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by Linda Olson
For me, Friday, Sept. 23, 2005, began at 4:00 a.m. as I struggled
out of bed after a restless night with very little sleep. I prayed
that my eyes would stay open and my mind would become a little more
alert as the day’s activities began.
I went about my morning choirs. But, unlike other mornings, I
actually had to pry all 5 dogs out of their beds to eat their
breakfasts. If that wasn’t confusing enough, they actually kind of
all milled around and looked at each other. . .and, at me. . .ate
their breakfasts, looked around at each other some more, and went
back to bed. It wasn’t even light outside!!! Crazy woman!
I was on the road at 5:15 a.m. I picked up my farmer husband in
Rockford about 6:00 a.m. and pointed my car south. We were on our
way to Washington State University. I had looked forward to this
trip for a week. My husband was a little grumpy about loosing such a
good farm work day. But, I figured it was about time for a little
bit of change and exposure to something different and stimulating.
We arrived in Pullman, WA, in record time. At that time in the
morning, traffic was not a factor, so we arrived in plenty of time
for our appointment. . .even got to buy a muffin and still had
plenty of time to follow our mapped directions and find the W.S.U.
Vet School.
We decided to stretch our legs a little bit and chose to see what
was on the other side of yonder hill. To our right, behind the Vet
Hospital, were some smaller pens, pastures, and shelters which today
were populated by llamas, which are interesting animals. They were
watching us as we were watching them.
We reached the top of the hill and walked along the road. Down the
other side of the hill was new construction that we later learned
would be for animal husbandry.
A little further south we saw a full-sized race track. We were later
told that it isn’t really used anymore, but it is in good shape and
today there was a student running there. I couldn’t find
confirmation in my notes, but I believe I remember being told that
W.S.U. was the only veterinary college in the U.S. to have a
full-sized race track.
Our W.S.U. escort for the day was Charlie Powell who has worked at
W.S.U. for the last 19 years. I had no idea what to expect and soon
realized that even though I had been familiar with some aspects of
the WSU vet facilities, I really had no idea of the scope of what is
taught here and what is available to the public.
Our tour began in the Veterinary Teaching Hospital because that is
where rescue horse Tahoe was stabled. Hence, the main reason for our
journey to Pullman. My last article in last months paper was about
Tahoe.
The V.T.H. opened its doors in 1996. This particular building covers
3 acres. . .3 ACRES. . .all under one roof! I’m talking big, here.
You first notice the very tall ceilings. . .way up there somewhere.
. .with huge skylights. In fact, I’m sure most of the horses walking
in there don’t even know there is a roof up there. The huge
skylights flood the area with natural lighting. You felt that you
were actually inside a shopping mall. I was amazed that the horses
walked right into a “people” building without batting an eyelash.
Next you notice the floor. It is coated with a black epoxy coating
that will stay slip-free when wet or dry. Below the coating was
concrete, but the epoxy was spongy and easy on the legs/feet. Let me
tell you, that was pretty darn impressive.
It was pointed out that the air in each section/wing of that
building was 100% non-circulating. Fresh air is constantly pumped in
and the “old” air is pumped out. No common air is circulated to any
other part of the building! This is part of disease control.
This V.T.H. is staffed by staff/students/faculty 24 hours a day.
Cleaning crews are also staffed around the clock. There are 20 horse
stalls here and 4 ICU stalls. All stalls have a rubber floor mats.
Bedding is straw and planer shavings from a local sawmill that is
delivered by semi truck once a week. All soiled bedding is
composted.
We were shown the Sedation Room where large animals are prepared for
surgery. As a horse is sedated, it sits down on its hind end first
and then lays the front end down. As the animal begins to drop,
attending students/doctors push rubber mats underneath them. The
airway tube for air and anesthesia gas is inserted. The sedated
horse is then placed in the specialized sling that was developed
here. On the ceiling, you can see the track that will transport the
sedated horse to surgery, recovery pool, or to any of the other
treatment rooms. This system was created here at W.S.U.
After surgery, a horse is moved by the sling system to the Recovery
Pool for post anesthetic recovery. This is a specialized whirlpool
bath developed at WSU. It is a narrow 10 foot deep pool filled with
100 degree water. The rubberized floor can be lowered and raised by
a flip of a switch. The horse is placed in there, supported by the
sling, the floor just out of reach. Then, everyone waits.
As a horse is coming out of anesthesia, I was told that all of their
senses are heightened. This pool was developed to help lessen the
trauma of waking up and coming back to the physical environment. It
is thought that the recovery pool resembles a womb and the
water/sling is supporting their body so no weight is put on a
repaired limb. They wake up in water, in a low-lighted room, with
many students/doctors in attendance. The whole process takes about 2
hours. As they regain consciousness, the floor is gradually raised
so that they can begin standing on their legs again. The floor is
gradually raised to the level of the room and they can then walk
out, down the hallway, and into their stall. Pretty darned amazing
stuff!
We walked by the specialized X-ray room where special laser X-ray
machines were developed so that the machine is moveable. . .so that
the horse itself doesn’t have to keep being repositioned. We were
told that it is the best in the world.
In the Nuclear Medicine room we saw the nuclear scanner. This is the
same for humans as it is for animals. The radioactive isotope is
injected and the animal is scanned. Once again, specialized
equipment has been developed for these animals. Here doctors can
find tissue with increased growing cycles (tumors) and can treat
cancers. The radioactivity is eliminated through the kidneys so all
bedding has to be handled as hazardous waste.
They have a linear accelerator here that is a high energy x-ray
generating machine that directs beams of electrons. It is used for
radiation therapy in cancer care, just like humans. This is one of
the. . . if not the only machine. . .in the world built to
accommodate both small and large animals.
There was an MRI room. . .again. . .with specialized and highly
sensitive equipment. W.S.U. is known as pioneers in this field. In
fact, they are so well known around the world that once a year in
January, special courses are taught to a gathering of international
veterinarians in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho. This is the only course like
this taught in the world. W.S.U. does more MRI imaging than anyone,
anywhere. . .in fact, more than the whole world combined. And, not
to be a big hog about it all, this particular machine is a shared
machine. That means doctors send between 4 – 6 people per day for
diagnostic work on this machine. It is so sensitive that it is even
better than the machines built exclusively for humans.
In another building we were shown a horse treadmill. Yes. That’s
right. A treadmill for horses. Horse-sized. Just like our human
ones. The treadmill floor is raised for uphill evaluations and
lowered again for flat. This is often used for lameness and
performance evaluations. They had all kinds of machines in that room
for diagnostic procedures and measurements.
We were lucky enough to watch 2 W.S.U. horses use the treadmill that
day. They walked right on. In front of them a huge fan was turned on
that would help keep them cool during their workout. . .kind of like
running into the wind. . . Then, the treadmill started moving and so
did they.
The workout was about 15-20 minutes for both horses. One horse was
tested on both the uphill and the flat elevations at a fast trot.
The other horse was tested at a trot and a gallop. The treadmill has
the capacity to go up to 35 mph. These are made in Sweden and
shipped in pieces. It’s pretty sturdy and relatively
maintenance-free. Quite a feat if you think about the weight of a
full-grown horse and the force of 4 horse legs pounding it at full
gallop.
Later in the day a privately owned horse was scheduled for
diagnostic work. I presume it was a thoroughbred racer as it was
mentioned that it had been winning races and now was losing and had
been coughing blood. Part of that horse’s test was going to involve
putting a tube down its throat so that air intake could be measured
to help diagnose what was wrong. For performance horses, this would
be an invaluable test to see if you have a horse that is competition
level.
Next we were taken to the Anatomy Room. Through a special process of
freeze-drying preservation developed at W.S.U., many animal
specimens can be utilized for a very long time. There is no smell,
etc. There is just about anything in there that you would want your
vet to have studied!
Another building is dedicated to vaccine development. Two of the
world’s best immunologists (for both human and animals) are now
employed here. Much research is being conducted here and new things
are being developed. Reagents that target blood samples to see if a
disease agent is present are done here. This on-going research and
development is a very important part of present and future medicine.
I believe that the mad-cow testing is also done in this building.
As we were walking to yet another building, a Horizon jet flew
overhead at a very low altitude (about tree level). It was explained
that it was about to land with a delivery of injured birds. Horizon
flies injured birds and birds-of-prey to W.S.U. free of charge. Some
of these birds, when healed, cannot be released back into the wild
as they could not survive. So, W.S.U. also runs a bird sanctuary for
those that cannot be released.
In another building there was housed one of the world’s best
reproductive experts. And, I think, that the new construction we saw
earlier that morning will probably house this department in the near
future.
In the 22.7 million dollar animal disease building, they study and
do research on animal diseases, shared diseases (humans/animals),
economic diseases (such as CAEV in goats, infectious brain diseases,
natural arthritis), including such diseases as bird flu, mad cow,
etc. About 250,000 tests are done here per year. It is the nation’s
premier diagnostic testing center.
Also pointed out to us was a large trailer that was 100% climate
controlled which is used to transport animals back and forth across
the state. I believe I remember our guide telling us that it makes a
trip across WA State twice a month to transport injured athletic
horses to W.S.U. and back again.
To create this new V.T.H. space, ½ million cubic yards of dirt had
to be moved BEFORE they could even begin to build. So, this building
was a long time in the making. There are so many new and innovative
aspects employed here.
The very large horse stalls are well padded with rubber floors. The
whole front of the stall (side-to-side and floor-to-ceiling) is a
heavy-gauge wire mesh with several openings. One is the full-size
stall door. A smaller one is for putting in the hay and other foods.
All horses can see the other ones across the aisle and probably up
and down the aisle as well. They have people and other horses
walking by all day and are kept entertained that way. None of them
seemed stressed or had cabin fever from being stalled for long
periods and those that we saw there that day had leg bandages of
some kind.
This building is a 38 million dollar teaching hospital. It employs
150 staff and 100 faculty. 400 students enroll here per year. W.S.U.
covers 500 acres of land. There are 28 veterinary hospitals in the
U.S. and 31 in North America and W.S.U. is considered one of the
premiere vet hospitals in the U.S.
The W.S.U. Vet School does equine surgery/diagnostics, neuro
surgery, cancer care imaging and diagnostics, and trains the next
generation of animal care specialists. They are open 24 hours a day
and 7 days a week. No appointment is necessary. I would, however,
recommend you make one if it is not an emergency.
1,500 horses account for 10 – 15% of the caseload per year. All but
marine mammals are treated here. Some privately-owned animals have
been flown in from Russia and Guam via private jet or helicopter!
Current vet school funding comes from competitive grant monies and
private donations.
Beginning vet students have already completed a 4-year degree (B.A.,
B.S., M.Sc) before they even begin their veterinary classes. They
will spend another 3 years in classes before they begin their year
of lab work in the vet hospital. Surgeon and other specialty
category students have 3 more years after that. The average vet
school student is 28 years old. Each graduating student will have
cost approximately $75,000 to train and the average vet will earn
somewhere between $22,000 - $47,000 per year. Do the math. In
Washington State, vets also are required to take 30 hours of
Coursework per every 2 years in order to maintain their license.
Washington State is very serious about its vet care. Animals are
shipped here from around the world. It’s not a matter of maybe. .
.perhaps. . .should we, it’s a matter of responsible animal commerce
and general public safety. And, as you’ve read in the papers about
what’s going on worldwide, it’s a good thing we have this resource
here.
W.S.U. has a Good Samaritan Fund which helps with the funding of
those cases that are not of the common variety, cases that will
heal, and cases that are of a teaching variety. This is a good thing
for both the animals and the vet students. Donations are gratefully
accepted.
At the end of our three hours, we parted company in the lobby and
said our good-byes. My mind was spinning from everything it had
attempted to take in. I was so happy to have finally met rescue
horse Tahoe and was blown away by what I had learned and seen this
day. My farmer husband finally admitted that it had been an
educational and interesting day. (Ha! I bet it blew his socks off,
too!)
We take so many things for granted each and every day. Some of you,
like me, have known about W.S.U. and have attended functions there
on occasions. I’ve even had one of my dogs there for diagnostic
work. But, never did I know of the size and comprehension of this
veterinarian facility and its instructors. I think we are very
blessed to have a school of this caliber in our midst here in the
Inland Empire. This visit also opened my eyes as to the training our
vets have gone through and the upgrades they must meet.
Thank you, Tahoe. I thought I was primarily coming to W.S.U. to see
you. But, like you have heard me say before, we don’t always know
what the bigger plan is. Now I know what is there and what is
available and, having just read this article, you do too. So,
because we all know, we will be able to answer all those questions
that will somehow come “out of the blue.”
And, who knows. Maybe you will be the next one climbing out of bed
at 4:00 a.m. for a road trip.
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Linda is a freelance author of many rescue stories. She
writes articles about different types of animals for newspaper
and websites.
e-mail
lolson@icehouse.net
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