The past two years have been difficult for Ravella, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare and dressage athlete. She battled multiple lameness-causing injuries that nearly permanently sidelined her, but because of a diligent rider/handler, a caring owner, and a dedicated veterinary team, she is on the road to recovery with a bright athletic future. And more athletes like Ravella can look forward to similar results with coming advancements to UC Davis’ treatment facilities for equine athletes.
Sick cats at UC Davis now have a more dedicated space to recover. The Small Animal Clinic at the school’s veterinary hospital has opened a feline treatment and housing suite to better care for sick and injured cats. The new facility combines a hospitalization ward with examination and treatment space. Veterinarians and technicians laud the suite as the most efficient use of space and time in order to care for multiple hospitalized cats.
The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis is taking one of the lead roles in the university’s new $2 billion fundraising campaign, “Expect Greater: From UC Davis, For the World.” This marks the largest philanthropic endeavor in the university’s history, and the school’s 25% portion of the goal is also its largest fundraising challenge.
As many local clinics are unable to provide their usual levels of care due to the COVID-19 pandemic—on top of a significant caseload growth over the past decade—the UC Davis Emergency Room is seeing more patients than ever.
The Schuler Ranch in Yuba City is a small beef cattle operation with about 25 head of shorthorns. The 2020 calving season started out as normal as any calving season of the past, with four healthy calves being born, including a set of twins. When the next group of cows calved, five of their newborns became ill at the same time. It was clear that something devastating could be going through their small herd and could wipe it out quickly. After onsite veterinary services could not save one of the sick calves, they rushed the four others to the Large Animal Clinic (LAC) at the UC Davis veterinary hospital.
Dog owner Rob Beasom and his wife were out of town when they received a frantic call from their dog sitter. Barley, their 3-year-old male French bulldog, severely hurt himself while jumping off the couch, rendering him paralyzed in his back legs. Beasom immediately made plans to return home and called Barley’s primary veterinarian. After Beasom described the situation, the veterinarian told him to take Barley to the UC Davis veterinary hospital.
The Veterinary Medical Center campaign is the largest fundraising effort ever by a veterinary school. And as it progresses, the school is celebrating the clients, patients and care teams who are the reason behind the center, and provide new tools where hospital personnel can find the latest construction information.
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.
