TAHOE

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.