Anna, a 10-year-old chestnut colored boxer with dark brown ears and a white patch on her chest, had always been a healthy and active dog. But in the spring of 2014, her owner, Sundays Hunt of Salt Lake City, Utah, noticed Anna grew lethargic and was less interested in playing with the other two dogs. She was also eating all the time.
Like many veterinary students in their final year of school, Kirsten Ronngren (’15 DVM) was eager to get more surgical experience before graduation. So when she got the opportunity to spend two weeks at Seattle Humane as one of her fourth-year rotations, she jumped at the chance.
Floricel Gonzalez (’16 BS) was attending the School of Molecular Biosciences scholarship awards ceremony holding a letter in her hand. She knew she’d received a scholarship, but didn’t yet know which one. Carefully opening the letter, she read the name: The Elizabeth R. Hall Endowment Scholarship. “My jaw dropped,” says Gonzalez. The prestigious award, given to promising students in medical microbiology, was $4,000. “It was a breath of fresh air that I don’t have to worry about tuition or books for my last year.”
In March we proudly launched a new and improved Pet Memorial Program website so it would be even easier to express sympathy and compassion to grieving pet owners by memorializing a pet and submitting a story. Over the last 20 years, tens of thousands of beloved animals have been memorialized by donations made in their names from pet owners, family members, friends, and veterinarians.
Tom Besser has been selected as the Rocky Crate D.V.M. and Wild Sheep Foundation Endowed Chair in Wild Sheep Disease Research.
After serving a combined total of 79 years with the college and teaching approximately 4,000 veterinary and graduate students, Charles Leathers and Bill Foreyt in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology retired on January 31, 2016.
Challenges. We all have them. Often when we hear the word “challenge” we think of a difficult obstacle in our lives to be overcome. But for us in your College of Veterinary Medicine at WSU, we prefer to apply the magic of alchemy to turn challenges into opportunities.