Carlee, a 7-year-old yellow lab, is a mutant. Like many of her human redheaded counterparts, Carlee has a mutation in the MC1-R gene, or melanocortin 1 receptor. The gene is responsible for producing melanin, a pigment that determines hair, or in this case, coat color.
Like a lot of little kids growing up in southwest Idaho, Shawn Sanders (’09 DVM) dreamed of being a cowboy on a ranch. By junior high, he knew he wanted to be a veterinarian. After earning his undergraduate degree, WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine seemed like the perfect place to study large animal medicine and earn a DVM.
Congratulations to WSU’s Veterinary Business Management Association—ranked number one out of 40+ chapters worldwide!
Theia, an ownerless 1-year-old bully breed mix, came to the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital in March after being hit by a car, bludgeoned over the head with a hammer, and then buried in a field. She returned to Pullman weeks later to have surgery on her sinuses, which were badly damaged from the blows to her head.
When I think of our graduates, one word comes to mind—pride. I feel pride when I see them enter our program here at WSU and grow to become confident veterinarians, surgeons, and professionals when they graduate. I’m proud of them when they are hired for their first jobs, and when they succeed in their careers.
I recently prepared a talk for the Bellevue, Washington, Breakfast Rotary. There is so much to be excited about in our college that I always risk delivering an exhaustive laundry list of good things.