Dr. Rocky Bigbie, left, cooking up a great shrimp boil.
From noon until just before kickoff with Arizona State on October 2nd, Dr. Rocky Bigbie masterminded a delicious shrimp boil on the lawn of Magruder Hall. The event, to which faculty, students and alumni were invited, was sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health. The healthy turnout enjoyed the opportunity to socialize, eat great food and cheer on the Beavers. 
On Friday, October 22, the CVM will hold a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Small Animal reception parking lot. Donors need to register in the lobby before going out to the Blood Mobile. Volunteers are still needed at the registration table and in the bus cantina. If you haven’t already signed up for a time slot for donating or volunteering, please contact Pat Hutson in the Dean’s Office, 541-737-2268, pat.hutson@oregonstate.edu.
The need is constant. The gratification is instant.
Jasmine, receiving radiation.
The Oncology Service at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) celebrated a milestone recently by radiating its first cancer patient. Jasmine, a dog with osteosarcoma (bone cancer), received radiation on a front leg at Samaritan Regional Cancer Center (SRCC) in Corvallis. Members of the team included Drs. Shay Bracha and Stuart Helfand, faculty oncologists; Dr. Krystal Claybrook, oncology intern; and Kate Brumbaugh, oncology technician. Thanks to an arrangement with SRCC, Jasmine is being treated there. The oncology service is hoping to be able to provide radiotherapy for selected pets on a regular basis.
Jasmine
Jasmine’s radiation treatments are intended to help control pain; her owner has reported she is already feeling better. Radiation therapy has become an integral part of providing care for animals with cancer. This is an important step for the clinical oncology program at the VTH.
— Dr. Stuart Helfand
Early morning on October 5th, a large truck rolled in behind the back of the small and large animal facility of the Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) delivering a 1 Tesla magnetic resonance tomography unit in a mobile trailer. Stan Stearns, who is a member of the advisory council, the founder and president of Valco Instruments Co. Inc., and founder of The Gabriel Institute, donated the MRI to the College. (The Gabriel Institute was named after his beloved Saint Bernard who passed away due to osteosarcoma.)
Computed tomography (CT), which is already available at the VTH, provides better detail in imaging lesions involving the bone. MRI, one of the newest imaging methods, uses the properties and presence of water (more precisely the mobile hydrogen protons) for imaging. Most of an animal’s body consists of water. By using strong magnets and radio waves to manipulate the natural magnetic properties in the body (usually the hydrogen protons in the water in the body), this technique is able to image physiologic and pathologic processes in the body. MRI is especially useful in imaging the brain and spine, as well as the soft tissue of joints and the interior structures of bones. MRI does not involve radiation and is therefore considered a very safe imaging modality.
Currently, the last hurdles have been undertaken to staff the MRI and final adjustments will be made to perform MRI exams on small-sized animals in the trailer. We are excited and looking forward to scanning our first patients in the MRI in the very near future.
— Dr. Susanne Stieger-Vanegas, Diagnostic Imaging Services
IVSA students and faculty on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua
The OSU International Veterinary Students Association (IVSA) has returned from the 4th annual veterinary service trip to Ometepe Island in Nicaragua, just in time for the start of a new school year. The temporary clinic, hosted in coordination with a local hostel, operated for five days and treated over 700 animals this year—99 of which were returning patients! The clinic offered large and small animal wellness exams, small animal spays and neuters (dogs and cats), large animal castrations (horses and pigs), equine dentals and farms calls. Supervising the operation were eight veterinarians, including faculty members Drs. Montilla, Pearson, Tornquist, and Vanegas, and clinical pathology resident Dr. Rigas. Twenty- four OSU vet students (that’s over 10% of the CVM student body), two pre-vet students, four Nicaraguan vet students and one Nicaraguan veterinarian also participated.
One noteworthy development to this year’s trip was the planning and implementation of three fully funded research projects, thanks to the support of Dr. Bermudez and others in the CVM community. This initiative will help IVSA realize the goal of identifying and researching real and perceived problems in animal and public health within the target community and developing practical, sustainable solutions to these problems. Additionally, IVSA offered a community public health seminar on zoonotic diseases and proper hand washing technique which was well attended and very well received. Both research and public health education will be expanded upon in the years to come.
Student fundraising and charitable donations helped offset some of the costs inherent in a group effort of this size, though the remainder of the funding comes from each individual student or veterinarian. The trip received amazing support from the Oregon Veterinary community, including thousands of dollars worth of donated supplies from all over our great state! OSU student representatives and their corporate counterparts also rallied to get funding and donations of supplies, drugs, leashes, and more. Thank you IDEXX, Bayer, Banfield, Summit, CP Medical, Farnam, Bimeda, Pfizer, Intervet/Schering Plough, Purina and everyone else that contributed to our cause! Also, special thanks to Norm Hutton (former associate dean and interim dean of the college) for his support of our trip.
IVSA’s fundamental mission is to offer quality veterinary care and public health education to areas in need, while encouraging students to gain practical experience, participate in cultural exchange, and share their gained knowledge with the greater OSU CVM community. With this ambitious goal in mind each year, this entirely student driven project continues to grow and build on past successes with constant attention to future development.
As the people of Ometepe (and other developing communities) rely on their animals for food, transportation, and work, the suboptimal condition of these animals directly impacts the people and their livelihood. Companion animals also suffer from malnourishment and diseases, many of which are transmissible to their human families. It is the goal of IVSA to provide medical interventions that will improve their health and demonstrate the value of proper animal health care. This rural island community does not have regular access to veterinary care and the community looks forward to the arrival of the enthusiastic OSU student brigade each year.
Although planning and implementing an international service trip in the midst of being full-time veterinary students can be challenging, the rewards of the experience far outweigh the difficulties encountered along the way. The realization that we have what it takes to truly make a difference in the lives of other living beings is a powerful motivator to continue our work. IVSA invites you to step beyond your boundaries and join us next year in Nicaragua.
IVSA will host lunch presentations on Oct. 20 detailing the Nicaragua trip, and a series of case presentations from the trip in Magruder 102. Please come and learn about our experience!
Click here for a wonderful slide show of the trip by Dr. Laxineta. For more information on IVSA, click here.
—Kathleen Kraska, 2013
The College of Veterinary Medicine, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, and the Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SCAVMA) sponsored a dinner for the class of 2014, their families, and faculty of the College of Veterinary Medicine on Friday, September 24. Afterward, the 56 new veterinary students were welcomed into the veterinary profession with a White Coat Ceremony. The Oregon Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) provided white coats with the students’ names embroidered on the front and engraved names badges. These were presented to each student by OSU College of Veterinary Medicine Dean, Dr. Cyril Clarke and the OVMA President, Dr. Keith Sides. Dr. Laird Goodman also presented each student with an OVMA-sponsored stethoscope.
Mistress of Ceremonies was Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, Dr. Sue Tornquist. Ceremony speakers were Dean Clarke; OSU Provost Dr. Sabah Randhawa; Hill’s Pet Nutrition Veterinary Affairs Manager, Dr. Barry Watson; OSU’s SCAVMA President, Ms. Jacqueline Koehne (class of 2012); and Dr. Keith Sides.
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | ||||||
