Western College of Veterinary Medicine
-
Focus on quality care, balance breeds success
Since I was eight years old, surrounded by barn cats, being a vet was all I wanted to be.” Making the 2014 W100 ranking of Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneurs—a list put together by the editors of PROFIT and Chatelaine magazines— illustrates that Dr. Wendy McClelland, founder and co-owner of Vets To Go, made a wise career choice. To make that …
December 12th, 2014 Full story »
-
Community clinics fulfil vital health role
Out on the hockey rink’s cement surface, a masked, blue-gowned veterinary student carefully unwraps a package of sterile surgery equipment. A veterinarian, also in surgical scrubs, gives her directions. Six identical tables are prepped and waiting for their feline and canine patients. Soon after, there’s a quiet flurry of activity as the weekend’s first wave of spay and neuter surgeries …
October 24th, 2014 Full story »
-
Going to the dogs for cancer models
A dog owner who shows up at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) with a pet that has lymphoma might be surprised to see a molecular geneticist and an internist from the College of Medicine on the team of specialists handling the case. Professor Troy Harkness from the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Dr. Terra Arnason, a …
October 13th, 2014 Full story »
-
Spay-neuter clinics address pet health issues
It’s a Saturday morning in May, and my lab mates and I arrive early for the Canine Action Project’s (CAP) spay-neuter clinic at the elementary school in Little Pine First Nation — a community about 80 kilometres northwest of North Battleford, Sask. I’m helping out with the clinic, but I’m also here to collect dog poo. It’s part of my summer …
October 13th, 2014 Full story »
-
Pigmentary uveitis remains a mystery
My eyes burn and it feels like I haven’t blinked for days. I’ve been sitting for hours, sifting through case files in the records office of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s (WCVM) Veterinary Medical Centre. I let out a sigh that erupts a plume of dust: I’ve hardly even made a dent in the mountain of paper before me. …
September 30th, 2014 Full story »
-
Can your pet get sunburned?
As summer continues, people and pets alike flock outdoors to enjoy the warm weather and sunshine. We take along sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and clothes to protect our skin from the damaging ultraviolet (UV) light of the sun — but what do we do to protect our pets? If you’ve never thought about this before, don’t worry – you’re not the only …
September 02nd, 2014 Full story »
-
Pets bond Gibbs’ work and life
Dr. Brian Gibbs’ decision to become a veterinarian was greatly influenced by one person: his grandmother. “She was probably the last person in Saskatoon to raise chickens and sell eggs,” says Gibbs. “And when I was a kid, I used to catch the city bus over to her place on Friday nights and spend the weekend helping her. I’d look …
August 18th, 2014 Full story »
-
CAHF Research Grants: 2014-15
Metformin: a new potential cancer drug for dogs? Drs. M. Casey Gaunt, Charlotte Johnson, Valerie MacDonald Dickinson and Trisha Dowling, WCVM; and Ryan Dickinson, Prairie Diagnostic Services Metformin is a drug that has been used to manage type-2 diabetes mellitus in humans. Recent studies have shown that the drug may also have the ability to decrease the incidence of — …
August 03rd, 2014 Full story »
-
CAHF and EHRF support local research
Two research funds at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) have awarded over $146,000 to University of Saskatchewan researchers who are investigating critical health issues in horses and pets. The Companion Animal Health Fund (CAHF), which supports pet health research, granted nearly $76,800 to six research teams that include 22 researchers. The Equine Health Research Fund (EHRF) awarded nearly $69,700 toward 19 scientists …
July 11th, 2014 Full story »
-
Ticks 101
April showers bring May flowers … and ticks? That’s right. The increased humidity and warm weather of spring and summer provide ideal conditions for these parasites to thrive, and your pet is the perfect host. “Tall grass and bush are places where ticks like to hang out, so if your dog visits this type of environment, they can pick up …
July 08th, 2014 Full story »
