Exceptional teaching. Impactful research. Outstanding service. Extraordinary graduates.
wildcatveterinarian
Vol. 2 | No. 1 | winter 19
wildcatveterinarian is produced by the Department of Marketing and Communications Audrey Hambright Joe Montgomery Shelby Mettlen 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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On the cover: Dr. Brad White, veterinarian and director of the Beef Cattle Institute, and Dr. Justin Smith, state veterinarian and animal health commissioner, discuss the CattleTrace program near a group of tagged calves. Read more about the program on Page 42. Photo by Shelby Mettlen.
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Photo by Shelby Mettlen wildcatveterinarian | 3
exceptionalteaching
18 Vet med rocks How a new student club is supporting a main priority for the CVM. By Adrian Austin.
22 african exchange Learning wildlife and conservation medicine in Tanzania. By Adrian Austin.
news highlights 8 Student spotlight: delicately balanced Norbrook scholarship provides boost to military wife and mom.
16 meet Dr. Callie rost
Assistant dean of admissions.
37 meet Dr. Chuck Dodd Director of outreach.
76 land grant
Students benefit from Garrett scholarship after sale of part of family farmland.
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impactfulresearch
26 By translational means The bond between human and dog becomes stronger than ever. By Audrey Hambright.
30 The right combination Research team produces unique formula for relieving pain in dogs. By Joe Montgomery.
34 Central intelligence K-State researchers well suited to fight African swine fever. By Jennifer Tidball.
outstandingservice
38 Small, but mighty A heart condition could have killed her, but one little dog showed it who’s boss. By Shelby Mettlen.
42 without a trace K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute among partners for statewide disease traceability initiative. By Shelby Mettlen.
46 comeback dog Stella beat the odds. Then, she ran a marathon. By Shelby Mettlen.
extraordinarygraduates
54 unstoppable Flyin’ 3 Veterinary Clinic rebuilds following devastating tornado. By Gabriella Doebele and Adrian Austin.
58 country & Community Nebraska veterinarian dedicates his life to his patients and the military. By Shelby Mettlen.
62 one for the ages Remembering Dr. Phyllis Hickney Larsen from the class of 1947. By Joe Montgomery.
50 healing hands A journey of resilience and persitence restores a horse’s need for speed. By Audrey Hambright.
features | winter 19 wildcatveterinarian | 5
From the dean
embracing growth Evolving with the changing role of the veterinarian. From the perspective of Dr. Bonnie Rush, interim dean. Photos by Shelby Mettlen.
The role of the practitioner is ever-changing. Through the stories in this issue, Wildcat Veterinarian reflects the evolution of the profession within our college. At Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, we are taking steps to strengthen the success of our students, engage in research, embrace our community, and empower staff and faculty with the tools they need. A dynamic role The demands of the practitioner are changing and our college has worked to identify students who will meet those demands with changes to the admissions process. Dr. Callie Rost, assistant dean of admissions, and the admissions committee have adjusted the admissions process to include more emphasis on work ethic, experience and communication skills to balance that of academic achievement. With emphasis on these qualities, we will prepare our graduates to thrive in the field. Read more about Dr. Rost’s admissions objectives on Pages 16 and 17.
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To further ensure graduate success, we are utilizing resources and expertise around us to help strengthen the curriculum. Retired local practitioners are volunteering their time to teach clinical skills to our students, and we have partnered with the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) Division of Animal Health to teach curriculum relating to regulatory medicine. These opportunities have stemmed outside the curriculum, allowing students to partake in National Agricultural Biosecurity Center (NABC) Animal Disease Response Training. This training creates an environment for students to experience in real time what would occur during an animal disease outbreak. Outreach in focus As you read through this issue, you will find examples of college personnel –– students, faculty and staff –– who have engaged in outreach service programs. Another new addition to our team, Dr. Chuck Dodd, director of outreach, has coordinated several of these efforts including our participation at the Kansas State Fair Birthing Center, Nebraska State Fair
Dr. Bonnie Rush, interim dean, talks with students.
Students on the shelter medicine rotation examine a dog at the Beatrice (Nebraska) Humane Society.
and the American Royal. Simultaneously, he’s creating new avenues to generate feedback, which we are using to ensure relevancy in our research and teaching. You’ll find examples of research relevance in “Central Intelligence,” (Page 34) illustrating our college’s involvement in research on African Swine Fever and “Without a Trace,” (Page 42) highlighting K-State’s involvement in livestock disease traceability. Both stories exhibit extensive collaboration, both internal and external. Read more about Dr. Dodd’s objectives on Page 37.
New spaces In 2018, we renovated 22,000 square feet of student space in classrooms and quiet study areas. While the areas are designed to encourage students to study together, our library’s hours have also been extended to help serve students’ busy schedules. Plans are in progress to continue to renovate student spaces as gifted funds become available. It’s an exciting time to be a part of our college with research advancement, curricular revision and community engagement. I hope you, too, are inspired by our stories of exceptional teaching, 2 Mission and vision impactful research, 4 contents outstanding service and extraordinary 6 From the dean graduates.
Community service During the strategic planning process, a critical mass of people expressed their interest in giving back to our community through service. Our Shelter Medicine program continues to be our cornerstone of community service. In addition to providing spay/neuter services to shelter programs in the area with the mobile surgery unit, Shelter Medicine also collaborated with our Pet Health team to facilitate last summer’s “Everybody Counts,” community event, a concerted effort to provide pet health services in underserved populations. To continually support these initiatives, a fundraising effort is being developed for a second mobile surgery unit that will contain supplies more pertinent to disaster response and community outreach for homeless and severely underserved populations.
in every issue
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college news
65
Alumni news
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final look
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Student spotlight
delicately balanced Norbrook scholarship gives boost to military wife and mom. Story and photos by Joe Montgomery
Mary Post performs an examination as she and other third-year students prepare a group of dogs from a local shelter for intake for the junior surgery class.
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Mary Post quickly swipes the screen on her cell phone. “I have so many cute pictures of my daughter,” Mary says. “We are so lucky to have her.” At 4 years old, she says Eily (short for Eilonwy) has accompanied her to study meetings and club meetings. “She’s good and quiet,” Mary says. “And she likes to thank the professor afterward. I really appreciate the community we have in the veterinary college. Everyone has a lot of respect, and more people were aware of our situation than I was aware of. I’ve had several classmates and upper-year classmates who offered to help – and have helped me take care of Eily, if I’m in a desperate situation.”
Pursuing a veterinary degree
Mary has long wanted to be a veterinarian, but she was also trying find a situation that would allow her to stay close to where Daniel would be assigned for military service. “During the last year of my master’s program, Daniel was accepted into the Army,” Mary says. “He was placed in a training program and he had to go through flight school. Originally I didn’t know where I was going to apply for veterinary school, but once we were stationed at Fort Riley, we drove around and discovered there was a veterinary school here, so I immediately pursued getting into K-State.” The first year of veterinary school was challenging for Mary, especially with Daniel Military family being deployed. At one Mary’s husband, Daniel, point, Daniel was to be is Black Hawk helicopter assigned to a different pilot in the Army. He is military base, but U.S. Sen. currently stationed at Fort Jerry Moran made a formal Riley, Kansas. He was request to keep Daniel at deployed to Afghanistan Fort Riley, allowing Mary during Mary’s first to complete her veterinary semester of her first year of school at K-State. While veterinary studies. her husband was deployed, “We were able to Skype Mary She found herself in [video communication the role of being a single software],” Mary says. “We mother who was trying would try to talk once or to manage her time as a twice a day over Skype, so veterinary student. he could speak with his “We have Eily enrolled Mary’s husband, Daniel, is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in the little girl. A lot of families for daycare in the Hoeflin U.S. Army and will be deployed in 2019, leaving Mary to take didn’t get to see their kids Stone House Early care of their daughter, Eily, while working on her DVM degree. while they were deployed.” Childhood Education Mary and Daniel met Center at K-State,” Mary in Washington state. Mary attended Gonzaga where she earned says. Stone House is located near the veterinary college. “They an undergraduate degree in biology, genetics and ecology. She keep her from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. while I’m in class all day. then attended Washington State University in Pullman to earn a Fortunately our daycare expenses are supplemented by the Army, master’s degree in zoology. plus we qualify for a military discount. We like having Eily at “I knew about big stuff and small stuff, but needed to learn K-State because want her to have the best experience possible for about the stuff in-between,” Mary jokes, explaining her decision preschool.” to get a master’s degree. “I studied genetic resistance to parasites Mary says her family has a cat and fish at home. “Eily loves in rainbow trout and salmon. I was also involved in a pilot study both and is so gentle with animals,” Mary says. “’Kitty’ was her for a burrowing owl project, and I was a ground fish observer for first word, but she doesn’t believe I’m a veterinarian.” NOAA in Alaska.”
A full schedule On top of being a full-time veterinary student, Mary participates in other activities.
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“I’m working on research in Dr. Robert DeLong’s laboratory for nanoparticle immunotherapy, which has a goal of treating cancer,” Mary says. “Art has always been an extracurricular activity since high school and a great way to relieve stress while remaining engaged in present moment. I was talking with Dr. Zsolt Szladovits about drawing a new dissection guide, so I’ve been helping him with anatomical drawings. We are hoping to provide better resources for students, such as the rear view of a horse carpus. We couldn’t find any photos online, so this is actually a new resource I’m able to help provide.” “Mary is positively driven, organized and a deep thinker, and I am humbled she has allowed me to be her research mentor the past few years,” says Dr. DeLong, who is an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology. “We began to wonder about the basic immunology of the physiologically based nanoparticles we study and how we might exploit that against cancer. This is an interesting gap in the literature right now, so in her research, Mary has taken a comparative approach, utilizing an ex vivo assay she has developed to study this by flow cytometry.” In between all these activities, Mary has managed to work in yet another activity. “The third thing I do for keeping myself engaged is to offer free tutoring to students in the first-year class during finals,“ Mary says, “I originally started with one and then worked up to 10 students. I really enjoy volunteering to help people out, plus tutoring allows me to better review the material. All those early classes are the foundational concepts of veterinary medicine that build into later years. I feel I need a good foundational understanding of animals so I can provide the best veterinary care.”
For daytime child care, Mary takes her daughter to the Hoeflin Stone House Early Childhood Education Center, located on campus just a few blocks away from the veterinary college.
Scholarship provides a lift Along the way, Mary shares that she has been fortunate to receive an extra boost for her education at K-State thanks to a scholarship provided by Norbrook Laboratories as part of its sponsorship of Cat Town for the Veterinary Medical Alumni Association at K-State. “We’re a family owned company that’s been in business for 50 years,” explains Dr. Eric Moore, director of technical services - North America. Dr. Moore is also an alumnus with the K-State DVM class of 1994. “Lord Ballyedmond, the chairman who started the company, has always been supportive of the community where he grew up in Northern Ireland. We were given the opportunity to carry on that tradition in the U.S., so as part of our Cat Town sponsorship, we provide a $5,000 scholarship.” 10 | wildcatveterinarian
“I received this scholarship while my husband was deployed,” Mary says. “It makes a big difference for being able to pay off school. We hope someday we will be in a position to support people the way these donors have supported us. These kind of donations make a big difference for students in hard places.” Dr. Moore adds, “We know there’s a great financial need for veterinary students, so here at Norbrook, we wanted to do our part. It has really worked out that this scholarship can support a recipient in need who is out there making her way through college. We are very glad to help someone out.”
Mary’s future path As for what lies ahead, Mary says she is willing to be flexible. “I’m really interested in small animal and exotics,” Mary says. “I would like to learn chiropractic and I’m really interested in radiology, but a lot of additional school is involved. I’m ready to take on new challenges and I love school, but we would have to make some decisions. I do love teaching –– I was a TA [teaching assistant] when I was working on my master’s degree. A teaching background is something I feel I need as a veterinarian in order to better educate my clients.” Daniel is slated to be deployed again in 2019, but Mary anticipates getting some extra help from family.
“We have been living in the Jardine complex, but we are getting a new house so that my parents and my sister-in-law can stay with us while Daniel is deployed,” Mary says. “They offered to help, but we needed a bigger place to live in. Our family really takes care of each other.” Yet, even with help, time is still a factor that provides a challenge. How does Mary do so much with her time? “People always make time for what’s important for them,” Mary says. “I’m giving up things like watching a TV show in order to do things that are important for me and my family. You just got to do what you can with the time you’ve got.”
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college news
Interim dean Dr. Bonnie Rush welcomes representatives from Hill’s Pet Nutrition upon commiting the college’s largest corporate gift in history. From left: Dr. Jesper Nordengaard, Dr. Rush, Dr. Jolle Kirpensteijn and Dr. Omar Farias.
Hill’s makes gift for new Pet Health and Nutrition Center Primary care for pets has a bright future at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University thanks to a generous sponsorship by Hill’s Pet Nutrition. With this gift –– the largest corporate gift in our history –– the veterinary college will renovate three strategic areas in Mosier Hall to provide approximately 16,000 square feet of new space dedicated for clinical training, classroom teaching and research. The Pet Health & Nutrition Center will be named in honor of Hill’s Pet Nutrition. “This private-public partnership will enhance our educational capacity in small animal nutrition and client communication, to
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strengthen the preparation of our graduates for success in private practice. We are grateful to Hill’s for their tremendous generosity and investment in our students,” says Dr. Bonnie Rush, interim dean of the college. This renovation includes the deconstruction of Frick Auditorium, which will then be used to create 3,400 square feet of space on the first floor of Mosier Hall for the new Hill’s Pet Health & Nutrition Center. This project will also allow the addition of 5,000 square feet research suite on the second floor.
college news Iman research award goes to Dr. Bob Rowland The CVM’s Dr. Bob Rowland was one of two Kansas State University faculty members to each receive a $5,000 Iman Award in recognition of outstanding research and teaching at the K-State Alumni Center. Introduced in 2007, the annual Dr. Ron and Rae Iman Outstanding Faculty Awards are sponsored by the K-State Alumni Association and are made possible through the generosity of Ron and Rae Iman. His nominator, Dr. Derek Mosier, professor and head of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, says, “Bob has established an international reputation addressing fundamental problems in the detection and control of infectious pig diseases caused by emerging and foreign viruses. Bob’s lab has also been active in the training and mentoring of undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students as well as post-doctoral students and junior research faculty. His professional service to research organizations as well as the department, college and university are also notable.” Dr. Rowland is a virologist and immunologist and is an internationally recognized leader in swine health. For more than 25 years, he has worked on developing control measures for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus,
Dr. Bob Rowland, left, meets Dr. Ron and Rae Iman, benefactor of the K-State Alumni Association’s Iman Awards for Faculty Excellence. Dr. Rowland is the seventh faculty member from the veterinary college to be chosen for an Iman Award since the program began in the 2007-2008 school year.
known more commonly as PRRSV, the most devastating disease to ever face the global swine industry.
CVM gains membership to COHA The College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University has just been accepted as the latest member of an organization dedicated to promoting “One Health” collaborations. The Clinical and Translational Science Award One Health Alliance (COHA) is comprised of veterinary schools that are partnered with medical institutions through a National Institutes of Health Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA). COHA’s mission is to advance the understanding of diseases shared by humans and animals. The alliance leverages the expertise of physicians, research scientists, veterinarians, and other professionals to find solutions for medical problems and to address the well-being of humans, animals, and the environment. This approach will capitalize on One Health opportunities that accelerate translational research. The veterinary college’s primary collaborator is Frontiers: Clinical and Translational Science Unit at the University of Kansas (KU), located in Fairway (near Kansas City).
“As the director of Frontiers, I am happy to work alongside Kansas State University to support COHA’s mission,” says Dr. Richard Barohn, who is also the vice chancellor for research at the University of Kansas Medical Center and president of its Research Institute. “I am excited about the potential of this partnership broadening the reach of Frontiers. I also look forward to discovering additional opportunities where partnerships between veterinary schools and medical colleagues exist.” “Like many schools of veterinary medicine, our college continues to have a strong focus on One Health,” says Dr. Bonnie Rush, interim dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. We already have a long-standing 20-year collaboration with the KU School of Pharmacy training its pharmacy students in our Veterinary Health Center. Our greatest connection with KU scientists is working on oncology in comparison of tumors in animals and humans.”
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college news
Dr. David Poole, professor of exercise physiology.
Dr. David Poole one of K-State’s three newest distinguished professors Dr. David Poole, from the Department of Anatomy and Physiology, joins two other Kansas State University professors in being named 2018 university distinguished professors, a lifetime title that is the highest honor the university bestows on its faculty members. Dr. Poole also has a joint faculty appointment in the Department of Kinesiology in the College of Human Ecology. Dr. Poole’s discoveries have helped define how oxygen is transported from the lungs to be used by tissue mitochondria. Using innovative models, including humans, racehorses, dogs, elephants and rodents at rest and during exercise, he has identified key sites of metabolic control in health and disease. These observations have driven a paradigm shift in the understanding of how capillaries function and advanced novel therapeutics for heart failure. Dr. Poole earned his bachelor’s degree in sports science/ applied physiology from Liverpool Polytechnic, England, and his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles, with postdoctoral training in medicine at the University of California, San Diego. He was the first recipient of the Doctor of Science in Physiology from John Moores University in Liverpool in 2000.
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Dr. Krista Adamovich, DVM class of 2009, tells a student about her position in orthopedics, general medicine and neurosurgery at the Central Texas Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Hospital in Austin, Texas.
DVM Job Fair connects employers and students The veterinary college held its second annual DVM Job Fair Oct. 20 at the Kansas State University Student Union. Booths at the event featured 73 employers –– about 34 from the state of Kansas, while the rest represented the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, California, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming. The DVM Job Fair also hosted several corporations or practices that have locations in different states: MAVANA, USDA, Banfield Pet Hospital, Blue River Pet Care and Veterinary Practice Partners. Dr. Peggy Schmidt, associate dean for academic programs and student affairs, organized the job fair. She was assisted by Dr. Tom Schwartz, director of the Veterinary Health Center; Dr. Brad White, director of the Beef Cattle Institute; Dr. Chuck Dodd, director of outreach; and Dr. Beth Davis, head of Clinical Sciences. They were also helped by Miranda Schremmer and Dee Roblyer from the dean’s office. Approximately 120 students attended the Job Fair, with students participating from all four class years.
college news
VTPRK students, pictured with Interim Dean Dr. Bonnie Rush, (from left) Natasha Vangundy, Will Patterson, Colton Hull, Shaylee Flax and Whitney Sloan.
First-year students join Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas Five new students in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University have been chosen for the largest veterinary scholarship program offered by the state of Kansas: The Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas. This year’s recipients are first-year veterinary students: Natasha Vangundy, Americus; William Patterson, Holton; Shaylee Flax, WaKeeney; Colton Hull, Stockton; and Whitney Sloan, Lebo. “The VTPRK program fulfills an important educational mission and a service mission for the state of Kansas,” Interim Dean Dr. Bonnie Rush says. “These students completed a rigorous selection process. They will participate in training and complete requirements beyond the curricular requirements of the professional degree program. Scholarship recipients (past, present and future) create a unique community of supportive colleagues and represent the future of rural veterinary practice in Kansas.” The Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas was passed by the state Legislature in 2006 to provide a financial incentive to provide rural areas in Kansas with committed veterinarians.
Program participants are eligible for up to $20,000 in loans per year to pay for college expenses and advanced training. Upon completion of their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, each student is required to work at a full-time veterinary practice in one of the 91 Kansas counties with fewer than 35,000 residents. For each year the student works in rural Kansas, $20,000 worth of loans will be forgiven by the state. Students can work a maximum of four years through program, receiving up to $80,000 in loan waivers. The scholars spend time during the summer and breaks in the academic year learning about foreign-animal disease preparedness, natural disaster response, rural sociology, small business management and public health. In addition, they will spend three weeks in a rural veterinary practice during their senior year, applying the principles of small business management to rural veterinary practice.
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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES
Meet Dr. Callie Rost: assistant dean of admissions By Audrey Hambright
Educational and professional background Dr. Callie Rost earned a bachelor’s degree in 1992 and her DVM in 1995 from Kansas State University. Following graduation, Dr. Rost completed a small animal medicine and surgery internship at the CVM. Since completing her internship, Dr. Rost has practiced small animal medicine and surgery. Her experiences range from practicing in a seven-doctor practice in Omaha, Nebraska, founding and managing an emergency and critical care practice, to private practice at Weckel Pet Care in Salina for the last 10 years of her career. From 2010 through 2017, while continuing to practice part time, Dr. Rost was the faculty veterinarian for a veterinary technology program. Her interest in working with students and her desire to continue to be involved in veterinary medicine led her to her latest position as assistant dean for admissions.
Goals/objectives for admissions Dr. Rost’s goals include recruiting and admitting highachieving students who reflect the needs of the profession, hosting the American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association (APVMA) Symposium in the near future, maintaining excellent communication with applicants through the admissions process and building on the summer camp experience for grade school through collegiate level students. As more veterinary medical programs begin in the United States, creating more opportunities for applicants, Dr. Rost would like to see K-State remain one of the top choices for applicants. Our admissions team hopes to continue to spread the word about all of the amazing and unique opportunities offered to students here at the CVM. Dave Hoffman, recruitment coordinator, is an integral part of the admissions team. His
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expertise and creative ideas will build on the outstanding foundation already in place at K-State. Additionally, the admissions process is being revamped to include a greater emphasis on work ethic, communication skills and experience with that of academic achievement. Hosting the APVMA Symposium at K-State will bring 700800 pre-veterinary students to Manhattan to experience firsthand the opportunities that await them at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. This two-day symposium will provide labs and educational lectures to attendees. “The more students we can expose to our program, the more likely they will consider applying to K-State as the veterinary program of choice,” Dr. Rost says. “K-State is known to have excellent communication with applicants through what is one of the most important experiences of their lives. Dr. Ronnie Elmore and Mary Sue Moore developed this reputation and our hope is to continue this practice.” Dr. Rost serves as the adviser to Vet Med ROCKS (Recruitment and Outreach Club of Kansas State). The club members are interested in teaching and promoting the CVM. This past August, the club’s first summer camp was attended by 97 students interested in veterinary medicine. “Facilitating the camp was excellent experience for current veterinary students to educate campers in several different areas of veterinary medicine,” Dr. Rost says. “The plan this year is to expand the experiences of campers and continue to foster the interest in veterinary medicine in young students.”
Dr. Rost truly enjoys giving tours and promoting the veterinary educational facilities at K-State. She says prospective students, visiting alumni, campers, guests and applicants are impressed and amazed when they see the renovations in Trotter Hall. “The facilities lead to improved student life, facilitate excellence in education, and are impressive to our visitors,” Dr. Rost says. “More so, when talking to perspective students, the admissions team highlights our clinical skills program. Dr. Ryane Englar and Susan Rose, RVT, have done such an incredible job creating hands-on opportunities for the students. Students don’t wait until their third year to begin building their clinical skills repertoire, they start week one of year one!” Dr. Rost adds how students have the opportunity to take the shelter medicine (Mobile Surgery Unit) elective rotation during their fourth year. Each student receives the opportunity to perform at least 50 surgical procedures during this rotation. Dr. Callie Rost poses with Willie the Wildcat during the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Vet “New graduates with that much Med ROCKS camp last summer. One of Dr. Rost’s main goals for the college is to recruit and surgical experience will be an asset admit high-achieving students who reflect the needs of the veterinary profession. to employers immediately upon graduation,” Dr. Rost says. “One other individual interests through elective rotations throughout the important aspect of our program is program.” we provide a broad-based education. Every student will learn Dr. Rost feels the opportunities provided to veterinary every major species and practice on every major species. This students at K-State create extraordinary graduates and that she broad base gives our graduates the knowledge and experience is fortunate to have a part in the promotion of the college and to practice in a wide variety of areas of veterinary medicine recruitment of future students. upon graduation. Students are given the opportunity to pursue
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Photo courtesy of Dr. Callie Rost
What is special about K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine?
EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES
VET MED R O C K S How a new student club is supporting a main priority for the CVM. Story by Adrian Austin, student writer
Outreach and development are proving to be a key focus of the College of Veterinary Medicine. At the end of the 2018 spring semester, a group of students gathered to form a new club called Vet Med ROCKS (Recruitment and Outreach Club of Kansas State) to serve as an outreach model and to make contacts with the next generation of veterinary students. In doing so, the club made plans to host summer camps starting in 2018 that would be open to different age groups. “A high priority of the admissions office is recruitment,” says Dr. Caroline Rost, assistant dean for admissions and club adviser. “You always hear about people who say from a very young age they knew they wanted to be a veterinarian, but as those students get older and get to college, they change their minds for some reason. Part of the purpose of this club is to reach out to younger students and give them a meaningful veterinary experience.” Dr. Rost emphasized how the Vet Med ROCKS club fits into the outreach plan put into place by the CVM. “It just goes back to capturing the interest of those students when they’re still interested in veterinary medicine or showing how rewarding a career in veterinary medicine can be,” Dr. Rost shares. “We think a lot of students will decide by the time they’re in middle school or early high school exactly what their career path should be. This is why exposing students to veterinary medicine at a young age is so important.”
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Future veterinarians benefit Kyndall Norris, a K-State animal sciences and industry student, has now been accepted into the pre-veterinary medicine program and feels she has benefited from camp participation. “I was contacted early by Dr. Blevins of the veterinary college to participate in this camp,” Kyndall says. “After the announcement came out, I knew it would be a good opportunity to interact with other veterinary students and to learn more about the information we will cover in veterinary college. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the veterinary students and staff at the Veterinary Health Center and learning their tips and knowledge.”
Students take the lead Not only are the summer camps a great experience for youth interested in the field of veterinary medicine, they also offer an opportunity for current veterinary students to develop their skill sets. “They [CVM students] get the chance to teach and share some of the things that they’ve learned through the program at KSU CVM,” Dr. Rost says, highlighting how the camps were truly student led. “Club members created many of the presentations, and they prepared labs and activities that captured the interest and curiosity Sarah Wilson, president of the Vet Med ROCKS Club and class of 2020, welcomed the opportunity to help educate young people.
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“Reaching younger generations through education is important for advancing our profession and becoming a more inclusive community,” Sarah shares. “I also love to teach –– my dream job is to be a professor of zoo medicine –– so this is just a really fun club.” The club also rewarded six full scholarships and multiple partial scholarships as an outreach project to participants who applied and qualified for financial support.
Camp participation Sarah described how the summer camps functioned and what attendees were able to take part in. “We had around 97 participants over four days and 11 veterinary students working as camp counselors,” Sarah says. “We held four sessions total, based on age: fourth to sixth grade, middle school, high school, and pre-veterinary students in college. We covered topics such as radiology, cytology, parasitology and herpetology; we did clinical skills activities; and we discussed different career options within the veterinary field.” Sarah also shared about which activities were favorites amongst camp goers. “Palpation lab was a blast and thanks to Dr. Englar and Susan Rose, we were able to have some incredible models and make some awesome games while learning clinic skills!” Sarah says.
An elementary school student completes activities during the Vet Med ROCKS camp. Photo by Joe Montgomery.
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“The crowd favorite for that lab was the ‘slime bucket,’ which was a palpation model –– and who doesn’t love slime? “The herpetology section was also a hit, as it involved live reptiles. A lot of people don’t get the opportunity to interact with those kinds of animals.”
Looking to the future Although this was only the first year for the club and summer camps, Sarah had nothing but positive comments. “The summer camp was a really successful week and we had a blast with it,” she says. The goals of the club don’t stop with summer camps, though. “This club is new and was just started at the end of last semester, so we have not had time to do a whole lot outside of the summer camp,” Sarah says. “That said, we have some great events in the works!” Dr. Rost touches on this as well, saying, “We want to continue to develop new activities and take [camp attendants] to 4-H clubs and FFA groups and classrooms.” “Part of my vision for Vet Med ROCKS is to expand exposure to the outstanding program we have at the KSU CVM. We have incredible students from across the United States,” she says. “Ideally, students can share information and activities when they go home over breaks. I would love for them to contact their
Kyndall Norris, a student in animal sciences and industry, pre-vet option, at Kansas State University, was contacted by Dr. Chris Blevins to enroll in the day camp. Photo by Joe Montgomery.
High school students watch a demonstration by Dr. Melissa Upchurch, clinical assistant professor with the Pet Health Center, during the Vet Med ROCKS camp. Photo by Audrey Hambright.
grade school, middle school or high school instructors and say I’d love to give a presentation on veterinary medicine.” In the future, the CVM has emphasizes a focus on expanding its talent pool and diversity for incoming DVM classes. Those involved ultimately foresee Vet Med ROCKS as a means toward accomplishing these goals. “We have the chance to engage young students in the College of Veterinary Medicine and how exciting a career in veterinary medicine can be,” Dr. Rost says. “We hope to plant the seed of
an interest in veterinary medicine and hope it grows into those students attending Vet Med ROCKS camps and considering our CVM as a top choice when applying to pursue their DVM degree.”
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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES
african EXCHANGE Learning wildlife and conservation medicine in Tanzania. Story by Adrian Austin. Photos courtesy of Dr. James Carpenter.
On a summer day in mid-July, Dani Windle and Jennie Kernaghan, fourth-year veterinary students, and Dr. James Carpenter, professor of wildlife and zoological medicine with K-State’s Veterinary Health Center (VHC), arrived in Morogoro, Tanzania. As part of a student/faculty exchange program, the team spent July 12 to Aug. 5 learning about veterinarian and wildlife practices in Tanzania. The trio started its adventure with six days at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro. “We stayed in Morogoro for the first week of our exchange, where we participated in a variety of activities at SUA,” Dani says. “We toured facilities and laboratories where we met with many doctoral and master’s degree students
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who are doing great work in the advancement of veterinary medicine and agriculture.”
Leading by example Dr. Carpenter participated in discussions regarding the future and benefits of collaboration between K-State and SUA. “I also had the opportunity to present a seminar on biodiversity and conservation medicine to the veterinary faculty and graduate students,” Dr. Carpenter says. The K-State students stayed busy as well. “We were included in hospital cases and surgeries, and were able to observe the conduct of their students’ practical exams,” Jennie says. She highlighted how the two students enjoyed performing surgeries on a dog and cow alongside the SUA veterinary faculty. The K-Staters also learned about
livestock production and animal use in Tanzania, touring various local livestock production systems. The team was even invited to observe the training of the APOPO rats, used in detecting land mines. “The field experience at Sokoine, including the training of 20 SUA veterinary students, was amazing,” Dr. Carpenter says.
Culture outside the classroom Following their time in Morogoro, the K-State team was hosted for two weeks by the veterinarians at the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) in the Serengeti National Park and surrounding areas. While there, Dr. Carpenter presented a lecture and, with assistance from Dani and Jennie, taught a group of Sokoine veterinary students about wildlife medicine and proper ways to perform physical examinations, venipuncture and anesthetic monitoring of a variety of chemically immobilized wildlife. “We participated in daily immobilizations and discussions regarding conservation medicine, pharmacology and physiology,” Jennie recalls. “We immobilized and took samples from several wildlife species including a lion, zebra, hyena, hartebeest, Cape buffalo, wildebeest and topi.”
Making memories The trip wasn’t all work and no play, however. Dani and Jennie were quick to mention some of the other stand-out components of their travel time. “We found some time on the trip to visit other national parks, learn about Maasai culture and enjoy the local cuisine!” Jennie says.
Still, it was the experience working with Tanzanian wildlife that made the trip unforgettable. “My favorite parts of this trip included the immobilizations, learning about wildlife management and conservation strategies and having the opportunity to witness the vast number of African species in their natural habitat,” Dani says. “I also appreciated being able to experience the differences in both the culture and veterinary profession in Tanzania compared to the United States.”
An unforgettable experience The team’s time in Tanzania won’t soon be forgotten. Learning and traveling during the exchange would not have been possible without a generous network of people who helped them along the way. “We greatly enjoyed getting to know the students, faculty and veterinarians and still keep in touch with many of them,” Jennie says. “Overall, the trip was a huge success, and we are beyond grateful for the knowledge, experience and friends we gained from this adventure,” Dani adds. Dr. Carpenter agrees with his students. “The hosts were gracious and informative, and the teaching, wildlife and cultural experiences were unforgettable,” he says. The K-State team extends their thanks to Dr. Tesfaalem Sebhatu, research manager; Rachel Reichenberger, project administrator; and Dr. Beth Davis, head of Clinical Sciences, for making this student/faculty exchange possible. The group encourages any students interested to be on the lookout for future travel and study abroad opportunities, describing it as a truly “life-changing” experience. Photos continued on Page 24.
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Dani and Jennie watch a demonstration with Dr. Jim Carpenter where rats are trained to detect mines and tuberculosis.
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Page 22-23: Wildebeest graze in the Ngorongoro Crater. Photo by Jennie Kernaghan. Left: Dani Windle and Jennie Kernaghan, fourth-year veterinary students, join Dr. Erick Komba and Ester Kasisi Adamson at SUA, Morogoro, Tanzania during a student/ faculty exchange activity. Adamson demonstrates a plaque assay for Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus quantification, a project sponsored by Feed the Future Innovation Lab for RVF Control in Agriculture funded by USAID.
Below: The K-State team accompany SUA students while immobilizing and examining zebra at Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.
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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES
By translational Means The bond shared by human and dog becomes stronger than ever.
Photo by Shelby Mettlen
By Audrey Hambright
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It’s no news that cancer is a widespread disease affecting both human and canine species, but it may come as a surprise that veterinarians at Kansas State University are engaging in a way to help both. Osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bone, is estimated to occur in more than 10,000 dogs each year in the United States, according to the book “Tumors of the Skeletal System.” Likewise in the United States, the American Cancer Society reports that each year about 800 to 900 new cases are diagnosed in people, with about half of these in children and teens. For dogs, the cancer is more common in larger breeds. Symptoms of osteosarcoma could include persistent or recurrent lameness, swelling of a bone or joint area. Other symptoms can also occur such as decreased appetite if the pet is sore and not wanting to rise, for example. Should you notice any of these symptoms, having your pet evaluated by your veterinarian is important.
Membership has its benefits While a prognosis of osteosarcoma is often dim in dogs, there is a growing national effort to combat this disease in dogs and people. The CVM is part of the Comparative Oncology Trials Consortium (COTC), an active network of academic comparative oncology centers centrally managed by the NIHNCI-Center for Cancer Research’s Comparative Oncology Program. The program designs and executes clinical trials in dogs with cancer to assess novel therapies. The COTC’s stated goal is to create a development path for the future use of these agents in human cancer patients. Through membership in the COTC, the Veterinary Health Center’s oncology service has the opportunity to join 10 other institutions in a clinical trial that is hopeful to extend the disease-free interval, survival time and quality of life for dogs diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Information gathered from this study is intended to be used to inform clinical trial design in humans, specifically pediatric osteosarcoma studies, and will help guide the development path for this agent. Dr. Mary Lynn Higginbotham, associate professor in Clinical Sciences and lead investigator for the clinical trial at Kansas State, says participation in the COTC helps keep the university on the cutting edge. “Being a part of this multi-institutional consortium brings us the opportunity for therapies we wouldn’t have the accessibility to use otherwise,” she says. “Not only that, but it gives us a collaborative group with which to work. We’re working as a group of veterinary oncologists nationwide.”
Let the trial begin The clinical trial “COTC026”, funded by the Morris Animal Foundation, utilizes the vaccine ADXS31-164c, made from a special strain of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The strain has been genetically altered to express a tumor protein, HER-2/neu, found on many cancer cells, including canine osteosarcoma cells and cancer stem cells. When injected into the bloodstream, the modified listeria stimulates the immune system to attach to cells expressing the HER-2/neu tumor protein. “We have known for years that HER2/neu is often overexpressed in a number of human and now canine cancers,” says Misty Bear, clinical trials coordinator for the VHC. “Essentially, we are waking up the immune system with the listeria that is expressing the same protein we want it to attack. Kind of like waking a bloodhound dog, exposing it to the scent of the target we want it to hunt down, then releasing it into the wild.” This specific immunotherapy evaluates the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine when given to dogs with osteosarcoma after receiving standard of care treatment. Standard of care treatment is defined as amputation surgery of the affected limb to remove the tumor, followed by four doses of intravenous carboplatin chemotherapy given every 21 days. The addition of the vaccine aims to delay and/or prevent the spread of cancer, or metastases, following removal of the primary bone cancer tumor (limb amputation) and chemotherapy. Dogs in the trial return to the VHC every three weeks for 15 weeks for evaluation and chemotherapy. Blood work is performed prior to carboplatin administration to ensure the white blood cell count has not dropped too low, which often happens in chemotherapy patients. After the completion of standard of care, the dog is administered one dose of the vaccine every three weeks for a total of three doses. Prior to beginning the vaccine portion of the study, chest radiographs are repeated to assess the lungs for evidence of metastatic disease. Dogs will be followed until they develop evidence of progressive disease or are three years out from their date of surgery. If metastasis is detected, the dog goes off the study, and can potentially either receive the vaccine at the owner’s expense, or pursue alternative therapeutic options. According to Dr. Higginbotham, nothing currently available has been shown to provide a longer survival time for dogs with osteosarcoma than surgery followed by chemotherapy. A preliminary study did show a significant increase in survival for dogs who received the vaccine, compared to what has been experienced in the past with chemotherapy alone. However,
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Jason Ward and Gibson after Gibson’s second chemotherapy treatment. Photo by Audrey Hambright.
Katie Barker with her dog, Phoebie, during an examination for her oncology trial status. Photo by Shelby Mettlen.
without any therapy, unfortunately most dogs do not survive more than four to six months following diagnosis. “[This treatment] gives us an opportunity to potentially provide longer survival in these dogs,” she says. “This also allows us to be a bigger part of translational research that can potentially make the difference in the treatment of osteosarcoma in dogs and people.”
people time after time,” he says. “That’s really what encouraged us to come to K-State.” In mid-October, Gibson had just received his second round of chemotherapy and appeared to be in good spirits. “He’s doing great,” Jason says. “We were fearful of what would happen once we amputated his leg and how well he would get around. The first few weeks were difficult, but he’s just over a month out and he’s doing fantastic.” Phoebie may be one of the happiest oncology patients you’d ever meet. Nicknamed “goofy-doodle,” Phoebie was taken in by oncology veterinary nurse Katie Barker when learning Phoebie was going to be euthanized due to her osteosarcoma diagnosis.
The heroes Since January 2018, the VHC has enrolled five patients in the trial. Two dogs: Gibson, an 8-year-old Newfoundland, and Phoebie, a 7-year-old black goldendoodle, are still going strong. Gibson, known squirrel-chaser, occupier of the family yard landscape and best friend, received the diagnosis of osteosarcoma in September 2018. After some online research for possible treatment plans, Gibson’s owner, Jason Ward and family, Tonganoxie, Kansas, decided to enroll Gibson in the clinical trial. “The research was really based on how could we get him the best care and continuous program where he’s seeing the same 28 | wildcatveterinarian
“She just had no idea she had cancer,” Katie says. “She was very happy and was barely limping on the cancerous leg.” Katie took Phoebie in with the intention of providing hospice care with medical and radiation pain management because she knew she could give her a good quality of life for a few more months. However, VHC resident Dr. Calli Coffee stepped in
and started a GoFundMe for Phoebie, which raised enough funds for Katie to give Phoebie standard of care treatment and enroll her in the clinical trial. “I took her in because I knew I could give her a good quality of life for longer,” Katie says. “Then with the GoFundMe page, I was able to give her even more than what I was expecting to.” Near the end of October, Phoebie had received her first dose of the vaccine and had minimal side effects. According to Dr. Higginbotham, Phoebie tolerated the vaccine quite well. As of November, the clinical trial has enrolled 75 percent of the dogs needed for the study. Christina Mazcko, program manager for the Comparative Oncology, at the NIH, says that Kansas State VHC is an integral member of the COTC. “Participation in COTC026 required an extensive amount of regulatory approvals, and only about half of the consortium members were able to obtain all necessary approvals,” she says. “We are very lucky to have KSU be involved in COTC026. Dr. Mary Lynn Higginbotham and her team are excellent to work with and bring enthusiasm to the study.” Right: A radiograph illustrates an example of a tumor site shown in a large-breed dog. The distal radius (circled) is the most common location for osteosarcoma tumors. Image courtesy of Dr. Mary Lynn Higginbotham.
WARNING SIGNS OF CANCER By Dr. Mary Lynn Higginbotham
Cancer is the leading cause of disease-related death in dogs and cats. It is estimated that approximately 50 percent of dogs and 33 percent of cats aged 10 years and older will develop cancer. When considering all ages, 1 in 4 dogs will develop cancer at some point in their life. Because of this, as pet owners, it is important to know what symptoms may be a warning sign that a cancer may be present. Some symptoms that could be associated with a cancer include: 1. Lumps or bumps that grow or change. 2. Wounds that won’t heal, such as on the skin of the face or the toe. 3. Lameness that is persistent or recurrent. 4. Unexplained weight loss. 5. Inappetence.
6. Difficulty eating or swallowing. 7. Bleeding from a body opening such as the mouth, nose or anus. 8. Offensive odor, particularly from the mouth. 9. Difficulty breathing or going to the bathroom, such as straining to urinate or have a bowel movement. 10. Lethargy or loss of stamina. Should you notice any of these symptoms, having your pet evaluated by his or her veterinarian is important. Recommendations for appropriate diagnostic tests, if necessary, can be made that will help determine the cause of the symptoms your pet has been exhibiting. If there is a change in your pet that is of concern to you, it is never wrong to have your veterinarian check them out!
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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES
the right combination Research team produces unique formula for relieving pain in dogs. Story by Joseph Montgomery. Photos by Shelby Mettlen.
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Dr. Butch KuKanich and his students hold dogs from Topeka’s Helping Hands Humane Society. From left: Marissa Komp with Tanzania, Peter Cho with Magnolia, Dr. KuKanich with Stix, and Ally Fitzgerald with Addie. The results sound simple on the surface, but a generous amount of teamwork and time was in the mix. “We’ve been trying to figure out how to produce an oral analgesic for dogs that’s long-lasting and effective [when they are in pain] and when other drugs are not tolerated,” says Dr. Butch KuKanich, professor of veterinary clinical pharmacology and assistant head of the Department of Anatomy and Physiology. Fortunately, a combination of patience and patients has paid off. Dr. KuKanich and his colleagues completed a successful clinical trial and feel they have arrived upon a formulation
that meets those goals. They are excited about some additional benefits of the pain-relief formulation, especially for our veterinary colleagues in smaller private practices, as explained by Dr. Kate KuKanich, associate professor of small animal internal medicine. “We investigated fluconazole and methadone, which can be prescribed and administered orally every 12 hours per dose in comparison to opioid injections that last only four or six hours for dogs,” says Dr. Kate KuKanich. “The latter combination requires placing the canine patient in an intensive care situation, where the patient can be monitored overnight and wildcatveterinarian | 31
receive regular injections. This just isn’t practical in smaller veterinary practices where many don’t have staff who can be on duty all night. With the oral formulation, the patient can be treated during regular business hours, but have benefits throughout the night.”
A deterrent for abuse Another planned benefit was to create a formulation with a built-in abuse deterrent. “We were fortunate to receive a $25,000 grant earlier this year from the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) for one part of our studies,” Dr. Butch KuKanich says. “The use of opioids for pain relief comes with a risk of intentional abuse or accidental ingestion.” “Many of us veterinary clinicians, specialists and general practitioners alike, are sending home oral opioids regularly to manage chronic and acute pain, knowing they don’t provide optimal pain relief and have the potential for misuse, but we don’t have other options for many of our patients,” Dr. Kate KuKanich says. “This new formulation would be more effective and includes an abuse deterrent to decrease the chance of abuse or accidental overdose.” Dr. Butch KuKanich says the formulation was created by design. “We purposely built in a deterrent that blocks effects of methadone in people, but not in dogs,” Dr. Butch KuKanich explains. “This resulted from a culmination of data we generated and some from the medical research literature to create a unique veterinary product that is effective, but also decreases abuse or misuse of product. We’ve found a way to repurpose naltrexone into the oral formulation that is equivalent to every 4 hour opioid injections. In other words, twice daily oral administration produced equivalent effects as giving injections every four hours. The fluconazole interferes with methadone metabolism, and we could see these effects visually, as well as in the data, when we performed clinical trials. Additionally, incorporation of naltrexone did not block methadone effects in dogs.”
It takes a team The KuKaniches worked with several other essential team members from the College of Veterinary Medicine, including Dr. David Rankin, clinical associate professor of veterinary anesthesiology. “In my opinion, many dogs are under-medicated for post-operative and chronic pain due to a paucity of reliably efficacious ‘send home’ analgesics,” Dr. Rankin says. “This 32 | wildcatveterinarian
work has the potential to really have an impact on pets’ quality of life.” “I would love to be able to have a useful pain medication I can prescribe for chronic pain management that is effective and safe,” Dr. Rankin says. Dr. Kate KuKanich echoes Dr. Rankin’s comments. Team members also included a combination of undergraduate and veterinary students, veterinary nurses, and veterinarians within the College of Veterinary Medicine including the K-State shelter medicine program. “My main role was to assess the presence of pain in all the dogs participating in the study,” says third-year student Peter Cho. “I was exposed to many different methods of assessing pain throughout these studies. The most important thing I learned was that pain can be a complex and multifactorial process that is often difficult to interpret. I gained an appreciation for the use of multiple findings and analyses together to determine an accurate assessment of pain. This is a skill that will prove to be invaluable in my future career as a veterinarian.”
Patent pending “We’ve submitted a patent application on the novel oral formulation and are in discussions with companies to bring a product to market,” Dr. Butch KuKanich says. “We’re confident this drug formulation can be successful in the market as this is a novel, one-of-a-kind, effective oral opioid with an abuse deterrent –– there’s nothing like it in veterinary medicine right now.” Dr. KuKanich also emphasizes the value of having funding support from several different, but equally important sources. “The AVMF grant funded the research to include the abuse deterrent in our formulation,” Dr. Butch KuKanich says. “Our department of clinical sciences offers the Mark Derrick Canine Research Fund, which helped us evaluate dosage and the speed of onset [for pain relief ] for different drug combinations,” Dr. Kate KuKanich added. “The Mark Derrick grant typically provides $10,000 in funding,” Dr. Kate KuKanich add. “That can be a good head start on developing pilot data in order to apply for larger grants or it can be enough to get an entire project done. It really provides us with an opportunity to focus on the research we’re most interested in and have great benefits for the patients we treat.” The team also took advantage of the Benjamin and Catherine Kurz Research Scholarship, which is a special award that goes to a student working on a project related to
Photo by Joe Montgomery
Left: Dr. Butch KuKanich collaborates with his wife, Dr. Kate KuKanich, associate professor of small animal medicine, and Dr. David Rankin, clinical associate professor of anesthesiology. Below: Third-year veterinary student Peter Cho hangs out with Magnolia, one of the trial’s patients from Helping Hands Humane Society in Topeka.
Above: Dr. Butch KuKanich poses with pre-veterinary student Marissa Komp and Tanzania while holding Stix, both dogs from Helping Hands Humane Society in Topeka.
geriatric canines, such as joint disease, pain control, ocular degeneration, endocrine or other tumors. “I assisted with initial patient physical exams and subsequent data collection by assessing rectal temperature, pulse, heart rate, as well as other measurements,” says secondyear student Ally Fitzgerald, who was a recipient of the Kurz scholarship. “In the spay study this summer, I had the chance to improve my clinical skills by helping with anesthetic induction, monitoring and blood collection. This experience was extremely rewarding as I was able to be a researcher
and become intimately familiar with the information. I was able to draw conclusions and disseminate the information to the scientific community. I truly enjoyed being a part of the process from start to finish, and I now understand how essential scientific research is to drive innovation and improvement forward in veterinary medicine.” The gift for the annual Kurz scholarship award was established by Linda Kurz of Overland Park, Kansas, partially in honor of her special friend, Benjamin, who was a wheaten terrier/bearded collie. wildcatveterinarian | 33
EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES
CENTRALINTELLIGENCE
African swine fever virus threatens to devastate the swine industry and is positioned to spread throughout Asia. The virus has spread throughout the Caucuses region of Eastern Europe and was reported in China in August. College of Veterinary Medicine researchers and the Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) have several projects focused on African swine fever. If African swine fever enters the U.S., it could cause billions in economic losses to swine and other industries, animal disease experts say. Fortunately, it does not infect humans.
The necessary facilities “African swine fever’s introduction into China poses an increased threat to the U.S.,” says Dr. Stephen Higgs, director of
the BRI. “Research, education and training at the BRI help to improve our understanding and preparedness for this threat.” In 2013, the BRI became the first non-federal facility to be approved for work with African swine fever virus, Dr. Higgs says. The university projects at the BRI are part of research that can transition to the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility, or NBAF, once it is fully functional. African swine fever is one of the diseases slated to be researched at NBAF, which is under construction adjacent to K-State’s Manhattan campus. The African swine fever projects at Kansas State University are funded in part by the $35 million State of Kansas National Bio and Agro-defense Facility Fund and also have received support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the pork industry.
project collaborators
Dr. Steve Dritz Professor, diagnostic medicine and pathobiology 34 | wildcatveterinarian
Dr. Ying Fang Professor, molecular biology
Dr. Stephen Higgs Associate vice president for research, director of the BRI
Dr. Jishu Shi Professor, immunophysiology
K-State researchers well suited to face threat of African swine fever. Adapted from a release by Jennifer Tidball, division of communications and marketing There is no vaccine or cure for the disease, which causes hemorrhagic fever and high mortality in pigs.
Researchers join forces Dr. Ying Fang’s lab has generated African swine fever virusspecific monoclonal antibodies for diagnostic assay development. In a collaborative project with Dr. Raymond “Bob” Rowland, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, and Biao He at the University of Georgia, her lab also is developing vector vaccines against African swine fever infection. Dr. Waithaka Mwangi, associate professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, has been studying African swine fever for several years and has filed patents related to development of vaccines and diagnostic tools. In his latest research, Drs. Mwangi and Rowland, as well as Shehnaz
Dr. Waithaka Mwangi Associate professor, immunology
Dr. Megan Niederwerder Assistant professor, diagnostic medicine and pathobiology
Lokhandwala, a postdoctoral fellow, have tested vaccine prototypes at the BRI. Some of their vaccines have shown 56 percent protection against African swine fever and they have several studies pending to evaluate additional vaccine prototypes.
Feed presents potential risk Dr. Megan Niederwerder, assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, has found that African swine fever virus could survive in a simulated feed shipment across the ocean, which suggests that feed may be a potential route that pathogens such as African swine fever virus spread. Her recent publication in the journal PLOS ONE is the first publication demonstrating the survival of African swine fever virus in feed ingredients.
Dr. Jürgen Richt Regents distinguished professor, KBA eminent scholar
Dr. Bob Rowland Professor, diagnostic medicine and pathobiology wildcatveterinarian | 35
Dr. Niederwerder is collaborating with the BRI to continue studying the risk of African swine fever virus in feed and feed ingredients. She is studying the whole swine feed transport cycle — from the shipment of feed ingredients as they are imported into the U.S. to when swine consume feed on the farm. Dr. Niederwerder also is investigating potential mitigation strategies, such as storage time and chemical mitigants, to reduce the risk of African swine fever virus in feed. “Although feed is a less recognized transmission route for African swine fever, the global distribution of feed and feed ingredients makes this route important to consider as a possible factor in transboundary spread,” Dr. Niederwerder says. “Our research is focused on understanding the role feed plays in viral transmission, through defining the oral infectious dose and stability in feed ingredients, and learning what mitigation tools may be utilized to reduce the risk of African swine fever virus introduction into the U.S.” Along with Dr. Niederwerder, Dr. Steve Dritz, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, has been helping to develop information for producers and veterinarians on feed transmission with Drs. Cassie Jones and Jason Woodworth, professors in animal sciences and industry. “We’ve put together a list of FAQs about ASFV and CSFV in feed and questions that producers or veterinarians might want to ask their feed suppliers,” Dr. Dritz says. “We are also working with several production systems in the US to implement mitigation procedures to prevent incursion from China. This includes assessing country of origin in feed mills and potentially implementing holding times in feed mills.”
Vaccines and genes Dr. Jürgen Richt, Regents distinguished professor and director of the university’s Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD) was the principal investigator of a CEEZAD-based research project that developed an approach based on prime-boost vaccination, combining African swine fever virus antigens encoded by DNA plasmids and recombinant African swine fever virus proteins with the aim to activate both humoral and cellular immunity. In diagnostics, Dr. Richt leads CEEZAD efforts to develop tests for the detection of markers of African swine fever virus and anti-African swine fever virus antibodies in different samples such as oral fluids and meat juice. Work is being done on African swine fever virus detection using a portable detection device. Dr. Rowland has been pursuing novel approaches for detection and control, capacity building and training, outreach to
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stakeholder communities. His lab has received support from the state of Kansas National Bio and Agro-defense Facility Fund and was the first to work with African swine fever at the BRI. His research focuses on developing tools to prevent the entry of the virus into the U.S. Dr. Rowland has developed an assay that rapidly and accurately detects African swine fever infection in blood, feces and oral fluid samples. These assays will be important for routine surveillance of commercial pig herds and feral pigs. “There is no single ‘magic bullet’ solution for the prevention of African swine fever,” he says. “As a global problem, preventing and controlling ASF virus require new technologies and new knowledge along with the continuous fine-tuning of the existing tools. The greatest gap in knowledge addressed by this research is to better understand the virus immunity in pigs. Filling this gap opens the door to improved disease surveillance methods, pigs with improved response to vaccination, and vaccines that are safe, cost-effective and protective.”
Better detection for better prevention Dr. Jishu Shi, professor of vaccine immunology, studies African swine fever virus detection, vaccine development and transmission between feral and domestic pigs. He has worked with Dr. Jianfa Bai, director of molecular research and development at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and other collaborators to develop and validate a multiplex polymerase chain reaction that can simultaneously detect African swine fever virus, classical swine fever virus, and foot-and-mouth disease virus in one sample. Dr. Shi’s lab currently is developing novel technologies that can be used to develop African swine fever vaccines. “The most effective defense against foreign animal diseases such as African swine fever, classical swine fever, and foot-andmouth disease is to keep them outside the U.S.,” Dr. Shi says. “That is why we have developed fast and sensitive virus detection methods such as the multiplex polymerase chain reaction panel for African swine fever virus, classical swine fever virus and footand-mouth disease virus. We are developing new technologies, but before an efficacious vaccine is available, we have to understand and develop novel strategies to control the disease spillover between wild and domestic pig populations.” Dr. Shi has also been assisted by several pathologists in the college and with the KSVDL, such as Drs. Sally Davis, Jamie Henningson and Giselle Cino. Dr. Shi is establishing new collaborations to study the transmission of the virus between wild and domestic pigs.
EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES
Meet Dr. Chuck Dodd: director of outreach By Audrey Hambright
Goals/objectives for outreach
Dr. Chuck Dodd, director of outreach. Photo by Shelby Mettlen.
Educational and professional background Dr. Chuck Dodd obtained a bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1988 and a DVM in 1992 from the University of Missouri. Several years later, he came to K-State for an ag practices residency, and later a Ph.D. program. “Early in my career, my family and I worked in East Africa (Rwanda and Tanzania) for six years,” Dr. Dodd says. “I later served in various roles in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, then served in Jordan as a Fulbright Scholar before coming back to K-State.”
Half of Dr. Dodd’s faculty appointment is with the Center for Outcomes Research and Epidemiology (CORE), while the other half is dedicated to college outreach. “My initial effort is to learn more about our existing outreach activities and identify opportunities to bolster existing outreach while exploring new opportunities,” Dr. Dodd says. “Although outreach can be in many forms, my primary focus will be finding ways for the college to better serve our veterinary graduates throughout the region, as well as animal health-related partners in government, the livestock industry, and research institutions.” Dr. Dodd hopes to establish opportunities for our faculty to interface more with our veterinary graduates and engage an extended community beyond the Manhattan area. “Inherently, our Veterinary Health Center and the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory are deeply engaged with the community, but there are additional ways for our college to serve, and in return, remain relevant to a greater audience in teaching, research and service,” Dr. Dodd says. “Rather than merely increasing our presence and visibility, I want our college to build stronger partnerships, remain the most trusted source of information, and provide services that genuinely improve livelihoods.”
What is special about K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine? “We have remarkable faculty, staff and students, and we need to remain intrinsically linked to our graduates, which is the ultimate measure of our success as a training institution,” Dr. Dodd says. “I’m honored to be part of a great team and a unique college that feels like family.”
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small, but
mighty
A heart condition could have killed her, but little Cherry showed it who’s boss. Story and photos by Shelby Mettlen
Dynamite comes in small packages, and Cherry is proof. A 5-year-old, 6-pound papillon, Cherry was surrendered by her owner to Hearts United for Animals in Auburn, Nebraska, for disturbing the peace. Little Cherry’s separation anxiety kicked into overdrive when her owner, who had previously worked from home, took a job in the office. The tiny dog let everyone in her owner’s apartment building know that she did not like to be alone –– loudly, and often. After a series of complaints, the landlord said Cherry must go.
Challenging discovery “Cherry was our gain,” Kristy Francis, general manager of the shelter and sanctuary says, “but with her, we got a medical issue as well. Her heart would only beat 60 beats per minute.” Cherry’s low heart rate eliminated her chances of being spayed, because her heart wasn’t strong enough to withstand anesthesia. If she couldn’t be spayed, she couldn’t be adopted, and she faced a number of female-specific health risks. Referring veterinarians Dr. Kevin Christiansen, Vogal LLC, Overland Park, Kansas, and Dr. Jim Gigstad, Arbor Valley Animal Clinic, Syracuse, Nebraska, conducted an ECG and found a third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. The shelter referred the tiny pup to the Veterinary Health Center (VHC) in hopes of getting her a pacemaker, which she would need to avoid any risk of sudden death. The condition presents itself as a heart arrhythmia –– the nerve impulse generated in the sinoatrial node in the atrium of the heart does not propagate to the ventricles, blocking the impulse.
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“Usually, they’ll present with fainting,” says Dr. Justin Thomason, clinical assistant professor of cardiology at K-State. “In Cherry’s case, we were lucky. She wasn’t symptomatic.” Though she wasn’t showing signs, a pacemaker would be needed to keep Cherry’s heart strong.
Tiny dog, big surgery “In smaller dogs, it’s a little bit more challenging with the pacemaker,” Dr. Thomason says. Rather than inserting an endocardial pacemaker, through the jugular vein, Dr. Upchurch installed an epicardial pacemaker, by suturing the tiny device directly onto Cherry’s heart. “The procedure itself is not more difficult,” Dr. Upchurch says, “but the pacemaker generators are all the same size, so for a smaller dog, that means a ‘relatively’ large pacemaker generator that has to be hidden inside the dog.” To “hide” the pacemaker, a pocket was created between the muscle layers on the side of the abdomen and the generator was tucked inside. “For these procedures, there is definitely a team effort,” he says. “My job as surgeon is to implant the pacemaker as expeditiously as possible. Dr. Thomason remains in the room, as once the pacemaker is implanted, he must wirelessly interface with it and set it to the ideal pacing parameters. The anesthesia service (Dr. Diane Mason, clinical professor of anesthesiology, in this case), must make sure that there are no severe cardiac complications during the procedure. Fortunately, everything went well for Cherry and she went home two days later after a fully successful procedure.”
Above: Kristy Francis, general manager of Hearts United for Animals, a no-kill santuary for dogs near Auburn, Nebraska, says little Cherry, a 6-pound papillon, was the shelter’s gain. Thanks to the Veterinary Health Center, Cherry will live a long, healthy life with her adopter. Left: A TXR scan of another dog, provided by Dr. Justin Thomason, illustrates how Cherry’s epicardial pacemaker was inserted and attached inside her tiny body.
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Although Cherry was asymptomatic for her disease, if she was excited or was running or playing, there was a chance she may faint or even die, Dr. Upchurch explains. With the pacemaker, she’ll live a long, healthy life with far less risk of sudden death or illnesses that may have resulted from not being spayed. Her pacemaker is programmed to range from 70-140 beats per minute, with an accelerometer to mimic a natural increase as she becomes active. Forever-home ready Cherry is sweet, full of energy and loves to play fetch with her beloved tennis balls.
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It’s not hard to tell she’s a favorite at Hearts United for Animals. Francis even takes her home in the evenings. “She’s naughty,” she laughs, giving Cherry a nod. “That little dog would be an agility dog. She’s energetic; she hasn’t had a hard life, just an unfortunate circumstance.” With her new ticker, Cherry underwent a successful surgery and has been adopted into her forever home. Hearts United for Animals is a no-kill animal shelter and sanctuary supported completely by donations. Learn more about their facilities and available animals at hua.org.
Their stories of adversity and healing will steal your heart.
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Trace
K-State’s Beef Cattle Institute among partners for statewide initiative on Livestock disease traceability. Story and photos by shelby mettlen wildcatveterinarian||25 43 wildcatveterinarian
Cassie Kniebel, CattleTrace program manager, tests ultrahigh frequency tag readers at Russell Livestock LLC in Russell, Kansas.
The state of Kansas is ramping up its efforts to help the nation determine what a livestock disease traceability system could look like in the U.S. The project includes Kansas State University’s Beef Cattle Institute (BCI), along with partner entities like the Kansas Livestock Association (KLA), Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA), Innovative Livestock Services Inc. (ILS) and numerous private sector businesses and producers. CattleTrace is Kansas’s industry-driven pilot project on animal disease traceability, according to its website, cattletrace.org. The project aims to explore what a livestock traceability system could look like on a national scale.
Why Kansas? Home to about twice as many cattle as humans, Kansas is one of nine states with more cattle than people. While that alone certainly placed it in the running for a cattle disease traceability pilot, Kansas’s strong presence in all facets of the industry, from cow-calf to packer, made its selection a no-brainer. As the state’s veterinarian and animal health commissioner Dr. Justin Smith (DVM 1987) is already responsible for disease traceability, tracking movement of livestock and health papers
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Dr. Justin Smith, state veterinarian and animal health commissioner, speaks at the CattleTrace announcement event in Great Bend, Kansas, in July.
so, “It just fit very well to be part of the CattleTrace project,” he says. Fifteen years ago, the USDA attempted a national identification program that failed to capture industry adoption. But the CattleTrace team insists this time is different. “Now, I think the sentiment has changed quite a bit,” says program manager Cassie Kniebel. “People are more familiar with and more comfortable with technology and utilizing technology in agriculture and in livestock production. Everyone carries a smartphone. I think people see the benefits of a disease traceability system for protecting trade and utilizing it in the case of a disease outbreak.” “And I’ve always heard it’s not if there’s an outbreak,” she says, “it’s when.” Kansas already has some parameters in place for livestock traceability, but it’s not what it could be, Dr. Smith says. “This program is allowing us to expand our present capability.” The Kansas Strategic Agriculture Growth Initiative, meeting annually, determined livestock disease traceability as a top priority for the state. In 2017, the Kansas Livestock Association passed a policy supporting mandatory identification for all cattle. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) released
CattleTrace executives at the program’s opening event this summer. From left: Matt Teagarden, Kansas Livestock Association (KLA) CEO; Dr. Justin Smith, Kansas animal health commissioner and state veterinarian; Brandon Depenbusch, vice president of cattle operations for Innovative Livestock Services Inc.; Jackie McClaskey, former Kansas secretary of agriculture; Mary Soukup, Kansas assistant secretary of agriculture; Cassie Kniebel, CattleTrace program manager; Brad White, director of the Beef Cattle Institute at Kansas State University; and Jeff Colyer, former Kansas governor.
the World Perspectives Inc. (WPI) report in January 2018, highlighting traceability in the United States. The culmination resulted in CattleTrace.
Another try As BCI Director Dr. Brad White puts it, the new project had to be driven by multiple entities, not a single entity. By bringing in partners and cooperators from all facets of the industry, the pilot project is projected to be a success. “What’s unique about the system this time is we’re using a type of technology that’s more hands-free and easier for data capture,” he says, noting that the project only captures the minimal necessary data. He likens it to the state’s K-Tag system. Ultra-high-frequency technology is fairly new to livestock production, explains Kniebel. Tags are read each time cattle walk through a livestock market system or feed yard where a reader is installed. Groups of cattle can walk through with a 98-100 percent read rate. “We’re really pleased with that,” she adds. “I think the technology has changed enough to allow us to implement a system without interrupting current production practices.”
The BCI assists the project in planning and logistics, helping each player achieve the determined goals and objectives, and managing the project’s private database through a memorandum of understanding with CattleTrace Inc. “I think this is a good opportunity for veterinarians as we look at how we can build this infrastructure,” Dr. White says. “Veterinarians might be able to help their clients use some of this technology to improve their operations.” Secondly, he says, the traceability system will speed up the tracing process and take less time from veterinarians in the field. The industry rides on trade, Dr. Smith says. “We have to be able to trade. Whether it’s in the states or internationally,” he explains. “Having the ability to respond to a disease outbreak in a rapid, economical and concise manner is vital to us establishing those trade capabilities. Having the ability to eradicate that disease in a timely manner, it just makes good sense for the business.”
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COME BACK
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g o d
Stella beat the odds. Then, she ran a marathon. By Shelby Mettlen
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Photo by William Layton wildcatveterinarian | 47
Photos courtesy of Michelle Coleman
“Miracles happen all around,” says Michelle Coleman, a research assistant with Kansas State University’s Department of Biology. She’s talking about her Australian shepherd, Stella. Not long ago, things weren’t looking good for the ultramarathoner’s four-legged running partner. Stella was born to run. Together, the pair takes on several miles of trail a day –– fetch isn’t just for enjoyment, it’s a necessity. “She’ll play Frisbee for hours,” Coleman says. “Frisbee is life.” One spring day two years ago, Stella caught a couple of throws, brought the Frisbee to the porch and laid down. Coleman knew something was wrong. “We had run 6 miles that morning and she was completely fine,” Coleman says. “I was loving on her, you know, I was rubbing her and I felt this knot on her side.” Having dealt with tumors in other dogs, Coleman immediately called her local veterinarian, Dr. Dane Jacobson (DVM 1986) with Deer Creek Veterinary Hospital in Wamego, Kansas. Dr. Jacobson saw Stella right away, conducting a series of tests to determine what might be –– or might not be –– wrong. A fine-needle aspirate eliminated cancer by revealing inflammatory cells, and Stella’s bump was treated as a bug bite. Then the nightmare began.
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Left: Stella shows off her shaved legs from the many tests she underwent during her diagnosis and recovery. Above: Never short of admirers, Stella enjoys some love from veterinary students at K-State’s Veterinary Health Center.
Mystery illness “We just started having this cascade of symptoms,” Coleman says. Stella was placed on a general drug to control whatever was ailing her, but she reacted with severe upper respiratory issues including heavy discharge from her eyes and nose, and trouble breathing. A tick panel showed that she was slightly positive for Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and her symptoms, shifting lameness, swollen joints, respiratory problems and a high fever, aligned with the disease. Still, that wasn’t it. After placement on doxycycline, Stella still wasn’t getting better. Dr. Jacobsen started her on steroids, improving her breathing some, but the doxycycline failed to bring down Stella’s fever. As an athlete, Stella had some abnormalities, including a somewhat slow heartbeat, and a slightly enlarged heart, but those seemed unrelated. After about two weeks of no luck and a consultation with internal medicine, Dr. Jacobson decided it was time to refer her to the Veterinary Health Center (VHC). Test after test yielded no solid conclusions, until a sample of joint fluid came back cloudy. Stella finally had her diagnosis –– idiopathic immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA). Stella had been diagnosed with IMPA for about two months when Dr. Thomas Schermerhorn, professor in small animal internal medicine, saw her.
“She saw about everyone in internal medicine before she saw me,” Dr. Schermerhorn laughs. “Really what I did was walk her through treatment.” It was a long walk. More than a year, actually. Idiopathic IMPA is a disease that causes swelling and pain in multiple joints, caused by an autoimmune response. It’s normally thought of as an immune problem in dogs, Dr. Schermerhorn explains. What triggers the autoimmune response is unknown, and can vary widely.
there’s always the chance she’ll encounter it again. For now, though, she’s happy and back on the trail “Stella is just a fantastic dog,” Dr. Schermerhorn agrees. “She’s just an in-your-face, attention-seeking dog, incredibly attuned to people. She was as big a participant in her own recovery as any dog could be. She’s a great dog.”
Road to recovery Stella experienced a number of negative side effects from prednisone, a medication commonly used to treat symptoms associated with IMPA, making her road to recovery even harder. “She was pretty refractory at first,” Dr. Schermerhorn says. “Feeling around to find out what worked best for Stella took some time.” During her treatment, Stella experienced weight gain, hair loss, increased water consumption and urination, loss of protein through her urine, and anxiety. Coleman was dedicated to getting Stella back on the trail, though, and back to being herself. “It was scary,” Coleman says. “She did have a few flare-ups and we were very worried that she would never be able to run again. And then, even though your body can’t do it, your brain still wants to. It was hard for the longest time because she wanted to run but we weren’t sure if the running was causing flare-ups.” Thankfully, Stella is back to running, and peaked at 45 miles in a week in the spring of 2018. In April, she ran her first marathon, the Flint Hills 50 and Marathon, at Coleman’s side. She’s since run several more, and she doesn’t plan to slow her down. “She does speed work, long runs, hill training –– every type of workout I do, she’s right there with me,” Coleman says. “She’s an amazing dog and without K-State, we could have lost her.” So far, Stella is healthy and symptom-free. Because the trigger of her IMPA isn’t known,
Michelle Coleman and her Australian shepherd, Stella, stand trimphant (and a little soggy) after receiving their medal for the Flint Hills 50 and Marathon in the spring of 2018.
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Ceara Mulvey rides Sammie in an eventing course in October 2018. Photo couresty of Joanne Mulvey.
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healinghands A journey of resilience and persistence restores Sammie’s need for speed. By Audrey Hambright
Sheer gratitude rang in Joanne Mulvey’s voice as she spoke. Sammie, her daughter’s competition horse and confidant, had been home for more than a month and had seen nothing but continued improvement since returning to familiar pastures. It was a long year for Sammie, an American Paint Horse mare, and her owners, Joanne and Ceara Mulvey of McHenry, Illinois. In September 2017, Sammie contracted an infection in her front legs after a jumping competition in Wisconsin. Ceara and Sammie competed regularly in eventing, an equestrian competition including dressage, stadium jumping and cross country jumping. Ceara trained Sammie for eventing on her own, creating a special bond. “When I first got her, she was a therapeutic horse, so she had no experience with anything that we were doing as far as dressage or jumping, so it was really cool to bring her into the eventing world,” Ceara says. “I think that’s part of why our connection is so strong. We really went through that together, through all of our failures and trials and everything.” Joanne recalled how both she and Ceara were nervous about that particular course in Wisconsin, but Ceara and Sammie moved forward with confidence as they would on any course. During the cross country event, the two came upon a water jump at which Sammie uncharacteristically stopped abruptly, causing Ceara to be thrown from the saddle. Two days following the event, with some rest, Ceara pulled Sammie out to ride only to find the horse was lame. Joanne called their veterinarian to come out right away. It was then Joanne noticed a pinprick of blood coming from Sammie’s front leg –– the beginning of cellulitis. Over time, the pinprick grew to a 6-inch wound below the knee, with a similar wound developing on the other front leg. The wounds
appeared to make progress after treatment, but would suddenly break open again. “It was just a nightmare,” Joanne says. “We just couldn’t get these things to heal and that’s where the frustration kept coming in. We thought we were making progress and then all of a sudden it [the wound tissue] would just break or turn black.” To heal, Sammie’s range of motion was minimized significantly with bandages and casts on her legs, costing her nearly a year in the stall. After 10 months, and several treatments and surgeries on both legs with no real progress, the Mulveys loaded Sammie up and trailered her to the Veterinary Health Center at Kansas State University in July. With careful evaluation, Dr. Dylan Lutter, clinical assistant professor of large animal emergency surgery, felt confident they could heal the persistent wounds. “It was really, really hard to leave Sammie,” Joanne says. “We brought her down and left her there and we communicated regularly with Dr. Lutter.” She notes he was reassuring in the process. “He was wonderful and had a way of making me feel calm in the sense that he was going to give us options,” she says. “We really wanted to try as much as we could to heal this horse, but if we knew there was going to be a situation where this was no longer feasible, and we needed to put her down, we’d get to know that as well.” Dr. Lutter and his team performed surgical procedures on both legs, removing infected tissue and applying wound treatments to reveal healthy tissue. A skin graft was applied to one leg, while a platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) membrane was applied to the other leg. A stem cell therapy derived wildcatveterinarian | 51
from Sammie’s own fat deposits was also injected into both wounds. According to Dr. Lutter, the leg that received a skin graft looked good and continued to heal. The leg that received the PRF therapy, however, proliferated and the injury grew for reasons unknown at the time. “At that point, I wasn’t very happy with my decision to apply the PRF membrane, but in the long-term it was better because the platelet therapy simulated the wound and that stimulation allowed the infection to rear its head,” Dr. Lutter explains. “It allowed us to discover infected tendon under there that we needed to remove. Once we removed the infection and closed the wound, it healed.” The methods of treatment applied were important, but Dr. Lutter emphasized it was the careful attention to the wound management process that helped Sammie heal. “Wound healing – it’s not as simple as changing the bandage and putting medication on,” Dr. Lutter says. “You have to look at the wound and say, ‘Okay, it needs this today.’ Look at it again in a few days, ‘It needs this other treatment.’ By not blindly diving into things and letting the wound show itself, that’s what ultimately allowed it to heal.” Following a few successful treatments, Sammie underwent further monitoring until Dr. Lutter determined she was well enough to return home on Labor Day weekend. After two months of care at the VHC, Sammie was healed.
“I just cannot describe to you how amazing it was that they got done in two months, what we couldn’t get done in almost a year,” Joanne says. The Mulveys love for Sammie and the motivation to heal her goes much deeper than the ribbons they earned together. Four years ago, Joanne’s husband and Ceara’s father passed away. Sammie helped Ceara through the family’s difficult time. “Thank God for Sammie,” Joanne says. “She was really a good focus for Ceara and I think she was kind of a respite when she needed a place to be or somebody to talk to. That’s why there’s just a little more to the story than just any horse.” Since returning home, Sammie has been happily running, bucking and rolling beside her pasture mate. Both Joanne and Ceara have ridden Sammie a few times and are looking forward to easing her back into eventing. “Before we brought her to K-State, we didn’t really know how she was going to come back and if I was going to be able to ride her again,” Ceara says. “There was a point in time where we thought she wasn’t going to be able to make it through, so to have her back and be able to ride her gain, it’s absolutely amazing.” “We can’t thank K-State enough for everything they did,” she says.
A Healing Timeline
The following photos show the progression of healing of Sammie’s left front leg.
July 2018: Arrival at VHC
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Left leg filling in after continued wound management; prior to attempted skin graft treatment
Skin grafts applied have failed and revealed more infection, infected tendon is removed
September 2018: Left leg wound the day Sammie returned home
Pathology at KSVDL
A network of experts creating diagnostic solutions KSVDL has the best team of diagnostic pathologists that collaborate on cases daily, care about clients, and have diverse interests and experience in production animal, companion animal, zoo/wildlife/exotics, dermatopathology, ocular pathology, oral pathology and otic pathology. - Dr. Jamie Henningson
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I thoroughly enjoy working with our veterinary practitioner clients and getting them the answers they need to help their producer or pet owner. The ability to utilize those cases for teaching of future veterinarians is also very rewarding. - Dr. Kelli Almes
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I value having a diverse group of very smart pathologists, all of whom are just an office or two away. We consult with each other daily – this sentiment also applies to faculty in microbiology, virology, molecular diagnostics, clinical pathology and toxicology. - Dr. Cynthia Bell
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Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory DEVELOP. DEFEND. DELIVER
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ABLE
K-STate alumni rebuild clinic after devastating tornado. Story BY GABBY DOEBELE and adrian austin
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Photo by Shelby Mettlen
Before and after: A tornado devasted Flyin’ 3 Veterinary Service in June, but it didn’t take long to get back in business with help from the community in Eureka, Kansas.
Dark clouds roll across the prairies on a quiet summer evening, then BOOM! CRASH! The surrounding familiar town is no longer recognizable. Memories are spread out through the rubble and debris. On June 26, an EF-3 tornado roared through Eureka, Kansas, in the early evening hours. The tornado caused major damage through the entire town, including Flyin’ 3 Veterinary Service, a local practice operated by Kansas State University veterinary alumni Drs. Darla (DVM 2013) and John Dwyer and Kailey Fitzmorris. Their building took quite the hit, but only had to be shut down for one day. The front office sustained little damage, but the front door lost glass and all the windows lost the first panes of double-pane glass. “As far as damage, the whole back part of the practice was taken,” says Dr. Fitzmorris, who graduated in the DVM class of 2014. “It was the large animal area, covered pens, kennels, alley ways, etc. We also lost our portable chute, bent our horse stocks
and lost all our fencing which we had just put in to calve out heifers.” “Dr. Fitzmorris’ veterinary truck was dented, and the windows were broken out,” says Dr. John Dwyer, DVM class of 2016. “A two-by-four was sent through one of the tires. It looks like it was in a bad wreck, but it is still drivable.”
Unwelcome surprise for student extern Sydney Rathjan, currently a third-year veterinary student, was a member of Flyin’ 3 during a three-week summer externship program. Sydney had the unique experience of actually being in the clinic when the tornado struck. She, Dr. Fitzmorris and two clients all took shelter together during the storm in the covered alleyway of the practice’s cattle chute. Sydney recalls the chilling words of Dr. Fitzmorris, “Cover your heads because the roof is going!” “I don’t think until we stepped outside we realized the magnitude of what just happened,” Sydney shares. “Seeing the back part of the practice was demolished –– it was a lot to process.”
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Aftermath The tornado caused an unwelcome setback, yet the Flyin’ 3 still managed to conduct some business –– despite being temporarily closed. “While we were cleaning up the next day after the tornado, a client came in and told us he couldn’t find his billfold, but his dog needed food,” says Dr. Fitzmorris. “He asked if we could just write it down. Business continued!” The patients that were hospitalized at the time were sent to Wilco Veterinary in Fredonia, Kansas, the night of the tornado. Drs. Tim Parks, DVM class of 1994, and Russ Baxley, DVM class of 2013, went to Eureka the day after the tornado struck to help with any emergencies until the Flyin’ 3 was back in business. “They set up at Eureka’s Memorial Hall and saw 10 patients or so,” Dr. Fitzmorris explains. On Thursday, just two days after the tornado, the veterinarians were able to return to their own building. However, they weren’t quite operating at 100 percent yet.
“We had a couple of walk-in cases on Thursday, but were without electricity and were limited in what we could do,” Dr. Fitzmorris says. “By Friday, we had electricity and were back up and running.” Blown away by local help The town of Eureka did not lack support for the clean-up effort. The Flyin’ 3 veterinarians believe they had around 40 volunteers show up the day after the tornado and about 60 or more the following day. K-State CVM Director of Outreach Dr. Chuck Dodd visited twice, once with Dr. Mike Sanderson, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, and again with Elsie McCoy, graduate research assistant, and her husband, Tim. “We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support,” Dr. Dwyer says. “The night of the tornado, roads were closed to the practice because the electric substation is located right next to the practice. Lines were down everywhere, but especially in our area. That didn’t stop our friends and family from getting here. We had a stock trailer brought in by friends and we loaded
Flyin’ 3 facilities before cleanup. Photos courtesy of Flyin’ 3.
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helping,” Sydney says. “My short time at Flyin’ 3 was memorable for sure.” Syndey also notes that while the tornado was a sad event, it proved how amazing the area was, saying: “It’s the kind of place, kind of practice I’m hoping to see myself at in the future.” The Flyin’ 3 staff was thankful for how gracious the volunteers were throughout the week. They are hoping to get rebuilt soon. Left: A glance at the devastation Flyin’ 3’s clinic faced after the tornado, and following clean up. Below: Dr. Darla Dwyer, a partner in Flyin’ 3’s practice, prepares to perform an X-ray on a dog.
Photo by Shelby Mettlen
Photo by Shelby Mettlen
it with our cats and dogs that needed to go to Wilco Vet in Fredonia with medicines and other supplies.” “Family members picked up the narcotics, X-ray equipment, ultrasound equipment and the semen-testing equipment,” Dr. Fitzmorris says. “Others couldn’t get here as much as they wanted to. The day after the tornado though, holy cow! Ranchers were here at daybreak.” Dr. Fitmorris recalled how one rancher brought three of his very hard working children and a skid steer. She said another rancher was also here with his skid steer. “Our insurance lady called her brother, who owns a big equipment/excavation company, and they arrived with three skid steers and three semi-trucks to haul debris,” Dr. Fitzmorris says. “We had four generators –– one was given to us by the K-State College of Veterinary Medicine. We also had lunches, ice, water, doughnuts, etc. brought to us.” “A lot of people were there really fast and it was kind of surreal because you just turn around and there was another person
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COUNTRY AND
COMMUNITY Nebraska veterinarian dedicates his life to his patients and the military. Story and photos by Shelby Mettlen
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Service is a way of life for Dr. Lance Kurz. The K-State alum (DVM ‘04), veterinarian and co-owner at Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Fullerton, Nebraska, has devoted his life to serving both his country and community. Not only a veterinarian, Dr. Kurz is also a husband, a father of four, and a lieutenant colonel with more than 20 years in the U.S. Military.
Lifetime of service After being approached by Marine Corps. recruiters during senior year in high school, Dr. Kurz joined the U.S. Marine Reserve and completed his training the year before beginning his undergraduate career at Peru State College. “I thought of it as a challenge that would also help me through school,” he says. After beginning his college career, Dr. Kurz’s Marine Reserve contract was up for renewal and a new opportunity presented itself: The U.S. Army Reserve offered a scholarship for health professionals. He applied. Already halfway through his veterinary courses, he was chosen for a two-year scholarship –– one of just seven recipients nationwide. Following graduation from K-State with his DVM, Dr. Kurz served three years of active duty and began five years of inactive ready Reserve time while beginning his career as a veterinarian. During high school in Palmer, Nebraska, Dr. Kurz struck up somewhat of a mentorship with Dr. Jay Wolfe, veterinarian with Palmer Veterinary Clinic. Back then, Dr. Wolfe noticed Dr. Kurz’s work ethic and interest in animals, and encouraged him to pursue veterinary medicine. Years later, following Dr. Kurz’s graduation and active duty obligation, the two purchased Countryside Veterinary Clinic together. Both men have various commitments outside the clinic, namely Dr. Kurz’s military weekends, and they help cover for each other when one is away. Dr. Kurz’s background in dairy, swine and beef cattle caught Dr. Wolfe’s attention. “Being a dairy farmer…those guys…it’s about the hardest thing you can do,” he says. “I knew he’d have the work ethic for veterinary medicine.” His work ethic is what sets Dr. Kurz apart, Dr. Wolfe says. “He’s a workaholic. He has so many irons in the fire. I try to make sure he takes time for his family and his kids.” Time for family: Another thing that can be a challenge. An increasing challenge, as the military requires more time due to increased training requirements.
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Not always easy “I still enjoy it,” he says. He admits that running a practice in a small town, the 80- to 90-hour work weeks start to stack up. “It’s hard to find the time. When you have a family, it’s very hard. There are times when you just feel like you’re not being a good enough father or husband or putting enough attention toward the military. You may think, one weekend a month for the military, but there are emails and conference calls and educational requirements you have to meet. Trying to balance all that out with a family is a challenge at times.” Balancing service to family, community and country is a challenge, but it’s not the only place Dr. Kurz feels pressure. He faces the same challenges as other rural veterinarians across the country. Economics play a strong role in rural practice, he points out. “Everything we do, in rural areas, is based on economics. Especially your cattle work,” he says. “You might hear that in large cities, for an orthopedic surgery, they’re charging $2,500-$3,500. For an exploratory surgery it’s $1,500,” he continues. “I know I can’t charge that much, but I want that animal to get the care they need. We’re just not making as much on those services as they might in some urban areas.” In those cases, he says, it can be hard to justify high-priced, not-often-used equipment, like digital radiology or laser therapy. Still nearly three hours from Omaha, he has the necessities to make sure his clients have what they need. An even greater challenge faced by rural practitioners, like Dr. Kurz, is finding help. Rural practice can require longer hours, an understanding of agriculture and its clientele, less than ideal weather and travel conditions, and an appreciation for small-town living. It’s not an easy combination to find. “Right now, I have some students I’m mentoring and they’re interested in getting into vet school,” he explains. “There are students out there applying multiple times. They’re smart, work hard, grew up on a farm, want to come back to the area, this is something they want to do, but they can’t get into vet school right now.” Work ethic and an appreciation for agriculture have to play some role in choosing students to fit rural practice, Dr. Kurz says. For more on Assistant Dean of Admissions Dr. Callie Rost’s plan to make that happen, read about her plan on Page 16. Struggles aside, Dr. Kurz is thankful for his career and community. “People enjoy having a veterinarian in their community and they’ll support you –– if you provide them with good service.”
Above: Dr. Lance Kurz pregnancy checks a set of cattle at his clinic, Countryside Veterinary Clinic, in Fullerton, Nebraska. Left: Dr. Kurz and his wife, Andrea, pose for a Christmas photo with their four children. From left: Keelyn, Andrea, Braylon, Brecklyn, Emilyn and Dr. Kurz. Photo courtesy of the Kurz family.
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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES
one for the ages
Remembering Dr. Phyllis Hickney Larsen from the class of 1947 By Joe Montgomery. Photos courtesy of Lesley Gentry.
To Hold Its Own If I were pushed to carve one thought on lasting stone, I’d say, “I trust we come from stuff that’s tough enough to hold its own.” A poem by Dr. Phyllis Hickney Larsen, 1965
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This past August, the College of Veterinary Medicine lost one of its pioneering female alumni, Dr. Phyllis Mae Hickney Larsen. At 95 years old, she had still been quite active in retirement at her home in Ithaca, New York. She and her husband, C.M. “Mac” Larsen had returned to Ithaca in 1987 after living in California for about 37 years. Mac died in 2015. Dr. Larsen is survived by four children: Kristin (Kris), Lawrence, Ragnfrid and William; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
A historic woman and veterinarian
Growing up in Massachusetts
Dr. Larsen was featured in chapter eight of the book, “The It’s no understatement to say that Dr. Larsen developed a Lady is a Veterinarian,” written by Lesley Gentry, an author fascination with animals as a child. Her father, Augustus, worked who happens to be married to a K-State veterinary alumnus, at and managed a variety of dairy farms in Massachusetts. Dr. Robert Gentry, class of “Phyllis enjoyed watching her father 1981. Lesley’s book, published and the herdsmen take care of the dairy in 2005, profiles the first 12 cows, observing and taking a mental note female DVM graduates from the of all they were doing. It was not unusual College of Veterinary Medicine. to see Phyllis helping the herdsmen feed “The first 12 women at our the cows their beet pulp. She loved to see veterinary school should never the cows happy; at 5 or 6 years of age, she be forgotten,” Lesley says. considered them to be her friends,” writes “They were not only firsts for Lesley in “The Lady is a Veterinarian.” our veterinary college, but Dr. Larsen grew up attending different included among the first female secondary schools because her father veterinarians in the country. moved a lot to work at different dairy Their stories go way beyond operations. Her college education began at what I had written about them. Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, I am so proud of all of them –– where she would earn a bachelor’s degree especially Phyllis. I co-authored in zoology. a paper with her for the World “My mother’s family did not have extra Association for the History of money for college, so she was fortunate Veterinary Medicine Congress to attend Vassar on full scholarships, Dr. Phyllis Hickney Larsen’s senior photo in Minnesota in 2005. She was a for which she was eternally grateful,” says from when she earned her DVM in wonderful mentor and friend.” daughter Kris Larsen Campbell. “She June 1947. Dr. Larsen was herself an expert contributed regularly to scholarship funds on women veterinarians. She was a member of the Association for veterinary students because she cared about repaying her for Women Veterinarians (AWV) and in 1997 compiled the great, good fortune.” AWV’s 50th anniversary book, “Our History of Women in Dr. Larsen’s choices of veterinary college between K-State, Veterinary Medicine: Gumption, Grace, Grit, and Good Washington State and Iowa State were narrowed by special Humor.” She also served as president of the American Veterinary circumstances. The latter did not yet accept women into the Medical History Society (AVMHS) in 1999-2000. veterinary curriculum. Her sister Zoe happened to live in “It was her idea to start a news column in the Society’s semiManhattan already, being married to a cavalry officer who had annual journal, ‘Veterinary Heritage,’” recalls Susanne Whitaker, contracted malaria and was stationed at Fort Riley. Zoe offered secretary-treasurer of the AVMHS. “She felt strongly that free room and board to her sister, so Dr. Larsen accepted and good communication was important to keep the membership gained admittance to Kansas State College. involved. Soon, that expanded into separate, periodic ‘Interim Campus life at K-State News & Comment’ newsletters several times a year.” Dr. Larsen was one of only two women in her class. The other It wasn’t just the working relationship Susanne found to be was Mary Letitia Hammond. Dr. Larsen felt as though the odds inspiring. were against them. “There has hardly been a day when I don’t think of her and “One day though, the tables turned on the men,” Lesley writes want to tell her something, share news, talk about what’s going in “The Lady is a Veterinarian.” “It was on ambulatory duty to a on in the world, or get her opinion or insight,” Susanne says. farm owned by Dan Casement, the well-to-do-son of the famous “She had a positive influence on me as we got to know each other better over the years. I will always treasure our relationship chief construction engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad, that Phyllis was the minority singled out! Upon arriving at the and be forever grateful for having known her.” wildcatveterinarian | 63
farm where there were Hereford cattle, it was noticeable to the clinician and students that the owner and a couple of hands were having a degree of difficulty in getting a calf to suck a bottle.” Lesley explains that Mr. Casement chose Phyllis to give it a try. She succeeded, crediting having had her first dairy calf to take care of at age 4.
Career and family Dr. Larsen graduated in 1947 and took a position at a veterinary experiment station for the USDA at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She authored and co-authored three papers that were focused on livestock. She met a teaching fellow in the mathematics department who also enjoyed folk dancing and fell in love. She married Charles M. Larsen in 1948 and gave birth to her first child, Kris in 1949. The couple moved to California, in 1950 and had three more children. While Mac was serving in the Navy, Dr. Larsen worked part time at the San Diego Zoological Gardens and frequently cared for her neighbors’ animals. She led scout camp activities and 4-H meetings, but later returned to academic work and co-authored a research paper on goats. After a few years, the Larsens moved to Santa Clara, a growing rural area near San Francisco that would later become Silicon Valley. In 1981, Dr. Larsen earned a master’s degree in preventive veterinary medicine from the University of California, Davis, and presented research on feral goats at the International Conference on Goats in Tucson, Arizona. An opportunity arose to travel to China in 1984, where she would end up teaching English for three years at the Beijing (now Chinese National) Agricultural University. In 1996, Dr. Larsen was named Veterinarian of the Year by the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners (AASRP), and in 2002 she received the Judith Spurling Blue Ribbon Award from the Association of Women Veterinarians. She has also published a book, “To Find A Comet,” featuring 88 poems she wrote between 1939 and 2014.
help to sum up who she was and what she meant to those who were close to her. “Dr. Larsen was a trailblazer, who further instilled in me (and countless others) a love of veterinary history,” says Dr. Shannon Greeley, a practicing veterinarian from Chicago and co-historian of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association. “It was a blessing to have known her, and I am eternally grateful for her guidance and inspiration. With the loss of Dr. Larsen, the veterinary profession has lost an irreplaceable treasure.” “Phyllis was a gem and a most remarkable lady and veterinarian,” adds AVMHS president Russell W. Currier, DVM, MPH, DACVPM from Des Moines, Iowa. “Her contributions to females in the profession are most remarkable. I always enjoyed my interactions with her in person, by email and telephone. Bless her memory and feel that she blessed us all with a most fulfilling life and career.”
In memoriam Upon her death Aug. 11, 2018, Dr. Larsen leaves behind a unique legacy and long list of admirers. Perhaps these notes from members of the AVMHS
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Susanne Whitaker, Dr. Debbie Tacium, and Dr. Phyllis Larsen, July 2013 in front of the James Law Auditorium, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. Photo courtesy of Susanne Whitaker.
alumni news Dr. Del Miles, MS 1970 and former instructor Dr. Delbert “Del” Miles, a feedlot veterinarian from Greeley, Colorado, last week was recognized for his dedication to the health and well-being of cattle at the 2018 American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Miles was named the beef honoree to the Cattle Production Veterinarian Hall of Fame (CPVHOF). Dr. Miles received his DVM from the University of Missouri in 1966, and his master’s degree in veterinary pathology from Kansas State University in 1970. He then entered into a mixed practice and feedlot consulting business. Later he became an instructor at K-State while working on his graduate degree. He worked for Cutter Laboratories, Great Plains Chemical Company, Miller Feedlots Inc., and from 1984 to present, for Veterinary Research & Consulting Services LLC. Dr. Del Miles.
Dr. Marty Vanier, DVM 1981 For the second time in four years, Dr. Marty Vanier has made a major financial gift to the Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation in Manhattan, Kansas. The gift will be used to expand and enhance the projection system of the Horizon Ranch Immersive Experience Theater at the Flint Hills Discovery Center. Dr. Vanier’s gift will help provide new projectors and state-of-the-art technology upgrades to enable enhanced quality and diversity of films to be shown in the theater. The Flint Hills Discovery Center, which opened in downtown Manhattan in 2012, is a unique attraction which has undertaken the mission to showcase what is the very life and breathe of the North American Continent.
It’s permanent and traveling exhibits, and educational programming and outreach, are combined with points of interest throughout the Flint Hills to create a unique experience for every generation to learn and explore. Dr. Vanier and her late husband, Bob Krause, made an earlier gift in 2015, also for the theater. Their love of the tallgrass prairie and a deep appreciation for its role in shaping Kansas values and underpinning a significant sector of our agricultural history led them to want to encourage others to care as well. The couple felt a responsibility to be good stewards of the land and pass that appreciation of the Flint Hills onto future generations.
Dr. Lynn Stucky, DVM 1983 Dr. Lynn Stucky, owner of the Animal Hospital in Denton, Texas, has been serving as state representative in Texas House District 64. He won a primary race in March against Mark
Roy with 65 percent of the vote, and this fall is in the general election race against a challenger, Andrew Morris.
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alumni news Dr. James D. Pillen, DVM 1983 The Aksarben Foundation recently inducted Dr. James Pillen, Columbus, Nebraska, into its Court of Honor in the agriculture category. The Court of Honor was established in 1988 by the nonprofit to recognize those who embody Nebraskan values. Robert Reed, chairman of the 2018 Aksarben ball, says around 20 candidates are considered for the award each year, with between two and six people inducted annually. “You automatically say to yourself there’s way more people and families that are worthy of that kind of recognition than us,” Dr. Pillen says. “Very humbled.” The award recognizes individuals who excel in one of the following five categories: Agriculture, Arts, Business and Industry, Community Service, Education, Philanthropy, Professions, Public Service, Sports or Youth. Dr. Pillen was inducted into the court on Oct. 13 at the 2018 Aksarben Ball in Omaha. At the event, a medallion was placed around Dr. Pillen’s neck. He said it was great night for him and his family. Dr. Pillen attended and played college football as a defensive back for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was an Academic All-American and was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2004 and is a member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Today, the father of four and grandfather of seven serves as president of Pillen Family Farms and is a managing partner of DNA Genetics. Dr. James and Suzanne Pillen.
Dr. Larry Holler, DVM 1984 Instead of counting sheep to help go to sleep, Dr. Larry Holler and his wife, Susan, have been participating in a “ewe-nique” sheep-related project in South Dakota for the last 25 years. They have been looking at a specific genetic line of sheep, called the GM1 gangliosidosis trait, to potentially provide a treatment for Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Dr. Holler, who also earned a Ph.D. at Washington State University, is a diagnostic pathologist Dr. Wayne Banning and animal reproductive disease specialist in the veterinary
and biomedical sciences department at South Dakota State University. Susan has a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s degree in reproductive physiology from Purdue University. She has been employed in research, teaching, and diagnostic positions ad many universities. Together with Mike Nelson and their two sons, Paul and Matthew, they manage a farm and research flock at the GlycoScience Research facility, in Brookings, South Dakota.
Dr. Scott Hay, DVM 1988 Dr. Scott Hay has been named American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) 2019 vice president. He is president and managing shareholder of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based racetrack practice Teigland, Franklin, and Brokken DVMs Inc. Dr. Hay was installed during the Dec. 4 President’s Luncheon at the 2018 AAEP Convention in San Francisco, California, and will become AAEP
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president in 2021. Dr. Hay joined Teigland, Franklin, and Brokken shortly after graduating from Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, in Manhattan, in 1988. His clinical focus is on lameness, performance evaluations, and purchase examinations. Since joining in the AAEP in 1988, Dr. Hay has volunteered considerable time and expertise in service to the association.
alumni news Dr. Ronald James Boyd, DVM 2003 Dr. Ronald Boyd was a candidate for his local school board in Victorville, California. He has been working at a small animal general veterinary practice where he serves as the medical director, providing both medical and business leadership. Dr. Boyd attended three years of college at University of California, Irvine studying biology, then two years at California State University, Fresno studying preveterinary sciences before being accepted at the Kansas
State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where he graduated with a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 2003. “As a parent and veterinarian, I understand the value of a good education,” Dr. Boyd says. “The Teacher-StudentFamily relationship is the most important part of our educational system; and the school board’s primary role is to nurture and develop that alliance.”
Dr. Gretchen Cole, DVM 2004 Congrats to Dr. Gretchen Cole on the birth a new baby –– that is, a baby elephant named Kai at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. Dr. Gretchen Cole is an associate veterinarian at the zoo. She was featured in several local news stories on the birth. “This is Asha’s third pregnancy, and she knew exactly what to do,” Dr. Gretchen Cole says. “The birth process was pretty smooth. She was actually only in labor for 15 minutes.”
Dr. James Carpenter, professor of wildlife and zoological medicine at K-State, says Dr. Cole was one of the CVM’s 41 zoological medicine house officers (she was an intern from 20052006). He says the other veterinarian at the Oklahoma City Zoo is Dr. Jennifer D’Agostino, who was a small animal rotating intern at K-State from 2001-2002 and a zoological medicine intern from 2002-2003.
Dr. Donovan Hauser, DVM 2005 Dr. Donovan Hauser, who is originally from Papillion, Nebraska, has moved into a new veterinary facility in Grand Island, Nebraska, along with co-owner Dr. Mark Hughes. The Parks Veterinary Hospital opened in May and has allowed them to increase parking, exam rooms, treatment areas, surgery capacity and hospital beds. It also allowed them to add a segregated cat exam room and lodging space, and an intensive
care area. The lodging area, for both large and small animals, is four times larger than the lodging space at the previous location. Its rehabilitation area includes both an outdoor area with all-weather turf, an indoor turf area and a swimming pool. It also has more space to expand its grooming capacity. They also anticipate being able to add more veterinarians to their staff.
Dr. Akaterina Davros, DVM 2018 Dr. Akaterina Davros was one of 28 recipients of the 2018 Merck Animal Health Veterinary Student Innovation Award. This award was designed to recognize graduating seniors at each veterinary school accredited through the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in the U.S. and Canada. Dr. Davros received this award for her help with creating programs to improve mental and physical health of students, staff and faculty.
“I scheduled weekly free yoga classes, created an appreciation board in the VHC and other programs to breakdown the mental health stigmas in our profession,” says Dr. Davros. Dr. Davros is currently an emergency medicine intern at the Fort Collins (Colorado) Veterinary and Emergency Rehab Hospital.
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alumni news
GOODKNIGHT
Dr. Richard Schmitz (‘56) receives medal from France for service during WWII. Story and photos reprinted with permission. Written by Kim Harris, managing editor Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook. With his family by his side, World War II veteran, Dr. Richard Schmitz, DVM class of 1956, accepted the National Order of The Legion of Honor in the rank of Chevalier from Christophe Lemoine, the consul general of France in Los Angeles. The medal was presented during a special ceremony held Sept. 20, at the Town Square Park in Murieta, California. Dr. Schmitz, who lives in Anza, California, was a private first class during his time in France in World War II. He sat solemnly during the ceremony next to three other Southern California honorees: Pfc. Forrest Huffstetler, Staff Sgt. Alexandro Tejada and 1st Lt. Muriel Engelman. Terri Gans, assistant to the consul general of France in Los Angeles, served as mistress of ceremonies for the Christophe Lemoine, the consul general of France in Los Angeles, pins the event and introduced each recipient. National Order of The Legion of Honor on Dr. Richard Schmitz, DVM Dr. Schmitz, a well-known, recently retired 1956, for his WWII service. veterinarian who was born in Kansas in 1925, joined the Army in August 1943, after he graduated from high in 1956,” Gans says. “He has practiced continually since, only school. “Richard was assigned to the 42nd Rainbow Infantry Division recently retiring.” Lemoine presented the awards, saying the people of France and went overseas in late November,” Gans says. “The first were grateful for the efforts put forth by the veterans and the units went ashore early in December, and within a few days all sacrifices they made. elements were assigned to security duty from Strasbourg, along “It is a special day for me as the consul general of France in the Rhine River and into the Alsace and Lorraine areas.” The 42nd Infantry Division later pushed “deep” into Germany Los Angeles. I am here to express the everlasting gratitude of the people of France,” Lemoine says. “You helped France to restore and “eventually had the distinction of being the first troops to her freedom. Freedom is a gift that does not come without a liberate the concentration camp at Dachau.” Dr. Schmitz, who served in theater for three years was awarded price. It requires sacrifices.” At the end of the ceremony, Dr. Schmitz, who is known the Bronze Star Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the American throughout the Anza Valley for being a kind and humble man, Campaign Medal, the EAME Campaign Medal, the World War was given a chance to address those gathered for the ceremony. II Victory Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. “After returning home in 1946, Dr. Schmitz immediately enrolled in a science curriculum at Kansas State University, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1951 and receiving his DVM 68 | wildcatveterinarian
“I’d like to express my appreciation to France and to all of the people here for arranging this really great meeting,” Dr. Schmitz said. “I would like to remind everybody, that during this time, back then, what we are celebrating now, there were a lot of other guys over there, doing just what we were doing.” Dr. Schmitz was recently interviewed about his service during World War II on podcast hosted by the “Americhicks,” which is posted at: https://soundcloud.com/the-heart-of-the-matter/heartof-the-matter-31717wwii-stories-dr-richard-schmitz-liberatingdachau.
Chanute’s Animal Medical Center celebrates 60 years Congratulations to the Animal Medical Center in Chanute, which will be celebrating 60 years of service under Dr. Don McReynolds and the late Dr. Billy Joe LaRue, classmates in the DVM class of 1956, and now owned by Dr. Meghan (Tindle) Vorhees, DVM class of 2009. The center has another veterinarian on staff: Dr. Roxanne Witt, a graduate of the Oklahoma State University. Drs. McReynolds and LaRue were members of ROTC at K-State during the Korean Conflict. During two years in the Army, both served as food inspectors. Dr. McReynolds is from north central Kansas and practice briefly in California, which he says, “was nice,” but that Kansas was “calling him.” Dr. LaRue wrote to Dr. McReynolds and invited him to join a practice in Chanute. The pair opened their clinic in a 20- by From left, Dr. Meghan Vorhees, veterinary technician Sue Alford, Dr. Roxanne Witt and 40-foot building, and then expanded Dr. Don McReynolds examine a feline patient. (Photo courtesy of the Chanute Tribune). it in 1969. wildcatveterinarian | 69
alumni news
Alumni Fellow Award 2018 recipient Dr. Michael Whitehair, DVM 1974 Dr. Michael Whitehair, Abilene, Kansas, is a large animal veterinary practitioner and partner at Abilene Animal Hospital PA. His clinical interests include beef, feedlot and equine medicine. He has been a partner at Abilene Animal Hospital since 1975. Prior to that he practiced at Miami County Veterinary Clinic in Paola, Kansas. Dr. Whitehair is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and currently serves as the chair of its board of directors. He also is a member of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Equine Practitioners and Academy of Veterinary Consultants. Dr. Whitehair also served as president of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association in 1993 and earned its Distinguished Service Award in 2008. Dr. Whitehair is a former board member for the K-State Alumni Association and the Veterinary Medical Alumni Association. Additionally, he has assisted the College of Veterinary Medicine in multiple dean searches. He and his wife, Catherine, have two adult children: Martha and Rebecca. Dr. Whitehair earned two degrees from K-State, a bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine in 1972 and a DVM in 1974.
Dr. Michael Whitehair earned his DVM from Kansas State University in 1974.
In memoriam Dr. Dale K. Sorensen Sun City West, Arizona Sept. 11, 2018
Dr. Phyllis H. Larsen Ithaca, New York Aug. 11, 2018
Dr. David Norman Scarr Barboursville, West Virginia Feb. 16, 2018
1947 Dr. Saul Narotsky Getzville, New York May 20, 2017
1950 Dr. James Lajos Palotay Bend, Oregon Jan. 21, 2017
Dr. Dale I. Crawford Baldwin City, Kansas Aug. 21, 2018
Dr. Cecil Wayne Ingmire Joliet, Illinois March 10, 2018
1939 Dr. Herman A. Jokerst St. Augustin, Florida Sept. 26, 2014
1946 Dr. Ralph H. Stuesser Thorp, Wisconsin July 1, 2017
1943 Dr. William Lumb, Fort Collins, Colorado Feb. 3, 2018 Dr. Peter Earl Gory Joplin, Missouri June 16, 2002
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In memoriam 1951 Dr. Donald E. Jackson Wichita, Kansas Feb. 21, 2018
1960 Dr. Lucky Charles Simpson Norton, Kansas Aug. 16, 2015
1968 Dr. Marvin E. Turner Chico, California May 7, 2018
Dr. Gerald Theobald Bushnell, Illinois June 26, 2018
Dr. Richard D. Bair McCook, Nebraska Jan. 2, 2018
1970 Col. (RET) Steven G. Grube Cabot, Arkansas Dec. 11, 2017
Dr. Gene Warren Porter Fergus Falls, Minnesota Aug. 14, 2018
1961 Dr. Gary Powell Combs Bowie, Maryland Sept. 22, 2017
Dr. Stanley Edwin Worl Saint Joseph, Missouri Aug. 11, 2018 1952 Dr. John William Meyer Chapman. Kansas Aug. 8, 2018 1953 Dr. Earl Shephard Beaver Maumelle, Arkansas Jan. 17, 2018 Dr. Charles David Heinze Erie, Pennsylvania March 25, 2018 1956 Dr. James Richard Butler Jan. 21, 2018 1957 Dr. James Louis Kastens Wichita, Kansas Jan. 12, 2018 Dr. Robert Dale Lewis Omaha, Nebraska Feb. 21, 2018 Dr. T. Douglas Heath Camarillo, California April 29, 2017
Dr. William Aman Grant Valley Center, California March 12, 2018 Dr. Noble Leon Saunders Osborne, Kansas Oct. 21, 2017 Dr. Marvin Eugene Freel Monterey, California April 7, 2018 Dr. Richard R. Hilmer Phoenix, Arizona Aug. 1, 2018 Dr. W.E. Mathes Worthington, Indiana Aug. 25, 2018 1963 Dr. L. Devon Miller Lebanon, Indiana Dec. 27, 2017 1964 Dr. Arthur Daryl Apley Larned, Kansas Feb. 17, 2018 1967 Dr. Fineas G. Hughbanks Gooding, Idaho Feb. 12, 2018
1972 Dr. James Roger Wilson Lenexa, Kansas Feb. 3, 2018 1974 Dr. Arthur Ray Dirks Dodge City, Kansas May 17, 2018 Dr. Danny H. Naiman Hill City, Kansas Feb. 4, 2018
Dr. Thomas R. Hathaway Winnsboro, Texas May 13, 2018 1980 Dr. Laurence Leon Archer Lyons, Kansas March 6, 2018 Dr. Patrick Jerome Moriarty Bemidji, Minnesota Sept. 10, 2018 2002 Dr. Kristina Diane Booker Oakley, Kansas Sept. 13, 2018 2017 Dr. Cory Steven Haigh Manhattan, Kansas Dec. 7, 2017
1975 Dr. Jon Daryl Schroeder Concordia, Missouri May 1, 2018 Dr. Douglas Arthur Nielsen Wichita, Kansas June 4, 2018 Dr. Richard Edsel Pursley Rose Hill, Kansas May 27, 2018 1976 Dr. Joseph A. Kobuszewski Valley Falls, Kansas Sept. 13, 2018 1979 Dr. Gerald John Thouvenelle Russell, Kansas April 29, 2018
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alumni news
2018 Distinguished Alumnus Award Dr. Martha O’Rourke, DVM 1966 Dr. Michael Moore, DVM 1968
Dr. Martha O’Rourke, Toms River, New Jersey, is originally from Hoisington, Kansas. She earned both a bachelor’s and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Kansas State University in 1964 and 1966, respectively. She completed the basic science course in ophthalmology at New York University Post Graduate School of Medicine in 1970. She is currently owner and president of the Small Animal Veterinary Associates PA in Toms River. She became board certified by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in companion animal medicine in 1983 and was recertified in 1990 and 2004. She elected emeritus status in 2003. Dr. Michael Moore, Surprise, Arizona, is originally from Courtland, Kansas. He earned his DVM in 1968 from K-State. After graduation, he went to work as a veterinarian at an animal hospital in Superior, Nebraska. After six months, Dr. Moore joined the army and served as a captain for two years before returning to the animal hospital in Superior where he practiced until 1998. He joined Novartis Animal Health (then known as Grand Laboratories) in 1999 as the territory manager, custom vaccine/feedlot adviser, manager trainer and professional services veterinarian. Dr. Moore retired from Elanco Animal Health in 2016.
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2018 E.R. Frank Award Dr. Harish Minocha
Dr. Harish Minocha, Manhattan, Kansas, received his bachelor of veterinary science degree (BVSc) in 1955 from Punjab University, India, and worked at the National Research Institute on bovine and equine diseases. He came to K-State in 1961 and earned a master’s degree in microbiology in 1963 and a doctorate in virology in 1967. From 1966 to 1970, he was an assistant professor at North Carolina State University. He was awarded an NIH grant to work on tumor viruses, and he returned to K-State in 1970 as an associate professor of virology in the CVM. He retired in 2003.
80th
annual
alumni news
2018 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award
2018 Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Kathleen Ritzmann, Madison, Nebraska, and husband Dr. Jeffrey Korus own and operate the Madison Country Veterinary Clinic. She grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and earned dual bachelor’s degrees in animal sciences and general agriculture at the University of Maryland-College Park in 2004. She earned Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees at K-State in 2008. She held an internship with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in the summer of 2008 and then worked as shelter veterinarian for the Animal Protective League in Springfield, Illinois, before returning to Nebraska in 2017.
Dr. Howard Erickson, Manhattan, Kansas, grew up on a farm near Wahoo, Nebraska. After high school, he attended Luther College. He transferred to Kansas State University where he received his bachelor’s and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from K-State in 1959. He then joined the U.S. Air Force as a commissioned officer. While with the Air Force, he received a doctorate from Iowa State University in 1966. Dr. Erickson served as a full-time faculty member at K-State from 1981 to 2011. Now an emeritus professor, he continues to teach an elective course on veterinary history in the fall semester.
Dr. Kathleen Ritzmann
Dr. Howard Erickson
conference for
veterinarians June 3-5, 2018
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alumni news
2017-2018
Alumni recognition awards Veterinary Meeting & Expo 2018 (formerly NAVC) Dr. George Looby, DVM 1958
Western Veterinary Conference 2018 Dr. Keith Roehr, DVM 1981
Dr. George Looby, Woodstock, Connecticut, received a bachelor’s degree in 1950 at the University of Connecticut. After serving in the U.S. Army in Korea, he earned his DVM degree at K-State in 1958. Dr. Looby spent 13 years as clinical faculty at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, where he is now an assistant professor emeritus. After retiring, Dr. Looby served part-time and in-relief as a clinician in several local practices. He retired from all practice activities in 2008 after 50 years of service overall. He was named to the Tuft’s Faculty Hall of Fame in 2012.
Dr. Keith A. Roehr, Broomfield, Colorado, has served as the state veterinarian for Colorado Department of Agriculture since 2009. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University in 1981. From there, he spent more than 14 years fine-tuning his skills in private practice in Philipsburg, St. Maarten (Caribbean); Monte Vista, Colorado; Lufkin, Texas; and Broomfield, Colorado, before shifting his career focus to regulatory medicine.
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alumni news
American Veterinary Medical Association 2018 Brig. Gen. Erik H. Torring III, DVM 1989
Brig. Gen. Erik H. Torring III, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, received his bachelor’s degree in 1987 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from K-State in 1989. He was commissioned through ROTC in the US Army Veterinary Corps upon receiving his DVM. Brig. Gen. Torring also earned a master’s in public health from the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in 1994 and a master’s in strategic studies from the US Army War College in 2009. While he has had a very decorative career, Brig. Gen. Torring stays humbled and is thankful for his Wildcat roots.
Fetch dvm360 Conference 2018 (formerly CVC) Dr. Pete Sherlock - DVM 1980
Dr. Pete Sherlock, Washington, Kansas, received his bachelor’s degree in animal science and industry in 1976 and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1980, both from Kansas State University. He was a partner in the Washington Veterinary Clinic PA for 32 years and a partner in Ag Management Services for 15 years. In 1995, he was recipient of the Kansas Veterinary Medical Association (KVMA) President’s Award and in 2011 the KVMA Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Sherlock currently works for Elanco Animal Health in the Beef and Dairy division in Kansas and Nebraska.
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alumni news
landGrant
Students benefit from Garrett scholarship after sale of part of family farmland. Story and photo by Joe Montgomery
A bouquet of purple streaks adorn Judy Garrett’s coiffure, symbolizing both pride and passion for a university she never officially attended. She is equally passionate for her furry family. “I have kind of a special connection with animals,” Judy beams “I had pets since I was 3 years old –– I even had 30 cats at one time. We had so many animals –– pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, turkey -- my friends would come out to show their kids how sows have babies.” Judy and her late husband, Eddie, took over the family farm at Bonner Springs, Kansas, in 1965. Eddie’s father was a member of the Shawnee Tribe. The farm was part of the same Kaw Valley ground that his Indian ancestors had toiled upon. In 1979, they added to their farm with the acquisition of 120 acres in Leavenworth County and a few years later, bought the joining 40 acres. Eddie retired from farming in 1995, and the family decided to sell part of the original Garrett homestead. Fifty plus acres of the original Homestead is still being farmed today. “The Indians don’t believe we own the land,” Judy explains. “It is here for everyone’s use, and we are here to take care of it. When we sold part of this land, we wanted a way to give back. Eddie and I always believed in education –– it’s an answer to a lot of problems in our society today –– so we used this to help start our scholarship in 1996.” In addition to farming, Judy drove a school bus for 16 years and then established a prospering business: J.A.G. Stained Glass. She has also been an active member of Operation WildLife (www.owl-online.org), an organization in the Eastern Kansas area that helps rescue and rehabilitates wild animals such as eagles, owls, red tail hawks and geese. Judy pointed out how the organization recently helped a bald Eagle with severe lead poisoning.
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“After months of hard work it was able to be released back into the wild. The release was covered on the local news,” Judy says proudly.
A veterinary scholarship “I first met Judy 30-35 years ago when she called me after midnight needing help with a sow having birthing issues,” recalls Dr. Ron Lee, DVM class of 1971, who practiced in nearby Eudora, Kansas. “Judy is salt-of-the-earth farm folk with a heart of gold. She’s a little feisty and independent, so you know, they had a bunch of ground that got swallowed up by the city, no children, and, because of her love of animals, I hooked her up with the College of Veterinary Medicine to fund a scholarship.” “Dr. Lee was wonderful to help us,” Judy says. “We met with him and talked about the scholarship idea. Eddie had two sons, the oldest with no interest in farming or college, and the youngest graduated with honors from college in Long Beach, California, so we decided to help somebody else instead. K-State came up as an option, so we were able to start an endowed scholarship with a $25,000 gift, later adding another $1,000.00.” The scholarship is set up to give preference to students from a four-county area around Kansas City: Wyandotte, Johnson, Leavenworth and Douglas counties in Kansas. A first-year student is selected and then has an opportunity to renew the scholarship each year till graduating, pending a minimum grade point requirement. A new student is then selected from the next year’s incoming class. “Our scholarship generates about $1,000-$1,200 per year,” Judy says. “Eddie thought it wasn’t enough, but even just a small amount can help. It can buy a lot of books. I took 40 hours of credit at Johnson County Community College and
Judy Garrett, center, shows her purple pride while meeting scholarship recipients Dr. Loren Easterwood, DVM 2016, and John Doyle, currently in his third year of studies. Judy worked with Kansas State University Foundation to establish the original scholarship program.
had to buy books as a student. I love books and always kept all my books.” Eddie passed away in August 2014. In lieu of flowers, the family requested memorials for the scholarship fund he and Judy had started.
One student at a time Since the scholarship was started, six different students have been selected for the scholarship over the years: Dr. Heather Balentine Walz, Auburn, Alabama, class of 2000; Dr. Denise Woods-Natale, Tacoma, Washington, class of 2003; Dr. James Dillon, Austin, Texas, class of 2008; Dr. Shelby Kooser Matz, Sapulpa, Oklahoma, class of 2012; Dr. Loren Easterwood, Manhattan, Kansas, class of 2016; and John Doyle, currently a third-year student. Dr. Easterwood is currently a completing a residency at the Veterinary Health Center at K-State and plans to finish in the summer of 2020. “I am appreciative to be a recipient of the Garrett Scholarship,” Dr. Easterwood says. “The scholarship allowed me to focus more on my studies and less so on financial situations. Mrs. Garrett has set a great example, and I hope to make an impact on my community the way she has for me. I look forward to opportunities to practice as an internist in the future, wherever I am meant to be.” John adds, “I feel tremendously fortunate to be a recipient of the Garrett Scholarship. Mrs. Garrett is extremely
invested in the education of us veterinary students and is very passionate about this university. It is a great honor and blessing to receive this scholarship from such an amazing individual. I’m considering either small animal general practice or pursuing a residency (not sure what kind just yet). Ideally, I’d like to practice somewhere close to home near the Kansas City area.” Judy worked with Kansas State University Foundation to establish the original scholarship program. After seeing the impact of her original gift, Judy has decided to include Kansas State University in a future planned estate gift, to provide even more impact on future educational opportunities for students. “It is sure a good feeling to realize the quality of education that these kids have the opportunity for at K-State,” Dr. Lee says. “Just visiting with them, I can see how knowledgeable and prepared that they are for entering private practice. I’ve always thought I received a great education at K-State and was proud to graduate from one of the top veterinary schools in the country.” After Judy and Eddie set up their scholarship for the veterinary students, she said friends learned about it and told her they didn’t know she was rich. Her reply was short and to the point: “Eddie and I are not rich by any means, but we are willing to share.”
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Final look
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Photo by Shelby Mettlen
BigCat
Literally. Black Fire, a 2.5-year-old white Bengal tiger, was brought into the Veterinary Health Center in the fall from the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. A CT scan performed at the VHC revealed a hiatal type 4 hernia, which required an extensive surgical procedure. Black Fire has since returned home and is on the mend. Black Fire, along with his two siblings, were rescued as cubs from a “pseudo-facility” that partook in “cub petting,”
a practice of using baby animals, like tigers, as photo props for paying customers. The health effects on both the cub and mother are detrimental. You can learn more about Turpentine Creek’s efforts to diminish these practices by visiting their website: https:// www.turpentinecreek.org. Watch for more on Black Fire in the next issue of Wildcat Veterinarian.
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101 Trotter Hall Manhattan, KS 66506-5604
Give back to your Kansas State University Foundation 1800 Kimball Ave., Suite 200 833-448-3578 785-775-2000
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Learn more and give online: www.found.ksu.edu/veterinary-medicine/give-online.html
Notice of nondescrimination 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.
Room with a view The first floor of Trotter Hall offers new study space in an area called the Student Success Center. The room features group study tables as well as conference areas and seating for individual study. Part of the design includes the creation of natural lighting by cutting several windows into the external walls, plus the addition of a door/exit onto a patio, which will be renovated in the spring. A new Clinical Skills laboratory occupies the adjacent space.