". So she set her sights on running the 10K at the National Capital Marathon Event. As a warm-up, she ran the "Easy 5K" in Burlington on May 1, 2005 in 31 minutes. This is a major accomplishment since she only started running in February of 2005! Fraser ran the "Tough Ass Half Marathon" that day in 1:31:17 to take second place in his age group. Now on to the National Capital Marathon at the end of May!
Here's Monica running her first 10K run at the National Capital Race Weekend, May 28, 2005. She finished in a very respectable 1:05. And Fraser finishing the Marathon in 3:18:13 on May 29, 2005. The primary goal was to finish vertical and smiling. Mission Accomplished.
At the Veterinary Dental Forum in 2005, Dr. Hale was Awarded the Fellow of the Year by the Academy of Veterinary Dentistry.
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