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College of Veterinary Medicine Advance Newsletter

WSU’s Veterinary Patient Wellness Service

Black lab with yellow vest in the treadmill with Lori Lutskas
Who says cookies can’t be good for you? When Lori Lutskas goes to work each day, she carries a bag of cookies with her to encourage her patients to do their exercises. “We do cookie stretches,” said Lutskas, a licensed veterinary technician and WSU’s veterinary physical rehabilitation practitioner. She puts a cookie (aka a healthy dog treat) on a dog’s hip so the dog will stretch around to get it. “We try to make it fun.” » More ...

WSU Oncology Resident Awarded Research Fund Will Pilot Study between WSU and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle

While working in a private clinic in Melbourne, Australia, Canadian-born veterinarian Dr. Kevin Choy of Vancouver, British Columbia, saw a lot of elderly patients and he noticed something. Although veterinary medicine was capable of managing many chronic illnesses, cancer was not one of them. » More ...

Rehabilitation Helps Dexter Walk Again

Dexter is a white and brown dachshund.
A 6-year-old dachshund name “Dexter,” was referred to the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital by his local veterinarian after he stopped using his hind legs and began dragging them as he walked with his front legs. Dexter was having back pain and an MRI revealed one of his discs was pressing on his spinal cord causing the paralysis in his hind legs, a fairly common condition in dachshunds. » More ...

Grateful Clients: Dave and Eddylee Scott have Helped Raise over $20,000

Some friends throw the best parties. For two years in a row, our friends Dave and Eddylee Scott of Anacortes, Wash. threw a fabulous party to raise money for the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. They hosted the first event in 2010, which raised nearly $7,000 to honor their dog "Cassie" and the veterinarians who cared for her when she was diagnosed with cancer. » More ...

Barb and Joe Mendelson’s Life-Saving Gift

Some people really are larger than life.  Joe and Barb Mendelson are two such people. When they wanted to give to the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, they asked what would do the most good.  When they were told that the hospital desperately needed a new CT scanner, they didn't hesitate. » More ...

Good Samaritan Funds Give a Rescued Puppy Mill Dog named Dancer a Chance at a New Life

"Dancer," a 7-year-old Powder-puff Chinese Crested, wasn't always as healthy and happy as she is today. She spent the first 6 years of her life in a puppy mill in Oregon. When she came to live with Tracy and her family in Idaho, all her toes were dislocated from being confined to a wire cage. Her teeth had rotted, she had a cyst, and an injured back. "She was in such bad shape, we really debated if the journey to get well was worth the pain she would go through," said Tracy. » More ...

Radiology Received $90,000 of equipment from Esaote Europe

Radiology services has two new portable ultrasound machines thanks to Esaote Europe, maker of the MyLab One ultrasound.  The versatile machines are being used to train veterinary students in small and large animal imagining techniques.  Students can perform imagining on the abdomen, heart, equine and food animal reproductive systems, and equine musculoskeletal systems. » More ...

Saving Patch

Patch on boat deck
In September 2010 when he was only 8 months old, “Patch,” a black and white Coton-de-Tulear, tangled with a car while his owners were visiting friends in Walla Walla, Washington. After a local veterinarian examined Patch and saw the extent of his injuries, she immediately referred Dan and Kathy Schwartz of Seattle, Washington, to the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. » More ...

Radiation Treatments Give A Golden Retriever Happy Years

In the summer of 2008, while fishing near Juneau, Alaska, Dave and Eddylee Scott found a lump on the top of their 7-year old Golden Retriever’s head. They made a quick call back home to their veterinarian, Dr. Lance Campbell (’99 DVM), who advised them to take "Cassie" to a clinic in Juneau and have the lump removed. The Southeast Alaska Animal Medical Center removed the tumor—a benign multilobular tumor of the bone—but within 3 weeks the tumor returned. » More ...

How Virtual Reality is Changing Veterinary Medicine

Drs. Fransson and Watkins looking at a screen.
In a small, windowless room, four veterinarians simultaneously tie sutures, biopsy a liver, and perform minimally invasive abdominal surgery. No, this is not a typical operating room. It is a veterinary laparoscopic training laboratory—the first of its kind in the nation. » More ...