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College of Veterinary Medicine Advance Newsletter

MRI Fundraising Campaign Off to a Great Start

MRI giving tree
The MRI campaign is off to a great start! More than 200 faculty and staff at the college attended the MRI Campaign BBQ hosted by the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in July. The MRI Giving Tree was placed on the wall and many generous friends added early leaves. » More ...

We Are Feeding Our Patients Even Better Thanks to a New Diet Kitchen

Nestle Purina kitchen
Feeding our patients the very best nutrition got a whole lot easier thanks to a partnership between WSU and the Nestlé Purina Center for Nutrition Excellence program. In the spring of 2013, the Veterinary Teaching Hospital received the stateof-the-art dietary kitchen thanks to a $70,000 gift from Nestlé Purina to the college. » More ...

Meet Mr. Bear: One of thousands of patients that has been helped because of MRI

Beryl Swanson veterinary student with Mr. Bear
After noticing an odd lump on his dog’s head in the spring of 2013, Joel Greenhalgh of British Columbia, Canada, took Mr. Bear, a then 11-year-old Australian Sheppard-Rottweiler mix, to his local veterinarian. At first the advice was to watch and see, but when it didn’t go away, his veterinarian took a biopsy. Mr. Bear had cancer. » More ...

More than a Machine. To our patients, MRI is a life saver.

Earlier in this issue you read about Mr. Bear, an Australian Sheppard-Rottweiler that received life-saving brain surgery. Mr. Bear is one of thousands of patients who have been helped because of MRI. But after 18 years of dedicated service to our patients, the lifespan of our MRI machine is quickly approaching its end. As we look to the future of patient care, a new MRI cannot wait. » More ...

A WSU Small Animal Intern Gets Specialized Critical Care Training

Marie-Lou Gauthier
After earning a DVM from the University of Montreal, Marie-Lou Gauthier was thrilled to be accepted as an intern at the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital to further her education and gain more hands-on experience. So she felt very fortunate when she and other WSU interns were given the opportunity to spend two weeks at Animal Critical Care and Emergency Services (ACCES) in Seattle. » More ...

Meet Scout: One of thousands of patients that has been helped because of MRI

When "Scout," a 9-year-old German Shepherd mix, walked into the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, he went to work right away. Calm and obedient with friendly eyes and a large scar across the top of his head, he lies down on the mat his owner, Anne Hensley, puts down for him. She kisses his head, and he watches her as she sits down. Scout is a therapy dog. » More ...

A Lifesaving Amputation Gives a Dog a Fighting Chance

Wrigley was an active, loyal, outgoing dog. One fall day after running on the beach at Point No Point near Hansville, Wash., Greg B. noticed Wrigley was limping. Worried that he had sprained his leg or had a torn ligament, Greg contacted his friend, Dr. Jerry Demuth, at Summit Veterinary Referral Center who suggested he bring him in for an x-ray. "All the signs pointed to osteosarcoma," said Greg. Two days later his veterinarian did a bone biopsy and the next day it was confirmed that Wrigley had bone cancer. » More ...

An Adopted Tabby’s New Lease on Life

Chester lying on a WSU cougar pillow
Roya Eshragh and Gyan Harwood of Vancouver, British Columbia, wanted a cat. So they did what many animal lovers do; they went to their local shelter to adopt an older animal in need of a home. They fell in love with an orange tabby and named him “Chester” (he had previously been called “Cheetoh,” but they thought he looked more like a “Chester”). On January 30, 2012—Chester’s adoption day—his life changed forever. » More ...

Volunteering to Help Train Future Veterinarians

Standing in front of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital

Web Extra

by Marcia Hill Gossard ’99, ’04 Ph.D. | Photo by Henry Moore Jr.

For the past six years, Mike Wedam (’84 DVM), a large animal bovine veterinarian, has made four to eight 370-mile journeys each semester from his home in Sunnyside, Washington, to WSU to be a coach with the Veterinary Clinical Communications Program.

Students participate in simulated cases (based on real cases) to enhance communication skills with clients. As a coach, Dr. Wedam advises students and helps them through the process of learning how to better communicate with clients. Veterinarians are trained to know what the animal is trying to tell them, but he points out that being a better listener and understanding the owner’s needs and concerns is key.

Dr. Wedam and his wife, Sue (’85 DVM), also advise and mentor several students each year during a four-week preceptorship. Dr. Wedam sees his service as a way of passing forward the help he received while he was in veterinary school. But it is the students’ eagerness to learn that he says keeps him coming back each year