WCVM honours RCMP dog handler

RCMP Corporal James Galloway and his service dog Cito. Photo courtesy of Margaret Galloway.

A new patient examination room in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s renovated teaching hospital at the University of Saskatchewan has been named after Corporal James Galloway, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police service dog handler who was killed while on duty four years ago in Edmonton, Alta.

“Corporal Galloway was committed to caring for the health and well being of his canine partners for more than three decades,” says WCVM Dean Dr. Charles Rhodes. “By supporting the expansion and renovation of our teaching hospital, his family and friends are helping us to carry on a similar commitment of providing quality health care for service dogs and companion animals across Western Canada.”

Representatives from WCVM, the RCMP and other law enforcement organizations across Canada joined the family and friends of Galloway at a private dedication ceremony on July 19. During the event, guests visited the Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s Room 1522 — the patient examination room that now includes a framed memorial and photo of Galloway with Cito, his last canine partner.

“This is the perfect memorial for Jim because he loved his dogs, he had a deep respect for veterinary medicine, and he enjoyed talking about his work and his dogs with students of all ages,” explains Margaret Galloway, Jim’s wife of 33 years. “I think he would be very pleased to be part of this building where animal health care and teaching are so vital.”

During his 35-year career with the RCMP, Galloway spent nearly three decades with the national force’s Police Dog Section. The veteran service dog handler mainly worked in Alberta where he was posted to three different detachments in 26 years. Galloway was shot and killed by a suspect during a call with the Edmonton Emergency Response Team on February 28, 2004.

The WCVM Veterinary Teaching Hospital expansion was one of two initiatives to which Galloway’s family and friends contributed in his memory.

Construction has been completed on a two-storey addition to the teaching hospital as well as extensive renovations to its small animal surgery suites, anesthesia, intensive care and treatment areas. The Galloway patient examination room is part of the hospital’s renovated area that provides more resources for clients and their pets such as a quiet room, additional examination rooms, and new rooms for specialized services such as veterinary ophthalmology, dentistry and medical oncology.

Enhancements to the WCVM Veterinary Teaching Hospital are part of a five-year, multi-phase expansion and renovation of the veterinary college’s clinical, teaching and diagnostic resources. Crews have now completed about 80 per cent of the $71-million infrastructure project that began in 2004.