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Summer 2024

Animal health

Summer 2008

Donors bring hope—and wags

Jacob the Greyhound, a five-year-old dog belonging to a Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital surgeon, is a regular blood donor at WSU. Because of his size, he’s able to provide 450 milliliters, or about two cups, of blood for the treatment of other ailing canines.

One afternoon this winter we followed Jacob through the donation process. He was content to nibble dog snacks while the students led him, tail wagging, into a small room and prepared him for a blood draw. They lifted him onto a cushioned table, shaved a spot on his neck, and tapped into the jugular vein. He lay still while … » More …

Summer 2008

A gift toward animal health

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $25 million to Washington State University toward the construction of a research building that will become the centerpiece in the new School for Global Animal Health. The new facility will provide modern research space on the Pullman campus to support global animal health research. WSU is recognized internationally for research focused on preventing transmission of animal pathogens. “You cannot identify a healthy human population in which the animals are not also healthy,” says Warwick Bayly, dean of WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

“Humans are inextricably linked to their animals. Solving the challenge of global poverty is not … » More …

Spring 2002

What’s killing Lassie?

For years, veterinarians and dog owners have known that some collies can die when given Ivermectin, a drug commonly used against parasites in animals and humans. But no one knew why.

That is until Katrina Mealey, a researcher in the Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, suspected P-glycoprotein was involved. P-glycoprotein is thought to have developed to protect the body from environmental toxins.

To test her theory she needed blood samples from collies. Enter Dot Newkirk, a microbiologist with an office a few doors down from Mealey’s. Newkirk, a collie owner, enlisted the help of the Inland Empire Collie Club in Spokane.

“I expected … » More …