Wildcat Veterinarian Spring 2021

Exceptional teaching. Impactful research. Outstanding service. Extraordinary graduates.

wildcatveterinarian Vol. 4 | No. 1 | spring 2021

wildcatveterinarian is produced by the Department of Marketing and Communications Audrey Hambright Joe Montgomery

Dean’s Office College of Veterinary Medicine Kansas State University 101 Trotter Hall Manhattan, KS 66506-5601 785-532-5660 vet.k-state.edu

ourmission Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine is dedicated to the advancement of health and welfare of animals, people, the environment and the veterinary profession through excellence in teaching, research, service and outreach.

We are committed to a professional degree program with broad training opportunities across a comprehensive range of companion and exotic animals, and livestock species. Our focus is on initiatives that address important societal needs at a local, national and global level.

ourvision Exceptional teaching. Impactful research.

Outstanding service. Extraordinary graduates.

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For more details check out our Brand Guidelines.

On the cover: Elizabeth Porter, lead technician for the COVID-19 testing lab at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, performs a PCR test for COVID-19. Read more about KSVDL’s impact on page 28.

Photo by Jeff Moore, K-State Photo Services.

Right: Dr. Chris Blevins, equine field service clinician in the Veterinary Health Center, performs a dental exam on a mule for the Commanding General’s Mounted Color Guard on Fort Riley.

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Photo by Audrey Hambright

exceptionalteaching

18 bridge to the future Program provides path toward professional biomedical studies.

By Joe Montgomery.

20 multifaceted instructor Retracing the remarkable career of Dr. Howard Erickson.

By Joe Montgomery.

24 mission driven A journey of two brothers from childhood VHC clients to veterinary students.

By Cheyenne Swoope.

impactfulresearch

27 s[tick]y situation K-State parasitologist performs study to improve equine tick control.

By Piper Brandt.

28 match made in metadata K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute uses big data to reflect real-time research.

By Audrey Hambright.

31 study of survival K-State veterinary oncologist fights cancer in pets.

By Piper Brandt.

news highlights 8 wide open spaces 12 only zoomin’

Virtual events preserve sense of normalcy for the college.

58 more than one way

Gifts from several funding sources benefit the college.

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outstandingservice

33 delicate delta Adopted horse undergoes dangerous surgery in hands of an expert care team.

By Sarah Keatley.

36 put to the test KSVDL leads Manhattan’s fight against COVID-19.

By Piper Brandt.

40 essential Veterinary medicine takes on essential role amidst a global pandemic.

By Audrey Hambright.

extraordinarygraduates

44 on the air Docs Ben and Erin Schroeder put the Heart into Heartland Docs TV show.

By Joe Montgomery.

48 view from the gate A spotlight on Dr. Brian Hodes, class of 2011 alumnus.

By Sarah Keatley.

50 hunt through history World War I beckons Lt. Harry Frank Hunt to veterinary service in France.

By Joe Montgomery.

42 a piece of joey A boy’s best friend keeps his memory alive.

By Piper Brandt.

features | spring 21 wildcatveterinarian | 5

FROM THE DEAN

steadfast&strong Faculty, staff and students take action to overcome pandemic challenges

By Dean Bonnie Rush In the months since the last issue of Wildcat Veterinarian, much has happened. Some progress was planned. However, responding to the pandemic was not part of the plan. Despite the challenges, the College of Veterinary Medicine persevered and remained fully operational in educational, research, and service missions.

Focusing on the educational mission K-State was the last veterinary college in North America to remove senior students from clinical training and the first to return students into the teaching hospital, several weeks later.

Senior externships and shelter medicine experiences paused only briefly. All DVM laboratory courses (e.g. anatomy, parasitology, junior surgery) were delivered face-to-face to ensure students had every opportunity to participate in the same hands-on experiences they would have in a typical year.

Our faculty committed double- and triple-time to laboratory instruction to accommodate occupancy restrictions.

Newly established COVID classroom capacities permitted approximately one-third to one-half of the normal numbers of students to attend each lecture in person. Lectures were also delivered via livestream and archived for repeated viewing.

The 2020 admissions cycle was entirely virtual and campus visits were limited. In response, as told in the story on Page 12, Dr. Callie Rost created approximately two hours of recruitment videos and virtual college tours. The applicant pool was very strong; candidate numbers increased from 996 in 2019 to 1348 in 2020. Candidate feedback indicated their virtual experience with K-State exceeded their expectations in every way you would expect – engaging, informative and supportive.

DVM tuition has been frozen for the fifth consecutive year, and mean educational debt for Kansas residents dropped from 6 | wildcatveterinarian

$128K (2019) to $122,543 (2020) to $101,839 (2021). To address DVM workforce needs within the state, six additional Kansas residents were admitted into the first-year class for the fifth consecutive year, compared to traditional years.

We recognize it is difficult to hire associate veterinarians at this time. Two virtual job fairs were held for students to meet with prospective employers, and more than 90 practitioners participated. Day one employment for the graduating class of 2021 was 98%! The NAVLE pass rate was 97% for the class of 2021 (national average pass rate is 94%).

Maintaining service and outreach As featured on Page 36, the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory remained at full-service throughout the pandemic and went beyond its traditional service mission to support the human public health response to COVID-19.

The Veterinary Health Center could not access PPE in late March and April 2020 and was thus limited to emergency/ urgent care. However, the VHC has remained at full service since early May 2020. A series of curbside/concierge drop-off and discharge protocols were implemented in order to keep clients, clinicians, staff and students safe.

With the cancellation of major annual events, CVM faculty improvised to provide virtual support for the Kansas State Fair Birthing Center and the American Royal educational exhibit with online chats and videos on food animal, equine, exotic animal, and small animal services in the Veterinary Health Center. Read more about these virtual efforts in the story on Page 12.

Advancing the research mission Last year was the second most successful grantsmanship effort in the history of the college at $17,837,791. On Page 16, Drs. Jürgen Richt and Philip Hardwidge were

Dean Bonnie Rush

jointly awarded an $11.3M NIH COBRE grant to fund our new Center on Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (CEZID) to advance the discovery of pathogens of global significance.

In this fiscal year, faculty have been actively engaged in other research, including $9.98 million in COVID-related grants, with more than $16 million (year to date) in funded proposals overall. Areas of COVID study include animal models of disease, vaccine development, antiviral compounds, and transmission in meat-packing plants.

CVM faculty signed three licensing agreements including two antiviral compounds by Drs. KC Chang and Yunjeong Kim through Cocrystal, and one COVID vaccine by Dr. Waithaka Mwangi with Tonix.

Thanks for your support During the pandemic, we renovated 21,000 square feet of space for teaching and service, as you will see on the next page. Thank you to the donors and corporate entities that supported these renovations.

I am extraordinarily proud of the faculty, staff and students whose work ethic and commitment ensured the college could deliver in all areas of our mission during the pandemic.

Veterinarians everywhere demonstrated their resilience to the world this year through continued service and contributions to public health. We hope you enjoy the stories in this issue of Wildcat Veterinarian that look back on an unforgettable year.

in every issue 2

Mission and vision

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contents

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From the dean

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college news

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Alumni news wildcatveterinarian | 7

wide ope

The new Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) Auditorium is located between Trotter and Mosier Halls with enhanced space and teaching areas. Photos by Mark Nagel.

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n spaces

College harnesses pandemic time to complete renovations

By CVM Communications & Marketing In light of a global pandemic, there have been some beaming bright spots for both the college and the Veterinary Health Center.

Within one calendar year, the college renovated more than 20,000 square feet of clinical and classroom teaching space as part of the renovations for three different areas.

These renovations are a product of three separate corporate donations.

The spaces In August 2020, the class of 2024 was welcomed into a brand-new auditorium for orientation week. The new Boehringer Ingelheim Auditorium, is located between Trotter and Mosier Halls, complete with teaching areas that can be

sectioned off or opened into a bright atrium space to welcome visitors and events.

The livestock services section of the VHC began accepting patients into their newly renovated indoor and outdoor facilities in October 2020. The renovations, finished within six months, were made possible with the support of Merck Animal Health. Upgrades include a drive-thru unloading feature to improve drop-off and pickup, a new tilt chute and obstetrics handling area, plus holding pens, alleyways and a bud tub to provide safe movement of patients.

In April 2021, the Pet Health Center moved into a brand new space more than double the square footage of its previous area, now in the former location of Frick Hall Auditorium.

This welcoming area of the teaching hospital, Hill’s Pet Health & Nutrition Center, offers a comfortable seating area for wildcatveterinarian | 9

college news

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will combine its annual Kind Hearts celebration with class reunions on an away-game weekend.

To make up for lost time with class reunions, the college will combine two sets of classes (years ending in 0 and 1 and years ending in 5 and 6). Tours of the complex will be provided, and alumni will be able to watch the away game on the monitors in the newly built BI Auditorium.

Photo by Mark Nagel

primary care clients, multiple exam rooms, plus a separate conference room for faculty, students and house officers to prepare for rounds.

In fall 2021, Cat Town pre-game events will be hosted in the new Atrium. Attendees will be shuttled back and forth to the stadium. On the weekend of Sept. 24 and 25, the college

Opposite page: The new Hill’s Pet Health & Nutrition Center offers an incredible amount of space for faculty, staff and students to provide primary care for pets. Multiple new spacious, bright exam and treatment rooms make up the perimeter of the new service area.

Top: New meeting space is available for students in the BI Auditorium. Bottom left and right: Renovations to the livestock services area allows for easier and safer drop-off of animals. Photos by Audrey Hambright.

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college news

Only Zoomin’ Virtual events preserve sense of normalcy for veterinary college.

Story by Joe Montgomery One of the most used – and most annoying – phrases of the last 12 months can be summed up in these three words: “Due to COVID-19.”

Those three words have changed everyday life in ways that have been frustrating and challenging. The College of Veterinary Medicine has not been immune to the effects of COVID-19. Lockdowns, reduced social gatherings, handwashing, mask-wearing and extra cleaning have been the new rules to live by.

Quick thinking helps save the day When K-State students left for Spring Break in 2020, they did not return to campus until weeks later – and in some cases – months later. Kansas State University was left scrambling to determine how to proceed with some of its most essential functions and traditions, such as commencement exercises and events like the White Coat Ceremony.

Due to the resiliency of the faculty and staff in the College of Veterinary Medicine, ingenuity and determination prevailed so that students would not completely lose these ceremonies nor have to postpone them indefinitely.

Thanks to online platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, individuals in the college were still able to conduct classes and hold meetings.

Drs. James Roush and Peggy Schmidt, respectively the interim and outgoing associate deans for academic programs and student success, started holding meetings with the alumni and events team: Tony Ballard and Sarah Keatley; computing and technical support: Bryan Kraus, Praveen Ramanan, Manickam Dhandapani, Wayne Michaels, Kent Nelson and Scott Morrill; administrative assistants: Staci Murray and Miranda Schremmer; and marketing and communications team members: Audrey Hambright and Joe Montgomery.

Plans quickly developed for producing a combination of still images videos and online-conferencing options 12 | wildcatveterinarian

in which to hold both the White Coat Ceremony and Commencement.

White Coat Ceremony The first virtual event took place May 8 in place of the annual White Coat Ceremony. Since students were unable to be on campus due to limited operations status at Kansas State University, a meeting was held on Zoom so Dr. Elizabeth Davis, head of clinical sciences could formally welcome third-year students into the fourth year of studies, where the students begin clinical rotations. As part of the meeting, students recited the Pledge of Professionalism, but they would receive their white coats later, when they were able to return to the college.

You can see video from this virtual ceremony here: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpX-2B4hj-k “In our new COVID impacted world we’ve learned many things,” Dr. Davis says. “We have adapted. We have learned to be remote, online, muted, unmuted. We have recognized the importance of bandwidth capacity and we try to use chat when we can. I think what we all learned is, despite the challenging times, with adversity, brings opportunity. And the greatest opportunity that we have had through the past few months is to learn about resilience.”

Commencement The college also used Zoom to celebrate its 2020 graduating class of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students on May 15.

A celebratory video with a listing of all the students is posted at the 2020 Commencement Page. This video includes a greeting from Dean Bonnie Rush; keynote address from Dr. Dan Thomson, former faculty member; remarks from Dr. Alexandra Allen, the 2020 class president; faculty messages; and a video collage of students reciting the veterinarian’s oath.

“It is important for our newest graduates to be together to commit to the veterinary oath as a class,” says Dean Bonnie Rush. “We were fortunate to have Provost Taber join us on Zoom to confer the DVM degrees for the class of 2020. On a regular graduation weekend, Provost Taber would have been involved in maybe 12 hours a day for two days of graduation ceremonies, but for May 2020, we were his only graduation event.”

The students recited the Veterinarian’s Oath online.

“We could have watched a video of the reciting of the oath, but that’s not how oaths are taken,” Dean Rush says.

“On Zoom, we realized the execution of the oath was going to be terrible. It’s messy and disorganized, but it does not matter. We commit ourselves to the purpose of being veterinarians, and we invited any veterinarians watching via livestream to stand and raise their hands and recommit to the oath along with these graduates. We had the graduates unmute their audio, share their video and go to ‘gallery view,’ so they could see each other.”

Kansas State Fair/Day in the Life videos With more events cancelled or rescheduled to be held in virtual formats, a unique challenge involved the Kansas State Fair, where the college annually hosts the Birthing Center.

When the final decision came to cancel the fair for 2020, the college was already in the process of producing a special series of “Day in the Life” videos that could be posted online and on social media platforms for the Kansas State Fair, such as through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Four videos were produced, each focused on different sections at the Veterinary Health Center. One episode each was produced spotlighting Dr. Leslie Wagner and Dr. Shaun Huser in Livestock Services; Dr. Susan Nelson and Dr. Neala Boyer in the Pet Health Center; Dr. James Carpenter and Dr. David Eshar, exotic animal clinicians; and Dr. Chris Blevins, equine field service veterinarian. See the videos online: https://www.ksvhc.org/about/day-in-the-life.html.

Virtual tours In addition to the veterinary students being remote for much of the year, visitors and prospective students have also been discouraged from coming to the campus for tours. To remedy this problem, Dr. Caroline Rost, associate dean for admissions worked with the video production team of Nelson and Morrill to develop a series of “virtual tour” videos.

“Creating a virtual tour with Kent Nelson and Scott Morrill was one project vital to our recruiting efforts, because it gives

virtual visitors a look inside the CVM, a chance to meet our dedicated faculty and staff, see student spaces and tour the Veterinary Health Center,” Dr. Rost says. “While many veterinary programs discontinued interviews for applicants due to the pandemic, the Admissions Committee and CVM did not see this as an option. Dee Roblyer [administrative assistant] was instrumental in organizing 418 candidate virtual interviews with 32 interview teams, tours and panels with the CVM Student Ambassadors and presentations for candidates by Dean Rush.”

Dr. Rost says the virtual interview plan took plenty of forethought and trust in technology to carry out one of the most important recruiting tools for the college. The admissions team has also held virtual applicant information sessions, given Zoom presentations to pre-veterinary clubs across the country and attended many virtual recruiting fairs while unable to travel. Group virtual visits are offered for school, 4-H groups, FFA classes and other larger groups.

Anyone can see the Virtual Tours page at the CVM website at: https://www.vet.k-state.edu/admissions/visit/virtual-tours/.

SAVMA Symposium In 2021, the students have also used virtual means to conduct a special event. Kansas State University’s chapter of the Student American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA) served as hosts for the annual SAVMA Symposium.

They were assisted by Ballard and Keatley in the Alumni and Events office to contract for a custom online platform.

“COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 symposium that was originally planned to be held at Cornell University,” said Savannah Isheim, a third-year veterinary student and co-chair of the planning committee. “We were fortunate to be able to bring back the symposium, albeit in a wildcatveterinarian | 13

virtual format, and reinstate a traditional national meeting of veterinary students that dates back more than half a century.”

The online symposium featured more than 200 sessions and set a new attendance record of over 1,600 veterinary students. Keynote addresses were delivered by Drs. Nancy and Jerry Jaax (DVM classes of 1973 and 1972 respectively) and Drs. Ben and Erin Schroeder (DVM classes of 2002 and 2004, and who are featured in a story on Page 44). Students were tremendously committed to providing an exceptional experience for their peers.

“Our team worked very hard to make this run smoothly, and our efforts really paid off,” said Tyler Shima, also a thirdyear veterinary student and the other co-chair of the planning committee. “This was the first ever virtual symposium, and hopefully the last. I think our team was instrumental in getting the word out and promoting symposium this year, leading to an ‘unofficial’ symposium record attendance of more than 1,700 people.”

Information about the SAVMA Symposium is available online at: http://savmasymposium2021.com/.

Dr. Anum Ahmed, class of 2020, poses for an individual photo prior to virtual commencement. The graduates’ photos were taken by McKenzie Smith Photography.

Meeting donors online The Kansas State University Foundation implemented a work plan that limited travel and in-person visits with donors.

Austin Schilling senior development officer, shared that the CVM team engaged in 72 virtual donor visits – up 1,100% from the previous year. Telephone donor visits also increased by 39.5% during that time.

“Our big Zoom event for 2020 was the ‘Kind Hearts’ event consisting of four separate live one-hour Zooms that we called ‘Rush Hour’ (titled partly in reference to Dean Bonnie Rush),” Austin says. “Kind Hearts is traditionally held in the fall at the Hilton Garden Inn and we invite anyone who has contributed $10K or more to the CVM. Between the four different Zoom events, we had a total of 108 attendees. Dean Rush provided an update on the CVM and then four separate fourth-year CVM students were interviewed online.”

Schilling says the “icing on the cake” was at the conclusion of the Zoom call, where the college awarded $10,000 scholarships to each of those fourth-year students.

The KSU Foundation filmed what it calls, “ThankView” videos. One each was created for 10 “Unlimited Pet Tribute” clinics, to thank the donors for their involvement and investment with the CVM. You can see one of the videos posted for Dr. Sara Mark’s (’83) clinic, Southwest Veterinary Hospital in Denver at: https://ksuf.thankview.com/video/ preview/50c16170-a159-11eb-a3e2-95fe88e5af70.

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Abby Ostronic, top center, is suprised with a $10,000 Charles W. Bower Scholarship during a Zoom ‘Kind Hearts’ meeting.

Other CE and Alumni Events held online 2020 Frank Jordan Seminar COVID 19 Pet Impact Lunch and Listen Annual Conference for Veterinarians Zoetis Teaching Awards Ceremony AVMA Virtual Alumni Reception Class of 1970 Virtual 50th Class Reunion VetLIRN Scientific Forum Rabies Presentation with Dr. Ingrid Garrison AAEP Virtual Alumni Reception Hill’s @ Home Small Animal Nutrition Education Two VMAA Board Meetings 2021 Virtual Interviews for the Class of 2025 Spring VMAA Board Meeting Class of 1980 Virtual Reunion 2021 Frank Jordan Seminar2021 Annual Conference for Veterinarians AVMA Virtual Reception to be held July 30

FIND YOUR PLACE The College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University participates in the national interest of building a veterinary work force to serve the everchanging community and society. Our goal is to create culturally proficient DVM graduates who will function in today’s society as leaders in diversity, inclusion and equity in their communities, nation and world.

“

When I started veterinary school, one of the goals I had was to become some part of inspiring others that look like me to become a veterinarian. Dr. Walter Bowie paved the way for me to fulfill this goal at K-State. Being a recipient of a scholarship named in his honor with the commitment of bringing diverse populations together is an incredible feeling.

- Melissa Riley

Third-year veterinary student and inaugural recipient of the Dr. Walter C. Bowie Scholarship.

The Dr. Walter C. Bowie scholarship is named after the 1947 K-State Doctor of Veterinary Medicine graduate who went on to become a highly respected veterinarian and educator. Dr. Bowie served as a longtime dean of the Tuskegee School of Veterinary Medicine.

College of Veterinary Medicine www.vet.k-state.edu | admit@vet.k-state.edu wildcatveterinarian | 15

college news Research team receives $11.3 million grant to establish infectious disease research center The National Institutes of Health is awarding a Kansas State University-led team of veterinary researchers with a prestigious five-year, $11.3 million grant under the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE, program to establish a new Center on Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, or CEZID. The center will comprise four primary research projects that will bridge areas of excellence in the collective infectious diseases programs at Kansas State University involving the colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Arts and Sciences.

“The overarching goal of the CEZID is to advance our overall understanding of emerging and zoonotic infectious

diseases based on research performed in the state of Kansas,” says Dr. Jürgen Richt, Regents distinguished professor at Kansas State University and a Kansas Bioscience Authority eminent scholar in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

The success and growth of CEZID will be enabled through faculty mentoring, new faculty recruitment, a pilot grant program that will fund smaller projects at universities in the state of Kansas, a regional scientific network that will provide interdisciplinary and interinstitutional collaborations, and training opportunities at universities in the state of Kansas and surrounding states.

Master of Public Health program launches online option for prospective students

CVM faculty among top global researchers in recent study

K-State’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program, working in conjunction with K-State Online, is offering a new online degree option. The new online program includes faculty from 12 departments in five colleges. This interdisciplinary program is designed for individuals currently employed in or anticipating a career in public health.

Online students can choose from two areas of emphasis.

The first is food safety and biosecurity, which focuses on food safety, globalization and how international trade cooperation influences public health. The second area of emphasis is public health nutrition, which examines the role of nutrition in public health and population-based nutrition programs.

In addition, students will be expected to complete a public health practice project during the program.

“We’re excited to partner with the MPH program to offer this opportunity to any interested students, regardless of their physical location,” says Katie Linder, executive director at K-State Online. “The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a renewed focus on the societal importance of public health professionals, and we’re proud to help lead the effort to prepare the next generation of this industry.”

Fourteen researchers connected with the CVM were included on a list of 93 Kansas State University faculty members that were noted as being among the top 2% of researchers in the world, according to a 2020 study done by Stanford University. Some of the cited faculty members are retired/emeritus and not currently on the faculty in 2021.

The study determined the researchers included by most research citings for scientists around the world. The exhaustive list includes 159,683 persons.

Many disciplines are represented by K-State faculty on the list, including veterinary science, toxicology, tropical medicine, physiology and anatomy in the CVM. From the rest of the university, other fields included entomology, food science agronomy and agriculture, marketing, microbiology, family studies, and materials.

“I’m surprised and honored to be named in such an elite list of world researchers,” says Dr. James Roush, interim associate dean for academic programs and student affairs. Dr. Roush is also the Doughman Professor in Small Animal Surgery.

“It serves as a challenge to continue to add to the world’s scientific knowledge and to veterinary medicine.”

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Drs. Hans Coetzee, left, and Michael Kleinhenz are studying the safety of using industrial hemp in feed for cattle. Photo by Joe Montgomery.

K-State research among first to analyze safety of industrial hemp as cattle feed After the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp production in the U.S., interest has grown in industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity, including as feed for animals.

A team of K-State researchers received a $200,000 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to establish concentrations of cannabinoids in livestock after exposure to industrial hemp.

Industrial hemp is typically grown to produce oil, seed, fiber and medicines. While varieties of hemp may be planted for a single or dual purpose, byproducts consisting of leaves, fodder and residual plant fibers remain after harvest. These byproducts could serve as potential feedstuffs for animals.

While there is interest in the use of hemp for cattle feeds, there are questions about whether the feed can be used safely because of concerns about tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, intoxication and the presence of other bioactive cannabinoids.

The hemp used in the studies was grown at K-State’s John C. Pair Horticultural Center near Wichita. K-State researchers involved include Dr. Michael Kleinhenz, Dr. Hans Coetzee, Shawnee Montgomery, Andrew Curtis, Miriam Martin, and Drs. Geraldine Magnin, Zhoumeng Lin, Steve Ensley,

Jason Griffin and Katie E. Kleinhenz. The research team also included Dr. John Goeser and Eva Lynch, Rock River Laboratories.

“We observed that the acidic cannabinoids, such as CBDA and THCA, are more readily absorbed from the rumen than other nonacid cannabinoid forms, such as CBD and CBG,” says Dr. Kleinhenz assistant professor of beef production medicine. “Now that we have found that some cannabinoids are readily absorbed from the rumen, the next steps are to study the tissue and milk residue depletion profiles of these compounds after animal feeding experiments. The effects of cannabinoids on cattle are also unknown.”

The two published studies are “Nutrient concentrations, digestibility, and cannabinoid concentrations of industrial hemp plant components,” which can be found in the journal Applied Animal Science, and “Plasma concentrations of eleven cannabinoids in cattle following oral administration of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa),” which was published in Scientific Reports.

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

Bridge to the Future One-year master’s program provides path toward professional biomedical studies.

Story by Joe Montgomery

Dr. Cathy Sparks (in green) gives an overview on musculature with a new anatomage machine to students in the one-year master’s degree in biomedical science. From left: Elizabeth Grimes, Tara Brush, Cesar Aparicio-Lopez and Jamie Hughes. Photo by Audrey Hambright.

A new program started just over a year ago has been attracting a broad mix of students into the veterinary college while serving as a bridge for opportunities both inside and outside of the veterinary medical curriculum.

Part of the prorgram’s appeal is because it only requires a yearlong commitment for the completion of a master’s degree. The official title is the one-year master’s degree in biomedical science.

“Often students are not sure what their future holds,” says Dr. Matthew Basel, clinical assistant professor and associate director of the program. “The pre-professional 18 | wildcatveterinarian

one-year master’s program is designed to introduce students to the biomedical field and prepare them for professional school. In our program, students are taking advanced courses in a wide range of biomedical sciences, including anatomy, physiology, histology and pharmacology.”

First of its kind This three-semester program is the first of its kind in Kansas and is specifically designed to bridge the gap between undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

“I applied for the one-year master’s program in order to strengthen my application for veterinary school and gain the confidence I needed to successfully enter a professional program,” says Elizabeth Grimes, a member of the program’s first class of students who graduated in May 2021.

Hosted in the anatomy and physiology department, the preprofessional one-year master’s program in biomedical science is a non-thesis, coursework-based master’s degree Left: Elizabeth Grimes holds up a sloth at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. She that can be completed in 12 months. has now been accepted for DVM studies at Texas A&M University. Right: Julissa Andazola Typically a master’s degree program will attend dental school at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, this fall. takes about two years to complete.

This program starts during the summer by a mix of required and elective courses in the fall and session and is completed at the end of the following spring spring.” semester. The inaugural class of students completed the degree in May, with 23 total graduates.

Student success Along with Dr. Basel, course coordinators include “I chose this program because I was undecided about Drs. Pradeep Malreddy and Cathy K. Sparks, who both teach the professional path I wanted to follow,” explains Cesar anatomy courses in the veterinary college.

Aparicio-Lopez, another member of the program’s first class “There are no specific admission requirements for this of students. “While in the program, I strengthened my program, as we would like to serve a wide range of potential application by taking high-level classes in amazingly equipped students,” Dr. Malreddy says. “We do have some suggested laboratories.” guidelines for students that we think will help them be more “This program has been a great way to strengthen my likely to succeed. We recommend a bachelor’s degree in a application for dental school,” adds student Julissa Andazola. biomedical science-related field, a minimum 2.5 or higher “I have been able to improve my grade point average, while overall grade point average and at least a 2.8 grade point working on a rigorous coursework.” average in their higher-level science courses or the last 45 Applications for admission into the program are made hours of bachelor’s degree studies.” through the Graduate School at Kansas State University, All students earning a master’s degree at Kansas State while the curriculum for the one-year master’s program in University must complete a “culminating experience” that biomedical science is administered through the College of will be determined by the student in concert with his or Veterinary Medicine. Being located in the college provides her graduate committee. Culminating experiences include several advantages for students, especially for those who are either an intellectually creative project, a final report or a interested in being veterinarians. culminating examination.

“This program gave me just the little extra I needed to make “We believe the best place to prepare for professional my application for veterinary college more competitive,” says school is at a professional school where students can interact Kimberly Glotzbach, who graduated in May. “I feel it gave with professors who understand the program,” Dr. Basel me the opportunity to continue my education with only a says. “Students are taking courses designed to have the same one-year commitment while helping me prepare to take on rigor as any other professional health school and have access professional school course.” to world-class facilities. The first round of classes for the For a full description of the program, the admission incoming class will begin in the summer semester with an requirements and application procedures, go to vet.k-state. intensive introduction to anatomy and physiology, followed edu/education/graduate/one-year-masters/admissions.html. wildcatveterinarian | 19

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

multifaceted instructor Retracing the remarkable career of K-State’s Dr. Howard Erickson.

Story by Joe Montgomery The town of Wahoo, Nebraska, currently with a population of less than 5,000 inhabitants, boasts quite a list of notable individuals over its 150-yearlong history. Among them are a Nobel Prize laureate, Pulitzer Prize winner, Hall of Fame baseball player, state governor and an Academy Award winning producer.

Wahoo is also the hometown to Dr. Howard Erickson, professor emeritus, who happens to have had a diverse and impactful career, including a calling to help capture history, in particular, for the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Career of many facets Dr. Erickson began his education at Luther College in Wahoo, and then he attended K-State and earned his DVM in 1959. He received a doctorate from Iowa State University in 1966, while serving in the Air Force.

“My career has had very many different facets,” Dr. Erickson recalls. “I started out in practice, sort of a mixed practice – mostly large animal. In the Air Force, I worked in public health over in England, and then I became a graduate student, sponsored by the Air Force, at Iowa State University working with an artificial heart project for three years. Then I rejoined the Air Force and was stationed in San Antonio, Texas, at the School of Aerospace Medicine 20 | wildcatveterinarian

working in the When Dr. Jim cardiovascular area, Coffman was head of placing transducers the Department of on the heart in Surgery and Medicine different animals at K-State (now Clinical – working with Sciences) he encouraged primates too.”

Dr. Erickson to conduct From there studies with horses.

Dr. Erickson “He had Dr. Judy transitioned Cox as a graduate to research student,” Dr. Erickson administration. He says. “She was studying went to the Air War the horse and I was College at Maxwell on her committee, or Air Force Base helped her, so we started Howard and his brother Larry grew up on a farm near Wahoo, Nebraska. in Montgomery, research with ponies on Both studied at K-State, and both taught at K-State, the latter in the chemical Alabama. the treadmill, and then engineering department. Larry was the director of the hazardous substance “I thought we gradually started research program. Courtesy photo.

I was going to working with Quarter be assigned to Horses. We walked the Washington, D.C., but I ended up at Maxwell Air Force horses right into Coles Hall through glass doors, down the Base,” Dr. Erickson says. “Later I went back to San Antonio hallway and into the laboratory, and I’m surprised we didn’t again with the Aerospace Medical Division at Brooks Air have a major accident – a blow-up, but we never did.”

Force Base and worked in R&D management for five years.

Dr. Erickson’s research on horses established a strong Then I retired and joined the faculty here at K-State.” reputation and led to the evaluation of nasal strips for use in racehorses. His work attracted the attention of national media Research on the run and he participated in several interviews.

Dr. Erickson vividly remembers the search committee “Dr. Coffman redirected me to study the horse and members who hired him: Dr. Roger Fedde, Dr. Dan Upson it snowballed into developing a national/international and Dr. Fred Oehme. Dr. Russell Frey was the department program in equine exercise physiology,” Dr. Erickson says. head.

“We went to Japan, Hungary, Sweden and many different “There was a thrust at the time for studying respiratory countries to report the findings of our research. The program disease in the college,” Dr. Erickson says. “Dr. Fedde was became nationally/internationally recognized. There is an studying cattle, and he had a treadmill in Coles Hall in the international congress on equine exercise physiology that’s laboratory. To simulate stress and respiratory disease, he had held every four years – it’s been held in this country, as well the calves walk on the treadmill. He said to me, “You ought to as Australia, France, Sweden and England, where we had focus on the similar topic, but a different species. Why don’t opportunities to present our findings.” you look at the pig?’”

History calls Dr. Erickson obtained a treadmill from the hospital in “To go way back, when I was a student in Luther College in Manhattan that was intended for use by a cardiologist for stress testing. When the physician left town, the treadmill was Wahoo, I had a blind instructor there by the name of James Iverne Dowie,” Dr. Erickson says. “He taught a course on not being used, so Dr. Erickson was able to get it. modern history. That probably piqued my interest in history “I had a veterinary technician, Karen Terhune, and a initially. And then probably it subsided for a number of years graduate student, Steve Olson, who helped me with the until Dr. Ron Marler became the dean.” research,” Dr. Erickson says. “We installed a cage around the Dr. Marler felt the K-State veterinary college wasn’t treadmill, otherwise pigs will jump off. That would retain the documenting its history very well. pigs on the treadmill.” wildcatveterinarian | 21

“I think I had 15 students the first year and it went to 25 or 30 the second year. I’ve had as many as 80 students, which is too many. I ask them to write a paper and develop a PowerPoint presentation on their topic. When you try to read 80 papers, that’s a lot of work. I only have 21 students this year, which is wonderful. I don’t know how long I will continue to teach. I need to draw a line on that somewhere,” he smiles.

Teaching and service Dr. Erickson says that teaching at K-State was a little different earlier in his career.

Dr. Erickson explains a heart diagram to officers in the Air Force’s School of “I taught weightlessness in the Air Force Aerospace Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. to future astronauts who took a course at the School of Aerospace Medicine when stationed in ”Our centennial was coming up in about 10 years, so he Texas, and then I started teaching cardiovascular physiology decided we needed to form a history committee, and he asked for volunteers,” Dr. Erickson says. “I volunteered to be on the and renal physiology to the veterinary students at K-State,” Dr. Erickson said. “And now I’m teaching history of history committee. Dr. Frey chaired the history committee. I veterinary medicine. So, I’ve had quite a spread really.” remember we had hired a faculty member from the English In addition to teaching, Dr. Erickson has served on the department to start writing our college history, but that didn’t admission committee for 10 years and he’s been involved quite work out, so Dr. Ronnie Elmore picked it up. He asked with Veterinary Medical Alumni me to help him with it.”

Association (VMAA), where he helps to In 2005, Drs. Elmore and Erickson select recipients for alumni recognition published, “A Century of Excellence: awards. In 2018, the VMAA surprised Kansas State University College of Dr. Jim Coffman redirected Dr. Erickson and presented him with the Medicine,” coinciding with the college’s me to study the horse and it college’s Distinguished Service Award. centennial celebration. The book features “That award was a real surprise and a snowballed into developing a page for each class with sections on distinct honor at this stage of my career,” a national/international K-State alumni who became AVMA Dr. Erickson said. “I have thoroughly program in equine exercise presidents, an overview of the Kansas enjoyed my nearly 60 years in veterinary City Veterinary College, K-State’s physiology. medicine. The last few years, exploring connection with the Tuskegee Institute the history of veterinary medicine with (where several K-State alumni became alumni and students, has been most deans and/or instructors in its School of rewarding.”

Veterinary Medicine), and other special Dr. Howard Erickson Interestingly, Dr. Erickson has an topics.

Class of 1959 unusual connection to the college and Dr. Erickson’s contributions to the its history, even though he has not been history book also led to the development there for all 116 years. of an elective course on the history of veterinary medicine “I’ve known every dean that the college has had,” that he teaches.

Dr. Erickson says. “I think I met all of them. Dean Cornelius, “[Around 2009] we went to a core curriculum plus I’ve only met him briefly. I worked with Dean Kitchell electives, and I think there were two hours of electives in the fall semester and the spring semester,” Dr. Erickson says. “The through the AVMA Council on Research when I was in the faculty were asked to develop electives. I had helped write the Air Force. When I was a student, Dr. Ralph Dykstra had stepped down as the dean, and he was in charge of the reading history of our college, so I thought I could probably teach an room in Leasure Hall. They needed a student to kind of sit elective on the history of veterinary medicine. there and take charge in the evenings – Tuesday and Thursday

“

”

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evenings – and it paid 75 cents an hour. I had a fraternity brother, Jim Boyd [DVM class of 1957] who told me it’s an easy job. You can just sit there and study and lock it up at night – and bind the journals once a year, so I got to know Dr. Dykstra a little bit when I was a student.”

Married life Dr. Erickson’s days as a student also led him to meet his wife.

“One summer I was working for the agricultural economics department,” Dr. Erickson says. “It was probably between my second and third year in veterinary college. We were surveying the counties in Western Kansas after a severe drought in the 1950s.

We were wanting to find out how the farmers were surviving the drought.”

Dr. Erickson said the first county he surveyed was Dickinson County.

“We usually didn’t stay at a hotel because we didn’t get paid very much,” Dr. Erickson says. “We tried to find a boarding house. Well, I went to church one Sunday. Sitting behind me, a woman introduced herself. Being the daughter of the pastor, she was going to introduce herself to any new visitors.”

Dr. Erickson noticed the pastor also had a granddaughter at the church. Her name was Ann. “Ann didn’t say much to me at first,” Dr. Erickson Graduate students monitor a horse run on a treadmill for one of Dr. Erickson’s says. “She kind of walked out of the church, but then exercise-physiology research projects. she picked up that I went to K-State, so then she Medical History Society, and helps with the K-State VMAA perked her head up and said hello. Later in the day, I board. He served as a full-time faculty member at K-State went through the phone book, and I called her to ask if she from 1981 to 2011, and has more than 60 years of service wanted to go swimming that afternoon at the swimming overall in veterinary medicine. Looking back, Dr. Erickson pool. She invited me to her house for dinner that night. says he has had some outstanding mentors and colleagues I went on to Western Kansas, but I kept coming back to to work with during his career, both in the Air Force and at Abilene during the summer to see her. She was going to K-State. He is appreciative of all the opportunities he’s gained K-State too. It all blossomed from there.” by studying veterinary medicine at K-State.

Dr. Erickson and his wife Ann have two sons, James “You see, a veterinarian is a multidisciplinary person,” and David, who were born in England when he was Dr. Erickson says. “They often take care of animals. stationed there in the Air Force. He and his wife have five Sometimes they’re in public health work. Sometime they’re grandchildren: Zinnia, Dahlia, Alex, Reid and Isabelle. His in industry developing vaccines. Sometimes they’re in the brother Larry also has a connection with K-State.

Army – Special Forces. Sometimes they have a career in the Air Force, like I did. Sometimes they’re in a university and A wonderful profession teaching. It’s multifaceted.”

Although officially retired and now an emeritus professor, Dr. Erickson continues to teach the veterinary history elective in the fall semester, is active in the American Veterinary wildcatveterinarian | 23

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

Mission Driven

A journey of two brothers from childhood VHC clients to veterinary students.

Story by Cheyenne Swoope, student writer The mission of the Veterinary Health Center (VHC) is to discover, teach and heal. A pair of veterinary students, Joshua Harlan, fourth year, and his brother Ashton, third year, have brought this mission full circle. A visit to the VHC during their childhood inspired them both to pursue veterinary medicine as a career.

World travelers by their teen years, the brothers have experienced life in many different ways. Their father was in the military, and the boys had made nine moves nationally and internationally, making a stop in Junction City, Kansas.

“It was interesting to see how animals were viewed differently around the world,” Ashton says. “In Germany, bringing your dog to dinner over your own children was preferred, but in Korea we lived near a dog farm where they were raised for food.”

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Sparked by compassion In 2001, the family’s fawn great dane, Odysseus, became ill. The local veterinarian in Junction City referred the Harlans to the VHC and the family whisked him in for medical attention. The doctors diagnosed Odysseus with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened, enlarged and unable to pump enough blood for the body to utilize.

Unfortunately, he did not survive the disease.

The events that transpired in the hospital, however, changed the course of Joshua’s and Ashton’s lives forever.

“When we brought our dog into the clinic, the students and staff did not present prices to us or talk over our heads,” Joshua says. “They treated us with empathy, and helped my brother and me through the grieving process since we were young and had never lost a member of our family before.”

“The care that the students, clinicians and staff showed for not only our dog, but our family is what inspired me to become a veterinarian,” Ashton says. “We received a letter from the clinic after Odysseus’ passing with the signatures of the fourth-year students and clinicians that worked on the case. Our family recently rediscovered the letter and we cherish its meaning.”

Ashton says he experienced a period of severe grief after losing his best friend, and he wanted to help others to not feel the same kind of pain and sadness. It was then that he and Joshua started to turn their wheels toward careers in veterinary medicine where they could not only treat animals in need, but educate and empathize with those who sought veterinarians for help, in the same way their family had.

Finding their place

Making memories Each has cherished memories from their time at K-State and have things they’re looking forward to as they continue their studies.

“As an undergraduate, I was able to step out of my comfort zone and take a bovine artificial insemination course that was very interesting,” Ashton says.

“I also went on a study abroad trip to Switzerland and experienced their agriculture practices first hand.”

Ashton related his trip abroad to his experiences as a child living in various places around the world, and explains it is encouraging him to pursue a career that will allow him to fulfill his passion to serve others, while also experiencing different cultures. He is considering a military career in the Veterinary Corps where he will be able to serve in all purposes of animal and public health.

The Harlans received a signed card from the

Surgical focus

Having been competitive while As he enters his third year of study VHC staff and students after their dog’s passing. growing up, the brothers have in the fall, Ashton is most looking experienced a whirlwind through forward to what his brother has their journey from undergraduate considered the most exciting part of studies to veterinary college. Joshua, the veterinary school so far: surgery. older of the two, set off to college first.

Being a year ahead of Ashton and in The care that the students, He says he chose Kansas State University school more prior to the COVID-19 clinicians and staff showed pandemic, Joshua has been able to because it was familiar to him, and he wanted to explore studies in art as for not only our dog, but our participate in more in-class activities. He well as the pre-veterinary option before has a different set of cherished experiences family is what inspired me deciding to stick with his passion of that have helped him plan for the future. to become a veterinarian. serving animals and their owners. While “My favorite experience in school he was an undergraduate, Joshua was has been surgery,” Joshua says. “It has unaware of the college’s early admissions taught me to trust myself and apply the program. He jokes that Ashton gained knowledge I have learned.”

Ashton Harlan knowledge of the early admissions Inspired by the gratification that comes Class of 2023 opportunity through him, and only with seeing an animal recover after a then was able to gain an advantage. surgery – and being able to reunite with Ashton was able to complete his undergraduate degree a its family – Joshua plans to focus on surgery rotations during year earlier than anticipated, and now the two brothers are his final year of study. He is excited to explore dentistry and only one year apart in their journey to become veterinarians. is considering working in shelter medicine after graduation.

“ ”

Above left: Joshua and Ashton Harlan in front of the VHC.

Both situations provide opportunities to perform surgery while also serving the community. wildcatveterinarian | 25

Had the Harlan brothers not been treated with such gracious compassion, they would have never been inspired to further the mission of the VHC. Because they learned to understand the importance of healing, they were able to discover the opportunities available to them as students and as professionals while being taught the importance of veterinary medicine in all aspects of life.

During the admissions process, the Harlans were able to connect with the assistant dean for admissions, Dr. Caroline Rost. She was touched by the events that led them back to the VHC.

“Joshua and Ashton Harlan have literally come full circle – around the world – to return back to the KSU College of Veterinary Medicine,” Dr. Rost says. “Their military family gave them many opportunities for exposure to different countries and cultures while they were growing up. They will both certainly be successful graduates following the broad education they receive and their clinical experiences in the Veterinary Health Center. Now it is Joshua and Ashton’s chance to influence the younger generation to pursue veterinary medicine by taking care of animals that mean so much to the families who entrust their care to the VHC.”

Top Left: The brothers and their Great Dane, Odysseus, on Easter. Top Right: Ashton Harlan and Odysseus. Bottom: Ashton and Joshua have been around animals since childhood and are now pursuing careers that allow them to have a positive impact on the lives of animals and their owners. Photos courtesy of the Harlan family.

26 | wildcatveterinarian

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

S[TICK]Y situation K-State parasitologist performs study to improve equine tick control.

Story by Piper Brandt, student writer

Dr. Brian Herrin evaluates an adult female lone star tick under the

Tiny ticks are causing a big problem among equine microscope. Photos by Jeff Moore. veterinarians and horse owners. Dr. Brian Herrin, assistant characteristics specific to equine ticks. Since October 2018, professor, and his research team have developed a project veterinarians and horse owners from 25 states have enrolled, that may help improve this s(tick)y situation. contributing over 1,400 ticks collected from 266 horses.

“While many equine veterinarians and horse owners The ticks are sent to Dr. Herrin’s lab to be categorized by recognize that ticks and tick-borne diseases pose a major risk to horses, there were no current, comprehensive surveys of the species, sex and life stage. Information about the infested variety of ticks that are found on horses,” Dr. Herrin says. “In horses is collected as well, including geographic location, time spent in pasture and tick location on the body. addition, there were only small regional studies documenting “Ixodes scapularis (deer tick), Amblyomma americanum the tick-borne diseases that horses are exposed to. This lack (lone star tick), and Dermacentor albipictus (winter tick) were of knowledge is a major hindrance to the development and found to be the most common species,” Dr. Herrin says. testing of new, longer-lasting and more-effective tick control “The majority of I. scapularis ticks were collected during options for horses.” the fall months in the Northeast, while the majority of A. According to Dr. Herrin, the two major risks to horses americanum ticks were collected during the spring months in caused by ticks are anaplasmosis and Lyme disease, which the Southeast.” can cause health issues like arthritis, fever and ataxia. There Dr. Herrin urges Kansas horse owners to look out for are also sporadic cases of equine piroplasmosis in the United Dermacentor variabilis (American Dog Tick) and Amblyomma States, which is considered a foreign animal disease. americanum (lone star tick) during the heavy tick season, Currently, the only acaricidal (tick-killing) options for which usually lasts from April to June. Due to typically high horses are topical products that predominantly contain Kansas temperatures, these ticks are most commonly found in pyrethroids, like permethrin. However, there’s an issue because these products degrade in sunlight and can be washed areas out of direct sunlight, like the mane, armpits, inguinal region or at the base of the tail. away or dilute in rain or during baths, Dr. Herrin explains.

“We’re using our data to highlight the high tick burdens “With the discovery of the isoxazoline class of systemic on horses and the risk of tick-borne pathogens,” Dr. Herrin acaricides for dogs and cats, there is a giant opportunity to says. “We’re pairing our data with surveys of horse owners on provide better tick control for horses, but the upfront risks their level of concern about ticks, tick-borne diseases and tick that companies must take for drug development is high if control. The two pieces fit together nicely to show there is a there is no market for a product,” Dr. Herrin says. “Our potential market for novel, effective tick control in horses. research team created the National Equine Tick Survey (NETS) to address these issues by collecting ticks from horses We hope to use our results to speak directly to the veterinary pharmaceutical industry about the lack of quality tick control across the United States to document the widespread, yearoptions for horses.” round tick infestations on horses.”

To follow the progress of the study, or to contribute, visit The NETS reveals patterns in data about the geographic www.equineticks.org. distribution, seasonal prevalence and other species wildcatveterinarian | 27

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match made in MetaData K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute uses big data to reflect real-time research.

Story and photos by Audrey Hambright Innovators in data analytics continue to step up in a big way – but it’s not where you might think.

The Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) at Kansas State University has a strong history in representing producer and food animal veterinary needs alike, but has recently taken on the likeness to a start-up company in Silicon Valley.

How so? It’s using big data to reflect real-time research.

Collecting behind the scenes to get ahead Under the supervision of Dr. David Amrine, BCI research director, the BCI has created a large operational database through strong collaborations with consulting veterinarians and feedyards. The data represents approximately 55 feedyards across the United States or 2.5 million head of cattle on feed.

That’s 2.5 million head of cattle for which the BCI is receiving daily updates. To put that into perspective, the USDA reported United States feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 12 million head on Jan. 1, 2021.

“It’s a dynamically updated system,” Dr. Amrine says. “The treatments, the new cattle that come in and cattle that leave from that previous day are all uploaded nightly into our data warehouse. Now we have the latest information.”

This gives BCI faculty and students conducting research real-time access to information gathering from a digital “data warehouse.” One of the keys to this system is the ability to keep all data confidential and anonymous prior to analysis. Information gained from this system is valuable to the industry because findings are based on real-world information; yet, data are never associated with any individual operation.

A custom-built system Even though the data is collected overnight, developing the infrastructure and background took a bit longer, as it was 28 | wildcatveterinarian

essentially built from the ground up, using only a branded web service as the platform.

The system needed to accept both nightly exports from the participating feedyards, then upload that information into the database. Capabilities were expanded during this process, including the ability for the system to upload “clean” data, or data that was not duplicated.

“One of the other challenges with the design and implementation of the system is that the format of information coming from the feedlots is not all the same,” Dr. Amrine says. “This adds to the complexity of the system.”

Prior to attending veterinary school at Kansas State University, Dr. Amrine worked as a programmer/analyst for several years. During veterinary school he realized he didn’t want to go into traditional clinical practice, but instead found a way to combine his programming and data skills with veterinary medicine. He worked as a data scientist for Adams Land & Cattle in Nebraska for a few years after receiving his Ph.D. in applied epidemiology at K-State. However, it was ultimately the potential to use data contained in the warehouse for advancing predictive analytics research related to the health and performance of beef cattle that attracted Dr. Amrine to the research position at the BCI. “Research using predictive analytics has exploded in the past 10 years – especially in human health and food production – however, the uptake and application to the beef cattle industry has lagged behind,” Dr. Amrine says.

He added that large amounts of data are typically needed to accurately explore and apply predictive analytics in the beef cattle industry, and that it has been difficult to accumulate these data.

“The data warehouse we have developed has taken us several steps further in the ability to have large datasets available to accurately train and develop machine learning models

that can hopefully be applied towards some of the industry’s largest challenges,” he says.

According to Dr. Brad White, director of the BCI, Dr. Amrine’s combination of experience has proved to be extremely valuable.

“David has unique experiences from both the perspective of a veterinarian and a data scientist which allows him to create methods of analysis which provide practical insights for cattle producers,” Dr. White says.

How is the data being used?

BCI graduate students Blaine Johnson, Kristin Smith, Hector

Dr. White is certain this technology creates the ability to Rojas and Lilli Heinen. make data-based decisions which can contribute to moving the animal health industry forward. influence BRD risk, such as stocking rate, pen density and “We see this as a place that we can generate new knowledge amount of bunk space, just to name a few. This study is from existing data,” he says. “Long term, we see opportunities part of a USDA grant in collaboration with Texas A&M in creating new tools with the data which allow us to better University and Mississippi State University. predict health production performance outcomes which Lilli, a student pursuing her Ph.D. while simultaneously would facilitate owners, managers and veterinarians making attending veterinary school, has started working on a better decisions. That’s our end game. We believe we can project with Dr. Phillip Lancaster, nutritionist at the BCI. provide novel information and tools to producers that will Dr. Lancaster and Lilli are exploring potential relationships allow them to make good decisions and add value to their between changes in feeding patterns and the risk of adverse operations.” animal health events during the feeding phase. Kristin is Student researchers at the BCI are already making use of also a Ph.D. student in epidemiology, and is evaluating this anonymized, secure data. Blaine Johnson, Hector Rojas, factors associated with cattle that died from BRD during the Lilli Heinen and Kristin Smith are each working on projects mid and late feeding periods. Her study began last fall and that affect the success of modern-day feedyards. is sponsored by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Blaine, who is currently working towards a Ph.D. in Research. epidemiology, is utilizing the operational data available to him To stay up to date on the results of these studies, visit www. to improve the understanding of factors associated with heart beefcattlinstitute.org to subscribe to its weekly newsletter. disease in feedlot cattle. Previous research has identified individual risk factors such as, respiratory disease, placement period, risk of BRD and sex associated with right heart failure in fed cattle, however cohort level demographics were not analyzed.

Blaine’s work has identified relevant risk factors and some of his work has been presented at the American Association of Bovine Practitioners and Academy of Veterinary Consultants meetings. His study is sponsored by the American Angus Foundation.

Hector, a master’s student in veterinary biomedical science, is focusing his efforts on bovine respiratory disease (BRD).

Hector is specifically using the data to Dr. David Amrine studies a new set of feedlot data from the data warehouse. evaluate environmental aspects that wildcatveterinarian | 29

Our Mission IS TO TEACH, HEAL AND DISCOVER. THROUGH THIS MISSION, WE ARE WORKING TO PREPARE DVM STUDENTS FOR FOR rural VETERINARY PRACTICE.

THE VETERINARY HEALTH CENTER AT KSTATE AND KSU ANIMAL SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY PUREBRED BEEF UNIT HAVE PARTNERED TO OFFER HANDS ON TRAINING TO THIRD YEAR DVM STUDENTS. • Master clinical skills needed for the Food Animal Certificate Program • • Implement pre- and post-breeding vaccine protocols • • Execute estrus synchronization and artificial insemination (spring of second year) • • Confirm pregnancy via rectal palpation and ultrasound (summer between 2nd/3rd year) • • Work with VHC Clinicians to Perform a Caesarean section (spring of third year) • • Participate in neonatal resuscitation and peri-partum care of the cow and calf •

of

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study Survival K-State veterinary oncologist fights cancer in pets.

Story by Piper Brandt, student writer

When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, it can be a challenging and painful process for everyone involved, even if the loved one happens to be covered in fur.

Dr. Mary Lynn Higginbotham, associate professor of clinical sciences at Kansas State University, is working with her colleagues in the College of Veterinary Medicine to find innovative ways to treat cancer in pets.

Around one in four dogs and one in five cats will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime. Although cancer is prevalent in older pets, Higginbotham wants to ensure it doesn’t always have to be a life-limiting disease.

novel treatment or delivery of treatments via nanoparticles,” Dr. Higginbotham says. “Dr. DeLong and I, along with all of the oncology group at the Veterinary Health Center, have worked together to justify the dog as a model, and on in vitro work comparing the tumor cells and the effects that various nanoparticles have on the melanoma cells in culture.”

Research partner One of Dr. Higginbotham’s current research projects, in partnership with Dr. Rob DeLong, associate professor in the Nanotechnology Innovation Center, is centered on treating melanoma in dogs. Both Drs. Higginbotham and Delong are members of the Johnson Cancer Research Center.

“The goal of the melanoma research is to compare the dog and human forms of melanoma, particularly the triple wild-type, mucosal and drugresistant melanomas in people, and use the dog as a model for evaluation of

Dr. Mary Lynn Higginbotham greets Jake outside the Veterinary Health Center. Photos by K-State Photo Services. wildcatveterinarian | 31

Dr. Rob DeLong, associate professor in the Nanotechnology Innovation Center, assists Dr. Higginbotham in treating Jake.

By comparing canine melanoma to human melanoma, Drs. Higginbotham and DeLong hope to gain fundamental information about how various nanoparticles and drugs interact and impact the growth of melanoma cells.

“This project is very near and dear to our hearts,” Dr. DeLong says. “We hope it will be able to help dogs and eventually humans with these difficult types of cancer.”

Collaboration with other institutions The oncology group is also currently involved in a multiinstitutional clinical study sponsored by Elias Animal Health, a Kansas City based company, intended to help improve the survival rate of dogs with bone tumors.

“The study will compare the outcome of dogs with osteosarcoma treated with standard of care therapy, which is amputation followed by carboplatin chemotherapy, to dogs with osteosarcoma treated with the ELIAS Cancer Immunotherapy (ECI®),” Dr. Higginbotham says. “ECI® is a vaccine-enhanced adoptive cell therapy.”

32 | wildcatveterinarian

The study comprises 11 sites, two of which are academic institutions, including K-State. These sites have enrolled dogs with osteosarcoma into a clinical trial where they were treated with the ECI® therapy.

Dr. Higginbotham says the overall goal of the study is to improve the survival of dogs with osteosarcoma as compared to standard of care therapy and to avoid or minimize the need for chemotherapy or radiation therapy, which have the potential to create negative side effects.

No matter the diagnosis, Dr. Higginbotham wants to make sure treatment is as effective and painless as possible, allowing pets to live longer and happier lives. While dogs are said to be a human’s best friend, it will be quite fortuitous if it turns out that humans are dogs’ best friends when it comes to treating canine cancers.

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

DelicateDELTA Adopted horse faces dangerous surgery in hands of an expert care team.

Story by Sarah Keatley At T&D Donkey Rescue in Liberal, Missouri, Deanna Kafka receives a constant stream of information and phone calls about horses and donkeys in need of adoption. In April of 2020, she received a phone call that would deliver some unexpected and unique challenges.

Deanna was told about several Haflingers (a chestnutcolored horse that tends to be short, stout and more muscular) that were currently in a kill pen, scheduled for slaughter. Being a passionate, kind-hearted and nurturing

individual, she retrieved these four horses. Two of the horses were healthy yearlings that would immediately be adopted from T&D Donkey Rescue, but the other two were thin, malnourished and in need of immediate veterinarian attention. In addition, one of the mares was pregnant.

It was evident these two remaining horses were best friends, and Deanna wanted to do everything she could to keep them together.

A local diagnosis She took them to her local veterinarian, in hopes of giving them the care and nourishment they needed to recover. During this appointment, one of the horses was discovered to have an inoperable tumor and would need to be euthanized. The other horse, Delta, was blind in one eye and showed external signs of having had a previous pelvic fracture.

Deanna’s local veterinarian checked Delta and discovered that she was not only pregnant, but that her previously broken pelvis had healed incorrectly and was now blocking the birth canal. If Delta and her foal were to survive this pregnancy, they would need to have highly specialized care.

Connecting with K-State

Fourth-year student Erika Stafford, cares for Delta’s foal, Pi, right after the delivery surgery. Courtesy photo.

Deanna had previously taken several of her mini donkeys to the Veterinary Health Center (VHC).

“K-State is wonderful; they are always in contact with me about the care of my animals, but have listened to my specific concerns, and recognized that my mini donkeys were different wildcatveterinarian | 33

Delta’s foal, Pi, rests in her new home. Courtesy photo.

from other equine,” she shares, with passion and conviction in her voice.

Based on this previous experience, she immediately knew K-State was where Delta and her unborn foal needed to be if either were to survive.

Delta’s first visit to the VHC was at the end of April, just after Deanna rescued her. She had developed an upper respiratory infection (which was not uncommon), and she was struggling to recover.

At the VHC, Delta was able to regain some weight and heal from her infection. This stay allowed the equine medicine service team of Drs. Laurie Beard and Katie Delph to take several measurements for identifying an anticipated delivery date and creating a plan for Delta’s pre-natal care.

A long-term plan Delta needed to return to Manhattan a few months later, before going into labor, because no one knew when she was bred. The doctors preferred to err on the side of caution.

“Human medicine C-sections are very common,” Dr. Beard says. “With horses, the only reason to perform one is in times like this, when the mare is not able to deliver normally. It is 34 | wildcatveterinarian

rare to do elective C-sections with horses, and is completely different than in human medicine.”

Dr. Dylan Lutter, the operating surgeon for the C-section, explains his strategy, “Delta’s surprise pregnancy and fractured pelvis really forced our clinicians to think outside of the box. Instead of planning for a normal procedure, we had to think creatively – and that is an important aspect of what all veterinarians do.”

Delta arrived back in Manhattan July 23 and was monitored daily for the pH and calcium levels of her mammary secretions. When the calcium levels started to increase and reached 200 parts/million, Delta was then checked twice a day by faculty and staff. They were now waiting for her calcium levels in her mammary secretions to be 250 parts/million. This number indicates when impending parturition is about to occur. Taking the foal too early meant it would not be fully developed and able to survive. Taking it too late could jeopardize the lives of both Delta and the foal.

On Sept. 9, Delta’s mammary secretions finally reached 250 part/million – it was time for Delta to go into surgery. One of the advantages of being at the VHC is immediate access to

“

Instead of planning for a normal procedure, we had to think creatively – and that is an important aspect of what all veterinarians do.

”

Dr. Dylan Lutter Operating Surgeon

multiple services. In this instance, the critical care foal team, anesthesia and Delta’s surgery team all worked together.

Rapid response That day, Dr. Lutter was helping the Equine Services team and quickly stepped in as the surgeon for the C-section. He describes it as very much like a colic surgery, “moving quickly but not rushing the process.”

Dr. Lutter says there are two main goals during an operation like this: 1) get the baby out as quickly as possible so the mare’s health does not deteriorate; and 2) keep the amniotic fluid separate from the belly of the mare, as to not cause contamination.

Once the surgeon made the incision, multiple people held sutures while he and others pulled the foal from the uterus.

Dr. Lutter located the foal’s rear leg, brought it out of the incision and used sutures to hold and stabilize the uterus on each end of the leg. He then reached in to find the other rear leg, attached delivery chains to the foal’s legs and passed those off to someone else.

Critical Care Team At this point, a few individuals who were Delta and her foal, Pi, return for a follow-up visit to the VHC. not on the surgery team, pulled several hundred pounds of foal straight up. While No place like home the foal was taken to the critical care team, Dr. Lutter then Great care such as this does not happen without specialized began to stitch the uterus closed, using a special pattern veterinarians and staff. The team showed compassion and because the uterus, which just contained a full-term foal, kindness, not just to the animals, but to their owners as well. immediately began to shrink. All of this happened in just a matter of minutes, with everyone working together seamlessly. Throughout Delta’s stay at K-State, Deanna says she received countless text messages, emails and pictures of Delta as she When the foal was out, Dr. Beard supervised the critical progressed. Deanna was then able to share these pictures with care team. Delta’s foal had a low heart rate as the team reversed her anesthesia. After vigorous rubbing, her heart rate her supporters of T&D Donkey Rescue, so they, too, could follow Delta’s story. These pictures led Delta and Pi to be began to increase and normalize. Since the foal could not adopted to a wonderful home, just outside of St. Louis. immediately get colostrum, Dr. Beard’s team performed a From the other perspective, the VHC equine clinicians plasma transfusion and gave antibiotics as a preventative. and staff agree that success stories like these do not happen Within 30 minutes, the foal was up and walking around. without great owners like Deanna, who has shown such Several hours after the C-section began, Delta and her exceptional and special care to all of her horses and donkeys. foal were reunited. The foal began to nurse, and Delta And for Delta and her foal, it all started with just one demonstrated to the VHC team she was a great mare. Several phone call. days later, Delta and her foal, Pi, were able to return home. wildcatveterinarian | 35

put to the test KSVDL leads Manhattan’s fight against COVID-19.

Story by Piper Brandt, student writer

36 | wildcatveterinarian

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

Despite challenges, the team behind the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has worked tirelessly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to offer testing to the Manhattan community and to discover innovative ways to improve the testing process.

Dr. Jamie Henningson, director of the KSVDL, says the lab has stepped up to provide invaluable services not only on a local level, but on a statewide and national level as well.

“Locally, KSVDL serves the university, health and surgical centers, nursing homes and hospitals,” Dr. Henningson says.

“Using our capability and training through the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) we were able to offer a one-day turnaround time – which resulted in immediate placement in quarantine and disinfection – plus keep surgical centers able to provide surgery to patients.

Statewide, we were able to assist our KDHE counterparts to increase testing capacity for the state and alleviate burnout by providing time off for their staff.”

KSVDL is also currently aiding the state in surveillance for variants of SARS-CoV-2. Nationally, KSVDL serves a role in aiding human health while testing animals for zoonotic potential. These roles demonstrate the importance of the One Health Initiative and how veterinary diagnostic labs can impact both public and animal health.

“Veterinary diagnostic laboratories, including KSVDL, have demonstrated that we have the expertise, capacity and capability to provide testing in human and animal disease outbreaks,” Dr. Henningson says. “The pandemic provided experience for VDLs in responding to an outbreak, which will be useful if the U.S. has to respond to a foreign animal disease in the future.”

they send it to me to look at and verify everything is accurate and there are no issues.”

After the data is verified, the results can be finalized and sent to clients, such as Lafene Health Center at Kansas State University and other community organizations in neighboring counties.

The testing process has come a long way since April of 2020, when staff often worked 10-12 hours a day to keep up with the new demand for COVD-19 testing on top of their usual veterinary testing duties.

Operations were originally housed in the Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI), which is a Biological Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) facility that requires extensive personal protective equipment (PPE) and special training.

“BSL-3 is very safe, but very slow, which is a tradeoff,” Dr. Bai said. “If you handle a few hundred samples a day, it’s very challenging because the procedure you must follow is very slow. You hardly have a chance to drink, eat or go to the bathroom because you must take all your PPE off. It’s very time consuming.”

Testing team Dr. Jianfa Bai, section head of molecular research and development at KSVDL, is currently tasked with monitoring test result accuracy. He says the testing process wouldn’t be possible without good teamwork.

“The samples are collected and delivered to receiving, then they will do accessioning, tell us how many samples we have by the end of the day and the following day we will begin processing the samples,” Dr. Bai says. “Most days, in the early afternoon, data can be reported. After that data is generated, (Left): Dr. Lance Noll, supervising technician for the SARS-CoV2 clinical testing lab, performs a PCR test for COVID-19.

Photo by Jeff Moore.

Dr. Jamie Henningson, director of the KSVDL, visits with Kansas Governor Laura Kelly during a tour of the KSVDL during the COVID-19 pandemic. Courtesy photo.

In October of 2020 the team was able to move all equipment and personnel into labs in Mosier Hall while operating under a BSL-2 enhanced setting that requires less rigorous safety measures. The relocation has sped up the testing process while making the work environment more comfortable for the team.

Thanks to the addition of an inactivation buffer used for sample collection, the testing process is now safer for the team wildcatveterinarian | 37

and allows for less time-consuming PPE measures. The team has also recently been vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2, which provides another layer of safety.

“Before we moved out of the BRI to Mosier, we negotiated with Lafene to use a special inactivation buffer for sample collection,” Dr. Bai says. “When the sample is placed in the new buffer, the virus is inactivated so it’s no longer infectious, but the nucleic acid is still there and ready to be detected. This is a big way we are reducing potential infections, as there is nearly no chance of it now.”

Another way the team has sped up the testing process includes the development of a new assay that makes testing three times faster. The assay has been made available for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the filing of an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). The lab is now working on modifications of the assay to allow not only detection, but differentiation of the problematic variants of the virus that have originated from the U.K. and South Africa.

“Dr. Bai had completed the early steps Dr. Jianfa Bai, section head of the molecular research & development laboratory at of test development, namely designing the primers and probes to be used in the KSVDL, performs a PCR test for COVID-19. Photo by Audrey Hambright. assay,” says Dr. Lance Noll, supervising and specificity as commercially available assays, but at a much technician for the SARS-CoV2 clinical testing lab. “When more economical price per sample.”

COVID-19 cases began to rise around the country and it was looking more likely that KSVDL may begin contributing to A bigger impact human testing efforts, we became laser-focused on validating The many accomplishments of KSVDL over the past year the assay, which was my role in the process.” prove the makings of a strong team and have contributed Dr. Noll says it was a crunch to complete the research in much to the Manhattan community and beyond throughout such a short timeline, but the team prioritized the project to the duration of the pandemic. help combat the pandemic.

“Going forward, we hope that VDLs can serve public “We had a lot of irons in the fire. However, we knew it was health in a greater capacity than we have in the past,” important to get the work done so that we could have the Dr. Henningson says. “Part of the veterinarian oath states option of using our lab-developed assay for human testing,” that veterinarians should promote public health and the Dr. Noll says. “We knew it would provide as much sensitivity advancement of medical knowledge. Throughout the pandemic, VDLs have proven we can do just that.”

18 || exceptionalteaching 38 wildcatveterinarian

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AT KSVDL CLINICAL PATHOLOGY,

We Value

QUALITY EXPERIENCE Our team of board-certified veterinary clinical pathologists, medical laboratory technologists, medical laboratory technicians and certified veterinary technicians have more than 100 years of combined experience in both human and veterinary diagnostic laboratories, delivering reliable test results that meet the rigorous quality standards set forth by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS Questions and conversations with veterinary hospitals, clinicians, staff, and students are always welcomed.

CONTINUOUS LEARNING Our commitment to supporting advanced human and veterinary medical research, mentoring veterinary trainees and delivering clinically focused educational outreach content keeps us at the forefront of our specialty.

WWW.KSVDL.ORG

wildcatveterinarian | 39

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

ESSENTIAL Veterinary medicine takes on essential role amidst a global pandemic.

Story by Audrey Hambright When COVID-19 came knocking on the doors of business around the world in March 2020, finding a way to stay in business and provide services safely became the ultimate goal.

For the Veterinary Health Center (VHC) at K-State, and veterinary clinics everywhere, this was no exception.

As veterinary clinics were declared essential businesses early in the pandemic, the VHC made quick moves to adapt to new safety precautions to protect its faculty, staff, students and community.

According to Dr. Beth Davis, interim director for the VHC, initial changes involved reducing the contact of students with the general public. Additional changes included mask wearing, limitations on room capacity, a drop-off concierge service for clients and modified discharge protocol.

To make matters even more challenging, on April 3, 2020, the difficult decision was made to remove all fourth-year students from in-person clinical rotations, which moved to remote delivery in an effort to maintain student safety.

This change resulted in the need for VHC faculty and house officers (interns and residents) to manage all hospital operations and provide educational sessions remotely. Due 40 | wildcatveterinarian

to an abrupt shortage of personnel, the VHC received only emergency/urgent care services for a period of seven weeks.

“Although remote communication is remarkable, it is not a complete replacement of in-person communication,” Dr. Davis says. “Under normal circumstances, students are involved with every aspect of patient intake, communication, patient care and discharge, a process which was substantially modified in 2020.”

Suit up Time after time as guidelines and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continued to change, the team at the VHC continued to step up efforts to keep the doors open and services available to animals in need and their owners. Dr. Chris Duvendack, VHC administrator, was impressed each time the VHC needed to adapt.

Above: Dr. Christen Skaer (right) presents Dr. Danielle Estivo, 2020 graduate of the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine with her diploma. Skaer Veterinary Clinic celebrated Dr. Estivo’s graduation at their clinic after she was hired. Her in-person commencement was cancelled due to the pandemic. Courtesy photo.

“The teamwork was amazing throughout the pandemic, and we learned to adapt quickly to respond to new information and process changes,” Dr. Duvendack says. “Our team went above and beyond, keeping the hospital open throughout the entire pandemic. Our clients were very appreciative that we were here for them during a time when many businesses were closed for operation.”

When Scarlett Frazier from Manhattan, Kansas, called to schedule an appointment for her dog, she was expecting to have to schedule her appointment much further out. She

wanted to avoid bringing her young child, who was unable to wear a mask, into a potentially crowded waiting room.

“I could not have been more pleased to hear that all checkin and check-out processes would be able to happen from the safety and comfort of my own car, not even having to take our daughter out of the car seat,” Scarlett says. “I simply called when I arrived and was able to do most things via phone (even including payment at pick up). A staff member came out to our car to get our dog and then brought him back to us at the car the following day at pick up. I had full trust in every individual along the way to care for my dog just as I would, and I didn’t have to sacrifice our own potential risk of exposure or safety in the process.”

A rise in pet ownership

Above: Clients at the VHC had access to a curbside drive-thru and drop-off service for small animal patients, which will continue as an option in 2021.

According to a report from the American Pet Products Association, 11.38 million U.S. households acquired a new pet during the pandemic. This benefited animal shelters nationwide, which resulted in an increase in new patients for veterinary clinics.

“The most impactful data to support this is the fact that shelters throughout the country saw remarkable declines in animal numbers,” Dr. Davis says. “They were truly able to clear shelters.”

New patients created an opportunity for education with new pet owners, unfortunately not in the same dynamic.

Dr. Christen Skaer is the owner of Skaer Veterinary Clinic in Wichita, a clinic she purchased from her father that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer. Also a graduate of the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine class of 1999, she says curbside service makes it harder to educate pet owners.

“It takes a lot more effort and I’m certainly not thrilled with the amount of education we can provide. [It is] Not the standard we usually provide at our clinic,” Dr. Skaer adds.

Although providing the same level of service to clients has been challenging, Dr. Skaer is really proud of her team.

“This team has worked harder almost than anybody I’ve ever seen,” she says. “They’ve been remarkable to watch.”

Since veterinarians as a whole have experienced a higher level of stress and shortened clinic hours due to COVID-19, Dr. Skaer believes there should be an emphasis in the profession to prioritize work-life balance and mental health.

Curbside drop-off for small animal services at the VHC continues to be operational through 2021. To stay up-to-date on service protocols, please visit www.ksvhc.org.

wildcatveterinarian | 41

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

A piece of Joey A boy’s best friend keeps his memory alive.

Story by Piper Brandt, student writer. Photos courtesy of Roger & Mary Lundberg.

Joey & Brian Roger and Mary Lundberg of Fairmont, Nebraska, have been clients at the Veterinary Health Center for several years since their late son, Joey, adopted Brian, a bichon frise.

“K-State means the world to us,” Mary says. “Since 2012, we have had 45 appointments and nine surgeries. No matter what Brian was dealing with, they always made accommodations to get him in where he needed to be and who he needed to be with. We know they all love Brian.”

Brian came into the lives of the Lundbergs under difficult circumstances. In Sept. of 2004, Joey was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, also known as a brain tumor. A long and taxing period of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation followed his diagnosis.

After Joey’s Catholic confirmation at the age of 14 in 2006, he announced to the family he wanted to adopt a dog with his confirmation money. Despite never wanting a dog and not considering themselves to be “dog people,” Roger and Mary visited a breeder in Omaha and returned home with a new family member: Brian, said to be the laziest puppy of his litter.

Named after Joey’s favorite character from the TV show “Family Guy,” Brian bonded with Joey immediately. When 42 | wildcatveterinarian

Joey fell very sick, Brian wouldn’t leave his side for the next four months.

On Sept. 16, 2006, Joey was flown to Children’s Hospital in Omaha, where he died Oct. 3. During Joey’s final days, Roger snuck Brian into the hospital to visit him.

“It brought Joey so much joy,” Roger says.

“When I brought Brian into the hospital room, Joey’s eyes just lit up and he was so happy to Joey holds Brian. see him. He did a lot to Courtesy photo. help Joey through his final days. Brian gave Joey a purpose.”

Above & beyond When Brian started to experience several health issues in 2012, the Lundbergs did everything they could to ensure he received the best of care.

“Brian is a part of our family and we need to have him in the care of veterinarians we fully trust,” Roger says. “K-State has our full trust. They care as much about us as they do about Brian. Compassion for Brian and the love they have is unmatched.”

Brian was initially brought to the VHC to see Dr. Jessica Meekins, associate professor of ophthalmology, for a cataract evaluation in Dec. 2012. He was found to be blind from

cataracts and underwent removal surgery, which successfully restored his vision.

There were a few more bumps in the road; in April 2016, he developed an infected corneal ulcer in his left eye that eventually required a conjunctival graft surgery to heal. He was then diagnosed with dry eye disease that has been well-controlled with medications.

Dr. Meekins says he has done amazingly well since, in large part due to the Lundbergs’ dedication.

“In addition to being a patient of multiple other services within VHC “celebrity” Brian pays a visit to the Ophthalmology service. Pictured left to right, the VHC (he is sort of a celebrity Drs. Jane Ashley Stuckey and Rick Lanuza, former residents, and Dr. Amy Rankin. around the halls of the hospital), Brian has helped to train seven “When we visit the ophthalmology department at the ophthalmology residents and countless veterinary students VHC, all the specialists who take care of Brian stop by and on the ophthalmology rotation over the years,” Dr. Meekins say hi to him,” Mary says. “Dr. Mary Bagladi-Swanson told us says. “Brian was one of my first cataract patients after joining once, ‘In my next life, I want you to be my parents.’” the faculty at K-State. He is a very special dog, and he and his To this day, the Lundbergs regularly bring Brian to the family mean the world to me.” cemetery to visit Joey’s grave.

From a special delivery of a whole rotisserie chicken with “He is a piece of Joey,” Mary says. “He has saved us. peas and carrots to accommodate his diet from Dr. Meekins, When you lose a child, you feel as though you have lost your to a hand-drawn rendition of his namesake from “Family purpose. There is such an empty hole in your life. I can look Guy” on his surgery cone, VHC staff have gone above and deep into Brian’s eyes and I can feel Joey.” beyond to make sure Brian and his family felt cared for.

Brian pays Joey a visit at the cemetery.

Roger and Mary Lundberg, Omaha natives, have a special connection to Joey through Brian. wildcatveterinarian | 43

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

on the air Docs Ben and Erin Schroeder put the Heart into Heartland Docs TV show Story by Joe Montgomery

Drs. Ben and Erin Schroeder are co-stars of ‘Heartland Docs,’ a reality show about their veterinary practice in Hartington, Nebraska, on the Nat Geo Wild channel. Learn how they find balance running their practice while raising a family and serving their community.

Dr. Ben Schroeder (pronounced Shray-der) ponders a new – it’s almost like magic. I said to myself, ‘I want to do that.’ type of math when he reflects on his relationship with his And I always liked going on calls and pulling calves. We got wife, Erin, and how he believes they complement each other. to see that all spring – and still do today.”

“We know each other inside and out now,” Ben says. “I Erin grew up in Westport, New York, a part of the state know what Erin is very good at, and she knows what I‘m she says is very rural and looks a little bit like the Midwest, comfortable with and good at. We also know what each except for the nearby Adirondack mountains. She didn’t other’s weaknesses are and we try to not to put each other in have pets growing up and wanted to have a horse. Her father bad positions, because the other one can maybe do it better. challenged her to tend a garden where, if she would carry a One plus one 5-gallon bucket of hopefully equals water every day to four.” water the plants, “It wasn’t always they could “discuss that way,” Erin it.” Thinking Erin confides. “It took would give up on a while to get that this responsibility way. There were a turned out to be lot of years where wrong. She ended it seemed like one up getting a little plus one equals pony named minus 75, but we Ginger. have it dialed in “Being a now. It’s our 20th veterinarian was anniversary this something I always year.” wanted to be,” Erin But who would says. “I had a phase have imagined that Dr. Erin Schroeder and veterinary technician Val Sovereign check out a litter of kittens. where I wanted to 20 years after they be a princess, but Opposite page: Drs. Ben and Erin Schroeder of National Geographic’s Heartland Docs, married and earned DVM, stand for a portrait in Hartington, Nebraska. (National Geographic/Calla Kessler) I pretty quickly their DVMs at realized that wasn’t K-State, this young pair of veterinarians would be celebrating going to happen. But even my Mom has a paper when I was as stars of a successful television program? Their show, little that asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, and it “Heartland Docs,” is currently in its third season on National says ‘A veterinarian.’ I’ve never wavered.”

Geographic’s animal channel called Nat Geo Wild. The first Ben earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of two seasons of the show are also featured on the Disney+ Nebraska-Lincoln in 1998. Erin attended Syracuse on a streaming channel. basketball scholarship and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2000. They met at K-State when he was in his third Since they were young year and she in her first year. They married in 2001. Ben Ben grew up as the son of a veterinarian. Dr. John graduated in 2002, and Erin completed her DVM in 2004.

Schroeder, a 1972 Iowa State graduate, started Cedar County Their son Charlie was born while she was still in veterinary Veterinary Services and practiced for 30 years in Coleridge, college. They had another son, Chase, a couple of years later.

Nebraska. His practice grew to include satellite clinics at Home in Nebraska Hartington and Randolph. Ben was one of five siblings, but It was obvious early on that they would practice in the only one who gravitated toward veterinary medicine. He Nebraska and later get a chance to buy the practice in fondly reminisces about going on calls with his father.

Hartington from Ben’s dad.

“I remember going out and treating a milk fever – we had “College is when we made up our minds,” Ben says, “We a lot of dairies in our area,” Ben says. “And when you have were looking [for positions] everywhere. We were maybe even a cow that is laying there and can’t get up, and you give her going to go back to New York where Erin is from.” medicine and talk nice to her and all of a sudden she gets up wildcatveterinarian | 45

“We were concerned about all aspects of everything veterinary related,” Erin says.

“We’re a small progressive practice, and we’re a rural practice. We live in a town of 1,500 people. We don’t have an MRI. We don’t have a CT. We don’t have a lot of things other practices have access to.

“We were worried by how that could be perceived by pet owners – by other veterinarians. That’s always in the backs of our minds that maybe we pick one path [to treat an animal], but there are eight other options someone else might use. As veterinarians, we have to have each other’s backs and lift each other up.”

“We also wanted to make sure that the crew is as efficient as possible,” Ben adds.

“We need to be able to get from case to case as soon as possible, and if the crew isn’t ready, we can’t wait for them.”

Dr. Ben Schroeder wraps a calf’s broken leg with help from son Chase. (National Geographic) The Schroeders learned that the “Ben’s dad offered to a set us up in a way that could make it production company had worked work,” Erin says. “It seemed like a great place to raise a family on another show called “The Vet Life.” This gave them and an amazing opportunity where we could start right out confidence to proceed. Erin recalls that even though and work together. I think we always knew we wanted to own rejecting the idea to renovate veterinary clinics, somehow our own practice.” the production company was able to pull In addition to running the practice, enough footage together to present an idea Ben and Erin have both found time to to Nat Geo Wild, who then asked for a help coach basketball in Cedar County pilot episode. The show caught on and a and to restore a local landmark: the Animals are a lot like kids. new series was born.

Hartington Hotel. They have run the They’re lots of fun, but a lot hotel as a bed and breakfast with a of work. Obviously, pursuing Behind the scenes coffee shop and gift shop, the latter The Schroeders explain that it takes a veterinary degree is a lot which happens to have merchandise about three weeks to pull enough of work and a ton of time connected with their Heartland Docs footage for a 42-minute episode, so they and it’s harder than a lot of program. It was their work on the hotel are constantly being followed by the people think. that was instrumental in leading to a production crew. Being on camera makes reality TV show. them more aware of how they represent the

“

”

veterinary profession.

“When there’s an emergency, we just “A production company was go,” Ben says. “We have a direct line to the Dr. Erin Schroeder interested in having us do a show producers and they’re very good. They just Class of 2004 about traveling to different places and pick up their cameras and go. Everybody renovating veterinary clinics,” Erin says. is good at working with our clients, and “Well, we said, ‘We’re not leaving to do that.’” they’re very sensitive to all the issues regarding client privacy.

Erin says they needed some reassurance before trying to If a client doesn’t want to be on the show, they don’t have to host a reality show. be.”

A new reality

46 | wildcatveterinarian

Veterinary technicians and interns are an important part of their team, too.

“There are things you need extra people for,” Ben adds. “Those people are wonderful when they are in vet tech form, because they know how to do everything behind the scenes that veterinarians need.

When Erin and I have to tech for each other, and we have to do that quite often, we’re like running around with our heads cut off.

We aren’t Val. So hats off to all the technicians.”

K-State connections The Schroeders also say they often call K-State for advice and expertise.

Drs. Erin and Ben Schroeder work on helping Summer, a horse that is suffering from founder.

“The one we probably call the (National Geographic/Calla Kessler) most is the exotics department,” Obviously, pursuing a veterinary degree is a lot of work and a Erin says, “We’ve talked to ton of time and it’s harder than a lot of people think.”

Dr. [James] Carpenter on a couple of different wildlife cases: In addition to promoting rural medicine to youngsters, bald eagles, hawks, turtles and all sorts of things. We can give basic care, but we don’t want to miss any specific information the Schroeders were recently guests via Zoom for the annual SAVMA Symposium, which was hosted by the K-State we might need, and we want to make sure we’re practicing SAVMA chapter. They answered questions from veterinary good medicine.”

“I’ve noticed some anaplasmosis cases in cattle lately, which students across the U.S., who attended the symposium online. is not common in our area,” Ben says. “I’ve had to talk to Rural pride professors who are well versed in that disease. It’s all of a Overall, Ben and Erin really hope they are inspiring future sudden showing up in Northeast Nebraska where we’ve never veterinarians because of how much they love what they do had it before. I’ve talked to the food animal people on that and love where they work. type of problem because I’ve had no real experience with it.”

“I would say the TV program is working [to encourage veterinarians to work in rural practice],” Ben says. “Because Future veterinarians we have a lot of veterinarians come back to our area who are From another perspective, the Schroeders are now being in mixed-animal practice, so we’re lucky that way. I know it’s sought out for advice by youngsters who would like to be not like that in other parts of the country.” veterinarians.

“In a rural practice, you really get to know your clients,” “That happens just about every day,” Ben says. “We just had an 8-year-old visit last week from Omaha. We say if you really Erin says. “You develop this connection. It’s not just their pet you’re treating. You almost feel like you’re the third parent. love animals – and a lot of kids have animals already – but You get so involved with their backstory, their kids and all of if you don’t, maybe try to talk to your parents about getting that. It’s a really special bond.” you a pet – even if just a goldfish – so you have some sort of If you want to know more about “Docs Ben and Erin,” you responsibility for an animal, to see how you like it.” can find them on social media (@docsbenanderin) as well as “Volunteer at a local shelter or a local stable, “Erin says.

“That’s a good way to get some hands-on experience. Animals on TV. are a lot like kids. They’re lots of fun, but a lot of work. wildcatveterinarian | 47

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from the

A spotlight on Dr. Brian Hodes, class of 2011 alumnus.

By Sarah Keatley

Brian was no older than three when he knew what he all around Manhattan, and that evening, after the sun had wanted to be when he grew up. Every cold New Jersey winter, gone down, Dr. Richardson took Brian and his father to when the phone rang, Brian knew that meant just one thing Colbert Hills, which was under construction. That night, –— it was time to get his snow boots with the headlights shining down on the and put a jacket on over his pajamas, unfinished golf course, Brian knew that so he could be ready to go with his K-State was his home because of the extra dad. There was no time to waste as effort that Dr. Richardson had put into Brian’s dad was a veterinarian. He that visit. He says, “Dr. Richardson knew knew that when a phone call came how to make a long-distance, hard choice, after hours, it was an emergency. an easy one.”

Brian spent his childhood growing In 2006, Brian completed his bachelor’s up in his dad’s veterinary clinic, degree in life sciences with minors in knowing it mainly as the “no-no” animal science and entomology. He place, as he was always getting into applied to veterinary college, and while he things he should not be. For Brian, did not get in the first time, he applied a he was just exploring and learning second time and was accepted. everything there was to know about Brian was also dating Jessica, who veterinary medicine. he had met as an undergraduate.

Growing up in New Jersey, his Coincidentally, she was also accepted passion for veterinary medicine into the veterinary college that same year. continued, but he also found a love Brian realized quickly he better really like Dr. Hodes holds hands with his daughter, for competitive hockey in high the young lady he was dating, as their last Bridget, at their clinic, as she looks toward school. When it came time to pick names both started with “H” and they family friend and employee, Halle Ramsey. a college, playing collegiate hockey were in the same study group for the next was something he knew he wanted to four years. pursue. As he traveled around to various East Coast schools, Over the next four years, Brian’s biggest challenge in he began to realize that hockey was not going to make him a veterinary college was learning how to study. living after he graduated college. He asked his dad to take one “It’s like trying to drink from a fire hydrant of knowledge in more college visit out to Manhattan, Kansas, to visit Kansas just four years, and K-State does the best job that they could State University. possibly do!” he says.

During his time in veterinary school, Brian explored A big decision different scholarships. He was given a list of locations that During his trip to Manhattan, Dr. Ralph Richardson, might fit his interests, one of which was Kansas City and dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, met with Brian the American Royal. Brian was selected for the scholarship and his father, who was an alumnus. The dean guided him and spent time that year assisting other veterinarians at the 48 | wildcatveterinarian

Left: Drs. Brian Hodes, Jessica Hodes and Steven Hodes. Middle: Dr. Hodes (front row - first from left) celebrates with adult hockey team, ‘The Cherry’s.’ Right: Dr. Hodes meets Tyson Durfey, PRCA roper, and Durfey’s horse, Mitch, at the American Royal Rodeo.

American Royal Rodeo. He enjoyed his time and knew that Dr. Brian Hodes is also passionate about giving back to someday he wanted to give back to this community for the American Royal, which he says is one of his favorite parts everything they did for him with these scholarships. about his job. Through the help of Dr. Richardson and others, Brian graduated from K-State in the class of 2011 and Dr. Hodes was asked to take over the veterinary care for the married Dr. Jessica Harrsion in September 2012. In 2017, American Royal Rodeo seven years ago. Since that time, he they started their own practice in the and Jessica have picked up other events small southeast Kansas town of Rose Hill, at the American Royal, ranging from the just outside Wichita. They purchased a alpaca show to youth livestock shows. For 12,000-square-foot grocery store that had the last two years, the Hodeses oversaw all There is not a better closed in their community and converted veterinary care at American Royal events place in this country for the space into a clinic that caters to and donated their time to both the PRCA students to attend with the everyone and everything: equine, large and youth rodeos. amenities K-State has to animal and small animal - they even have offer, and it only continues Reflections a veterinarian who primarily sees snakes, to get better every day.

While sitting on a gate, overlooking a lizards and tortoises. quiet arena before the flurry of activity The Hodes Veterinary Health Center begins, Dr. Hodes takes a moment to currently employs three full-time reflect on his time with the American veterinarians and Dr. Brian Hodes’s father, Royal — his experiences with the program who works for them part-time. Dr. Hodes Dr. Brian Hodes and everything the American Royal has says he considers himself very fortunate Class of 2011 done for agriculture and the metropolitan and lucky to be surrounded by the people community. He is in awe each year he works with every day. that in such a short time after graduation, he now has the “It has been an amazing and a very humbling experience,” opportunity to be part of “such a historic event.” he says.

When Dr. Hodes is not busy practicing veterinary Giving back medicine, you can find him on the ice in Wichita playing on Dr. Brian Hodes is passionate about giving back to those an adult hockey team. He and his wife also have a 2-year-old who helped him along the way; helping K-State and the daughter he takes along on farm calls, so she too can develop American Royal are both high on his list. He has served on a love and passion for veterinary medicine. the K-State Veterinary Medicine Alumni Association board “Manhattan and K-State is a community you can make as since March 2017 and was president in 2019 and 2020. big or small as you want,” he says. “There is not a better place He also volunteers his time to help other faculty members, in this country for students to attend with the amenities that recently providing a lecture to fourth-year students on the K-State has to offer, and it only continues to get better every importance of building relationships when working at stock day. It’s an awesome place that helped mold me into who I am shows and rodeos. today.”

“

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wildcatveterinarian | 49

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Hunt THROUGH

history

World War I beckons Lt. Harry Frank Hunt to veterinary service in France Story by Joe Montgomery

Prologue: The 48 Fallen A landmark on the K-State campus contains a piece of history that is generally unknown or forgotten today. At least it has been until a few years ago when a recent graduate took note.

Jed Dunham, who earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising at K-State in 1996, discovered the plaque dedicated to the 48 students from this school who gave their lives during the first world war. Jed pursued the back stories on the “48 Fallen,” which included a veterinary graduate named Harry Hunt. The information Jed compiled assisted in the effort to formally dedicate World War I Memorial Stadium on April 21, 2017.

“Harry’s story represents an amazing part of history during World War I,” Jed says. “Harry was an eye witness to a transformative period of history.”

So how do we know so much about Harry and his experience during the war?

He wrote about it in his own words.

A mysterious journal “I found a journal in my grandma’s storage that sparked the project for my mom to write a book,” says Kevin Brown of 50 | wildcatveterinarian

Tempe, Arizona. The journal contained dozens of letters and diary entries written by Harry Hunt during his time serving in the Army Veterinary Corps.

“She worked hard on that book.

Most people today have no idea the roles played by horses and mules during both world wars.

Even in World War II, over 80% of ordinance was moved by horses and mules. My great uncle’s job was very important for supporting the forces in World War I.” Kevin’s mother, Faye Converse Brown, spoke to the Topeka Capital-Journal in 1998 upon publishing the book, “Letters Home: The true story of Lt. Harry Frank Hunt World War I.” While this book wasn’t a runaway bestseller, it provided a detailed account of one man’s experiences of serving his country during both a war and a global pandemic. It became a valuable resource for Jed Dunham toward completing the puzzle about one member of K-State’s 48 Fallen. It is also the primary source for this story.

A plaque at the World War I Memorial Stadium honors the 48 K-Staters who died during the war.

Above: Harry Hunt’s senior photo.

Fredonia to Manhattan Faye’s parents, Annie Sarah Brindle and Frank M. Hunt from were from Fredonia, Kansas. They had two children: Harry born Nov. 9, 1890, and Nellie [Faye’s mother] born Oct. 8, 1895.

Frank Hunt was killed in a mine accident when Harry was 10 and Nellie was 5. Annie and the children lived on the John Brindle farm near Fredonia where Harry and Nellie attended Grand Valley School by a horse-drawn cart.

“Harry loved the farm animals, especially the horse, so it was not surprising to his mother when he announced his determination to become ‘an animal doctor,’” Faye says in the book.

To help him, Annie moved to Manhattan so Harry could enroll in the veterinary curriculum at Kansas State Agricultural College. She opened a boarding house at 1010 Bluemont Street. While at K-State, Harry was initiated into the Veterinary Medical Association at K-State in 1910 and he received his DVM in 1913. After graduation, Dr. Hunt worked for Southwestern Serum Company in Wichita.

Call to duty When the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, Dr. Hunt took the officer commission examination for the Veterinary Corps in Manhattan on June 30 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on July 20. He was ordered to active duty Sept. 18.

Dr. Hunt was a prolific letter writer and shared details of his life in the Army Veterinary Corps. At this point in the book [and our story], the letters give the rest of the details.

The quotes from these letters are unedited and faithful to the verbiage used by Harry. Ellipses indicate where text has been omitted for the purpose of brevity.

Harry’s story Nov. 3, 1917, from Camp Pike, Arkansas “My dear Mamma & Sister, “… I want you to send me a book out of the box, it is the largest one in there and is by Hickra & Myrick, Therapeutics and Pathology of Dom. Animals. … I want the [book] on infectious and contagious diseases. You can tell by looking through it because there are large articles on Tuberculosis, Rabies, Anthrax, Hemorrhagic Septicemia, Ruchipest, Hog Cholera.”

Lt. Harry Hunt’s neice, Faye Converse Brown, compiled a book based on the letters he wrote while serving in the Army Veterinary Corps in WWI.

Send me away with a smile March 3, 1918 from Camp Pike: “I am leaving here Tuesday morning for Hoboken, N.J., just received the news today. There will be five Vets in this bunch I got with. Don’t know where we are going, but have kinda got an idea that I will soon be in sunny France, however I don’t know. …

“Don’t let anything worry you, Mother, and remember the song that I like so well, ‘Send Me Away With A Smile.’”

[Lt. Hunt arrived in New York City on March 6, and then reported to Hoboken, New Jersey, March 7. He received sailing orders on March 8 and sailed for Europe on March 14] First letter from “At Sea in the Atlantic” [undated] “There is quite a number of officers and men on this boat and most of them were sick the first few days out and it was funny to see them walk to the side of the boat and see how far out they could reach, but I have never felt better in my life than I have since coming on this boat. It was hard for me to wildcatveterinarian | 51

some very good horseback rides lately and I certainly enjoy riding.”

Sept. 27 “I think I am being assigned to the 35th Div. which is the Kansas and Missouri National Guard so guess I will meet quite a number of my old friends.”

Nov. 3 (received by Annie on Nov. 30) “From what we read in the papers, I guess you folks are enjoying (?) a siege of this Spanish influenza, but you must be careful and not catch it.

This is no time for people to get sick.”

The war to end all wars Nov. 17 “Sunday night and it is a very peaceful, quiet evening and a good deal more quiet than when I Lt. Harry Hunt visits girlfriend Gussie (left) and sister Nellie and mother Annie last wrote to you. … I imagine that the 11th hour at home in Manhattan before traveling to Hoboken, N.J., where he set sail for of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 will France. Opposite page: Lt. Hunt tends to cattle in France in 1918. never be forgotten because at that time the largest war in history ended and it was the first time in get used to the roll of the vessel, especially at night, but I don’t over four years that shells ceased being thrown across the mind that at all now. I was sure that I would get seasick, but battle line.” so far no signs and I have been eating three squares a day …”

Jan. 5, 1919 “I don’t think I will be with this regiment much longer as Somewhere in France it is to be motorized, and some of the motors are here now.

March 28, 1918, Return Address: ‘Somewhere in France’ Wish they would make me a casual and send me home, but I “Dear Mamma and Nellie, am afraid that won’t happen as we are getting too many horses “We came on shore yesterday and I am now staying at a over here. hotel here in town. … I never felt better in my life and am “And so, Mamma, you think that this will be the last war, having a very enjoyable time, considering everything.” well you know the old saying that great minds don’t always April 14 run in the same channel. I think there will be wars just as long “A remount station is where large numbers of horses and as this old world is run or tried to be run by human beings, mules are kept and we supply them to the Front, as it is because there is too much animal nature in the people of the called, as they need them up there. I have been kept pretty world not to fight, and every war will get worse in proportion busy as you know there is lots of work around anything that is just starting and we have a good many sick ones on hand at to the education and knowledge of the people, as modern means of slaughter will always lead.” present. While I am kept pretty busy I enjoy the work and it makes the time pass more rapidly.”

May 3 “I met a vet here today who just came over by the name of Ray [Reaugh as Harry corrected in a subsequent letter] from KSAC class of ‘16. I did not remember him, but he did me and I certainly enjoyed visiting with him over old times.”

Sept. 6 “The horses I have here are commencing to look much better and I hope soon to have them well and back in action.

Will send the best away in a few days. I have been having 52 | wildcatveterinarian

Waiting to return home Jan. 11, from Sampaigny France “I am now with the 69th Infantry Brigade and we are located now about twelve kilo. north of Commercy and about the same distance south of St. Mihiel. … We’re quartered here in French houses or parts of houses and have very good quarters but it is hard to get enough wood to keep warm by. … I still have hopes of being with you in the spring.”

Feb. 1 “Saturday night and ‘tis a very cold night and this week has been very cold with a little snow mixed in. … the cold is very disagreeable here because we have no warm place to go or to stay. The rooms are very airy due to so many shell holes in the house.”

Feb. 5 [Letter from Lt. Hunt to Commander-in-Chief, American E.F. (thru military channels); Subject: Resignation] “Before entering the United States Army, I was engaged in the manufacture of Anti hog cholera serum for the prevention of hog cholera and was financially interested in the Southwestern Serum Company, Wichita, Kansas. I intend to resume my duties with this Company as soon as I am discharged from the Service. …

In recent statistics given by the Bureau of Animal Industry, the annual loss of hogs due to this disease was fifty million dollars, and for this reason believe that my services are of more value for the conservation of meat in the United States than they would be in this country.”

Tragedy strikes March 3 [Letter written by Annie but not signed.]

“We have a message from Washington saying Harry F. Hunt had died Feb. 6th from gas. We doubted it, because we wondered what you would be doing with gas now. We wrote Washington, and sent a cable to France to the Major of your company, and as yet have had no reply, but we are very hopeful.”

March 3 [Letter from Maj. C.B. Robbins, Headquarters, Sixty-Ninth Infantry Brigade, A.E.F. France] “Mrs. Annie S. Hunt, “Dear Madam: Your cablegram asking for verification of the death of Lieut. Harry F. Hunt was received this morning at these headquarters and I want to send a cablegram to the Red Cross to be sent to you, as follows: “’Lieutenant Harry F. Hunt died February 5th, 1919, accidental charcoal gas poisoning.’

“… Lieutenant Hunt had been having a touch of Influenza or a bad cold and was staying in his quarters. The stove had been filled up with charcoal and Lieut. Hunt apparently laid down upon his bunk and gone to sleep. The pipe was partly choked and the gas given out by the charcoal was sufficient to cause his death while asleep.”

Postscript: back home Harry’s body did not get returned to the U.S. until more than two years later. Mrs. Hunt chose to wait for all bodies to be returned before inquiring about her son’s body. She wrote the War Department in Washington, D.C., and asked that his body be sent to Fredonia. A funeral was held on the courthouse lawn in Fredonia on Sunday, July 3, 1921.

Lt. Hunt was laid to rest in the Fredonia City Cemetery.

After Harry’s death, Annie continued living at the boarding house at 1010 Bluemont Street. The house has since been replaced by an apartment complex. Nellie married Merle Converse and lived at Pine Crest Farm 9 miles south of Eskridge, Kansas, and raised six daughters and three sons.

From Nellie’s family, three grandchildren became veterinarians and earned their DVM degrees at K-State: Dr. Ginny Warren, DVM class of 1976; Dr. Charles Van Petten, DVM class of 1978; and Dr. Jeff Van Petten, DVM class of 1983. The three cite different influences for becoming veterinarians, but they weren’t specifically influenced by Harry in developing their interests in veterinary medicine.

Dr. Warren says her grandmother, Nellie, gave her some of Harry’s medical instruments when she was young, and that Nellie spoke about Harry quite often. Nellie gave Dr. Warren lots of encouragement while she attended veterinary college, wildcatveterinarian | 53

as well as wisdom and life lessons. Harry had a love of horses, and so did Dr. Warren’s mother. She was raised on a ranch and participated in rodeo. Dr. Warren says both her mother, Ramona, and grandmother, Nellie, were her “rocks” — people she could count on.

Dr. Jeff Van Petten says he remembers learning about Harry Hunt later in life.

“I did not know about Harry Hunt other than he had died in the first world war and until a few years ago that he was a DVM,” Dr. Jeff Van Petten says. “My decision to be a veterinarian came at an early age. I would have been about a third-grader and we had a beagle get ran over. A doctor on the west side of Topeka repaired her fractured pelvis with a Kirschner apparatus, and after that I wanted to be a vet.

Then there were several veterinarians I spent time with who also influenced me: Dr. William Boley [DVM 1951] from Harveyville and Dr. Pete Zander [DVM 1969] in Auburn. It was a special day to me when I learned of Lt. Harry Hunt’s DVM and sacrifice for our country.”

Annie passed away at age 83 in 1948. Nellie died in 1981 at age 85. Faye attended K-State and earned a journalism and home economics degree in 1950. She worked as a part-time reporter for the Marysville Advocate, and later for the Arizona Senior World, after relocating from Marysville to Tucson, Arizona. She was living in Arizona when she wrote the book.

Faye is survived by her two sons: Kevin and Steven.

Lt. Harry F. Hunt receives a military funeral at the Fredonia (Kansas) City Cemetery on July 3, 1921 — more than two years after he died in France.

See more quotes from Lt. Hunt’s letters: A longer version of this story is online at: https://www.vet.k-state.edu/alumnievents/biographies/bios-written/Harry_Hunt_1913.html. The CVM website contains more alumni bios and videos.

alumni news Whitehair family – Virtual Family Day

Dr. Dudley Pautz, DVM class of 1955

K-State Family Day had a veterinary medicine connection in 2020. The Whitehair family was selected as the Family of the Year by Chimes, the junior honorary, which sponsors the annual competition. The family was honored during Virtual Family Day Sept. 12, via the Chimes Facebook Page and website, and the K-State Parents and Family Program social media pages.

Two of the Whitehair family members are Alumni Fellows of the College of Veterinary Medicine, from two generations: Dr. Leo Whitehair, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine ‘53 in 1995, and Dr. Michael Whitehair, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine ‘74, Abilene, in 2018. Two other members of the family are also DVM graduates: Dr. Charles K. Whitehair ‘40 (deceased 1994) and Dr. Jon G. Whitehair ‘88. Congrats to Drs. Whitehair and their entire family!

Dr. Dudley Pautz, was recently featured in a recent newspaper story: “Life Mirrors Fiction.” The writer said she found Dr. Pautz had much in common with the lead character and veterinarian on the PBS Masterpiece show, “All Creatures Great and Small.” Dr. Pautz is retired from practice in Farmington, Missouri. The story can be found in the Daily Journal Online, published in Park Hills, Missouri.

54 | wildcatveterinarian

Dr. David Biehl, DVM 1976 Dr. David Biehl, DVM class of 1976, retired from practice in Elkhorn, Nebraska, and has continued on a second passion: sculpting. Congrats to him on the completion of several new statues being placed in Omaha, Nebraska.

alumni news Dr. Ed Gilsleider, DVM 1982 The Daily Progress, published in Claremore, Oklahoma, has a story online about Dr. Ed Gilsleideer, DVM class of 1982.

The story, “Elephants and Ostriches and Lemurs, Oh My,” was published Jan. 23, 2020. The story profiles Dr. Gilsleider’s career in treating exotic animal species, including being on call when the Ringling Brother Circus came to Tulsa. He operates the Animal Medical Center in Claremore.

Dr. Michael Cavanaugh, DVM 1983 Congratulations to Dr. Michael Cavanaugh, DVM class of 1983, on his retirement from the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), which accredits up to 15% of veterinary clinics in the United States and Canada. Dr. Cavanaugh retired in June. AAHA reported that he “looks forward to camping, rafting, and kayaking with his wife of nearly 40 years, Beth.”

Dr. Jim Pillen, DVM 1983 Dr. Jim Pillen, DVM class of 1983 announced April 2021 that he plans to seek the 2022 Republican nomination for governor of Nebraska. Dr. Pillen lives in Columbus and owns Pillen Family Farms, raising hogs across the state. He also served as a University of Nebraska Regent.

Dr. Kelly Lechtenberg, DVM 1987 Dr. Kelly (‘87) and Marcie Lechtenberg and family, proud supporters of the Kansas State University mission, were selected for the 2020 Don L. Good Impact Award.

The K-State ASI Department and the Livestock and Meat Industry Council Inc. (LMIC) recognized the Lechtenbergs in October during an online presentation. The award, presented annually by LMIC, is named in honor of Good, who is a former head of the ASI department, and recognizes positive impact on the livestock and meat industry or agriculture.

Traditionally, the Impact Award has been presented during the K-State ASI Family & Friends Reunion. Due to COVID-19 the 2020 year’s reunion had to be canceled.

of Applied and Interdisciplinary Studies at Kansas State University’s Olathe campus and as ancillary faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology and the Masters of Public Health program. Before joining the Kansas State University faculty, Dr. Lowery had a distinguished 23-year career at Hill’s Pet Nutrition and held a number of increasingly important leadership positions, including director of U.S. Professional and Veterinary Affairs.

Dr. Luis J. Montaner, DVM 1991 Dr. Luis J. Montaner, DVM class of 1991, was recently profiled by the Kansas State University Foundation. In the story recalls how scholarships he received while he was a student at K-State helped him build an educational “foundation for success” later in life. Dr. Montaner now works as vice president of scientific operations at The Wistar Institute, an independent, nonprofit research institution in biomedical science. See the story online at: https://stories. ksufoundation.org/a-foundation-for-success/

Dr. Kelly Miller, DVM 2007 Congratulations to Dr. Kelly Miller, DVM class of 2007. It was announced in August 2020 that she bought the Rainbow Valley Veterinary Clinic in Derby, Kansas, from Dr. David Drake, DVM class of 1983. Dr. Miller has been employed as an associate veterinarian at the clinic for the previous six and one-half years. Dr. Drake opened the clinic originally in 1989.

Dr. Alyssa Breuer, DVM 2016 Congratulations to Dr. Alyssa Breuer, DVM class of 2016, on taking over ownership of the Dakota Veterinary Hospital in Wahpeton, North Dakota. The previous owner, Dr. Tim Matz is a DVM graduate of the University of Minnesota, and retired after 42 years in practice.

Dr. Ellen (Logan) Lowery, DVM 1988 Congratulations to Dr. Ellen Lowery, DVM class of 1988. In February, she was chosen to be the director of the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Dr. Lowery previously served as professor of practice in the School wildcatveterinarian | 55

In memoriam 1944 Dr. Wiley Bevis Tanner Dec. 10, 2019 Canon City, Colorado 1945 Dr. Ralph E. Alter Sept. 6, 2019 Coffeyville, Kansas 1946 Dr. William R. Pritchard, Oct. 18, 2020 Gridley, California Dr. Lewis J. Runnels Nov. 8, 2020 West Lafayette, Indiana 1950 Dr. Harlan Daniel Ellis July 3, 2019 Springfield, Missouri Dr. Sayed M. Gaafar, MS, PhD Oct. 28, 2019 West Lafayette, Indiana 1951 Dr. Max D. Sutter May 7, 2019 Overland Park, Kansas 1952 Dr. Charles Samuel Byerly Dec. 16, 2019 Easton, Illinois Dr. William E. Newberry June 15, 2019 Troy, Missouri 1953 Dr. Richard Duane Holder Dec. 22, 2018 Independence, Missouri Dr. John A. Stanberry Feb. 5, 2020 Hanford, California

56 | wildcatveterinarian

Dr. Forrest H. Stockton June 16, 2019 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Dr. John Wayne Judy Jan. 11, 2020 Williamston, Michigan

Dr. Ronald C. Chaplain May 24, 2020 Russellville, Indiana

1954 Dr. Leonard A. Anderson July 20, 2020 Menomonie, Wisconsin

Dr. Wallace “Bruce” Wren May 20, 2020 Lenexa, Kansas

Dr. Charles E. Lingle Sept. 12, 2019 Albany, Georgia

Dr. Francis Earl Kaiser Dec. 17, 2019 Albany, Oregon

1959 Dr. Joseph M. Brennan Sept. 21, 2019 St. Marys, Kansas

Dr. Eugene Earl Murphy Nov. 30, 2019 Franklin, Nebraska

1955 Dr. M. Vern Shires Aug. 01, 2019 Lincoln, Nebraska

1960 Dr. Karl Ross Hansen Feb. 8, 2020 Beatrice, Nebraska

Dr. Ellsworth Elmer Thebert July 24, 2020 Franklin, Wisconsin

Dr. Orival Wayne Linder Nov. 28, 2019 Clay Center, Kansas

1956 Dr. Earl Eugene Gatz Nov. 28, 2019 Olathe, Kansas

Dr. John Joseph Smiley Jan. 1, 2017 Coeur D Alene, Idaho

Dr. Woodrow Wayne Holland June 4, 2019 Erie, Kansas Dr. Norman Pang April 20, 2019 Vallejo, California Dr. Leo N Taylor March 10, 2020 Midvale, Utah 1957 Dr. Glenn Edward Hoskinson Oct. 9, 2019 Augusta, Kansas Dr. Jay Allen Peterson June 3, 2019 West Valley City, Utah 1958 Dr. William E. Birtell Dec. 16, 2019 Topeka, Kansas

Dr. Don B. Witcher Dec. 10, 2019 Elkhart, Kansas 1961 Dr. Richard Gayek Aug. 19, 2020 Bakersfield, California Dr. Ivan R. Nicholson Jan. 25, 2020 St. Joseph, Missouri Dr. Robert Neal Parker May 30, 2018 Rogers, Arkansas Dr. George D Suddaby Feb. 29, 2020 Sarasota, Florida 1962 Dr. Boyd Elmer Burhoop Dec. 30, 2019 Aurora, Nebraska

John Russell Philip, MS Oct. 29, 2010 Boulder, Colorado 1964 Dr. Garland E. Hinkle Nov. 11, 2020 Elk City, Oklahoma Dr. Melville L. Just March 15, 2020 Pawnee City, Nebraska Dr. Paul Jay Tillotson Dec. 9, 2019 Auburn, Washington 1965 Dr. Virgil Jack Capron Sept. 26, 2020 Webb City, Missouri Dr. Harry Charles Mussman Nov. 7, 2014 The Woodlands, TX Dr. Randall E. Pedersen Dec. 16, 2020 Royal, Nebraska Dr. Darrell Lee Salsbury Oct. 14, 2019 Newton, Kansas 1966 Dr. Victor Carl Hurtig June 30, 2020 Courtland, Kansas

In memoriam Dr. James John Ketzner Sept. 17, 2017 Shawnee, Kansas 1967 Dr. James Arthur Case Jan. 5, 2020 Bartonville, Illinois Dr. Edward J Plocharski Feb. 2, 2020 1968 Dr. Ernest J. Finocchio Oct. 26, 2020 Riverside, Rhode Island Dr. J. Eileen Hough Warner Nov. 14, 2019 Coffeyville, Kansas 1969 Dr. William E. Lammers Nov. 11, 2017 Floresville, Texas Dr. Ronald Gilbert Mason Oct. 16, 2016 Lake Worth, Florida

1970 Dr. Gene R. Kluck Nov. 22, 2019 Watertown, South Dakota

1977 Dr. Laurence Ross Buller June 15, 2020 Seward, Nebraska

2003 Dr. Jeffrie Fox, DVM 2003 Nov. 7, 2020 Beemer, Nebraska

Dr. Robert E. Stach, Oct. 11, 2020 Raymore, Missouri

1978 Dr. Kim Jackson Bodily Nov. 1, 2019 Sandy, Utah

2004 Dr. Lacey Tiesmeyer Garrison March 15, 2020 Kingman, Kansas

1980 Dr. David Eugene McMillon Jan. 23, 2020 Hoisington, Kansas

Former faculty Dr. James Cook, former professor and Ph.D. alumnus (pathology) Sept. 10, 2020 San Antonio, Texas

1972 Dr. Steven L. Stockham Nov. 14, 2019 Manhattan, Kansas 1973 Dr. Roscoe William Byrd, MS in Infectious Disease May 31, 2020 Petersburg, Virginia 1974 Dr. Leroy G. Meyer Nov. 13, 2020 Ottumwa, Iowa 1975 Dr. Thomas L. Noordsy Oct. 1, 2020 Sioux Falls, South Dakota

1983 Dr. Linda Kassebaum Johnson Dec. 6, 2020 Buena Vista, Colorado Dr. William David Tryon Aug. 8, 2016 Phoenix, Arizona

Dr. William E. Moore, former faculty member in clinical pathology for more than 30 years Nov. 1, 2019 Manhattan, Kansas

2000 Dr. Skye W. Stanley May 29, 2019 Santa Monica, California

Save the date!

CLASS REUNION WEEKEND September 25, 2021

For classes who graduated in a 0, 1, 5 or 6 year Hosted at the College of Veterinary Medicine 1710 Denison Ave., Manhattan, Kansas For more information, visit: https://tinyurl.com/KSUCVM2021Reunions Kansas State University prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex (including sexual harassment and sexual violence), sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, ancestry, disability, genetic information, military status, or veteran status, in the university's programs and activities as required by applicable laws and regulations. The person designated with responsibility for coordination of compliance efforts and receipt of inquiries concerning the nondiscrimination policy is the university's Title IX Coordinator: the Director of the Office of Institutional Equity, equity@k-state.edu, 103 Edwards Hall, 1810 Kerr Drive, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-4801. Telephone: 785-532-6220 | TTY or TRS: 711. The campus ADA Coordinator is the Director of Employee Relations and Engagement, who may be reached at charlott@k-state.edu or 103 Edwards Hall, 1810 Kerr Drive, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-4801, 785-532-6277 and TTY or TRS 711.

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more than one way GIFTS FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES BENEFIT THE COLLEGE.

By Marisa Larson Philanthropy empowers the College of Veterinary Medicine to provide a variety of opportunities to students, faculty and clients, including scholarships, updated facilities with cutting-edge technology and enhanced learning spaces, and high-quality, empathetic care of pets. There are many ways to support the specific programs or activities you are most passionate about. Here are three possible ways to give.

Matching funds The K-State Family Scholarship Program provides matching funds to donors who wish to create student scholarships.

A new gift of $30,000 is combined with another $30,000 from an existing matching fund to create a $5,000 endowed scholarship, supporting generations of future K-State vet students.

Dr. Don Dinges, 1981 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine, used matching funds from the Pat Bosco K-State Family Scholarship to support veterinary students.

“K-State helped me earn my DVM, so I wanted to give back,” Dr. Dinges says. “I especially wanted to participate in this scholarship program that honored Pat Bosco. I remember sitting at parent orientation when our daughter entered K-State. Pat wrote his cell phone number on the board and told students that if they needed help, they could call him. A 58 | wildcatveterinarian

couple years later, my daughter had hurt her ankle and was crossing campus on crutches. Pat drove up in his purple car and offered her a ride. The little things he did like this made everyone feel welcome.

“Scholarships incentivize students to work hard academically. They likely think ‘If someone believes in me enough to give me a scholarship, I’d better work hard to earn it,’” Dr. Dinges says. “I liked the idea of matching funds for scholarship because it helps create more scholarships, helping more students.”

Many companies also offer matching funds, so check with your employer to see if you can make your gift to K-State go further. http://ksufoundation.org/how-to-give/matching_ gifts.html

Real estate Gifts of real estate, either during the donor’s lifetime or through an estate plan, can support what the donor is passionate about while avoiding large capital gains taxes.

Once the KSU Foundation receives a gift of real estate, it sells the property and uses the proceeds to fund the donordesignated program. This is how Inez Boyd and her family funded the third-floor anatomy lab remodel to honor her late husband, Dr. Jim Boyd, who was a 1957 veterinary school

graduate. Inez, Jim, and their daughters Vicki and Kristen, are funds support patients, students and research at the Veterinary all K-State graduates.

Health Clinic.

“My mother, Inez, and the three children would meet each Andy, a cat owned by Richard and Nancy Berner, was year with the family’s accountant and attorney. As we all enrolled in the program in 2016. In February 2021, the learned of the value of the estate that my father, Jim Boyd Berners were no longer able to care for Andy and their had built, we knew there would be giving opportunities,” daughter, Connie Spidell, was unable to take in Andy. Connie said Vicki Boyd-Kennedy. “My mother’s health was failing, contacted K-State and Andy was brought to K-State to get and we wanted to do something for a check-up and be adopted to a new K-State while she was still able to see home. Parting from Andy was difficult and enjoy the results of her gift. Ben and emotional for Connie, but she By contributing to Kansas Johnson, from the KSU Foundation appreciated that the PPCP would provide gift planning team, had reached out Andy the love and care he needs for the State’s College of Veterinary to me not long after one of these rest of his life.

Medicine, we know we are family meetings and he explained the “Knowing that Andy would be taken touching the lives of students, Trotter Hall renovation as a possible care of should something happen to faculty and the people of Kansas way to give to K-State and give in a them provided great peace of mind to my who will be served by future big way. Because my parent’s estate parents,” Connie says. “They researched graduates. contains farmland that was purchased a number of options but felt K-State’s in the 1980s, it was to our advantage program was the best for them. They tax-wise to gift farmland. Ben worked were in their early 80s when they signed with our attorney and accountant to up for the program and knew there was create a plan that included a gift of a chance that Andy would outlive them.

Vicki Boyd-Kennedy land and cash assets.

The fact that they could document his “Education is valued highly by likes/dislikes and his personality was our family. My brother, sister and important to them. It also provided I recognize that Kansas State made great peace of mind to me. I adore Andy a life and a career possible for my but was not able to adopt him myself. parents, beyond their dreams,” BoydIt was very hard for me to let him go, Kennedy said. “The dream continues but both Joan and Melissa at K-State for us to see our parents honored and were efficient and very compassionate. to see students have a comfortable Their approach made giving him up a bit and safe place to study and pursue easier.” their education in veterinary Andy was adopted by a college medicine. We also know that colleges staff member, Gail Eyestone, who has depend on external gifts to sustain kept Connie updated on Andy’s new educational opportunities. By adventures. “I greatly appreciate the contributing to Kansas State’s College updates on his status,” Connie says. of Veterinary Medicine, we know we “It provides great comfort and peace are touching the lives of students, of mind to both my mother and me to Gail Eyestone pictured with Andy the cat, as faculty and the people of Kansas who provided by the Perpetual Pet Care Program. know that he has found a new home and will be served by future graduates.” is settling in.”

Photo by Dave Mayes.

To learn more about the various ways you can support the College of Perpetual Pet Care Program The Perpetual Pet Care Program (PPCP) provides pets with Veterinary Medicine, please contact Joan Burton, assistant director of development, at the KSU Foundation at 785-775a lifetime of medical care and a loving home when an owner is no longer able to provide care. The college’s extensive foster 2057 or joanb@ksufoundation.org.

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network and veterinary experts are committed to care for enrolled PPCP pets for the rest of their lives. Any remaining wildcatveterinarian | 59

College of Veterinary Medicine

101 Trotter Hall Manhattan, KS 66506-5604 785-532-5660

WOW

The Shelter Medicine program debuted its new mobile unit, Wellness on Wheels, in spring 2021 thanks to our donors. As a complement to the mobile surgery unit, the WOW vehicle will be used for community outreach efforts. Stay tuned for more news from our newest road warrior.

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