Vet Gazette

The college welcomes seven new students from Ross and St. Georges Universities who are completing their fourth year of veterinary college at OSU. Here’s a little introduction to each (say ‘Hello’ when you see them around Magruder):

Philip Engelhardt is from Michigan and he enjoys travelling, seeing new countries, and trying new foods. He has two cats and enjoys keeping ornamental fish.

K.C. Fagan grew up on a commercial cow/calf operation in SE Oregon. She is interested in equine sports medicine and is an avid trail rider and runner. K.C. has 2 quarter horses, four dogs, and two cats.

Jacky Huang is originally from Taiwan and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia at the age of nine. He has a dog named Snoopy from Grenada (where he attended St. Georges University). In his spare time, Jacky loves to walk trails in the woods with his dog.

Katie Krage grew up in Visalia, California. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and playing softball. Katie is interested in mixed animal medicine with an emphasis on sheep and goats.

Karim Malak was born in Cairo, Egypt, but now lives in Ohio (Go Cavs!) He has a Papillon named Brutus (after the OSU Buckeyes). Karim likes basketball and music festivals.

Gabriel Perez is from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is interested in small animal companion medicine and horses as well. His hobbies are watching soccer and surfing.

Jeremy Polk loves reading and metal detecting (but not at the same time!) He is interested in companion animal medicine, and also exotics and small farm animals. After vet school, he plans to build his own house.

Joan Ferguson gives a hospital patient an orange bandana.

Clients who visit the OSU Veterinary Hospital on Wednesdays get a special treat. Volunteers Joan and Terry Ferguson are on hand to greet them, make sure they have a parking pass, and provide other friendly assistance.

The Fergusons are former hospital clients who know how stressful it can be when your best friend has a serious illness or needs surgery. Their dog, Gunther, was an oncology patient at the hospital several years ago. “He was diagnosed with cancer,” says Joan. “We knew that if anything could be done to help him, this was the place to go.” Gunther had surgery and chemotherapy treatment at the hospital. “They were so great,” says Joan. “We really wanted to do something to help the hospital. We said we would even shovel bark,” she laughs.

It just so happened that their good friend, Joan Campf, had recently donated funds to hire patient advocate Tammy Barr. She suggested the Fergusons contact Tammy and ask her if she needed any help.

When Tammy met with the Fergusons, she liked them immediately. “They were perfect,” she says. “We are so lucky to have them.” The hospital directors agreed to a pilot program with the Fergusons working one day a week, visiting with clients in the small animal hospital lobby.

In addition to practical help, like tips on where to eat, and walking dogs who are getting cabin fever, the Fergusons provide a sympathetic ear and someone to help pass the time while the pets are in treatment. For those clients whose pets have serious health issues, it is important to be able to share their story. “We really enjoy visiting with people,” says Joan. “I just ask, ‘What are they in for?’ and that’s all it takes . . . they let it all out. Then they say, ‘Thank you so much for listening, it really helped.’”

While Joan Ferguson is a people-person who focuses on the owners, Terry is a dog lover who spends a lot of time just petting the animals. “You get to see lots of different dogs and breeds,” he says. “There was a big German Shepard, Jake, in here who was recovering from back surgery. He had been cooped up for 12 weeks, and was getting a little antsy, and man could he bark. While he was in the [exam] room for his checkup, a gal comes in with this little hound dog that has a citronella [anti-bark] collar. Jake comes out of the room and goes, ‘Woof, woof, woof’. The other dog didn’t make a sound but Jake triggered the collar. The owner apologized, but I thought it was funny and told her it was okay, it smelled good in here.”

The Fergusons are careful not to offer any medical information or advice. They know it’s important to let the doctors cover those topics. “We just listen,” says Terry.

Although they live in Cottage Grove, they don’t mind the two-hours of drive time every Wednesday. “We looked forward to it,” says Joan. “We plan our calendar around Wednesdays. When you love what you are doing, it is easy.”

“It surprises me that something this simple can really make a difference. Our reward is that it makes you feel like you are doing something good,” adds Terry.

A miniature horse named Reggie was the first horse to receive an MRI at the OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Reggie is miniature horse who was admitted to the hospital for treatment of seizures. Dr. John Schlipf ordered diagnostic tests to determine the cause, including an MRI. The Veterinary Teaching hospital’s Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unit is useful for gaining images of the brain and spine, as well as soft tissue of joints and the interior structures of bones, but because of its size, it has been used primarily for dogs and cats. Luckily, Reggie is so small, he became the first horse to receive an MRI at the hospital.

Although tiny for a horse, Reggie’s MRI did present some challenges. “I think one of the biggest challenges was fitting him in the gantry,” says Dr. Susanne Stieger-Vanegas. “The anesthesia team, under the guidance of Dr. Riebold, did a fantastic job and once the pony was positioned, the MRI went smoothly.”  Dr. Stieger-Vanegas shared the MRI images with colleagues at other institutions. “There is not very extensive information about MRI in horse brains available and so, I have contacted neurologists and radiologists at other sites to share the MRI and make sure no lesions were missed.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Schlipf is treating Reggie with anti-seizure medication and physical therapy, including a daily walk on the horse treadmill. For Reggie, the treadmill is run on the lowest speed, and it is still a good workout for his little legs. Watch the video.

Ken and Cheri Hick.

Ken and Cheri Hick walk the talk.

Like many friends of the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine, they love animals and have several at home. But they also maintain a horse sanctuary in Redmond, Oregon, and work tirelessly for Oregon animal rescue organizations.

Cheri has been involved in animal rescue, at some level, all her life. “Growing up, every animal that needed a home would pass out our address and they’d all come to our house,” she says. “Then when you meet your soul mate, and he is of like mind, neither of you can say ‘No’. We’ve pretty much always done animal rescue.” With her event organizing skills, Cheri is well-known around Portland for chairing successful fundraising galas for non-profit groups like Wildcat Haven, the Feral Cat Coalition, OMSI, and OHSU.

Ken currently serves on the Board of the Cat Adoption Team, the Progressive Animal Rescue, and the Wild Cat Haven Foundation. With a background in investment, finance, and marketing, Dr. Hick brings invaluable skills to the animal welfare community. “If you want to be sustainable, you need to have a business model,” he says. “You have two sources of income, earned income and contributions, and you have to come up with a game plan on how you are going to achieve sustainability with that package. It really helps to have a business background when you are trying to lay out a realistic budget and figure out how to achieve that budget.”

The first organization the Hicks began supporting was the Cat Adoption Team (CAT), a no-kill shelter that houses up to 300 homeless domestic cats while finding them homes. One year, at the annual CAT fundraiser, the Hicks bought a private tour of Wildcat Haven. One trip to see the big cats and they were hooked; now both are involved in helping the organization.

Wildcat Haven provides a safe, lifetime home for captive-born wildcats. Cheri is very involved in their fundraising. “Recently, I have put on two galas,” she says. “We have our Big Cat Bash that is for operating funds, medical care, and food, and so on. Then they needed funds for a larger space, so I put on a whole separate event to raise additional funds.” Obviously that effort was successful because the sanctuary will soon be moving from eight acres to 80 acres.

It’s not hard to see why the Hicks are so passionate about wildcat rescue. Most of the 60+ cats at Wildcat Haven were abused and/or abandoned. “They are domestically born,” says Cheri, “none of them have ever been in the wild. Many are from situations where people have foolishly purchased a baby tiger, thinking ‘how wonderful’; then they grow up and tear up the house, and bad things happen to them after that. We are working to get breeding outlawed but it is a big challenge. It’s a 2 billion dollar business in the U.S.”

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The CVM elective course in Sheep and Goat Medicine is scheduled for February 9-20, 2015, and is looking for animals is need of health care.

If you own sheep or goats, this is a great opportunity to have a variety of procedures performed at no cost, by final year veterinary students under expert guidance. Procedures include but are not limited to:

• Pregnancy ultrasound and fetal counting
• Disbudding
• Dehorning
• Foot trimming
• Castration (normal and cryptorchid)
• Cesarean section
• Vasectomy

If you are interested, contact Dr. Erica McKenzie preferably before February 5, 2015 at Erica.mckenzie@oreongstate.edu.

Magnum learns to walk again with the aid of a wheelchair.

Imagine if one day your beloved pet dog was a healthy and energetic member of the family, and the next day he was completely paralyzed in all four limbs, with no apparent cause.

This is what happened to George and Jill Carter’s five-year-old Labrador Retriever, Magnum. “He could not stand, or even pee,” says Jill.

They rushed him to VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists where neurologist Sophie Peterson ran tests. An MRI revealed hypersensitivity in the spinal cord at the level of C5-C7 but showed no compression. Dr. Peterson diagnosed Magnum with a fibrocartilaginous embolism (FCE) and referred him to the Lois Bates Acheson Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) for rehabilitation.

An FCE is caused when debris from a degenerating spinal disk obstructs a spinal cord vessel causing stroke-like symptoms. It is fairly common in Schnauzers, Labs, and Boxers, and the best treatment is intensive physical therapy to restore the damaged neural pathways.

“It usually doesn’t recur,” says Dr. Wendy Baltzer, head of the VTH Rehabilitation unit, “and prognosis is good if physical therapy is started as soon as the diagnosis is made.” The Carter’s had the diagnosis on Saturday and brought him to OSU on Monday. “He could not move,” says Jill Carter,” except to thump his tail when students petted him.”

Magnum spent a week in the hospital, receiving physical therapy treatments four times per day including walks in a wheelchair, ultrasound therapy, deep muscle massage, and passive motion exercises. By the end of the week, he was able to walk on the underwater treadmill.

Now a month into his treatment, Magnum goes to rehab weekly and continues with at-home exercises. He does not have full coordination back but is now able to walk independently. “It proves you should never give up on your beloved pet,” says Jill Carter.

There are few full-scale veterinary rehabilitation units in the U.S. and Dr. Baltzer is grateful to all the donors, large and small, who have helped make the OSU unit a top-notch facility. “The wheelchair and hydraulic lift were donated,” she says, “and the new underwater treadmill.”

There is also a shortage of board-certified rehabilitation specialists in veterinary medicine, and Dr. Baltzer would like to raise enough money to offer a residency scholarship at OSU. “We are so busy and a resident would help us treat more animals,” she says. “There are only four residencies in Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine in the country.”

The Carters feel lucky to be within driving distance from OSU, and really appreciate all the care Magnum received from the doctors and staff. “The students were so attentive and aware of his emotions and needs; that is something you don’t get unless your pet is being treated at a teaching hospital,” says Jill.

You can donate online to the rehabilitation unit at the OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital.