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College of Veterinary Medicine Advance Newsletter

Survey Launched to Help Improve Family Health

Two Kenyan community volunteers standing in a field conducting the interview with a Kenyan woman.
Traveling by bicycle, community interviewers visit homes in Asembo, Kenya, to learn how animal and human disease impacts a family’s health, access to education, and economic well-being. They will visit more than 1,400 households four times each year over several years to ask about their nutrition, family members’ health, household assets, and health of their animals. They collect the data on a handheld computer, or PDA, so that it can be sent back to Pullman the next day for analysis. The goal is to reduce poverty and hunger and improve health and education. » More ...

Vaccinate a Dog and Save a Child’s Life

Dr. Lankester with a Maasai giving a puppy a rabies vaccination.
At 8:00 a.m. people in an East African village have already begun to line up with their dogs. Mostly it is young boys with their pets coming to one of the many free rabies vaccination clinics set up around the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania. “There can be 200 people in line at a time and we may vaccinate as many as 1,000 dogs in a day,” said Dr. Felix Lankester, clinical assistant professor in the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. They never turn anyone away. » 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

Writing Books to Help Veterinary Students

After Jill Strickler’s beloved blond cocker spaniel, “Jessie,” passed away in 2009, Jill wanted to repay the kindness they received at WSU. So she decided to start a student scholar-ship. But as a writer, Jill knew she could do even more. So she decided to write a series of books to honor Jessie and everyone who cared for her at the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. » More ...

I’m a Cancer Survivor Scarf

A gesture that is seemingly small can have a great impact. That’s how Phyllis Finley of Kenmore, Washington, felt when her dog “Red,” a golden retriever–chow mix, walked out of the oncologist’s office in Seattle wearing an “I’m a Cancer Survivor” scarf on the one year anniversary of her diagnosis. » More ...

A Dog May One Day Walk Again Thanks to the Good Samaritan Fund

Juno at a campground
On a Sunday morning in October 2012, Tara Johnson and her husband heard their dog "Juno," a 4-year-old Husky, whimpering several yards from their house. They ran to find her lying on the ground not moving. Although they couldn't see any bite marks through her fur, they did see saliva on her neck. "That would be typical of a wolf attack," said Johnson. "We'd had several wolf sightings near our house a few months before she was injured." » More ...

Giving Back Just a Little Makes a Big Difference

As a non-traditional student with a wife and three kids to support, Billy Hansen ('14 DVM) has a lot on his plate. Because of the skyrocketing costs of a veterinary education, Billy, like so many of his classmates, relies almost entirely on student loans to pay for school. So when he received the $750 Dr. Aaron and Laura Gibbons Family Giving Back Scholarship it meant a lot. "It was a small amount compared to my student loans, but it made the burden of the semester lighter," said Hansen. "I didn't have to worry so much about finances and that helped me concentrate on school and my studies." » More ...

Donor Gifts Help Purchase a Needed Ophthalmology Table

Dr. Allession giving an eye exam to the dog on the table.
Small gifts can add up to make a big difference. In 2009, Dr. Terri Alessio, WSU veterinary ophthalmology specialist, received a new height-adjustable examination table that has helped hundreds of her patients that she can now easily bring to eye level. "It really helps for patient comfort," said Dr. Alessio. "We can adjust the table to where the animal feels most comfortable." » More ...

The Next Generation: Educating Our Undergraduates for Careers in Science and Veterinary Medicine

They are working in a laboratory.
James Bonner loves science. As a freshman, James knew he wanted to major in biochemistry, so when he was selected to be part of the new hands-on Science Education Alliance biology lab, or SEA lab, in the WSU School of Molecular Biosciences, he was thrilled. “The lab brings abstract scientific concepts into everyday learning,” said Bonner, one of 24 randomly selected freshmen admitted to the SEA lab in fall 2011, the program’s pilot year. » More ...