On the website for their four Grove restaurants in San Francisco, owners Anna and Ken Zankel have lists of things that are important to them. Anna’s “Things I love” list includes “Baron’s waggy tail and Bubba’s meow.” Ken’s “Things that rock” list includes “people that make other people’s and animals’ lives better.” It’s pretty clear the Zankels love animals.
A small-scale sheep farm in California is the first in the Western United States to have the Awassi breed in its herd. Thanks to help from livestock veterinarians with the UC Davis veterinary hospital, Duckworth Family Farms had eight of the sheep—four males and four females—born via embryo transfer. The farm plans to use the sheep for dairy and fiber production, as well as semen and offspring sales.
Following a normal morning feeding, Easy, a 19-year-old Missouri Fox Trotter gelding, was found down and rolling in his pasture (a sign of a potential colic problem). Having been clients of the UC Davis veterinary hospital for more than 30 years, owners Meredith Reinhart and Mark McLean knew exactly who to call. They made arrangements for veterinarians and students from the nearby UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine to come see Easy. The school quickly dispatched its Equine Field Service, who examined Easy and administered medication to relieve pain and abdominal cramping. But when Field Service had to return three hours later because Easy continued to be painful, they weren’t taking any chances and made arrangements to have Easy transported back to the veterinary hospital.
A leg injury can quickly spell the end of a racehorse’s career. For one racehorse in California, though, her injury offered an opportunity for innovative imaging and stem cell treatments, and ultimately a trip back to the winner’s circle. In November 2016, Irish Streetsinger, a 3-year-old female Thoroughbred, was showing some lameness while training and was brought to the UC Davis veterinary hospital for evaluation. Owner Bob McCabe was willing to do whatever it took to get Irish Streetsinger healthy again.
Kevin, a 3-year-old male domestic longhair cat, required a CT scan to determine the extent of his maxillofacial injuries. Like with all cases in the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service (DOSS) that need this imaging, Kevin was wheeled to the cone-beam CT machine by registered veterinary technicians (RVTs) Monica Calder and Megan Loscar. While this sounds like an easy enough task, it’s actually quite labor intensive due to the vastness of the UC Davis veterinary hospital.
Dr. John Zimmerman ’60, DVM ’62, cannot thank the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine enough for its impact on his life. After graduation, he worked in dairy production medicine and equine medicine for two years in Los Angeles before establishing the Sonoma Marin Veterinary Service in Petaluma, California, where he has been practicing for 57 years.
“Veterinary medicine has been a great career for me because it is a good fit,” said Zimmerman. “I like cattle and ended up coming back to my hometown. It’s given me a wonderful life.”
