K-State Vet Med - 2019 Winter Magazine

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

wildcatveterinarian

Vol. 2 | No. 2 | winter 2020

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

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

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

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

ourvision Exceptional teaching. Impactful research.

Outstanding service. Extraordinary graduates.

getsocial Like us, tweet us, follow us and watch us: Facebook @KSUCVM Twitter @KSUCVM Instagram @kstatevetmed YouTube @KSUCVM Social icon

Rounded square Only use blue and/or white.

For more details check out our Brand Guidelines.

On the cover: Dr. Maureen Sutter, veterinarian at Red Oak Animal Hospital in Bucyrus, Kansas, and graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine, performs a health check on a boarded horse at the Equus Curito Equine Center. Read more about her impact on Page 48.

Photo by Audrey Hambright.

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Photo by Audrey Hambright wildcatveterinarian | 3

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exceptionalteaching

16 practice makes perfect Alumnus volunteers as mentor in clinical skills lab.

By Joe Montgomery.

20 working on wellness New college activities provide outlets for stress.

By Piper Brandt.

impactfulresearch

29 it takes a village Collective efforts enhance anaplasmosis research projects.

By Joe Montgomery.

32 unexpected beginnings A path to veterinary medicine takes a K-State researcher in a new direction.

By Cheyenne Swoope.

24 this is how we role

Students demonstrate veterinary skills to community students.

By Brenna Leahy.

news highlights 8 Student spotlight: real-time rotations Students share their perspectives on fourth-year clinical rotations.

35 meet Dr. jamie Henningson Director of KSVDL

70 TAKING FLIGHT

Donor’s gift supports avian medicine.

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outstandingservice

36 part of the plan KSVDL plays an important role in national network to protect and enhance animal agriculture.

By Joe Montgomery.

38 service with a smile VHC puts a crown on a canine’s canine tooth.

By Joe Montgomery.

42 don’t play with fire A tiger with lifelong challenges continues to beat the odds.

By Audrey Hambright.

46 pet partners

extraordinarygraduates

48 removing risk A severe outbreak of strangles leads a K-State alumnus to help initiate strict biosecurity protocols.

By Audrey Hambright.

52 rural pride For those in the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas (VTPRK), it has evoked two main principles: hard work and pride.

By Audrey Hambright.

58 story tellers Video project puts focus on alumni careers and memorable moments

By Joe Montgomery.

CVM works with local animal shelter to enhance pet health.

By Brenna Leahy.

features | winter 20 wildcatveterinarian | 5

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FROM THE DEAN

making history New student initiatives lead to wonderful stories of extraordinary graduates

By Dean Bonnie Rush As 2019 comes to a close, we are excited to share some highlights from what has been a very eventful year in the life of your Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. In this issue of Wildcat Veterinarian, there are several exciting new chapters being added to the history of our college.

Focus on wellness Over the past two years, we have focused on strengthening the learning environment for professional students. Wellness initiatives ensure students have access to mental health support, quality study space, exercise equipment, and social activities. Students have 24/7 access to a new fitness room in the basement of Trotter Hall.

The House System developed by Dr. Peggy Schmidt (see Page 20) provides social activities and helps smooth the transition to professional school for many students. An expansion of our community outreach activities provides early clinical experiences and community engagement for underclassman and allows senior students to share new skills in service to others.

This is How We Role, page 24 and Pet Partners, Page 48 are excellent examples of new community outreach activities for the college. Community outreach has become so strong; we are purchasing a new mobile vehicle to support these activities and disaster response. The vehicle has been funded by generous donations.

Renovations for enhanced learning In addition to wellness activities, we have upgraded laboratory facilities and student study space. Three laboratories have been renovated in the last two years to enhance safety and promote an effective learning environment.

The Walter Cash Anatomy Laboratory is equipped with downdraft tables to draw formalin fumes away from the dissection area. A technology-rich classroom allows students to work in groups of four to study visual course material including microanatomy and diagnostic imaging. The expanded Clinical Skills curriculum and Cheryl Mellenthin Laboratory are highlighted on Pages 16 through 19.

A new Testing Center (Trotter Basement) was built this summer, allowing students with accommodations to take examinations within the complex. The CVM library and student study space on three of four floors in Trotter Hall have been renovated to provide study space designed for collaboration, with kitchen amenities to promote healthy eating.

Extraordinary graduates We have recently begun a new initiative to capture stories of the veterinary profession as told by our experienced alumni. (See Page 60.) The process began when we ran out of space in the Trotter Hall lobby for class composites. All class composites were placed on a touch screen for easy access. Soon, visiting graduates were telling their hosts and other guests about their classmates while viewing their class composite. It seemed we should capture the accomplishments and career diversity of our graduates to share with the world.

Graduates with more than 40 years of veterinary experience are interviewed for about an hour. Their stories are condensed into an 8- to 10-minute professional video to share with the public. In the past year, we have interviewed more than 80 graduates, and approximately 20 of their stories can be viewed on the CVM Alumni webpage. These stories have exceeded my expectations at every level. As I share these videos with high school and undergraduate students, I ask “What did you

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Dean Bonnie Rush

see?” Invariably prospective students respond with “passion, commitment, comradery, and dedication.”

These stories share graduates providing service to the profession at all costs, overcoming adversity, and demonstrating resilience. These stories validate the breadth of the profession with representation from private practice, research, academics, public service, and military service. I find it incredible how our graduates remember, in some cases 60 years later, the results of their first exam, the anxiety of a pop quiz, the day they learned they were going to veterinary school and more. In all cases, the videos demonstrate that being a member of the veterinary profession changes your life forever.

Thanks for your support I want to take a quick moment to recognize all the outstanding support we receive for the College of Veterinary Medicine. Through the efforts of our development team, we had our second largest fundraising year in college history

with $15.19 million provided by 1,531 alumni, friends and corporate partners. We thank all those who have graciously and generously supported the college this year, such as Janet Brubaker, whose story you’ll see on Page 72. We are well on our way to meeting our 2020 fundraising goals. Thank you to alumni and friends of the college for their support of professional students, graduate training and college programs.

We hope you will enjoy this issue of our magazine and learn about all the great 2 Mission and vision “memories” being 4 contents created by and for future generations 6 From the dean of Wildcat 13 college news Veterinarians.

in every issue

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Alumni news wildcatveterinarian | 7

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Student spotlight

in real time Students share their perspectives on fourth-year clinical rotations.

Story and photos by Audrey Hambright and Joe Montgomery

Fourth-year student Libby Farney performs a physical examination as part of her clinical rotation with the Pet Health Center.

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Alexandra Allen: After three years of sitting through lectures and accumulating a plethora of knowledge, fourth year is finally a time to apply what we’ve learned. It is a crazy transition going from diligently taking notes all day to being on your feet all day and interacting directly with patients and clients. We are reminded constantly that the previous years in Trotter Hall have prepared us for this, but, quite honestly, I still frequently question myself. Here is a glimpse at a day in the life of two of my classmates and me: fourth-year veterinary students.

Peter Cho: Today marks a new rotation. I’ve been on large animal services for the past month and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve got a lot of good experience, but I’m ready to go back to the other side of the hospital. I start dentistry today and heard a lot of good things about it, so I’m pretty excited.

As far as the morning goes, I tried something new. My dog has been dealing with some separation anxiety when I’m away, so I’ve been keeping her in her kennel for the past two or three weeks while I’m training each day. Eventually I’d like to leave her out, so I tried something new today. I took her out on about a two-mile run this morning. I don’t Preparing for the day know if this is going to be my daily routine, but if there’s a Libby Farney: The lot of improvement, then morning starts like many I’m willing to do it just — get dressed, take care because first, it gets me of my dogs, grab some out of bed, and I think coffee and breakfast on physical fitness is really the go and head to the important, but second, school between 7:00 and if it keeps her more 7:30 a.m. This rotation comfortable throughout has been a blessing in the day, then it’s worth it that I can start my day for me. a little later than the Alexandra: A few last three rotations I rotations into clinics I have been on. I know started to catch the hang my appointments, but of things and started to I review the charts one feel more comfortable and more time before the day, more confident. Then, read over some material before I knew it, I was on for rounds while sipping my way to Colorado for coffee and compose an externship at a large myself. multidisciplinary hospital.

I like to get to school I was feeling a whole new early, because there is wave of nerves. What just something about should I wear? Where Fourth-year student Peter Cho works with one of the college’s the hospital in the do I go when I get there? cannulated cows during a livstock rotation. morning that allows Will they like me? Will I me to find my center. like them? My mind was 7:50 a.m. rolls around and I’m off to rounds. We discuss ear restless, but I was excited. infections, medications, whether or not to culture an ear, I arrived at 7:40 a.m. at the emergency entrance and waited adjunct therapies and how to ensure we are doing the best in the front lobby. An intern named Lauren came down to we can to treat an infection. The information is pertinent take me to morning rounds. I walked into a conference room and interesting, but something about sitting back down in a of unfamiliar faces sitting around a large oval table. I sat down didactic lecture situation lulls me to my coffee cup. I scribble and listened as rounds began. Much like our rounds in the notes as they come and think about how there is just never VHC, each intern presented cases they had in the hospital enough coffee. and their case management was discussed. As rounds wrapped up, I became nervous because I was unsure of what to do wildcatveterinarian | 9

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next. Gabby, the clinician in charge of the extern program, approached me and introduced herself and offered me a tour before we started seeing appointments.

Mid-morning Alexandra: Once we were back in the clinic I was asked to prepare for oncology appointments for the day. I got on their system, EzyVet, and began reading. Our first patient was a drop-off recheck for an 8-year-old cat with lymphoma who was being treated with CHOP therapy. The second drop-off appointment was a 6-year-old dog with a prostatic mass that had doubled in size since his last visit. Our third appointment was a 9-year-old dog who has a metastatic mast cell tumor with such severe swelling of his submandibular lymph nodes he presented in respiratory distress. I was hastily racking my mind trying to remember my oncology notes from Medicine 2 as we saw these first few patients. Which medications are in CHOP therapy again? How do we treat prostatic and mast cell tumors? The clinician was happy to answer my questions, but I also worried I was asking questions I should already know the answers to.

Peter: One cool thing that happened was that a ferret came to the VHC, and was seen through exotics. It was Zelda — the ferret with a pacemaker — she was pretty noteworthy from the hospital a couple of years ago. She came in for a dental examination today because her referring veterinarian recommended a dental cleaning. They recommended K-State because they saw some tartar and potentially some extractions that needed to happen, so they [Zelda and her owner] came here.

This part of the day was really cool, because we showed Zelda to Dr. Doug Winter, who is the board-certified dentist here. I got to follow him around. It wasn’t my case. Again, it was an exotics case, so they came to us to consult with Dr. Winter. I got to see Dr. David Eshar [from exotics] and Dr. Winter talk to each other about the case, and talk about a pretty interesting dilemma. Dr. Winter was able to do the procedure, but Dr. Eshar had concerns about the high risk of post-operative complications for Zelda. Many options were discussed and there was constant dialogue between two brilliant clinicians.

Libby: It’s 8:55 a.m. and the alarm on my watch goes off to remind me I have an appointment to do a video review of me interacting with a client. I chat with the counselor about how fourth year is going: “well, overall.” She hits play on the video player and praises me on a job well done as I watch in

bewilderment at the person I see on the screen. It’s almost a “pinch yourself ” moment. That was me on the screen.

I remember feeling so insecure that day. The case threw me a curve ball and somewhere along the line, I’d missed some critical information about my patient that I shouldn’t have.

I was assimilating a plan from the rusty information in my mind, but there I was presenting information in a calm and collected manner. I certainly looked confident even when I didn’t feel it. The consultation lasts 30 minutes, and I leave with an idea of some improvements I can make.

Lunch break Libby: Next on the list is a discussion about my afternoon appointment. I know the case, a dog that I had become quite familiar with on a past rotation presenting for a behavior consult. I know there are many options for treatment but finding the best treatment won’t be so simple. I present my thoughts to my clinician, and we have a great discussion about anxiety in dogs. My clinician prints some literature for me to become familiar with before the appointment, and I call the owner to come up with a plan to make the appointment as smooth as possible for her dog. I grab some lunch and eat outside.

Lunch is the other time I give myself. Even if it is 15 minutes, I try to make that a time to push out any of the stresses from the morning. I find it rejuvenating in regards to the rest of the day, and it allows me a chance to be in the best mindset I can be in. I eat and read my article and go back to my service. I assist rotation-mates as they work with their cases, chat as they enjoy lunches and pass an hour until my next appointment arrives.

Alexandra: That morning we ran around seeing patients and waiting on diagnostics until we realized it was after 1 p.m.

I was told to take a quick 20-minute break for lunch. This worked well, because I was too nervous to even pack a lunch.

I ran over to the vending machine to grab a bag of chips and then polished off my cold coffee for an afternoon pick me up.

We resumed with afternoon appointments, which were a blur of apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma, osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma diagnoses.

We would prepare for appointments before speaking with the owners so we had a plan going into the exam rooms.

Each time, I was amazed at listening to how eloquently the clinician delivered such devastating news to the families. I wondered and hoped that I too, one day, could communicate with such optimism and clarity that owners are hopeful, even with a diagnosis of cancer.

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Peter: The day has been eventful.

There was one case that I had today where I knew the owner of the patient.

Knowing the owner made the case more stressful because I wanted to do a great job. We couldn’t really figure out what the issue was for this patient.

Before going into this dentistry rotation, of course, I studied a lot of my dentistry notes that I took from my small animal medicine course during my third year of veterinary school. However, I was caught off guard when I was asked a lot of questions outside of the dentistry subject. I was challenged with general medicine questions and specific diseases that were potential differential diagnoses. I was not prepared and felt like a complete idiot. This is a classic example where one question led to another question, then to another. I really had to see how much I knew off the top of my head.

Afternoon activities Peter: A lot of questions were asked where I did not know the answer. I was frustrated and kept thinking, “I Fourth-year student Alexandra Allen smiles with her dog, Francesca, before a busy day of didn’t prepare for this — like, geez, clinics at the Veterinary Health Center. how was I supposed to prepare for this when I had to brush up on dentistry? or anything like that, but I think I got dealt an unlucky hand These aren’t dentistry questions.” The funny thing is that I can picture in my head where to find the and put into a tough situation.

Libby: I greet my patient’s owner in the lobby and greet my answers in my notes. I can remember which instructor taught it, and which Powerpoint it was under. It was very frustrating, patient in the parking lot. My patient bursts with energy, and I convince myself that he remembers me. We spend the next just for the fact that as veterinary students, we have high two hours collecting a history, and samples needed for testing, expectations for ourselves.

Of course, as students, we want to impress the clinicians by discussing a plan for where to go, and get the clients and their sweet dog on the road back home. They thank me for all my answering the questions right. It’s a struggle when we don’t help and I depart them knowing that a better future lies ahead know the answers. Whenever I don’t know something being for them and their dog. asked, I tell myself, “I didn’t know the answer, but I better go Alexandra: As the day came to an end, the clinician asked find out what it is.” It’s a situation of not getting too down if I had any questions. No, I thought. But, I did have a lot on yourself when you don’t know anything and just seeing of studying to do. I went up to the intern office to gather my how you respond. The whole thought process is mentally exhausting. As for today, I wouldn’t say I was being picked on things and look over cases for the next day so I could be a bit better prepared. Once I got home, I decided that being an wildcatveterinarian | 11

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Peter Cho listens to Zelda’s heart. Zelda received a pacemaker implant in 2017. She returned to the VHC for dental cleaning this year.

extern is awkward. I wanted to jump in and get involved with discussions and cases, but didn’t want to be overwhelming.

I wanted to answer all the questions correctly to impress them, but was worried I may be wrong. I constantly felt in the way as a nuisance since this externship was observational and I couldn’t do much more than restrain periodically. I was mentally exhausted.

As the sun sets on a full day Peter: It was an OK first day. Today was a learning experience, and I was humbled. There is a lot that I don’t know. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. As of now, after the day is over, I will do the stuff that I like to do to de-stress.

I enjoy going to the recreational center and getting some exercise in. Exercise is my way of relieving stress. I absolutely love weightlifting and challenging myself physically. As I work out, I like to ponder and reflect over everything that’s happened.

As of now, I’m just eating some dinner, regrouping and spending some time with my pets at home. After this, I plan on studying for my cases tomorrow, and then looking over the

stuff that I lacked today, in terms of knowledge base, so that pretty much sums up my day.

Libby: One of the most rewarding things fourth year has brought to me is the look in a client’s eyes as they thank you for your help. It makes up for the days you had to break bad news, the days you felt you did not do a single thing right, and the days you felt so exhausted that you contemplated calling in sick. That one moment of a handshake and a thankyou that lets you know you’re in the right place makes it all worth it.

Alexandra: As the weeks went on, I became much more comfortable in this environment. It was exciting to see how clinicians practice outside of VHC. It was refreshing to see how things function in a non-teaching hospital. I made new friends and gained a lot of new knowledge. Although being an extern had a whole new learning curve, it was similar to the rest of fourth-year. Feelings of inadequacy and lack of confidence can be strong in clinics, but with time and a bit of help, I started realizing that I do know more than I think I do. Fourth-year is quite a rollercoaster of emotions, but, then again, what else would I expect from veterinary school!?

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college news Students recieve notable scholarships

American Veterinary Medical Foundation

Kansas Livestock Foundation

Two second-year and two third-year students were selected for the Auxiliary to the AVMA Legacy Endowed Scholarship Program.

The second-year students are: Katya Luckenbach and Rebecca Tomasek. The third-year students are Katelyn GuillSanchez and Danielle Pickering.

Katelyn Guill-Sanchez (right), was also selected as K-State’s recipient of a $3,000 national scholarship sponsored by the Simmons Educational Fund.

Veterinary students receiving $1,500 Cartridges for Cash scholarships are second-year student Alexis Pedrow; first-year student Joel Nelson; and first-year student Boyd Roenne. Cartridges for Cash scholarships are funded by Ralgro and Revalor cartridges which are turned in to Merck representatives, taken to a KLA county meeting or brought to the KLA Convention in Wichita in December. Each cartridge is worth 25¢ toward KLF scholarships.

American Kennel Club Scholarship

National Livestock Companies

Walther Leadership Award at WVC

Braxton Butler, thirdyear veterinary student, has been awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the National Livestock Companies consisting of National Livestock Credit Corporation and National Livestock Commission Association.

Sara Wilkes, third-year veterinary student, was one of 37 students selected to receive a Dr. Jack Walther Leadership Award at the Western Veterinary Conference, held Feb. 17-20 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Emily Eppler, second-year veterinary student, was one of 15 students nationwide chosen for an American Kennel Club scholarship.

This scholarship is designed to support individuals with a background of participation in AKC events and programs, who seek to promote animal health and medicine.

AAAP scholarship For the second year in a row, Jake Carlson, a thirdyear veterinary student at Kansas State University, has been named as one of 10 students chosen nationwide to receive a $5,000 scholarship from the American Association of Avian Pathologists Foundation (AAAP Foundation) and Merck Animal Health.

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college news Introduction of African swine fever virus would be devastating to U.S. swine production because it is a tradelimiting disease that causes severe clinical signs and high mortality in pigs.

Now that the group has confirmed African swine fever transmission through feed and has identified the oral dose necessary for infection, the next step will be to identify ways to reduce or eliminate this risk, including chemical additives, storage time, heat treatments or other steps.

New K-State study confirms experimental transmission of African swine fever virus through feed

New study confirms experimental transmission of African swine fever virus through feed As an African swine fever outbreak has moved rapidly throughout China and threatens to spread to new countries in Europe, a Kansas State University researcher continues to understand the possible routes for disease introduction and transmission.

The CVM’s Dr. Megan Niederwerder is leading a team that is exploring how the currently circulating strain of African swine fever, or ASF, could spread in feed and feed ingredients.

“Although feed and feed ingredients are a less recognized transmission route for African swine fever, the global distribution of feed ingredients makes this pathway important to consider for transboundary introduction of the virus,” Dr. Niederwerder said. “This study is the first to demonstrate that African swine fever can be easily transmitted through the natural consumption of contaminated feed and liquid.”

The study, “Infectious dose of African swine fever virus when consumed naturally in liquid or feed,” was published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“Working with statistician Trevor Hefley, we were able to model the probability of African swine fever infection when pigs consumed a contaminated batch of feed over time,” Dr. Niederwerder said. “The likelihood of infection increased dramatically after even 10 exposures, or consumption of 1 kilogram of contaminated feed. Modeling multiple exposures increases the applicability of our experimental data to what would occur at the farm.”

“Millions of kilograms of feed ingredients are imported from countries where African swine fever virus is currently circulating,” Dr. Niederwerder said.

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USDA-NIFA grant supports efforts to control viral diseases in swine A new, $475,000 research grant will help a Kansas State University research laboratory determine methods to control two of the most important viral agents in pigs.

Dr. Yunjeong Kim, assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is the principal investigator in a study that focuses on gaining a better understanding of PDIA enzymes as a potential target for developing intervention strategies against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and Swine influenza A virus (SIAV).

“SIAV and PPRSV are two most important viral agents in pigs,” Dr. Kim said. “Controlling these viruses is crucial for the swine production industry and sustained food supply, as well as for mitigating risks of potential pandemic influenza outbreaks in humans.”

Dr. Kim explained how there is an unmet need for safe and effective prevention and control measures.

“Identification and manipulation of host factors critical for virus infection may provide the foundation for devising novel intervention strategies,” Dr. Kim said. “Our group recently found that protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs), which are involved in proper protein folding, play a key role for the replication of SIAV and PRRSV in cells by conducting experiments including gene knockdown or CRISPR-based gene editing technologies in cells.”

Dr. Kim obtained funding from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture for her study entitled, “Investigation of Genetic Factors for Swine Influenza A Virus and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus.”

Dr. Kim plans to conduct relevant experiments toward providing a better understanding of PDIA enzymes as a potential target for developing intervention strategies against PRRSV and SIAV.

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college news

Dr. Roman Ganta, right, oversees a research project on tick-borne disease research with two lab members, Swetha Madesh and Ying Wang.

New $2.7 million NIH grant extends five more years of research on a tick-borne disease impacting people, dogs and other vertebrate hosts The clock could be ticking for ticks. Dr. Roman Ganta, professor and director of the Center of Excellence for VectorBorne Diseases, recently secured a new grant of $2.7 million from the National Institutes of Health to continue his work on tick-borne disease.

“Tick-borne diseases remain a growing public health concern for more than four decades in the U.S. and many other parts of the world,” said Dr. Ganta, a professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology. “My team’s prior studies have demonstrated that this pathogen, which also infects dogs, changes many of its expressed proteins as per its growth in a vertebrate host and in the tick host. We have also been active in studying the immune response required to protect a host from the disease. Substantial progress made

during the prior five-year funded cycle is the key to landing another five years of support from the NIH.” Funded by the NIH since 2002, Dr. Ganta said his team’s research has aided in the development of novel genetic methods useful in understanding pathogenesis and vaccine development. With an additional five years of support through the new grant, his tick-borne disease research program will mark 22 years of continuous NIH funding.

Dr. Ganta plans to continue investigating how Ehrlichia chaffeensis regulates its gene expression in response to host cell environmental signals and how it develops strategies to evade host response for its continued survival in vertebrate hosts and ticks. wildcatveterinarian | 15

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

PRACTICE MAKES

Times have changed since Dr. Wayne Ingmire was a student at K-State. He recalls only one memorable opportunity to work on basic veterinary skill with a live animal.

“We learned to do physicals on greyhounds because [professor] Dr. George Cardinet III had a colony of greyhounds he was using to study hip dysplasia,” Dr. Ingmire mulls. “After I graduated in 1975, I worked with a K-Stater at a seven-doctor practice in St. Louis.

The first day; I shadowed him. The second day; he gave me an appointment every half hour. The third day; I went full-steam every 15 minutes. It was a busy place and it was crazy. It was an excellent experience, but, that was very typical in the mid ‘70s — they just threw you to the wolves.”

Now, more than 40 years later, Dr. Ingmire is back at K-State working on basic clinical skills, but this time as a mentor for students in their first and second years.

“Alumni are wonderful,” says Dr. Ryane Englar, clinical assistant professor and course coordinator of the first- and second-year Clinical Skills curriculum. “Any veterinarian has a value to bring. Dr. Ingmire was a great practitioner because of his track record. He has the reality of having run a business and knowing how to bounce back from errors or knowing what kinds of things can happen in a practice.”

A clinical tradition since childhood As a veterinarian, Dr. Ingmire followed in his father’s footsteps. Dr. Cecil Ingmire graduated from K-State in 1947 and ran his own practice in Joliet, Illinois, for 50 years. Young Wayne spent a lot of time helping his dad.

“I grew up with it from the time I was born,” Dr. Ingmire says. “I feel very fortunate. I rode with my dad a lot, so sometimes being in a veterinary hospital is more

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PERFECT

Alumnus Dr. Wayne Ingmire helps second-year students “unblock” male cats using urinary tract models built by the CVM’s Susan Rose. From left: students McKenzie Lessard, Ellie Holtaway, Christopher Clarkston, Daria Hagan and Elizabeth Flaherty.

Alumnus volunteers to mentor students on clinical skills.

Story and photos by Joe Montgomery

at home than being at home. I just enjoy being around veterinarians and people who work in that arena.”

Dr. Englar sent out a letter to Manhattan-area alumni in Spring 2017 hoping to find mentors interested in contributing to the soon-to-be launched clinical skills classes at the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Ingmire, who had retired from his own practice in Illinois had recently returned to Manhattan.

“When I got the letter, I said, ‘Oh, I could do that,’” Dr. Ingmire recalls. “The thing I provide for Dr. Englar and for Susan Rose [the classes’ clinical education technician] is real world applications. Students will ask, ‘What’s the reality in practice of what I’m learning?’ I’m not an academic; I’m a practitioner. I can tell them, ‘Yes, this is what you do in practice.’”

All hands on deck Dr. Englar has also incorporated several clinicians within the College of Veterinary Medicine.

“We really strive to include the entire team in our curricular approach,” Dr. Englar says. “Large animal faculty have been invaluable. Drs. Shaun Huser, Michael Kleinhenz, and Dylan Lutter have assisted with equine and bovine handling and physical examinations. Small and large animal surgeons have been invited to oversee surgical instrument handling and suture patterns. In dermatology, Dr. Mary Bagladi-Swanson has given us slides of ear swabs and skin scrapes that we can use in class, and ophthalmologists Drs. Amy Rankin and Jessica Meekins have co-taught labs involving fundoscopy. Add to that, Dr. Lisa Pohlman and her entire clinical pathology team have been on board with providing us with blood and urine samples for tabletop analysis. Pet health clinician Dr. Neala Boyer and veterinary nurse Beth Galligan have shared their experiences with fear-free practice and canine/ feline behavior.”

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Dr. Ingmire gives pointers to second-year student Joshua Harlan on how to practice cystocentesis with one of Susan Rose’s models.

Dr. Ryane Englar explains urinary catheterization in male cats to second-year students Melissa Riley and Natasha Vangundy.

Dr. Englar says the value of the course derives from its capacity to create a common foundation for students.

“People who understand the connections between disciplines can work with us and our students to create a consistent curriculum,” Dr. Englar said. “This fall, the secondyear students have five or six weeks in hematology, which is a precursor to succeed in clinical pathology. We look to strategically layer in skills throughout the course, so we can have horizontal and vertical integration of the program. It’s not intended to be a stand-alone course.”

“I love having Dr. Ingmire in class!” says MaRyka Smith, DVM class of 2022. “He has the best stories! I was just telling Dr. Englar I wanted about six of Dr. Ingmire sitting at a table somewhere in the CVM having coffee or playing cards — the students could just go and chat with him or someone who might be able to give a real-life story on a topic we are learning and be able to talk through the trials-and-errors they went through to get to the answer. Hearing someone else’s thought process as they found an answer or learned lessons along the way is invaluable.”

“When I graduated from veterinary school, I had done half a spay and knew two suture patterns,” Dr. Ingmire recalls. “I didn’t know how to place a catheter. In this class, students get to learn those skills. They are exposed to 20 different heart and lung sounds — normal lungs — abnormal lungs. They learn about body conditioning scores — that was something I had to learn on the job. In my opinion, this is really the most important class students will take in veterinary college.”

In December 2019, Dr. Ingmire plans to move to Nashville, Tennessee, to be closer to family, but says he will miss being around the students.

“It’s been more of a reward than I ever thought it would be,” Dr. Ingmire says. “Helping the students is very fulfilling.

It’s been a way of paying back.”

“He’ll be greatly missed,” Dr. Englar adds. “Dr. Ingmire set the stage for the need to have a practitioner in our class — for that kind of presence. He’s been exceptional and a bright light in the evolution of how we teach.”

The payoff “At the end of the day, clients don’t care what your GPA is,” Dr. Englar says. “All they care is if you can treat them right and treat the patient appropriately. Sometimes students make assumptions that nothing goes wrong in clinical practice or that we as teachers know everything.”

Dr. Englar says it’s helpful to have someone like Dr. Ingmire as a retiree who can share what happens in practice.

“Even though I was in private practice [prior to teaching at K-State], students don’t always see me as a practicing veterinarian,” Dr. Englar says. “Dr. Ingmire is very positive and upbeat without sugarcoating the hard days and hard times in practice. He knows how to deal with people. The students often feel comfortable coming up to him if they don’t feel as comfortable talking to other faculty about one of the skills we are teaching.”

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IF YOU BUILD THEM, THEY WILL LEARN Susan Rose’s model approach to creating tools for clinical skills.

Story by Joe Montgomery Photo by Cheyenne Swoope.

At first glance, students appear to be playing doctor with plush animal toys. Instead, closer examination reveals intricately designed instruments upon which students are learning essential clinical skills.

The Cheryl Mellenthin Clinical Skills Laboratory is a newly renovated space filled with a variety of anatomically equipped cats and dogs, animal skeletons, a horse head, a sheep head and a plethora of body parts and pieces. But where did they come from?

Some of the items were purchased and others were created and enhanced by the veterinary college’s own Susan Rose, a long-time veterinary nurse and part-time artist.

An avid painter, Susan has displayed her artwork at a variety of local events and galleries. She is perhaps best known for her painting of native birds of the Flint Hills prairie. Her passion for animals and her work in veterinary medicine helps provide a solid foundation for creating these models that can be used for simulating specific medical circumstances.

“It’s a matter of identifying what the students are struggling with,” Susan says. “There are certain procedures students have a hard time with.”

Susan works as a clinical education technician for Dr. Ryane Englar, the clinical education coordinator and clinical assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Susan is very creative and has an artist’s background, which helps,” Dr. Englar says. “She’s been to the ‘Smoothon’ conference, which has advanced her work in silicone and helped her be able to create some of the models we need.”

Dr. Englar notes how the class had borrowed a urinary catheterization model from the Veterinary Health Center’s emergency/critical care department; however, one model is not enough for 100-plus students to work on! It is thanks to Susan and her creative abilities that she can expand our collection and develop new teaching tools and models from which students can learn.

“I see that as a great value because she’s creating new models for skills that are necessary,” Dr. Englar says. “The hope is that, as she is able to grow our fleet, we’ll have more models for students to be able to practice.”

“Dr. Englar had a paper from another school describing a model created for a canine prostate exam, so I tried to make one based on that paper,” Susan recalls. “It didn’t work out too well, so I wondered ‘How can I make this work better for us, plus add some additional teaching features?’ Some of the inspiration for making different models is from reading and finding out what other people are doing, however, most come from my own ideas based on the needs I have seen over the years of working with veterinary students as juniors and seniors.”

Dr. Ingmire says the students are lucky to have Susan.

“Not every technician would have the ability — and not every veterinarian either,” he says. “She and Dr. Englar work together to figure that stuff out, and let me tell you, Susan is invaluable for this class. She makes terrific models. In fact, I’d say she’s gifted.”

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

Members of House Silverthorn paint canvases during the House sorting activities in August.

working on wellness New college activities provide outlets for relieving stress Story by Piper Brandt, student writer. Photos by Joe Montgomery.

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It is no secret that veterinary school is stressful. The difficult course load, exams, externships and internships on top of mounting student debt — all of these factors contribute to high levels of stress and consequent mental health issues among many veterinary students. In light of this, CVM faculty have been partnering with their students to help make progress on this issue.

A common goal among students, staff and faculty at CVM is creating healthy outlets to alleviate some of the stress associated with veterinary school. There is no shortage of student wellness activities across the college, both student-run and school-sponsored, to add to the variety of healthy outlets available to students.

Building community To build community and feelings of collegiality throughout CVM, Dr. Peggy Schmidt, associate dean of academic programs and student affairs, worked with a team of students to create a new “house” system.

Inspired by education in the U.K. (and Harry Potter, of course) the house system comprises six different houses, each with its own unique name selected by an all college vote, and crest designed by fourth-year student Mary Post. The names of the six houses are: Silverthorn, Emberhawk, Valelilly, Thunderstone, Ivyholm and Hollyflame.

“There’s a lot of evidence, looking at medical programs, that houses can provide students with emotional and social support, as well as academic support,” Dr. Schmidt says.

“There is significant value in role-modeling and near-peer teaching from students in adjacent years of the curriculum.”

Each house is made up of 18-20 students representing each year of veterinary school. Houses include an equal mix of students based on gender, residency and area of professional interest. Staff and faculty are also invited to participate in house activities.

Amy Servos, a third-year student in House Emberhawk, was a co-founder of the house system during her first year at CVM. “We plan events around anything that’s not veterinaryrelated,” Amy says. “These events can be any kind of social activity that has nothing to do with academics, basically. It’s a way to get to know people who are in the classes above and below you and be buddies through that interaction — and to not have to focus on veterinary school so much.”

Houses gather for friendly competition in activities such as trivia night, lawn games and laser tag, or to simply watch movies and enjoy community meals.

Melissa Riley, a second-year student in House Silverthorn, plans and participates in house events as well. Silverthorn won the “House Cup” at the end of the 2018-2019 school year by amassing the most points of the six houses.

“House activities give us a way to focus on something that’s not academic, but still involved with the school, so it’s nice to interact in that way,” Melissa says.” “We’re all cool within the houses, even though everyone has a target on the back of my house — but that’s neither here nor there! But, it’s all pretty fun.”

Friendly competition through house games provides another outlet for students to relieve stress and take their minds off of school.

“When we talk about wellness, we try to give a variety of options and activities. Some options are more overt, like the counselors,” Dr. Schmidt says. “Some of it is a little more covert; we’re just going to go have some fun, but in that fun, you’re meeting new people and taking a break from studying and academic competition. It’s not about how Amy did better than me on that test; it’s about how I can take Amy down with a water balloon, and that’s fun.”

Caring counselors In addition to the house system, there are many other resources available to CVM students to help mitigate stress, like the new student success centers, testing center, yoga classes, in-house exercise room and counseling services.

Dr. Mac Hafen, clinical associate professor and director of counseling services, is a licensed marriage and family therapist who is available on-site to provide therapeutic and mental health services for students, free of charge. He and Dr. Adryanna Drake, clinical assistant professor and counselor, work together to counsel students, create wellness activities and promote a proactive approach to mental health.

“Life doesn’t stop,” Dr. Hafen says. “We don’t get to push the pause button on life for the four years that they’re here, so sometimes life is challenging due to outside factors that certainly impact the students. Balancing personal life with academic life can be a challenge. What I like to do is take a look at what a student can control, and maybe what they can’t control, and then make adjustments based on that.”

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They understand the stresses and the circumstances we have to deal with on a weekly basis.”

Self-care strategies Third-year student Alexis Sutter was a recipient of K-State’s Extraordinary Student Award for her ability to overcome setbacks in her life. The purpose of the universitywide award is to recognize junior, senior or graduate students who have been successful in their academic pursuits while overcoming significant obstacles.

Despite a softball career-ending back injury and struggling with anxiety and depression, Alexis is pushing through the challenges of veterinary school — the biggest of which, she says, is not losing yourself in the process.

“It’s so easy to just bury your head in school and never look around and realize that you’re actually doing the thing you’ve worked, sometimes, your whole life for,” Alexis says. “Balancing veterinary school and life is hard, and everyone knows that, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean losing yourself as a person — the person you really are. Not this stressedout, short-tempered version — I mean the version that got you here to begin with.”

The mindset that every other student is doing better than you is prevalent among veterinary students, Alexis says.

“It’s taken me three years to finally be confident enough to ask questions in class Dr. Peying Fong, head of House Ivyholm, receives a wig of shaving cream and cheese even at the risk of sounding dumb,” Alexis puffs from Dr. Justin Kastner during the “House Heads” event while Rebecca Whisler says. “I think students struggle with the (Class of 2021) and Kallie Woodruff (Class of 2022) cheer them on. idea of, ‘Yes, we’re smart, we’ve made it this far; we know things.’”

Michael Demmin, second-year student, has seen the Taylor Williams, wellness chair of K-State’s student chapter benefits wellness efforts and counseling services have provided of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SAVMA), for his friends and classmates. feels similarly.

“It helps with the debt a lot of us are in,” Michael says.

“I think the hardest part of veterinary school is the constant “Many probably couldn’t afford to have weekly counseling feeling of inadequacy,” Taylor says. “Veterinary school has sessions outside of this, so it helps to have a service offered been a lifelong goal for many students and their families, and here with counselors who know what it’s like because it is terrifying to always feel on the edge of disappointing they’ve been treating veterinary students for years now.

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yourself and loved ones after so many big sacrifices have been made to get here.”

Both Taylor and Alexis say they reserve time to do anything but work on school.

“I have what I call ‘non-negotiables,’ that no matter how stressful or busy school is, I will always make time for,” Taylor says. “These ‘non-negotiables’ include spending time with my husband on the weekend and calling him every day (he lives out of town), working out and playing with my dog.”

Every morning, Alexis takes walks and reserves 30 minutes to do something fun for herself, like watching SpongeBob.

#VetMedUnited Another piece of the tapestry of student wellness is #VetMedUnited, a nationwide student-founded and studentrun social media movement that aims to bring awareness to the mental health struggles of veterinary students and professionals, and to remember those who have been lost to suicide.

Second-year Cassie Kroncke is one of many veterinary students who have seen the hashtag on social media.

“A lot of people don’t realize what veterinarians and veterinary students go through on a daily basis,” Cassie says.

“So by posting stories on social media, they can get a glimpse into a veterinarian’s life and realize how rough it is and how hard it can be, when all we want to do is care for the animal.

It’s not always puppies and kittens all day long.”

As the SAVMA wellness chair, Taylor is looking forward to planning activities for #VetMedUnited Week this spring.

Last year’s events included placing flags on the CVM lawn in remembrance of members of the veterinary health profession lost to suicide and an ice cream social where students could share posters about their struggles and difficulties.

“It was very powerful to see the anonymous posters filled with students sharing that they, too, struggle with something and how they cope,” Taylor says.

The main message of #VetMedUnited is that the whole of the veterinary medicine community should stick together and support one another, a sentiment that is definitely shared among students and faculty at CVM. “I think it is so important for students to get in the habit of effectively communicating when they need help,” Taylor says. “I hope students realize that they are not alone in this — they are valued, and they can find a community to help them throughout their career. There is life after school, and I want to help make sure that there is a whole person left, not just a veterinarian, when students graduate.

Recent renovations at CVM made possible by generous donations, include the addition of two new student success centers meant to serve as a home base for students.

In addition to providing therapy, Counseling Services sponsors a variety of well-being related activities in CVM: • Caring for Others Award: CVM faculty, staff and students are invited to nominate an individual who has made a positive difference for another person in the college. Weekly, a selected nominee receives a free lunch.

• Student Wellness Proposals: Counseling Services partners with students on wellness-related activities that students propose and enact, including community services projects, outdoor movie nights, guest lecturers and other events.

• We Care Breakfasts: Free breakfasts for each class are scheduled during stressful times in the semester.

• Career Risk Awareness: Every fourth-year student meets with a counselor to discuss how they handle stress. Counselors brainstorm adjustments they could consider, and how they may take a proactive approach to handling upcoming stressors as they transition to professional life.

• Yoga: Yoga instructors provide yoga sessions twice a week, free of charge to students.

• Lunch and Learn: A free lunch is provided during guest lectures on well-being topics like mindfulness, stress, nutrition and mental health.

• Purple Pantry: A food pantry within the CVM helps students and staff challenged by food insecurity issues.

• College Meal: Faculty members cook a dinner for students once a month, free of charge.

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

Third-year students Breanna Potter and Becca Tomasek show Boys & Girls Club members how to trace and color the names of muscles.

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how we This is

ROLE

Students share veterinary medicine basics at Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan Story by Brenna Leahy, student writer.

Photos by Dr. Kate KuKanich and Joe Montgomery

It is the quiet before the storm. A group of motivated veterinary students have gathered at a building downtown, quietly preparing for a rush that is NOT a regular part of their veterinary studies.

Suddenly, the patter of footsteps — and then yelps of delight can be heard. The veterinary students leap into action and help direct a small herd of elementary school kids into a special classroom at the Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan.

“I know it may seem like chaos from the outside,” says Breanna Potter, a third-year veterinary student. “But watching them learn and grasp the concepts we are teaching is so rewarding. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing their pride when they have learned that week’s lesson.”

The children are seated, enjoy a quick after-school snack, don some pint-sized scrubs and begin reading and coloring an information sheet about human muscles. Breanna smiles as she helps one of the kids whose scrub top is on backwards.

How it started Dr. Kate KuKanich is passionate about giving back to the community. In 2018, she wrote a grant proposal to have Kansas State University join Purdue University in its nationwide “This is How We ‘ROLE’” program. The goal of this program is to teach veterinary STEM lessons to K-4 elementary kids who might not have these opportunities in STEM due to socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity, with the intent of inspiring future veterinarians and ultimately

enhancing the veterinary profession by diversifying our colleagues.

“It’s a program that aims to increase diversity and equity in the veterinary professional field,” says Ron Orchard, a second-year veterinary student who volunteers with several of his classmates. “The long-term goal is to diversify our student body — but one short-term goal is to expose our current students to different cultures and people — and to help induce cultural humility to our students here. That’s a big goal.”

Currently, 19 veterinary schools throughout the country participate in the ROLE program with kids in their local communities. Participating colleges are required to have a community partner (a school, community center or other not-for-profit group).

Finding students Before she even submitted the grant proposal to Purdue, Dr. KuKanich did a good deal of legwork. She contacted Caleb Taylor, who was then the clubhouse director at the Boys & Girls Club, and then reached out to find veterinary students interested in volunteering. Prospective students wrote a brief essay explaining their interest and experience mentoring kids. Dr. KuKanich described the essays she read as “outstanding” and suitable for developing a team. Ten veterinary students from varying backgrounds were chosen to conduct the program. wildcatveterinarian | 25

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Third-year students Nick Mockus and Josh Klutzke lead a session on how the bones of the skeleton are linked together.

“We have four dual DVM/MPH students who bring a well-rounded One Health approach,” Dr. KuKanich says.

“We also have two veterinary students in the Army. Our CVM students have ample experience with kids including one former Boys & Girls Club volunteer, two Big Brothers Big Sisters, one 4-H leader, one kids camp counselor, one who is the oldest of nine kids — all having experience teaching and mentoring STEM programs for kids.”

“I joined the Role Team because I believe that education can have a huge, positive impact on a child’s life and open doors to opportunities that they may not have had otherwise,” says second-year student Amanda Preczewski.

“It’s so rewarding to see that spark of excitement in a child’s eyes when they learn something new about science and veterinary medicine. Plus, the energy that these kids bring to

the classroom every Friday is infectious and reminds us, as role models, how much fun learning can be!”

Training and Lessons After Purdue accepted her application, the team performed required training over the December 2018 holiday break. As part of a National Institute of Health (NIH) grant, ROLE training is extensive and requires preparation for participants to work with children from diverse backgrounds.

Purdue provides training and lesson plans with activities for each ROLE team to adapt and teach. There are also surveys to measure the kids’ baseline knowledge of each topic, how much is learned and retained, and the level of enjoyment for each lesson. K-State’s team meets weekly with Dr. KuKanich to plan exactly how they will implement each

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lesson, engage the kids and bring innovative ideas to make each lesson fun and memorable.

The team also has support from Dr. Callie Rost, assistant dean for admissions at the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Kimathi Choma, assistant dean of diversity, recruitment and retention in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“This is a great program, and the Boys & Girls Club is a great program,” says Dr. Choma, who earned his DVM from K-State in 2007. “It presents an opportunity for multicultural students in the community to learn more about veterinary medicine. With veterinary medicine, you have to start early so students know what grades they need to get throughout school. It allows students to gain knowledge of a field that they might otherwise not know about.”

Each lesson is very hands-on with a variety of fun activities.

One activity has the team organizing relay races where kids put together human paper skeletons, learn the names of bones and where they go, with prizes at the end. They also assembled a floor puzzle of a human skeleton and compared it

to a model of a canine skeleton. Most lesson plans incorporate both veterinary and human health.

Other lessons have focused on types of veterinarians, different equipment and tools they each use, responsibilities of pet ownership and dentistry for pets and people.

“To know we are shaping the lives of these children and their view of what they can do is incredible,” Breanna says.

“Even if they decide veterinary medicine is not for them, as long as they leave feeling like they can do anything they want in life and be anything they want to be, then we have done our job.”

Right: Second-year student Brittany Kover helps a youngster listen to her heart with a stethoscope.

Below: Dr. Kate KuKanich and the veterinary students ask the kids to point to where different muscles are located in the body.

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“I am so proud of our role model team for their hard work and excellent contributions in preparing and delivering these lessons,” Dr. KuKanich said.

“Their enthusiasm is electric, and the kids respond with hugs and high-fives as we arrive for each lesson.”

A perfect match “I decided to join the ROLE team to help spread information about veterinary medicine to children who may have an interest in our Second-year student Shain Powell quizzes a couple of the youngsters at the Boys & Girls Club. profession, but not know how to achieve Dr. KuKanich has high hopes for the future of the program that goal,” says Josh Klutzke, a third-year student. “I truly and partnership. enjoy having a break in the craziness of veterinary school and “Long-term, our goals are to encourage kids to attend being able to connect with the Manhattan community.” college, consider a career in the veterinary profession, help “I knew the Boys & Girls Club would be a great venue diversify our profession and one day, as a full-circle, join this because of how wonderful they are in our community,” team as a CVM ROLE model themselves,” Dr. KuKanich Dr.KuKanich says. “They already have a STEM program in says. “An important part of that goal is to build upon current place there, and we fit nicely into their existing program. It’s a CVM scholarship funding that specifically assists with tuition natural and fantastic collaboration.” for veterinary students from diverse backgrounds. Financial Taylor, the former director of clubhouse services, managed limitations should not prohibit any motivated students from both K-6 and high school programming at the Boys & Girls pursuing this veterinary dream and attending the College of Club and was instrumental in forming this partnership.

Veterinary Medicine.

While he is no longer there, his replacement, Alyssa Baquero, “If any veterinarians are interested in creating a similar is excited about how the program can help kids at the Boys & program to help kids in their community, please contact Girls Club. me! It’s rewarding to take a moment out of our busy days as “It would be great if our kids gained their first mentor while veterinarians to go out into the community and share our they were this young so they can have something to strive for profession with the children. It’s invigorating and gives new and can know what kind of grades and test scores they need energy to us to come back to our job.” to have to pursue veterinary medicine as a career,” Taylor says.

To donate to a scholarship fund for kids with diverse “Sometimes, that information isn’t shared until it’s too late. backgrounds entering the College of Veterinary Medicine, By then, kids will realize they don’t have the test scores or the please contact the CVM development team at the Kansas grades to get into the programs they want.”

State University Foundation.

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

it takes a village

Collective efforts enhance anaplasmosis research projects Story and photos by Joe Montgomery Anaplasmosis, doesn’t roll easily off the tongue. The way this disease moves, however, can be swift and unpredictable.

“We had an outbreak in 2017, and it was the most humbling experience I’ve been through,” says Jason Lewis, manager of the Division Ranch, a commercial cow/calf operation near Strong City, Kansas. His operation, which manages about 500 head, ended up losing a total of 14 animals that year and adding up to more than $30,000 in losses, according to Lewis.

“No matter how good you think you are, anaplasmosis can get you at any time,” Lewis says. “It’s kind of like armadillos, where you only used to see them way down south. Now it’s working its way up here [in Kansas] pretty rapidly.”

of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), as well as, Dr. Olson from the College of Agriculture, to find better ways to confront and control anaplasmosis.

“We’re using an integrated approach across departments within the CVM and the department of animal sciences and industry” Dr. Reif says. “We couldn’t do our USDA project without them. This project also provides training opportunities for undergraduate and veterinary students — and training for our graduate students. We work with a lot of students, because it takes a village, for sure.”

“This research is timely,” adds Dr. Olson. “The fear factor among Kansas cow-calf producers over anaplasmosis is high.

A spreading disease “Anaplasmosis is endemic in the eastern two-thirds of our state,” says Dr. K.C. Olson, professor in the department of animal sciences and industry at K-State. “Ironically, the science of prevention and treatment has, until very recently, given us few workable options for managing the disease.”

“Different strains of Anaplasma marginale, the causative agent of bovine anaplasmosis, are actively circulating in the U.S.,” says Dr. Kathryn Reif, assistant professor in the department of diagnostic medicine/ pathobiology. “Cattle producers in Kansas and beyond are concerned that the current, FDAapproved anaplasmosis treatment regimens are not sufficiently controlling diseases. Also, there is no fully USDA-approved vaccine for anaplasmosis, and the experimental vaccine, available in some states, is expensive, and has unknown efficacy against the diverse strains of A. marginale circulating in the U.S.” Because of these challenges, Dr. Reif has joined forces with other faculty in the College

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A mixed team of graduate and undergraduate students collect blood samples as part of an anaplasmosis research project for the CVM’s Dr. Kathryn Reif. From left: Cory Oltjen, senior in animal sciences and industry, Dannell Kopp, junior in agricultural economics, Macy Flowers, graduate student in diagnostic medicine/pathobiology (DMP) and Brandt Skinner, graduate student in DMP. wildcatveterinarian | 29

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This project will deliver much-needed information on how best to manage it.”

“Cattle producers across the state continue to battle bovine anaplasmosis,” says Dr. Emily Reppert, an assistant professor in the department of clinical sciences. “There remain unanswered questions regarding currently utilized anaplasmosis control strategies. The work being done at Kansas State University, led by Dr. Reif, is set up to answer some of these questions and provide producers with information that can be efficiently and effectively implemented in their operations.”

Funded research To help support the effort, Dr. Reif obtained a fourDr. Kathryn Reif (far right) and her team work to evaluate anaplasmosis year USDA grant that has allocated $1,199,948 and in the lab; From left: Brandt Skinner, Tippawan Anantatat (research focuses on optimizing antimicrobial use in order to assistant), and Macy Flowers. control active anaplasmosis infection caused by the hemoparasitic pathogen, Anaplasma marginale. marginale transmission cycle will effectively control active “We are using a combination of A. marginale strains, anaplasmosis and minimize risk of antimicrobial resistance. including historic strains that are well-characterized and The goal of this proposal is to provide pivotal data to drug some contemporary strains which we recently isolated from sponsors and veterinarians on best strategies to control active Kansas cattle herds, to help determine how strains differ in anaplasmosis in cattle using the current FDA-approved dosage their susceptibility to tetracycline antimicrobials, specifically of CTC, while also protecting antimicrobial efficacy through chlortetracycline, the most common antimicrobial used promoting judicious antimicrobial use.” to control anaplasmosis,” Dr. Reif says. “We hope that by looking at three different chlortetracycline treatment protocols Sharing the knowledge for cattle, we can provide practical recommendations for While Dr. Reif specializes in tick-borne disease research, her the Food and Drug Administration and ultimately for cattle research team at K-State consists of experts in other disciplines producers towards controlling this disease.” including molecular biologists, clinical pharmacologists, The USDA grant title is “Mitigation of antimicrobial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) specialists, extension agents, resistance through alternative treatment regimens to control livestock veterinarians and experts in the development and bovine anaplasmosis.” Co-investigators includes Drs. Hans delivery of innovative decision support tools.

Coetzee, Emily Reppert, Raghavendra Amachawadi, Brad “With these combined skill sets, our team is uniquely White, Gregg Hanzlicek and K.C. Olson. Except for qualified to conduct this research program,” Dr. Reif says.

Dr. Olson, the other researchers are CVM faculty members.

“Together, we have the capability to answer innovative Dr. Reif also obtained a $250,000 grant toward a project research questions and communicate the outcomes effectively entitled, “Evaluation of chlortetracycline-treatment timing to the scientific community and stakeholders in the livestock on the duration of treatment of bovine anaplasmosis in adult industry.” cattle.” This project helps establish more targeted durations To enhance outreach and communication, Dr. Reif and of use for approved antimicrobial new animal drugs in food colleagues will host two symposia on anaplasmosis, the first animals. Co-investigators on this grant include Drs. Mike of which was held this past May. The next symposium will be Apley, Mike Kleinhenz, Emily Reppert and Hans Coetzee, all held in 2021. The producer-oriented symposia highlight the faculty members in the CVM. current state of anaplasmosis in the U.S., with an emphasis “This project is vital to protecting food security,” Dr. Reif on Kansas beef cattle, and provides a forum to communicate explains. “We hypothesize that targeting antimicrobial new research results directly to the stakeholder community. treatment to coincide with strategic periods in the Anaplasma This year’s symposium included presentations by national 30 | wildcatveterinarian

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Fellow goes FFAR Dr. Kathryn Reif ’s anaplasmosis research has provided a unique student research opportunity for Sarah Krueger, a second-year veterinary student at Kansas State University.

Sarah is one of ten students who was selected nationally for a Veterinary Student Research Fellowship to Address Global Challenges in Food and Agriculture.

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), in partnership with the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, launched the Veterinary Fellows Program to encourage veterinary scientists to explore and better understand the complexities of animal production, improve animal welfare and enhance human health.

Sarah’s research project looked at assessing whether the Lone Star tick, the most common tick found on cattle, contributes to the spread and development of anaplasmosis. Her research could inform disease management and treatment strategies.

Sarah and Dr. Reif were paired up through K-State’s Veterinary Research Scholars Program (VRSP), a summer program that provides veterinary students with in-depth, hands-on research opportunities with experienced faculty mentors.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to expand upon my knowledge of research and production medicine as a member of the VRSP program with Dr. Reif this past summer,” Sarah says. “It was exciting and rewarding to conduct research and potentially have a positive impact in the management of a disease that is currently effecting many of our beef producers in Kansas, and the United States.”

“Sarah’s project helped address whether the Lone Star tick contributes to the transmission of anaplasmosis,

experts on the economic impact of anaplasmosis, prevalence of anaplasmosis, anaplasmosis diagnostic considerations, anaplasmosis treatment and prevention, and the Veterinary Feed Directive.

An interactive panel at the May symposium gave attendees the chance to listen to producers describe their own experiences, challenges and ways of managing anaplasmosis.

The symposium concluded with an overview of anaplasmosis

Dr. Reif leads second-year student Sarah Krueger on a field research project for the Veterinary Research Scholars Program.

a disease that limits profitable beef production in the U.S.,” Dr. Reif says. “This project has allowed Sarah the opportunity to gain experience in clinical disease monitoring, molecular diagnostic techniques, pathogen surveillance and tick transmission experiments — a portfolio of transferable skill sets that can be used to study other diseases of agricultural importance.”

Dr. Reif says Sarah will submit a draft of the manuscript she’s preparing on her research to be considered for the 2020 Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Research Scholar Award.

“Working with the FFAR organization has been great and we would love to continue working with them in the future through sponsorships of additional students,” Dr. Reif says.

research projects at K-State and opportunities for producer participation, the latter of which has been a success according to one of the attendees.

“I went to symposium in May,” Lewis says. “I was really looking forward to hear everything they came up. As a whole, K-State has been excellent to work with. The faculty have great attitudes and they are good doctors.” wildcatveterinarian | 31

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

UNEXPECTED Beginnings

A path to veterinary medicine takes a K-State researcher in a new direction.

Story by Cheyenne Swoope, student writer Grimacing is a natural instinct in humans, but are animals just as accustomed to using facial expression for pain as humans?

Dr. Abbie Viscardi, a research assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology, has become extremely passionate about pain detection and management in animals — specifically piglets — by evaluating facial grimaces.

Dr. Viscardi originates from Ontario, Canada and obtained a bachelor’s degree in animal biology at the University of Guelph, but her vision for a higher education and career path took an interesting turn she did not expect.

“I was thinking I would go to veterinary school, as I think a lot of people do in an animal biology undergraduate program, and then I started a research project with a researcher named Pat Turner,” Dr. Viscardi says. “It was just supposed to be a summer, scholar-type project. It was with piglets — pain management and looking to see if they had any sort of facial grimacing. The fourmonth summer project turned into a one-year research position, and so I continued to work with piglets and pain management after castration and tail docking.”

Dr. Viscardi’s degree path evolved into a master’s program.

After eight months, she transferred into a Ph.D. program and continued researching pain management, where she further developed the piglet grimace scale.

Despite taking a different scholarly direction than planned, Dr. Viscardi was surprised to realize her passion was not where she had predicted it would be.

“I loved the idea of being able to help millions of animals versus one animal that’s coming in to see you in a clinic setting, and I really fell in love with pigs,” Dr. Viscardi says. “I didn’t have much experience with pigs, but they’re so personable. I was really surprised by how almost dog-like they are and how emotional their lives are. I became passionate managing [the piglet’s] pain and improving their welfare.”

Frustrating Findings Dr. Viscardi and her team conducted observations on a group of piglets participating in a pain management study that had undergone castration and tail docking with several different methods of pain management. They looked for specific behaviors and facial action units (FAUs) that could be correlated with a piglet being in distress.

After making observations based on their knowledge of treatment types and environmental situations, two “blinded” judges (or individuals) who had no prior knowledge about the piglets and the pain management treatments they observed, were asked to score still images of the piglets taken by video camera within the pens. These observers also used the FAUs as a guide to test the accuracy of the developing piglet facial grimacing scale.

Dr. Viscardi explains pain management is not required in some countries, including the United States. Even when pain management is a requirement, she says the use of the most effective medication for managing post-operative pain may be

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limited in commercial settings. For example, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID), such as meloxicam or ketoprofen, is practical to administer on-farm, but was found to be significantly less effective at managing surgical castration pain in piglets compared to an opioid. Although the piglet grimace scale was a success throughout development, the pain management side of the study caused Dr. Viscardi to experience mixed feelings about the results.

“The piglets that were given the opioid [buprenorphine] were up, bright — they were exploring their pen, they were playing with one another and the pigs that weren’t given anything for pain management were lying huddled together in the corner — and there was a lot of pain behaviors you could see from the ones that weren’t administered pain management regimens.

To me it’s frustrating when there’s something that works, and you know that those animals are feeling so much better, but we can’t feasibly give it to them. It’s just not practical to administer an opioid on-farm, given they are an expensive, controlled Dr. Abbie Viscardi uses an infrared thermography camera to measure substance with high abuse potential.” the cranial temperature of a piglet.

A Hopeful Future Dr. Viscardi feels quite optimistic about the future use of the scale she developed, as well as the future of grimace scales — not only for piglets, but other species — and what it represents in terms of pain recognition and management techniques.

“There is another piglet grimace scale that is substantially more complex than ours, but we kept our scale very simple with only three facial action units,” Dr. Viscardi says. “We have a very clean poster we can give out and show producers and veterinarians; it’s really easy to train people how to use the scale.”

Dr. Viscardi plans to continue her swine research and also has set her sights on several other species such as sheep and goats. She and her team have received a National Pork Board grant allowing them to test pain-management practices through sow injection and transmammary-drug transfer instead of individually administering drugs to piglets, while also testing the accuracy and efficiency of the grimace sale developed in the previous study.

“I love the idea of being able to move this [area of research] into other species,” Dr. Viscardi says. “There are a lot of us [researchers] finding grimacing in unexpected species. What I personally find the most impactful about behavior observation and facial grimace-scale implementation is these are non-invasive measures of pain.”

The collection method of some pain measures are invasive to animals and don’t necessarily reflect the pain measure of interest.

Dr. Viscardi believes her scale can serve a greater purpose and lessen the pain inflicted when trying to observe pain.

“There are some pain measures we’re using now like blood cortisol levels that can increase for reasons other than pain,” Dr. Viscardi says. “If an animal is very active you’re going to see spikes in blood cortisol. Some of these measures that we have now, they’re a little more invasive and they’re not specifically measuring pain, whereas an animal has no reason to grimace or behave in a painful way unless it’s in pain. I also think it is fairly easy for anybody to be able to score pain by using grimace scales or observing the [animal] behavior, it just takes some training and practice.”

Dr. Viscardi is not the only individual hopeful for the future of improved pain-management techniques and pain behavior observational practices. Dr. Hans Coetzee, head of anatomy and physiology, is also optimistic about what the development of grimace scales could mean for the animal agriculture industry.

“Practical pain assessment methods are urgently needed to address emerging animal welfare concerns on livestock production systems,” Dr. Coetzee says. “Validated methods of pain assessment are also needed for analgesic drug approvals in farm animals “Currently there are no pain relief drugs labeled for use in pigs. Dr. Viscardi’s research towards validating facial grimace scales in pigs and other species is poised to address this need and will likely have a significant impact on how livestock are treated in the future.” wildcatveterinarian | 33

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The Next Generation of Molecular Diagnostics

offered by KSVDL Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a cutting-edge diagnostic tool used to detect the molecular signatures of all microbes within a sample

Capable of de novo discovery Prior knowledge of the pathogen is not required

AVAILABLE TESTS • Bacterial 16S sequencing • Metagenomic Sequencing • Whole Genome Sequencing

Individualized assessment of on-farm microbes Detects viral, bacterial, fungal or parasitic agents in clinical samples Can help direct treatment measures Identifies novel, variant or resistant pathogens Epidemiological analysis Predicts transmission patterns during outbreaks NGS team pictured below L-R: Nanyan Lu, Dr. Rachel Palinski, Rylan Kasitz and Qinghong Ran

Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory DEVELOP. DEFEND. DELIVER 1800 Denison Avenue • Manhattan, Kansas 66506 Client Care: 785-532-5650 or 866-512-5650 clientcare@vet.k-state.edu • www.ksvdl.org

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

Meet Dr. Jamie henningson: director of the Kansas state veterinary diagnostic laboratory

Educational and professional background Dr. Jamie Henningson obtained a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 2002, and a DVM in 2004 from Kansas State University. She graduated with a doctorate in veterinary biomedical sciences with a focus on vaccine candidates for Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in 2008, and following completed her residency in anatomic pathology, both with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists after passing boards in 2009.

Dr. Henningson has led the diagnostic laboratory as its interim director since August 2017, with the responsibility of reestablishing full accreditation with the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. In addition, the lab has attained Tier 1 status with the National Animal Health Laboratory Network for the first time in its history.

Dr. Henningson’s previous experience at the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center, the University of Wisconsin’s pathobiological sciences department and the National Animal Disease Center have prepared her to lead the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and domestic and foreignanimal disease interests of the state, region and nationally.

Objectives and Goals of the KSVDL 1. Provide excellent client service and meet client needs 2. Protect animal agriculture as a top tier laboratory of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network 3. Continue to increase KSVDL preparedness for a foreign animal disease or epidemic 4. Improve efficiency of KSVDL through process evaluation, automation and new facilities

How will you align the priorities of the KSVDL with the priorities of the college?

KSVDL’s primary role is service, which involves serving owners, veterinarians, industry, zoos, government and other entities. The priorities for KSVDL align with the College of Veterinary Medicine and Kansas State University, as a landgrant university, to provide excellent service and distribute knowledge. Our personnel not only participate in several veterinary core-curriculum classes, it has a robust clinical

Dr. Jamie Henningson, director of the KSVDL. Photo by Audrey Hambright.

and anatomic pathology residency program and a unique diagnostic medicine internship program. All of these program help prepare students for careers in a large varied list of veterinary professions. Additionally, the KSVDL has a very active continuing education program dedicated to help teach and interact with veterinarians outside the CVM. KSVDL is dedicated to help assure all animal agriculture segments remain healthy, not only with respect of diseases already present in the U.S. but also with respect to potential foreign animal diseases. Additionally, we are directly involved in assuring the optimization of companion animal health and minimizing any zoonotic disease possibilities across the region. Most of the KSVDL specialists are involved in collaborative research that includes partnerships with K-State, the CVM, private industry and government specialists across the globe. wildcatveterinarian | 35

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

Part of the Plan KSVDL plays an important role in national network to protect and enhance animal agriculture.

Story by Joe Montgomery Fences are great for keeping livestock corralled, but keeping those same animals safe from disease requires a different type of structure and strategy.

Thanks to a partnership of federal, state and university-associated animal health laboratories, such a structure exists and is called the National Animal Health Laboratory Network or NAHLN. The Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (KSVDL) has a significant role thanks to its strengths in NAHLN-identified diseases, molecular service team led by Dr. Lalitha Peddireddi, foreign animal disease (FAD) emergency, surveillance and FAD investigation testing, FAD planning and its relationships and proximity with the Kansas Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity Research Institute.

“The KSVDL is a NAHLN Tier 1 laboratory and we work regularly with the Kansas Department of Agriculture and with the NAHLN,” explains Dr. Jamie Henningson, director of the KSVDL. “Tier 1 labs have the capacity to perform tests on large numbers of samples that originate from U.S. farmed food animals. The KSVDL is one of 17 Tier 1 labs that are capable of FAD testing.”

In 2016, all laboratories in the NAHLN were transitioned to a new structure, with the designations of Levels 1, 2, 3, Affiliate or Specialty laboratories. The NVSL laboratories in Ames, Iowa, and Plum Island, New York, continue to serve as the nation’s reference laboratories for both the NAHLN and USDA. Originally composed of 12 laboratories, the NAHLN has grown to include over 60 state and university laboratories.

These laboratories are distributed throughout the United States, and are capable of testing large numbers of samples for specific disease agents originating from food animal species. A current map of all NAHLN laboratories is included with the story. Core laboratories are regionally distributed and capable of testing large numbers of samples that originate from food animal species.

Member laboratories are more widely disseminated than Core or “Tier” laboratories, and facilitate greater geographic coverage. Contract laboratories provide diagnostic testing for specific disease agents. In addition, a small number of adjunct laboratories, such as Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) laboratories, contribute to NAHLN efforts by providing specific, but needed diagnostic capability. The NAHLN program includes approximately 13 foreign animal and surveillance diseases, including Foot and Mouth Disease, Classical Swine Fever Virus and African Swine Fever Virus.

NAHLN is also poised to respond to an epidemic that does not evolve from one of these 13 program diseases.

Dr. Henningson says the need for protecting animal agriculture at the federal level is justified because of its significance on the U.S. economy. She cited statistics from 2018 showing the largest and most important agricultural industry was cattle production, accounting for $67.1 billion in cash receipts out of a total cash receipts for United States animal agriculture, which totaled $371 billion.

“Cattle production represents 18% of the total cash receipts,” Dr. Henningson says. “A foreign animal disease

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The Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory hosts Dr. Andy Hawkins, Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA); Dr. Taylor Gaines, USDA-APHIS; Dr. Jacqueline Mason, USDA-APHIS; Tania Martin, acting director for Imported Food (Australia); Dr. Lionel Johnson, veterinary officer, Animal Biosecurity Branch (ABB) (Australia); Dr. Allan Sheridan, principal veterinary officer, ABB; Dr. Jamie Henningson, KSVDL; Dr. Justin Smith, KDA; and Kristina Wyatt, KSVDL.

or newly emerging disease could cause catastrophic loss to producers and the U.S. economy. It estimated that if Foot and Mouth Disease was brought to the United States it would cost the US economy approximately $20 billion. As a diagnostic laboratory participating in the NAHLN, we are on the forefront of preventing or containing a foreign animal disease or an epidemic.”

With the staff who are proficiency tested and approved to test several important foreign animal disease pathogens, the KSVDL is fully prepared to tackle any emergency testing Meet the team from the KSVDL’s molecular diagnostic services. Back row, from related to foreign animal disease investigation left: Jinping Fu, Molly Lohman, Emily Gilbert-Esparza, Alexa LeVieux and Claire and provide results within few hours after Richardson. Front row: Xiaoyan Cheng, Dr. Lalitha Peddireddi and Yuan Feng. receiving the samples.

“In addition, as a NAHLN laboratory, we policy of only accepting heat-irradiated beef from the United play a crucial role in surveillance testing of various foreign States. animal diseases that are important to the U.S. livestock “The Australian Delegation visited the U.S. to examine the industry,” say Dr. Lalitha Peddireddi, head of molecular beef industry, including feedlots, beef processing sites, the diagnostic services for the KSVDL. “In the past five years, U.S. borders and a NAHLN Tier 1 laboratory, which was we have tested nearly 1,000 samples as part of the Classical KSVDL,” Dr. Henningson says. “During their afternoon Swine Fever and/or Foot and Mouth Diseases surveillance in to the KSVDL, they reviewed KSVDL resulting/reporting, the state of Kansas. We also participate in USDA/NAHLN accreditation documents, quality management system and exercises and drills to identify any gaps and help prepare lab took a tour to observe the processes. It’s great to be part better during outbreak situations.” of a program that helps promote food safety on a global In July 2019, three scientists from Australia visited level, while also enhancing multinational collaboration and the KSVDL to observe the laboratory’s procedures and partnerships.” organizational structure. Australia is considering accepting frozen fresh beef for import, contrasting with the current wildcatveterinarian | 37

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

service wi t “Elly!”

Don scanned the field and waited a few seconds.

“Elly!” he yells again.

Moments later a flash of white and brown bounds over the crest of a nearby hill. Elly, an English pointer, comes running toward her owner, Don Wells — but then quickly turns as if pulled by magnets.

“That dog has a lot of energy,” Don says. “But she doesn’t have the drive quite like we need her too.”

Training for success Don regularly trains Elly for retrieving birds, such as quail, for field trials at events across the United States. For field training, he brings Elly to a neighbor’s pasture not far from his own farm southwest of Lindsborg, Kansas.

“These dogs [pointers] have to do it all,” Don says. “They are judged on style, obedience, retreats, ground coverage, backing and on dog’s point. I clicker train. It’s an easy way to train them, and I use treats. Dogs can learn a lot of things off of that: how to stay, how to stand, be still and mind.”

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i th a smile

Veterinary Health Center puts a crown on a canine’s canine tooth.

Story and photos by joe montgomery

Don Wells trains his English pointer, Elly, in a pasture near his home outside of Lindsborg, Kansas.

Despite Elly’s apparent lack of focus that day, Don is happy.

Elly had just been fitted with a crown over a damaged tooth two days prior at the Veterinary Health Center at Kansas State. The procedure had been successful. Elly was running with abandon, clearly unhampered by any pain or discomfort.

Don has three other pointers in addition to Elly: a puppy named Cassie, Brandy who is about 10 years old and Katie, who turns 3 in October. He likes to take the dogs in — one at a time — to see the veterinarian for annual exams.

Don’s local veterinarian is Dr. Bob Huseman, DVM class of 1977, in Salina. Dr. Huseman had referred Elly to K-State for a couple of previous medical emergency situations including an incident where some wheat seeds had gotten stuck in one of Elly’s lung lobes and another incident where surgery was required to remove a stick that had become lodged in Elly’s lymph node.

“They saved our dog’s life,” Don recalls with relief. Elly’s recent situation was fortunately non-life-threatening.

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Fourth-year student Kaitlyn Ford and veterinary nurse Karen Watson assist Dr. Doug Winter, the VHC’s boardcertified dentist, as he prepares Elly’s tooth for a crown.

Moment of tooth “I had taken Elly in a few months ago for a dental cleaning,” Don says. “They do a good work-up on the dogs at K-State. They’re able to do X-rays, so we knew Elly’s tooth was cracked, but didn’t know it was as bad as it was. We’ve had to pull a couple teeth on her before.”

Dr. Marjory Artzer, clinical assistant professor, says she saw Elly as a predental general dentistry exam.

“During this visit I do a complete physical exam and get blood work in preparation for a dental cleaning procedure,” explains Dr. Artzer, who earned her DVM in 1996 and a master’s degree in 2009, both at K-State. “At this exam, I noticed Elly had a crown fracture of the canine tooth and suspected that the pulp was involved. We asked her owner that if the pulp was exposed, would he be interested in a root canal procedure. The other option would have been extraction. He said he would like to try to save the tooth if possible, and we directed him to Dr. Douglas Winter for root canal therapy.”

Dr. Winter works in advanced dentistry at the VHC, and specializes in dentistry and oral surgery. He keeps appointments two days a week in Manhattan and works

the rest of the week at the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital of Wichita and Animal Emergency Clinic of Northwest Arkansas. He earned his DVM degree from K-State in 1987 and is a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College.

“Elly’s tooth was weakened due to some chewing behavior, and then eventually broke from whatever she was doing,” Dr. Winter explains. Don says Elly had been chewing on a fence.

The affected tooth was one of Elly’s lower canine teeth.

“That tooth keeps the jaw more normal in its integrity,” Dr. Winter says. “The strength of the jaw is maintained by keeping that tooth there. Elly had the back of that tooth worn, and if you look at the amount of damage, you would see that it doesn’t take much for the tooth to snap off. And that’s what happened — part of that tooth broke off and caused that tooth to have pulp exposure.”

Crowning achievement Dr. Winter says when a tooth has been fractured to the point where the pulp is exposed, there are two options.

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“We either extract the tooth or save it via root canal therapy — no different than you and I,” Dr. Winter says. “So allowing us to save the tooth allows that tooth to still be functional. It maintains the integrity of the jaw, and most importantly, it relieves the infection and discomfort of that fractured tooth. Because of what Elly does as a retrieving dog, saving that tooth made the most sense.”

“You don’t think about your dog ever needing a crown,” Don says. “The canine tooth is very important.

We were worried it would affect her ability to retrieve.

There wouldn’t be a lot of bone left in her jaw, if the tooth was pulled, so we opted for the root canal and to put a cap on it.”

Dr. Winter echoes Don’s comments in expressing the importance of the canine tooth.

“The canine tooth is huge,” Dr. Winter says. “The crown is only 40% of the whole tooth, so 60% is root underneath the gum line. On Elly’s first visit, we performed conventional root canal therapy. This gets rid of the infection, and then we sealed the tooth. At that same time, we did a crown prep and took impressions of the tooth.”

The impression is sent to a dental lab, where the crown is made. After that, Elly returned to the VHC for a second visit where she was given a short anesthesia to cement and fit the crown.

Lasting impressions Dr. Winter explained how fourth-year students benefit when this type of procedure is performed at the VHC. “This is not something students would normally see outside of a referral situation like this,” Dr. Winter says.

“It allows our students to see the procedure being done and know what’s involved in saving a tooth. It’s no different than when they are attending an ACL surgery or something like that at the VHC. A student likely would never do either procedure in general practice, but they get to experience it here and thus be able to explain the procedure to a future client.”

With the success of the crown behind her, Elly now concentrates on her field trials.

“We have nothing but excellent care at K-State,” Don says. “The staff is really good there — just perfect!”

And with a quick flash of a smile, Elly bounds back over the hill to find the next quail.

Top: Elly’s gold crown shines after implantation. Bottom: This radiograph shows the root canal therapy performed on Elly’s canine tooth.

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

The team at the VHC works efficiently and quickly to prepare Black Fire for the CT scan. Photo by Shelby Mettlen.

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don’t play with fire A tiger with lifelong challenges continues to beat the odds.

Story by Audrey Hambright When Dr. Kellyn Sweeley at the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge reached an inconclusive diagnosis for a 2 1/2-year-old, 300-pound white Bengal tiger named Black Fire, she knew just who to call. Because Turpentine Creek Curator, Emily McCormack had worked with Dr. Jim Carpenter, professor of wildlife and zoological medicine at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, on previous big cat cases, including a successful rescue of several animals by the refuge in Colorado in 2016, he was again contacted.

The refuge, located near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, rescues “big cats” from individuals who own them in their backyards, breeders, and from what McCormack calls “pseudo-sanctuaries.” These places often deal in cub petting, the practice of using exotic baby animals as lures for paying customers. The effects of this practice are detrimental — to both the cubs and the mother.

Shocking discovery Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge was made aware of one of these types of facilities in Colorado in 2016. McCormack explains this particular facility was dealing with a magician in Las Vegas, alone with multiple other breeder/dealers, and it was for sale. The refuge along with another partner, Tigers in the America, teamed up to buy the facility and shut it down.

“When we got there what we saw was pretty deplorable — very small enclosures filled with ground up pallets as the flooring,” McCormack says.

Malnutrition is just one side effect of the cub petting business. Cubs are often separated from their mothers within days or even hours after birth, preventing them from receiving the proper nutrition and nurturing required for healthy growth. One cub was already suffering immensely.

“When we went in there, the tiger cub was dragging himself across the floor, and crying because at this point, the metabolic bone disease had already fracturing some of his brittle bones,” McCormack says.

That cub was Black Fire.

Fourteen other facilities helped Turpentine Creek rescue all 115 animals. Thirty-four of those animals were sent to Turpentine Creek, including Black Fire and his two sisters, Rocklyn and Peyton.

After the rescue, Turpentine Creek sent radiographs of the cubs to Dr. Carpenter for further insight. He shared the case with Dr. James Roush, who concurred that the cubs were suffering from severe metabolic bone disease.

Recommendations for treatment were passed on to Turpentine Creek and for the cubs to begin their recovery.

Another challenge for Black Fire Fast forward to the fall of 2018. Dr. Sweeley, veterinarian for Turpentine Creek, noticed intermittent chronic vomiting from Black Fire. According to Dr. Sweeley, the vomiting wasn’t being remedied with normal gastro protective treatments, which led her to perform a physical examination on the tiger, evaluate the tiger’s bloodwork, and taking radiographs.

“It was definitely the radiographs that told me things weren’t as they should be,” she says.

From the radiographs, they could see his abdominal organs had pushed up into the thoracic region, which, among other things, was not allowing for one of the lungs to fully inflate. While Dr. Sweeley suspected it could be one of two different types of hernias, she also knew that either one would require an extensive surgery. Since the refuge had a good working relationship with Dr. Carpenter already, it was a no-brainer to reach back out for his expertise.

Dr. Carpenter recommended conducting a CT on Black Fire, to gain a more comprehensive view of what they were dealing with.

Being a nonprofit organization, Turpentine Creek utilized its Facebook page to generate financial support for Black Fire’s upcoming surgery. They raised enough money for the surgery in less than five hours.

Upon securing these funds, McCormack and Dr. Sweeley drove Black Fire from Eureka Spring, Arkansas to Manhattan, Kansas.

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Additional challenges

to our own zoological medicine personnel, each of them had two or three people involved, plus students from various services. It was probably as large of a team I’ve seen since I’ve been here. Everyone provided input. It was just awesome.”

The CT scan revealed a few more surprises. Black Fire’s spleen, along with his stomach, and small intestine and large intestine, had also been pushed up into the thorax region.

They noticed his diaphragm had been severely weakened Back on his feet in this area. This could be a possible congenital defect as After a successful surgery, Black Fire was monitored it has been reported in other big cats, though it is a rare by the team until he was moving and alert, to ensure no occurrence. complications from the surgery. When there were none, It wasn’t until the surgical team of Drs. Kara Berke and McCormack and Dr. Sweeney started their trip back to David Upchurch opened him up surgically, however, that Turpentine Creek where recovery would continue. they were able to fully identify it as a hiatal type 4 hernia.

“We chose K-State because we’ve been communicating During the surgery, the team pulled out the organs from the thorax and closed up the defect in the diaphragm so that no with Dr. Carpenter for years and obviously he’s an expert in his field,” McCormack said. “We’ve just always had great other organs could again be trapped in this area. To prevent communication and great respect for K-State and all their the stomach from pushing back up into the diaphragm, the surgeons. We’ve brought tigers up there before, as well as surgeons sutured the outer stomach wall to his abdominal lions, and we value the dedication and expertise that’s there wall.

— and the care is always superb.”

Luckily, as the hernia had not fully penetrated through Black Fire and his siblings will remain at the Turpentine the diaphragm, the negative pressure in the chest cavity remained intact, and it was not necessary to breathe for him, Creek Wildlife Refuge for life. You can learn more about their efforts and the sanctuary at www.turpentinecreek.org. which was a major concern prior to the surgery as the state of the diaphragm remained unknown.

However, the anesthesiologists were still monitoring Black Fire throughout the entire surgical procedure.

“We were very, very happy about having the K-State team of anesthesiologists taking care of him the entire time,” Dr. Sweeley says. “There have been known complications in big cats when they’re under anesthesia for so long that their heart can stop working. Having that team there was amazing and they were very on top of everything. The surgeons were great, too!”

The surgery took approximately 3 1/2 hours and required a large team from the Veterinary Health Center.

“The most important aspect about this case was the teamwork,” Dr. Carpenter says. “I made a list of all the people that we used from radiologists, to the surgeons, to the anesthesiologists, Black Fire pictured at the sanctuary located near Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Photo courtesy of Turpentine Creek.

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Photo by William Layton

WILD STORIES

1800 Denison Ave. Manhattan, Kansas www.vet.ksu.edu/vhc Small Animal: 785-532-5690 Large Animal: 785-532-5700

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

T T

pet partners

Shelter Medicine program teams up with T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter in Manhattan.

Story by Brenna Leahy

The Hammond family waited excitedly outside the T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter in Manhattan on a hot summer day. They and several other pet seekers were lined up for “Clear the Shelters” — an event held every August to promote the adoption of pets at animal shelters across the nation.

As more people arrived, ready to grow their families, the Hammonds squeezed through Dr. Alyssa Comroe, clinical assistant professor with the shelter medicine program, the crowd toward the kennels. Success! They helps Deb Watkins, director of the T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter in Manhattan, left that day with a new family member — a at an Open House in May. beautiful dog! The excitement seen on their faces was mirrored by many others at the Mutual benefits event. Shelter employees and families had a Deb Watkins, director of animal services at the animal common goal — to provide a loving and safe home for pets shelter, along with the CVM’s Drs. Alyssa Comroe and Brad in need.

Crauer believe this partnership will help animals and humans According to a report from Dr. Elizabeth Davis, head of Clinical Sciences at the CVM, a total of 61 pets were adopted alike.

“We have always wanted to partner with our community’s during the event, including ALL of the dogs available for adoption and more than half of the cats — both are amazing shelter,” says Dr. Comroe, clinical assistant professor for K-State’s shelter medicine program. “After meeting with Deb feats considering the number of animals that were being Watkins, we ultimately decided to set up the partnership as housed by the shelter. soon as possible and began providing medical and population These numbers were enhanced in part due to a new management services to them in addition to the surgery partnership that ensured these animals were adoptable for services we provide with our mobile unit.” all the families — a partnership between the T. Russell Reitz Dr. Crauer, clinical assistant professor, says, “This is a Animal Shelter and the College of Veterinary Medicine. first step in the right direction. We have the advantage of

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proximity and we want to use that to raise the bar by doing more than just weekly surgeries — we want to have a consistent presence.”

A new team member Part of the agreement places an intern onsite at the shelter to fulfill the goal of a consistent presence. Dr. Jason Banning, DVM class of 2019, spends three days per week at the shelter. He works hard with Drs. Comroe and Crauer, Watkins, and the staff at the shelter to make T. Russell Reitz a positive example.

“With the shelter medicine program [at K-State], we have access to info from all around the country — of things that have and have not worked,” Dr. Banning says. “We can apply this knowledge to give T. Russell progressive and achievable goals to meet. We have been working on protocols for different situations — the goal is to have a standardized list of rules when it comes to things like cleaning and treating diseases. The staff has been doing very well in the short time that we’ve been doing this program. They are very eager to learn.”

Watkins says, “Having the shelter medicine program’s presence here has been amazing.

They’re coming once a week to do surgeries and look at the animals that need extra care.

Dr. Jason Banning’s presence here has been really nice since our animals get such great medical care. The animals are much healthier and happier, which in turn makes them more adoptable.”

Facility enhancement

The new partnership between the CVM and the T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter provides much-needed support to help make rescued pets adoptable, such as this dog that went home with the Hammond family at the Clear the Shelters event in August.

The T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter is in the process of installing a surgical suite, which will be operational this fall. This addition will allow surgeries to happen on-site.

“From a medical standpoint, the partnership allows us to have our eyes on patients constantly, and to deal with problems as soon as they crop up,” Dr. Crauer says. “Our students benefit because they will get surgical and medical experience.”

“I’m expecting there to be more of a presence from the CVM as we grow,” Watkins says. “I think this shelter can become the model shelter in northeast Kansas.”

Dr. Banning concurs with Watkin’s optimism. He says, “It has been exciting to be around this shelter as it grows. Hopefully, it will develop into a very progressive shelter that will be wonderful for the animals and the community as a whole.”

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Photo by Audrey Hambright

EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

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removingrisk A severe outbreak of strangles leads a K-State alumnus to help initiate strict biosecurity protocols.

By Audrey Hambright

Near Louisburg, Kansas, the Equus Curito Equine Center sits nestled back in the trees away from the main road. Rather picturesque, the location is a peaceful haven for owners who have chosen to board or train their horses at the facility, with miles of trails available right on the property, as well as access to an indoor and outdoor arena. The facility also hosts day clinics and events.

Just as noticeable, is new signage posted on fencing and gates indicating areas for boarding horses and boarding owners, only.

In early 2019, an infectious disease known as Equine Strangles, swept through the training and boarding facility, affecting over 50 horses. A team of veterinarians led by Dr. Maureen Sutter, veterinarian at Red Oak Animal Hospital in Bucyrus, Kansas, and 2007 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, and barn owner Bob Brennan, quickly worked together to initiate quarantine protocol, which lead to the eventual development of new biosecurity procedures for the facility.

What is Strangles?

Strangles is an upper respiratory infection caused by Streptococcus equi, which infects the upper airway and lymph nodes of the head and neck. Clinical signs include fever, nasal discharge and swollen lymph nodes. Enlarged lymph nodes near the lower jaw bone or throat area may ultimately abscess and lymph nodes that have developed in the throat latch may rupture in the guttural pouch. Bacteria can be spread by nose-to-nose contact from nasal discharge, and persists in water troughs or buckets. People can also transmit the bacteria by going from horse-to-horse, or even on boots after walking through an area of nasal discharge from an infected

horse. While the fatality rate of Strangles is less than 10%, the infection can cause a complication known as Purpura Hemorrhagica, an autoimmune disease that causes swelling in the legs, and if not treated can become deadly.

Not without challenges When Dr. Sutter arrived on-site in February, the facility had already endured a handful of cases with respiratory issues, some of those testing positive for equine herpes or the flu. However, multiple horses had more recently held a fever for over a week, but were not showing any other clinical symptoms of Strangles. Dr. Sutter worked alongside fellow veterinarians Dr. Tom Lenz and Dr. Karl Frees, to enact American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) protocol quarantine, or separating and testing the horses that were showing clinical signs, whether that was fever, nasal discharge or swollen lymph nodes, and continuing to monitor those horses who had been exposed.

Since all of the horses were at this boarding facility, it created a unique challenge in the matter of people and horses coming and going, as well as clients working with separate veterinarians.

“The main challenge was the stoppage of movement and trying to get biosecurity set up so that there was not separate protocol being done to different horses,” Dr. Sutter says. “There essentially was stoppage of movement of horses anywhere, everyone was just in their stalls or still in their pastures, not bringing horses out to be ridden or to be worked. Everyone was in a stand still which becomes challenging for the owners to allow that to happen, but that’s the best way to prevent additional movement of everything.”

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Above: The team scopes a boarding horse. Pictured left to right: Stephanie Scott, veterinary technician, Dr. Maureen Sutter, Alexis Shin, Equus Curito trainer, Dr. Laurie Beard, Dr. Stephen Mercer (class of 2019), and Dr. Miguel Saucedo, VHC equine intern.

Left: An endoscopy image of the guttural pouch shown on the monitor during scoping. Photos courtesy of Equus Curito Equine Center

After it was determined that there were no new cases, the decision was made that each horse on the property was to be scoped to detect any carriers. Scoping allows veterinarians to get a sample for testing and to evaluate the guttural pouch for chondroids. For Dr. Sutter and her team, if chondroids were found they would lavage the pouch to clear the chondroids and apply antibiotics.

Scoping every horse on the property was a requirement, and not everyone was happy about it. Brennan received a lot of push-back from some of his clients, claiming that it was an unnecessary procedure. Most of them were more comfortable and moved forward after an overview from the team of veterinarians, however, Brennan says he ended up losing four boarding clients due to the new protocol, as he was unwilling to budge on animal health.

“We want to work with people who want the best for their horse and share our desires, concerns, and investment in biosecurity,” Brennan says.

Dr. Laurie Beard, clinical sciences professor and equine section head at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, had worked with Dr. Sutter on two previous Strangles outbreaks, and was requested to help scope the remaining healthy population of horses at the facility this spring.

“As a field investigation unit, we wanted to help screen horses to identify carriers in an efficient manner,” Dr. Beard says. “We now recognize that there are horses that can look clinically normal, but are carriers and that is how the disease can spread.”

She also commends Brennan on the steps he has taken to prevent any further spread of the disease.

“He did the right thing to say, I’m not going to have this disease anymore and we’re going to do everything we can to identify carriers,” she added. “Horses can still be carriers following an outbreak and if people want to do everything

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they can, they need to screen their horses for that. The best way is to scope them.”

Setting new standards When the discussion around a new protocol began, Dr. Sutter and Dr. Lenz recommended different requirements for the two different sets of horses — those who were boarding and those who were on the property for day events.

Horses coming in for the day need to have a Coggins test, proof of vaccination including Rhino+Flu twice each year, and a vaccination for Strangles. Owners who wish to have their horse trained or boarded at the facility must first have their horse scoped to determine that they are not a carrier.

Scoping for new horses takes place at Dr. Sutter’s practice nearby in Bucyrus. During this time, Dr. Sutter also obtains a sample and culture to send to the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for Strangles PCR and culture. After the horse is scoped, it will go to a quarantine facility off-site from the boarding property for three weeks until the test returns negative. If the test does in fact come back positive, the horse is treated and kept in quarantine and tested again in three weeks. If the test is negative, the horse is cleared to enter the property.

To help support the accuracy of vaccination records, the facility now requires microchips in each of the horses for

identification tracking. Horses that are boarded or trained at the facility are required to have a thermal microchip, which with the right scanner, can read the horse’s temperature from the microchip. Part of the new barn protocol is daily monitoring for each horse, which includes reading their temperature. All of the temperature data is collected and evaluated for trends in each horses’ temperature.

Another change Brennan has made at the boarding facility is the installation of heated waters in the stall areas so that the barn can be kept open in the winter months. It is suspected that keeping the heated barn closed during the winter months created an environment more conducive to spreading Strangles.

However, the most visible change is signage alerting visitors to areas designated for boarded horses and boarding owners, only. For Brennan, it’s important to keep the visiting horses away from the boarded horses.

“Biosecurity works best in a series of layers,” Brennan says.

“Vaccinations, continually good veterinary care and verified protocol.”

After working with an expert team of veterinarians through the outbreak, Brennan is more than comfortable moving forward with the new protocols.

“To have the stamp of approval from K-State on our protocol, meant we were doing the right things,” he added.

Above: Dr. Maureen Sutter takes a horse’s temperature by scanning the microchip inserted at the top of the horse’s neck. The microchip is also used to verify the identify of the horse and its vaccination records. Photos by Audrey Hambright. wildcatveterinarian | 51

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

RURALPRIDE For those in the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas (VTPRK), it has evoked two main principles: hard work and pride.

Story and photos by Audrey Hambright

“People in rural communities are really the heart of agriculture and they’ve been so good to me and to my family.

From the time I’ve come here as an outsider, I was welcomed with open arms. As I’ve worked with these people it’s allowed me to build a life, build a career, and build a business. It’s been extremely rewarding.” ‑ Dr. Trent Glick, Wetmore Veterinary Service In 2006, the Veterinary Training Program for Rural Kansas (VTPRK) was established by the Kansas legislature as a financial incentive for veterinary graduates to practice in rural Kansas communities in order to improve the delivery of veterinary services in rural areas. Program participants receive $20,000 annually to support student loan repayment for up to four years. Upon completion of their DVM 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. Each year, five students are chosen from the incoming first-year class to participate in VTPRK. As a part of the program, each participating veterinary student receives additional training to prepare for the challenges of rural veterinary practice. According to Dr. Brad White, professor of production medicine and director of the Beef Cattle Institute, this part of the program continues to grow and evolve.

“We have always visited the packing facility,” he says. “But we’ve added production system tours both in eastern and western Kansas that allows students to interact with different segments of agriculture and gain exposure to new methods in veterinary and production practices.”

Since its inception in 2006, 93% of graduates are still practicing in a qualifying county beyond their four-year obligation.

“Those students have thus far been successful in practice and many have moved into ownership roles,” Dr. White adds, “which means they’ll be there long-term.”

We share the insights of four individuals — two current fourth-year students and two graduates of the VTPRK program currently serving in rural Kansas.

CURRENT STUDENTS

Shanlyn Hefley, Wellington, Kansas

DVM Class of 2020 How did you come to choose veterinary medicine?

My father is a veterinarian and I grew up with the lifestyle.

I found it as my calling early in life and I became passionate about not only the animals, but the people as well. I felt like this is how I could help out in the community and be the best version of myself. Animals are the best part of life, and I enjoy helping them out whenever I can.

Why did you choose K-State for your veterinary eductaion?

I am from Kansas, so in-state tuition was really important.

I also learned about the VTPRK scholarship opportunity.

K-State’s reputation as a veterinary school was stellar, and I would be close to home as well.

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Photo by Deked USA Clockwise from top left: Fourth-year veterinary student Shanlyn Hefley, fourth-year student Meredith Schmidt, Dr. Trent Glick, Wetmore Veterinary Service, and Dr. Tera Barnhardt, consulting veterinarian in southwest Kansas.

Why did you apply to be a part of the VTPRK program?

I thought rural veterinary medicine would be a great program. I have always thought rural medicine was awesome because you are able to help out and become a part of the community. I cherish the ability to help out my hometown and give the community knowledge about animals and veterinary medicine. I like the personal relationships I will gain by being in a small community.

What challenges do you anticipate as you take on the service part of VTPRK? I feel my greatest challenge will be to expand the clinic I will be working in. I hope to help out the local humane society and create partnerships with other local businesses.

How is the K-State CVM preparing you for this role?

What do you hope to learn from your experience?

K-State is helping to prepare me by enrolling me in a special curriculum uniquely designed for VTPRK students. In the fourth year we have the privilege to take a business class to wildcatveterinarian | 53

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help us make better business choices when we are done with school. I hope to learn how to serve my rural community to the best of my ability.

What do you want people to know about VTPRK? That it is a great program that’s main goal is to get veterinarians into underserved areas by decreasing their debt load to create opportunities for them to stay in Kansas and help the local community. It is a four-year commitment to the state and pays almost all of the tuition of the student. It has been a lifesaver for me that really decreased my stress and allowed me to focus on my school work.

Meredith Schmidt, Overland Park, Kansas DVM Class of 2020 How did you come to choose veterinary medicine?

I started saying I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was in first grade. In high school, I changed my mind and thought I wanted to be a teacher, so my major at K-State in undergrad was actually biology education until I was halfway through my sophomore year. Once I started spending time in classrooms, I realized I wasn’t in the right place and went back to veterinary medicine. I applied to veterinary school during my junior year of undergrad and graduated with my bachelor’s degree in biology in May of 2016 before starting veterinary school in August of 2016. After spending time in various clinics throughout undergrad and during the summers in veterinary school, I know I’m in the right place.

Why did you choose K-State?

I already knew I loved Manhattan after doing my undergraduate degree here, and I wasn’t ready to leave. I also knew that K-State has one of the top veterinary schools in the country, and almost every one of my mentors graduated from K-State, so why would I want to go anywhere else?

Why did you apply to be a part of the VTPRK program?

The main reason I applied for the VTPRK program is because I was already planning on moving to western Kansas after graduation. My fiancé is from Quinter, Kansas, and I plan to practice mixed animal medicine in a town near where he grew up. Being from a suburb of Kansas City, I knew the VTPRK program would be a good way for me to gain experience with large animals, production medicine, and working in a rural area.

What challenges do you anticipate as you take on the service part of VTPRK? Every day is going to bring something new, and I’m constantly going to be learning. I’ll be on call for emergencies starting fairly quickly after graduation, and I anticipate a very steep learning curve. Veterinarians are few and far between in rural Kansas, and I’m sure I will be pulled in many directions at once. Having a family is important to me, so another challenge is going to be providing the best possible service to the community, while not neglecting my own family at the same time.

How is the veterinary college preparing you for this role?

K-State is preparing me for this role by offering me opportunities to advance my knowledge in various aspects of mixed animal and production medicine. There are several electives I took during the first three years, and several more I’m taking during my fourth year that offer advanced knowledge on beef and dairy production medicine, reproductive management and efficiency, and working in a rural area.

What do you hope to learn from your experience?

I hope to learn the basics of working in rural practice, as well as have resources and plans for continuing to advance my knowledge in the field.

What do you want people to know about VTPRK? I think it’s important for people to know future veterinarians still exist who want to serve rural communities.

VTPRK is a way for students to commit early to practicing in rural communities, and provides us opportunities along the way to better ourselves in order to bring the best possible veterinarians to rural areas that need them most.

PRACTICING VETERINARIANS Dr. Tera Barnhardt, Class of 2014 Hometown: Satanta, Kansas • Master’s degree 2015 Where are you currently serving?

I live in Johnson, Kansas. My consulting clients are in southwest Kansas. I own and operate a non-traditional practice and am consulting for feedyard, dairy, cow-calf, calf ranch and heifer development clients in the southwest Kansas area.

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Photo by Deked USA VTPRK graduates Dr. Barnhardt (left) and Dr. Glick (right) practice in the field and in a clinic, serving both large and small animal clients.

Why did you choose veterinary medicine?

When I was growing up, my grandfather had a cow herd, and we ran into a health issue when they came into contact with a group of BVD-positive feeder calves. We had a wreck, and I was able to spend a lot of time with our veterinarian working through the issues and planning for the future of our herd. It was a monumental time in my life that lit a fire in my belly to work with animals, people and solve problems!

Why did you choose K-State?

I am a Wildcat, it’s in my blood. My family of Kansas State University graduates probably had a big influence on me choosing K-State for my undergraduate degree, but I saw a lot of financial incentive to remain for my master’s degree and DVM. Remaining at an in-state institution was a big factor in my decision to ensure my advanced degree was practical from a return on investment standpoint. Couple that with the reputation K-State has for beef cattle medicine and it was a no-brainer decision for me.

Why did you apply to be part of the VTPRK program?

This was a logical decision for me to make at an early point in my education. At that time, I was in a committed relationship with my now husband, and we had discussed our plans and dreams for the future. We are both from a rural

community. I would love to work in a rural community, and we are truly blessed that this program exists for people like me. I saw it as an opportunity to defray a huge portion of my educational costs and allow me to make career decisions that have landed me exactly where I want to be.

By agreeing to serve in a rural area after graduation, my husband and I made some concessions with his business, but it made the most sense financially for us. It has allowed us to put down roots in a rural community, purchase a home, receive advanced training and continuing education, work our tails off to make our businesses both profitable and sustainable and begin to raise our young family in an awesome community.

What is your favorite part of serving in a rural community?

The people in southwest Kansas are my favorite part of being in this area. Agriculture is big business in our little part of the world. Things are always growing and changing and bringing new challenge to both my career and personal life.

I am honored to live and work in a small town because you become integrated in the web of people who are feeding a huge population.

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

“ I believe as professionals who have taken this challenge, it is our responsibility to bring so much more than veterinary medicine to these communities. We are driven, young people who are not willing to let the status quo dictate our path in life. I serve my community with the same rigorous determination that I serve my clients and patients. I am honored to have been a product of this program, but I am also driven to make sure I have left the taxpayers who have contributed to it, proud.

” Dr. Tera Barnhardt on the VTPRK program What is the most challenging part of serving in a rural community?

There are challenges in rural areas. Like the fact that we are centrally located 75 miles from a Walmart or Dillons in every direction.

How did K-State prepare you for this role?

When I was at K-State for my undergrad and graduate degrees, the experts in beef production and medicine were second to none. I learned from the very best and have made connections that are easy to call on to this day.

Has the community embraced you as a veterinarian?

When an older gentleman in the community referred to me as “Missy,” I could’ve been discouraged and could’ve chalked it up as a pretty chauvinist action on his part. Instead, I used it as an opportunity to set a goal. By the end of my first year in practice, my goal was for this man to address me differently. Before that first-year mark, and every day since then, he has hollered out a big, “Hello, Doc! How are you?”

Mission accomplished!

What do you want readers to know about VTPRK? The VTPRK is an awesome opportunity to couple your desire to serve a rural Kansas community with the financial

incentive to do so. It also comes with a big responsibility. I believe, as professionals who have taken this challenge, it is our responsibility to bring so much more than veterinary medicine to these communities. We are driven, young people who are not willing to let the status quo dictate our path in life. I serve my community with the same rigorous determination that I serve my clients and patients. I am honored to have been a product of this program, but I am also driven to make sure I have left the taxpayers who have contributed to it, proud.

Dr. Trent Glick, Class of 2010 Hometown: Pittsburg, Kansas Where are you currently serving?

Wetmore, Kansas at the Wetmore Veterinary Service.

Why did you choose veterinary medicine?

Mostly I was inspired by Dr. Bill Moreland in Girard, who I had the opportunity to job shadow in junior high school. I had taken one of the standardized tests for personalities, and large animal veterinarian was one of the things that came up on that list. I continued to spend time at the veterinary clinic, where my dad was also a customer, and I became intrigued

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with it. Dr. Moreland was a fun character and made it seem fun and easy.

My dad also worked with Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, which allowed him to work with private lands and a lot of farmers and producers in the area. I liked that through his job, he was really on a first-name basis with a lot of these people. To me, it was a natural fit between what my dad and Dr. Bill Moreland did — being such a positive influence.

Why did you choose K-State?

I jokingly sometimes say I chose K-State first, then decided I wanted to become a veterinarian. I guess it was a natural fit.

I’ve always taken a lot of pride in K-State being the state ag college, to be the destination in Kansas to go, if you wanted to go into that field.

Why did you choose to apply for the VTPRK program?

Originally, I thought I would try to do a military scholarship. I’d even completed ROTC in undergrad, to pave the way for that. There started to be some talks about the VTPRK when I was applying to veterinary school, but it seemed too good to be true. I always worried what type of scholarship would come up and if I’d be taken away from what I really wanted to do, which was work with livestock.

When this program came about, I was very excited at the opportunity to enter into a partnership to pay for my school while I was getting to do what I really wanted to do, which is work with livestock producers.

What is your favorite part of serving in a rural community?

Definitely the people. Dr. Larry Hollis referred to us one time as “Agro-Americans.” People in rural communities are really the heart of agriculture and they’ve been so good to me and to my family. From the time I’ve come here as an outsider, I was welcomed with open arms. As I’ve worked with these people, it’s allowed me to build a life, build a career and build a business. It’s been extremely rewarding. The best part of my job is that I’m working with my friends every day.

The same people I work with are the same people I hang out with. That makes life really fun.

What is the most challenging part of serving in a rural community?

There was one time in particular when I received a case right at the end of the night, and I ended up spending 36 hours straight in the hospital. I remember feeling so sorry

for myself at the time and how tough this was, and that was nothing like practice. I feel like college in that regard, really prepared me well to come into practice because when I got here, there were some nights like that — and it was a lot tougher.

I thought veterinary school was tough, but I felt like it was good preparation for what was even tougher, and that was being the only veterinarian on a late-night weekend — just being me and my text books and figuring out how to get through it. I went from school and having all these magnificent resources to draw from and ask questions, and all of a sudden — I was it. It was just me and the patient a couple times late at night. For me it was a wake-up, I’m finally here — I’ve arrived and now I’m the person in charge.

How did K-State prepare you for this role?

I think there were a lot of professors who really cared about us and pushed us really hard when I was in school. I can remember from the very first semester that Dr. Wally Cash made a big impression on me. I remember in anatomy lab, towards the end of the semester, being pushed and pushed and pushed. And I remember him getting on the microphone and the loudspeaker and diving into the heart of the dissection. He gave us a pep talk and said, “Hey this is what you guys are here for. You came here to work hard, and I know you think you’ve all been pushed far, but I’m going to push you even further.” I think that sort of set the tone for it.

What you want readers to know about VTPRK? The VTPRK has really been a life-changing opportunity for me. I had testified along with Dr. Ralph Richardson [former dean] and another classmate when I was in school before a sub-committee in the Kansas legislature. I remember telling them at the time this was something that I took a lot of pride in as a Kansan and I think this is something Kansas really got right — trying to support veterinarians that want to go into rural practice. I take a lot of pride as a native Kansan knowing the Kansas legislature and my university have all teamed up to provide this opportunity for me, so I really don’t take it lightly.

It truly has been life changing for me. It’s crazy for me to sit here and think where I might be without it. Not just because of the financial flexibility that it gave me, but where it took me in the state. I had certainly never been to Wetmore, I’d never heard of Nemaha County. It was a matter of circumstance that brought me here, and now it’s home.

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EXCEPTIONAL TEACHING | IMPACTFUL RESEARCH | OUTSTANDING SERVICE | EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES

Story Tellers

Dr. Eileen Warner, class of 1968, passed away on Nov. 14, 2019. Our thoughts are with her colleagues and family.

Video project puts focus on alumni careers and memorable moments.

By Joe Montgomery. Photos courtesy of featured alumni.

More than 7,000 faces line the walls in the lobby of Trotter Hall. These are the ladies and gentlemen from every graduating class at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University going back to 1905.

While it is said a picture is worth a thousand words, those words may not be obvious at a quick glance.

“Veterinarians are known for telling incredible stories,” says Dr. Bonnie Rush, dean of the college. “We want these extraordinary graduates of Kansas State University to share stories from before, during and after veterinary school. We ask them what it means to them to be a veterinarian. Their biographies demonstrate the exceptional commitment, heroism, integrity, discipline, values and discovery involved in dedicating your life to the greatest profession in the world!”

Dean Rush had the idea to record videos where alumni could personally tell their stories. The videos would then be placed on a touch-screen digital monitor in the Trotter Hall lobby and on the college’s website.

An idea takes shape “When an alumnus and/or his or her family visits K-State, we want them to be able to find their class composite picture and then find a video where they tell their own stories,” Dean Rush explains. “It’s a big project, but it is important to document their experiences for future generations to see. To get started, we have invited CVM graduates with 40 years of experience or more, to tell the story of their careers.”

Dean Rush turned the idea over to a team consisting of a project coordinator, Sharon Greene, and the college’s video producers, Kent Nelson and Scott Morrill. Together they schedule and record interviews with alumni who are returning to Manhattan for a campus visit or class reunion. The alumni are also asked to share memorable pictures from their careers and time in college.

Over the period of several months, the team recorded 80 interviews and edited more than 20 finished videos.

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College memories Dr. David Franz, DVM class of 1970, was one of the original participants. In his interview, he mentions the namesake for Trotter Hall.

“I think the first professor who really impressed me was Dr. Don Trotter,” Dr. Franz recalls. “He taught anatomy over in Leasure Hall in the basement in the center of campus. He also taught us autonomic nervous system physiology. That’s sort of a complicated set of concepts, and he did just a fantastic job of teaching that.

I later went on and worked on a Ph.D. in physiology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and they didn’t teach it as well as Dr. Trotter did at the time.”

To begin the alumni video biography project, the production team has targeted members of classes who graduated 40 years ago and further back. Dr. J. Eileen Warner, a member of the DVM class of 1968, shared unique memories as one of only five women who were in her class. At the time, she was happy just to have the opportunity to go to veterinary college.

“I went to grade school, junior high, high school, junior college and then I came up to K-State and I had three years of pre-vet,” Dr. Warner remembers. “I have a sister who went to Emporia State University, and our parents couldn’t afford to have both of us in college at one time. So when she got out, then I went to K-State. If I didn’t get into veterinary college, I decided I’d be a lab technician or do something in a hospital. I just studied hard. I made really good grades, but I studied all the time. I didn’t know there was a weekend. I’d go over to Burt Hall and study with microscopes and stuff.

I remember I lived in Van Zile Hall for two years and then I got an apartment off campus and had a dog.”

For Dr. Sam Graham, class of 1959, his time at college included a memorable former employer and veterinary student.

“I interviewed with Dr. Hal Sinclair, who graduated from K-State a year before I did,” Dr. Graham said. “We’d known each other in school and we were actually in the same clinic groups. He was a senior and I was a junior. The problem with that was that Dr. Sinclair is about 6 foot 4 inches and weighs maybe 250. I was 5 foot 7 inches and weighed 165. No matter where I stood, Hal was always right in front of me. He was the big guy — the senior crowding out the little junior.

Dr. David Franz, DVM class of 1970, as he looks today and a scrapbook photo from when he was in the Army and helped write a manual on pack mules.

So I asked him when I applied for the job if he remembered me. He said, “Yeah, you were behind me someplace.’”

Career notes Dr. Franz served in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command for 23 of 27 years on active duty and retired as colonel. He served as commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and as deputy commander of the Medical Research and Materiel Command. The early part of his Army career involved working as group veterinarian for the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

“I went through two weeks of a course on how to pack animals and we worked with mules,” Dr. Franz says. “The second week was spent in the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat Wilderness Complex in in the Rockies of Montana where we took a lot of pictures. They were primarily still pictures.

When we went back to Walter Reed’s video studio, we made a video of training materials where we did an improvised pack saddle. They made it into a little training manual on how to do all these procedures. From there I went on into research. wildcatveterinarian | 59

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Photographic assets: Images likes the ones below are collected to provide visuals for the CVM’s new Alumni Biography Videos.

Above: Drs. Eileen Warner and Sam Graham are featured in local newspaper clippings and Dr. David Franz’ photograph at the bottom shows him when he worked for the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.

Opposite page: Dr. Graham on a golf outing.

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I thought it was one of those exercises you do in the military and maybe nothing comes of it.

“Well, in 1991, a friend of mine from Special Forces came to USAMARID and said he was at that time on the joint staff at the Pentagon. He said, ‘You don’t know this, but there was a classified program that used your pack animal booklet to train 1,200 mules as packers.’”

Dr. Franz explained how the mules were used in a special operation to carry Stinger missiles over the mountains on the Afghan-Pakistan border to the Mujahideen to help them take down Russian Hind helicopters.

“There’s a movie and a book called ‘Charlie Wilson’s War,’” Dr. Franz says. “Those mules that you read about or see in the movie were apparently trained using this little pack manual that we developed in 1976. This occurred about 10 or 11 years later, so that was just a little, but interesting sidelight of my career.”

The Greatest Profession In addition to career highlights, Dr. Warner talks about how much appreciation she has for the veterinary profession.

“I love the mystery of veterinary medicine — trying to figure out cases — and I love the camaraderie with other veterinarians,” Dr. Warner says. “When I started my own practice, I was working with large animals and had a friend who was about two miles from me — Dr. Don Ford. He was an Oklahoma State University grad. I would take X-rays to him and say, ‘I think this is what is wrong. What do you think?’ And then he’d look at them and tell me.

“A lot of times when you answer client calls — and you’ve done them enough — you know over the phone usually what’s wrong with the animals before you ever go out. I would call Dr. Ford and say, ‘Is that what you think?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, do you have the medicine to treat that, Eileen?’ and if I didn’t, I’d just go down there two miles, and he’d give me the medicine. We were good buddies until he passed away.”

Dr. Graham transitioned from private practice to being a state veterinarian.

“I had basically the western half of the state of Kansas as my service territory for maybe eight or nine years,” Dr. Graham recalls. “There was a lot of travel and I met a lot of good people out there. I was in feedlot country and on the ground floor of the dairy industry when it started moving from California to Western Kansas. I also saw the explosion of the hog industry in southwest Kansas.”

Dr. Graham said one of his reasons for working for the state was so he could remain in Kingman.

“I worked out of my home, which was fortunate when the Greensburg tornado happened [in 2007],” Dr. Graham recalls. “Before the tornado, our primary focus had been in disease control in livestock, but during my later years with the Animal Health Department, it became emergency management and planning. It was our job to determine what you do with livestock in the event of a tornado or a flood or a toxic chemical releases.”

Thanks for the memories!

Like Dr. Franz and Dr. Warner, Dr. Graham is now fully retired. Even so, his career in veterinary medicine has been central to who he is as a person.

“I’ve always had this wonderful love of life,” Dr. Graham says about being a veterinarian. “I cannot get away from it.

Everything looks new and exciting and fun — and interesting — even now at 83. I still get up in the morning and think, ‘Wow what a great way to live.’”

To see the current Alumni Biography Video interviews, visit: http://www.vet.k-state.edu/alumni/bio-videos/.

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alumni news

Dr. Nancy and Jerry Jaax answer questions at a premiere screening of “The Hot Zone” at the K-State Student Union in May 2019.

Hot Zone spotlights Drs. Nancy and Jerry Jaax Two Kansas State University veterinarians and leaders — Drs. Nancy and Jerry Jaax — and their response to a novel Ebola strain outbreak have inspired the National Geographic limited-episode TV series, THE HOT ZONE. Kansas State University hosted an advance screening of the premiere of THE HOT ZONE May 7 followed by a panel discussion with the real-life subjects of the series.

Drs. Nancy and Jerry Jaax, DVM classes of 1973 and 1972 respectively, answered question from the audience along with the showrunners, writers and executive producers Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders.

The six-part limited series premiered on National Geographic in late May, and aired over three nights. Julianna Margulies plays Lt. Col. Nancy Jaax and Noah Emmerich plays Lt. Col. Jerry Jaax.

THE HOT ZONE is based on the 1994 best-seller by Richard Preston and is inspired by the true story of the arrival of Ebola on U.S. soil in 1989 in Reston, Virginia.

The story involves the Jaaxes when they were both serving with the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, and would become involved in the troublesome events depicted in the series.

After the situation was resolved in1989 and after finishing their stellar military careers, Jerry and Nancy returned to Manhattan. Jerry joined the university and served in a prominent research leadership position to further the university’s biodefense mission. Nancy participated in innumerable infectious disease initiatives at the university.

Both Jerry and Nancy played important roles in the development of Kansas State University’s biocontainment facility called the Biosecurity Research Institute, or BRI, at Pat Roberts Hall, which was dedicated in 2007.

“Nancy and Jerry Jaax are renowned leaders, scientists and veterans,” Kansas State University President Richard Myers said. “We are honored that National Geographic is telling their story through THE HOT ZONE and we want to recognize these two K-Staters for their bravery and heroic research contributions. Leaders like Nancy and Jerry Jaax are true examples of what makes K-State the ‘Silicon Valley for biodefense.’”

THE HOT ZONE can still be streamed online at the National Geographic website: https://www. nationalgeographic.com/tv/shows/the-hot-zone.

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alumni news Dr. Lindsay Horner, DVM 2011 Dr. Lindsey Horner and her husband, Nate are partners in Horner Equine Inc., a business they started in 2012. It is a side enterprise to the Horner family’s 440-head commercial cow-calf operation near Dawson in central North Dakota.

Lindsey started the veterinary clinic in May 2012 and it has grown every year since. They built a home and adjoining veterinary clinic in 2016 and moved in 2017. The facility includes a lab, surgery room and intensive care unit.

“We’re able to do what we love, which is work on horses, close to family,” Lindsey says.

Nate grew up on a Dawson ranch, about 11 miles north of Napoleon on N.D. Highway 3. He went to North Dakota State University where he graduated in 2006 with degrees in agricultural economics and ag finance, intending to come back to his parents’ cattle ranch or go into banking.

Lindsey grew up not far away in Steele, North Dakota. The oldest of four siblings, she competed in high school rodeo and hung out in the mixed veterinary practice owned by her father, Dr. Arlyn Scherbenske, who recently retired.

After graduating from Steele-Dawson High School in 2004, Lindsey went on to NDSU, where she continued with rodeo and met Nate.

Mechanicsville Animal Hospital in August 2016, with interests in dentistry, dermatology and internal medicine.

Dr. Cesar González, DVM 1967

Dr. Alfred “Orval” Gigstad III of Syracuse, Nebraska, was honored for his dedication to the profession with the “Veterinarian of the Year” award for 2018, by the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), during its Celebration Reception at the 123rd Annual Convention in Kearney in January 2019.

The Puerto Rico Dr. Cesar Gonzalez accepts the Puerto Veterinary Medical Rico VMA’s lifetime dedication award, Association’s 2018 presented by Dr. Walter Colón, PRVMA annual Convention president. Drs Gonzalez and Colón were was dedicated classmates from the DVM class of 1967. to Dr. Cesar González, DVM class of 1967, in recognition of his lifetime dedication to veterinary medicine, animal welfare and animal control.

Since his graduation from Kansas State University in 1967, Dr. González has been involved in organized veterinary medicine locally and nationally serving with multiple organizations and committees. He served as president of the PRVMA and as its treasurer. He served for six years in AVMA’s Council of Veterinary Services. He was appointed and served in the Puerto Rico Board of Veterinary Examiners.

For the last 20 years, Dr. González has been the director of the Center of Animal Control of the city of Carolina, Puerto Rico. As director, he has promoted animal welfare and responsible ownership of pets. All pets adopted at the center are sterilized, vaccinated and identified with a microchip.

Dr. Larry Henning, DVM 1987

Dr. Ingrid Garrison, DVM 2003

Dr. Orval Gigstad, DVM 1976

Dr. Larry Henning, DVM class of 1987, was elected president of the Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Angela Kargus, DVM 2013 2013 grad, Dr. Angela Kargus was honored by the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association (VVMA) with this year’s Recent Graduate Leadership Award.

She has been practicing in Richmond since 2013 and joined

A K-State veterinarian was among four Shawnee Heights High School alumni was recently inducted into the Topeka, Kansas, school’s hall of fame. Dr. Ingrid (Trevino) Garrison, Shawnee Heights class of 1994 and K-State DVM class of 2003, joined the Kansas Air National Guard and became an aircraft mechanic. Twenty years later, she retired from the 190th Air Refueling Wing as a lieutenant colonel, where she served from 2003 to 2017 as a public health officer.

Dr. Garrison’s undergraduate college experiences included a trip to India, where she was on a team that provided free veterinary care to animals in several communities. She briefly left Kansas following completion of her veterinary program, wildcatveterinarian | 63

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alumni news working in the Joplin, Missouri, area for one and a half years before continuing her education at Iowa State University, where she earned a master of public health degree in 2005.

Dr. Garrison has vast experiences working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has also spent the past 11 years working with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. She is a member of KSDE’s Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Response Team. Dr. Garrison is also president of the Kansas Animal Response Team, a group of volunteers who travel across the state in response to disaster emergencies to take care of animals in need.

Dr. Guy Palmer, DVM 1980 The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges presented Dr. Guy Palmer with its Excellence in Research Award for 2019. Dr. Palmer is the Regents Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases and the Jan and Jack Creighton Endowed Chair in Global Health at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Caroline Meyer, DVM 2015 Dr. Caroline Meyer, DVM class of 2015, was profiled earlier this year by her local media for her unique way of celebrating an anniversary of receiving a heart transplant.

The 32-year-old Arvada veterinarian celebrated four years since the procedure by hiking one of the “14ers” in Colorado — a mountain taller than 14,000 feet high.

Dr. Meyer had hiked Torrey’s Peak to continue her tradition of hiking 14ers every year on the anniversary date. Other hiked peaks include Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Quandary.

“I like the challenge of hiking. It’s definitely not easy for me,” Dr. Meyer says. “Reaching that [first] summit was so cool. It was so rewarding.”

Dr. Meyer was diagnosed with acute congestive heart failure at 28 years old, while she was attending K-State for her DVM degree. According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death among women.

It took two heart transplant operations for her to regain her health.

“I try to live one day at a time,” Dr. Meyer says. “I think that’s a really good outlook for anybody, because you just don’t know.”

Dr. Caroline Meyer, DVM class of 2015, climbs a mountain with some friends in Colorado.

Dr. Steve Swaim, DVM 1965 A wood carving by Dr. Steve Swaim, DVM class of 1965, was recently featured on the cover of JAVMA. “The Bandage,” carved in bass wood, was inspired by Dr. Swaim’s experience with teaching wound management and reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Swaim practiced in Wichita, Kansas, for nine months before serving in the US Army Veterinary Corps. He received the title of professor emeritus at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine after teaching there for 38 years. He now resides on his family farm in Geuda Springs, Kansas.

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alumni news Dr. Steve Stockham, DVM 1972 Dr. Steve Stockham, professor emeritus of veterinary clinical pathology at K-State was selected for a 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASCVP).

The award was in recognition of Dr. Stockham’s 40-year national and international contributions to the profession of veterinary clinical pathology as a teacher, scholar, leader and mentor, especially recognized is his co-author contributions to the highly respective textbook, “Fundamentals of Veterinary Clinical Pathology.”

The award was presented at the society’s annual meeting Nov. 5, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Several past K-State clinical pathologists trained by Dr. Stockham attended.

Overall, Dr. Stockham has 38 years of teaching experience in the veterinary curriculum, with 31 years as a primary instructor and course coordinator. Most of his classroom teaching has been in veterinary clinical pathology courses in which he uses a combination of lectures, case-based discussions and on-line microscopy methods to engage students and promote learning. His instructional activities have led him to receive 25 teaching awards during the past 28 years, such as the prestigious Norden/Pfizer Distinguished

Teaching Awards in 1987, 1998, 2012 and 2016; the Bayer Animal Health Teaching Excellence Award in 2005, 2009 and 2013; and the William T. Kemper Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching in 1994.

Dr. Stockham Dr. Steve Stockham accepts the received the 2015 ASVCP Lifetime Achievement ACVP Educator Award from Dr. Lindsay Award, and in Tomlinson, president of ASVCP. 2016, the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges presented him with its Distinguished Teaching Award in Academic Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Stockham retired after 15 years of service to K-State in 2016.

Regrettably, Dr. Stockham passed before this publication went to print. Our thoughts are with his family.

staff news Main campus recognizes CVM employees at annual celebration

Joyce Nietfeld, program/project assistant with the Veterinary Health Center Dispensary (third from left) displays the USS Staff Award of Excellence while Gail Eyestone, Department of Anatomy and Physiology (far right), accepts the President’s Award of Excellence for Unclassified Professionals from Provost Charles Taber and President Richard Myers. Her award was in the Belonging category.

Mike Hays, microbiologist in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, and Brandon Weber, HVAC Technician (above left and right), were named university employees of the year.

Nelwyn Cook, office specialist in Clinical Sciences, was selected for this award, but unable to attend the ceremony.

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alumni news

Alumni Fellow Award 2019 recipient Dr. M. Gatz Riddell Jr., DVM 1977 Dr. M. Gatz Riddell Jr., Auburn, Alabama, is secretary general of the World Association for Buiatrics and a professor emeritus at Auburn University. He was raised on a homesteaded farm near Conway, Kansas.

Dr. Riddell earned a bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from K-State, both in 1977. He also received a master’s degree from Auburn University in 1984. Following an internship and residency at Auburn University from 1977 to 1981, he practiced veterinary medicine in Tennessee till returning to Auburn University in 1984. He became a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists in 1982.

Dr. Riddell retired from Auburn University in 2005 as professor emeritus and was the executive vice president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners from 2005 until 2016.

Dr. Riddell received the AABP Award of Excellence in 1999 and the AABP AmstutzWilliams Award in 2016. He is married to Kay Pelly Riddell. They have three children, Molly, Wes and Jonathan, and a granddaughter, Emmalyn.

In memoriam 1940 Dr. Guy Roger Spencer April 27, 2019 Pullman, Washington

1956 Dr. Richard A. VanderCook June 25, 2007 Ft. Wainwright, Alaska

1962 Dr. Robert Lavern Borne Jan. 29, 2019 Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin

1973 Dr. Joanne V. Baldwin March 26, 2017 Goochland, Virginia

1944 Dr. J. Alan Bradbury May 8, 2019 Topeka, Kansas

Dr. Alton Jay Wilson Oct. 13, 2012 Rio Rancho, New Mexico

1963 Dr. Wilmer Eugene Sedivy Dec. 20, 2012 Oneill, Nebraska

Dr. Stuart Bryan Everett Feb. 2, 2019 Traverse City, Michigan

Dr. Donald Allen Henshaw June 11, 2018 Fort Dodge, Iowa 1951 Dr. Dale Edward Kinyoun Oct. 24, 2018 Superior, Nebraska 1954 Dr. James H Kuhlmann Jan. 26, 2017 Humboldt, Tennessee 1955 Dr. Howard D. Opheim Oct. 24, 2018 Lennox, South Dakota

1957 Dr. Larry Alvin Jackson Feb. 1, 2019 Ridgecrest, California Dr. John Raymond Markley May 22, 2019 Howard, Kansas Dr. Keith VanSteenbergh Nov. 11, 2016 Springfield, Missouri 1959 Dr. Duane Lavon Mach Feb. 8, 2019 Peoria, Illinois Dr. Robert W. Russum Dec. 11, 2018 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

1968 Dr. Gordon R. Cunningham Nov. 27, 2018 Salem, Oregon

1976 Dr. Murray John Dean Oct. 15, 2018 Valley Center, Kansas

Dr. Max Leo Hacker Feb. 22, 2019 Crete, Nebraska

1980 Dr. Joe Lynn Edwards Nov. 12, 2018 Bonnerdale, Arkansas

1971 Dr. Larry A. Semm Dec. 8, 2018 Delta Junction, Alaska

1983 Dr. Michael Edwin Vogt Jan. 24, 2019 Springtown, Texas

1972 Dr. Martin Lester Hoffman Feb. 12, 2019 New Braunfels, Texas

1988 Dr. Jerald Deforrest Ball Nov. 19, 2014 Ivins, Utah

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81st annual veterinarians conference for

2019 Distinguished Alumnus Award

Dr. Jim Dale, DVM 1967

Dr. Jim Dale, Golden, Colorado, is originally from St. John, Kansas. He earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Kansas State University in 1967. After graduation, Dr. Dale practiced in Lawrence, Kansas, until called into the Air Force. His last assignment was as chief of prevention operations in the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Headquarter Air Force. In addition to his DVM, Dr. Dale has a Master of Public Health degree, an executive MBA and a graduate certificate in veterinary homeland security.

Dr. Dale is also a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.

2019 E.R. Frank Award Dr. M.M. Chengappa, Manhattan, Kansas, received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Veterinary Science at Mysore Veterinary College in Bangalore, India. He received his master of science and his doctorate from Michigan State University. He became a board-certified veterinary microbiologist 1981 by the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists. Dr. Chengappa is being recognized for his 32 years at K-State with 18 years serving as the head of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology and as a university distinguished professor.

Dr. M.M. Chengappa

2019 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award

Dr. Cameon Ohmes, DVM 2009

Dr. Cameon Ohmes, De Soto, Kansas, received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and master’s degree in biomedical science from Kansas State University in 2009 and 2014, respectively. She also earned a Master’s of Business Administration from the Kelley School of Business, Bloomington, Indiana, in 2017. Her passion led her to join the Veterinary Techincal Services team at Bayer Animal Health where she supports the marketing team and leads the post-approval research for the farm and companion animal business. Dr. Ohmes, along with her husband and their two daughters manage a cow-calf operation in De Soto.

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alumni news

2018-2019

Alumni recognition awards Veterinary Meeting & Expo 2019 Drs. Timothy and Paula Ulrich, DVM 1992 and 1990

Drs. Paula and Timothy Ulrich, Troutman, North Carolina, are both graduates of K-State. They have practiced veterinary medicine together for nearly three decades. Dr. Paula Ulrich earned her DVM in 1990 and Dr. Timothy Ulrich earned his DVM in 1992. The Ulrichs started their veterinary careers in Manning, Iowa, doing mixed practice until 1993, when they moved to North Carolina to practice. The Ulrichs then worked with World Concern/Christian Veterinary Mission for a project in Eastern Uganda from 2000 to 2002. They went back to North Carolina for six years, and then a couple more years in South Africa. With their current residence in North Carolina, the Ulrichs now do regular relief work at Troutman Animal Hospital, Maiden Small Animal Hospital, and Lake Norman Animal Hospital in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Western Veterinary Conference 2019 Dr. Lowell Novy, DVM 1960

Dr. Lowell Novy, Simi Valley, California, was born in Wilber, Nebraska, and raised on the plains of Western Kansas where he has been involved with ranching most of his life. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Kansas State University in 1960. After serving with the U.S. Air Force overseas, Dr. Novy moved to California, where he founded Valley Veterinary Clinic in 1964. He divides his time between his small animal veterinary practice, public service and managing his cattle ranches in Northern California. For the last 20 years, he has actively promoted the goal of reducing euthanasia of unwanted, abandoned animals and feral cats through the nonprofit organization Valley Veterinary Clinic Charitable Nonprofit Corporation. Dr. Novy says he cannot imagine a more fulfilling profession than being a veterinarian.

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alumni news

American Veterinary Medical Association 2019 Dr. Niall B. Finnegan - DVM 1979

Dr. Niall B. Finnegan, Onancock, Virginia, received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from K-State in 1979. He also received a master’s in public health from Tulane University in 1984, followed by a board certification in the college of Veterinary Preventative Medicine. He followed this with a master’s degree in national resource strategy fron National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C., in 1994. Dr. Finnegan was commissioned in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps a year after graduating from K-State, and retired 20 years as a full colonel in 1998. He began his civilian career with the AVMA afterwards, becoming Director of the Governmental Relations Division. He has since served as chairman of the internal affairs committee, and president for the American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine.

Fetch dvm360 Conference 2019 (formerly CVC) Dr. John Voegli - DVM 1980

Dr. John Voegli, Winner, South Dakota, received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from K-State in 1980. Originally from Wichita, Kansas, he began his career working with Dr. Al Pravecek at the Animal Clinic in Winner, where he is now a coowner. Dr. Voegeli has served on the South Dakota Veterinary Medical Association board of directors as a district representative and is a past president of the South Dakota Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. He has also served on the advisory board for the South Dakota Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Lab. He currently serves on the South Dakota Animal Industry Board.

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college news

taking flight Janet Brubaker gift propels avian medicine to new heights.

Story by Mary Hirtreiter For Janet Brubaker, her raison d’etre has always been about birds. She has had this passion as long as she can remember.

Being a Kansas State University alumna through and through, Janet earned her bachelor’s degree in home economics education in 1974 and master’s degree in human ecology in 1980. On moving to Hawaii after graduating, Janet was able to purchase her first parrot in 1981, and from then on, she continued to follow her passion.

Janet taught for 42 years and is now happily retired. She is currently a co-chair of the Society of Parrot Breeders and Exhibitors. Its goal, and hers, is to seek to improve the lives of parrots by sharing knowledge with pet owners and breeders.

As a member of the society, Janet travels to bird shows and club meetings, sharing her bird experience and knowledge — and her birds — with the world. Many parrot species are listed as endangered and, therefore at risk of extinction, so she works to spread the message of extinction and how to prevent it in parrots. Janet says too many parrot species have been lost forever.

Feathering the nest Janet found she could align her goal of raising awareness and knowledge by making a donation to the College of Veterinary Medicine. Her gift created two scholarships for students and also established the Avian Medicine Excellence Fund, which provides an opportunity for faculty to extend their research in avian medicine. Together these gifts promote this discipline to all veterinary medicine students looking to gain more knowledge and experience in providing health care to birds.

“I wanted a way to make my assets and my passion mean something,” Janet says. By establishing these funds, she now has the opportunity to contribute to the field of avian

medicine from the ground up. “If this is a way to get more avian veterinarians out there, then great!”

Janet’s donation provides an added dividend of improving diagnostic and treatment equipment. That’s something Dr. James Carpenter welcomes.

“More funding provides this program with so many great benefits,” says Dr. Carpenter, who is a professor of wildlife and zoological medicine in the Veterinary Health Center.

“Besides scholarships, we can help students attend national or regional conferences pertaining to avian medicine. Funding to help support our research is also very much appreciated.”

Taking students under their wing A large part of the veterinary school experience at K-State is getting hands-on experience working in clinics. Gaining this experience can be difficult for students and practitioners because of the cost associated with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in birds.

“Some clients come in and do not have the funds to pay for the treatment of the bird,” Dr. Carpenter says. “In select cases, some of this funding can be used to defer medical costs in pet birds, and these teaching opportunities could enhance a student’s training.”

For Dr. Carpenter, Janet’s story reflects what he sees every day. “Student interest is very high for this specialty, and they have a great opportunity to make a real contribution to this growing field.”

Currently, students in avian and exotic animal medicine can participate in a variety of research studies, including pharmacokinetic studies, which can determine the dose and frequency of a drug that should be administered into a bird.

Without this data, veterinarians would have to extrapolate on dosages, based on drug use in other species such as cats

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Janet Brubaker talks to one of her parrots. Her love of birds has led her to create a gift to support future avian practitioners.

or dogs. And often these extrapolated doses may be inappropriate for a bird.

Happy as a lark

“Many species of birds make great companions for people,” Dr. Carpenter says. “They are very smart, and they can have good interactions with people.

Birds are just cool and exciting to work with. However, not all birds make good pets, so anyone interested in obtaining a bird needs to do a lot of homework on what is required to care for a bird; a potential owner should also check with bird experts, including exotic pet veterinarians, before acquiring a bird. We are very fortunate that our College of Veterinary Medicine has a program that gives us the opportunity to take care of birds and other exotic pets.”

When asked what she hopes students gain from the scholarships, Janet says, “I would encourage students to look at all the options and see how many parrots there are in the country. Someone with an education in avian medicine would do really well out in the field.”

“I would encourage students to look at all their options and see how many parrots there are in the country.

Someone with an education in avian medicine would do really well out in the field.” — Janet Brubaker

With birds being the fourth most popular pet in the country, it can be easy to see why more focus on avian medicine is needed.

“For me, they bring a great deal of joy, and I would like there to be more people out there who see this as a field they can grow with and learn a lot in,” Janet says.

When asked why she donated to K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Janet says, “It was a win-win situation.

On one side we get more research and more veterinarians in the avian field, and on the other, I get to see the industry grow and hopefully raise more awareness about birds and their health issues.”

Dr. Carpenter can see growing awareness every day in the people with whom he works.

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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: give.evertrue.com/ksu/vm

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.

house rules Much like Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series, CVM students are sorted into six houses: Hollyflame, Silverthorn, Ivyholm, Valelilly, Emberhawk and Thunderstone. The Houses provide support for each student through mentorships and plan activities like games, movie nights, community meals and much more. Pictured below, the houses celebrate the end of a successful Lawn Games competition.

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