After 25 years of positively impacting the lives of thousands of children and their families who have relied on the American Family Children’s Hospital (AFCH) for care, Pet Pals has made the difficult decision to come to an end. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all volunteer-based programs at UW Health, including Pet Pals, were suspended indefinitely beginning in March 2020 and continue to be suspended without current plans to resume in the near future.
What began with three dogs resulted in more than 150 dogs and 200 human volunteers serving this incredible program over the years. I especially want to highlight Pet Pals pioneers and emeritus faculty members Linda Sullivan and Chris Olsen – without their tireless efforts, the twice-weekly Pet Pals therapy visits would not have been possible. I also want to thank Ruthanne Chun, whose support of Pet Pals as former UW Veterinary Care hospital director was a significant contribution to the success of the program.
Pet Pals' success laid a strong foundation that enabled a new therapy dog program to begin. Last month, UW Health Kids welcomed a full-time facility dog program called CHAMPs (Canine Health and Medical Pals) which will enable daily pet therapy visits for children and their families. Kiko, the first of two full-time CHAMPs facility dogs, arrived in Madison a few weeks ago. Under a continued partnership between the SVM and UW Health, and in thanks to a generous endowed gift by Dr. Sullivan, CHAMPs facility dogs will benefit by receiving all veterinary medical care at our UW Veterinary Care teaching hospital.
I hope many of you had a chance to enjoy our Fall Research Day and learn more about the array of fantastic research projects happening within the SVM. Congratulations to those presenters awarded best poster prizes (Hannah Nyman, undergraduate researcher, Suzuki lab; Emma Kobitter, 2021 summer scholar, Baker lab; and Ashley Kuehnl, 2021 summer scholar, Pan lab) and an honorable mention (Ben Walter, 2021 summer scholar, Thurber lab).
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UW Veterinary Care Updates from the Director |
In October, National Veterinary Technician Week and National Pharmacy Week provided an opportunity to celebrate and pay extra attention to something we know to be true year-round: how critical our fantastic technicians, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are to the hospital’s operations and success. As Dean Markel stated previously during the week’s celebrations, we wouldn’t be able to teach, discover or take care of our patients and their people without all that you do. I hope you enjoyed the many related festivities and found ways to recognize the unlimited ways these teams make a difference.
Congratulations to our Vet Tech of the Year Award recipients, recognized at an Oct. 22 ceremony: Phong Yang, Special Species (Early Career category) and Sara Larsen, Anesthesia (Legends category).
Welcome to Ariana Danforth, pharmacy technician; Landon Edwards, vet assistant in the ER; Sarah Miller, medical lab technician with the Clinical Pathology team; Cora Schoofs with the Call Center; and Amber Seltzner, a veterinary technician with Small Animal Surgery. And congratulations to Amy Wiltzius Elbe as she transitions to her new role as clinical research technician.
As you continue your dedicated work in service to the animals and clients we serve, I hope you can feel the gratitude seeping through this recent client comment.
"I was 150% satisfied from the time I pulled up to the time I left. UW is the place for me. Highly recommended and so grateful that you took my dog in an emergency situation and he is back to his normal self. Great experience, thank you so much. EVERY SINGLE STAFF WENT above and beyond for us. Much love to UW." -Gina
Christopher Snyder, DVM, DAVDC
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
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Clinical Instructor Linda Sullivan helps a student examine a dog from the Pet Pals program during a medical evaluation. Pet Pals brought volunteer dogs to the American Family Children’s Hospital to visit pediatric patients, providing the children with safe and enjoyable visits from loving canine friends. After 25 years, Pet Pals has made the difficult decision to come to an end. Read more in Mark's message above and here.
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A reminder that all students, employees and visitors to campus are required to wear masks when inside campus buildings. Masks may be removed if you are working alone inside an office or lab. Masks may also be removed while actively eating and drinking but should be promptly put back on when finished. Read more here or at covidresponse.wisc.edu.
The 2021 Partners In Giving campaign is now underway. Through Partners in Giving, UW–Madison employees can donate to the local, national and international charities of their choice. The active portion of the campaign runs until Nov. 30.
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion News
An update from Richard Barajas, director of diversity, equity and inclusion
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This year’s UW–Madison Diversity Forum, “Rising Above and Reshaping our World in the Image of Justice,” will be held on November 2-3 as a hybrid conference. Registration details and other information can be found here.
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Save the date for the 2022 Iverson Bell Midwest Regional Diversity Summit, which will be hosted at the UW SVM from May 20-22. Registration details will soon be available at vetmed.wisc.edu/iverson-bell-summit.
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Welcome to Neoklis Apostolopoulos, clinical assistant professor with the Department of Medical Sciences and Dermatology Section, and Kayla Le and Paul Merkatoris, both clinical assistant professors with Large Animal Surgery.
Congratulations to Rebecca Black, department administrative specialist with the Department of Comparative Biosciences, on her retirement and welcome to Colleen Crummy-Mousseau who now fills this role
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Pride SVMC raised $600 for GSAFE, a local organization that creates just schools for LGBTQ+ youth in Wisconsin, in a National Coming Out Day T-shirt fundraiser. The shirt's design was created by a member of the SVM community, Mariah Dicksen.
Montana Lins is the recipient of a 2021 American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Award and $5,000 scholarship, presented at this year’s 2021 AABP Annual Conference in October.
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Jillian Wilbourne, a research intern in the lab of Fei Zhao (Department of Comparative Biosciences), earned second place in the oral presentation competition at the Illinois Symposium on Reproductive Sciences held at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.
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Joined by her primary handler, Brianna Hampton (center), a child life specialist with UW Health Kids, Kiko receives a wellness exam with Primary Care from Elizabeth Alvarez and fourth-year student Nathan Poser DVMx’22. Kiko is the first facility dog in the new Canine Health And Medical Pals program (CHAMPs) at American Family Children’s Hospital. He is professionally trained for child therapy and will work full-time as part of the hospital's child life team. To help Kiko stay healthy and happy, the UW School of Veterinary Medicine will provide veterinary medical care for Kiko and another dog who will join the CHAMPs team in spring 2022.
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November 2-3
UW–Madison Diversity Forum
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Online webinar with limited in-person seating in Union South
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November 30
SVM Alumni Spotlight Series: Cara Williams DVM’13
6-7 p.m.
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December 10
33rd Annual SVM Craft Fair
8 a.m.-1 p.m.
School of Veterinary Medicine
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May 20-22
2022 Iverson Bell Midwest Regional Diversity Summit
School of Veterinary Medicine
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Wall Street Journal
Hoard's Dairyman
The Badger Herald
Channel 3000
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“Every day I get to be an advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves. Animals deserve as much compassion, respect and humanity as we do. To be able to help them, no matter how big or small the act, is very rewarding.”
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