Readers share tales from WSU’s veterinary hospital (one is extra gross)

DOGS, CAMELS, FROGS and palm-sized possums called sugar gliders.

Your responses (mentioning lots of animals) came in after my Jan. 5 story on the renowned Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, sought after by pet owners across the country.

Let’s start.

Yikes! What the vet found in Ezra.

“Our 3-year-old dog, Ezra, a lab/blue heeler mix, needed ultrasounds and then surgery to take out a mass that was detected by our hometown vet. That was about a year ago. We had to wait a month to get him into WSU, but once we were there, they worked quickly and got him taken care of. They had no idea it was a parasitic worm eating his left kidney. The worm had grown to a foot long. The surgeon found it in him and told us it was the most disgusting thing she’d ever seen. An amazing place.”
— Ted Dempsey, Ellensburg

There were comments about this paragraph concerning 2022 hospital visitors: “I asked the hospital to break down its patients by types of animals … dogs, 5,778. Cats, 1,813. Horses, 955. Birds, 494. Cows, 274. Rabbits, 202. Rats/mice, 166. Goats, 146. Reptiles, 136. Ferrets, 107. Guinea pigs, 89. Camels, 78. Sheep, 73. Pigs, 49. Raccoons, 17, Rain frogs, 15. Hedgehogs, 15. Anole chameleons, 14.”

Wait a minute: Camels in Eastern Washington?

“We were puzzled by one point. The hospital treated 78 camels??!! Ships of the desert on the Palouse? I bet the hospital treated llamas and alpacas, which are camelids. It makes a difference. Maybe it’s the spell-checker’s fault.”
— Josh Smith, Seattle

Wait another minute

“15 rain frogs?”
— Michelle Kelly, Seattle

WSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital has a few answers.

There was a glitch in how the statistics were gathered, it says.

It wasn’t 15 rain frogs but 15 sugar gliders. The latter are exotic pets here. They are palm-size possums native to forests in Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, according to National Geographic. Their diet in the wild includes nectar, sap and tree gum, hence their name. WSU mostly did wellness exams of the sugar gliders, dental issues and neutering.

But WSU did see some frogs. In 2021, the year for which figures are available: four White’s tree frogs, one African dwarf frog and one Pacific tree frog.

As for the camels/camelids matter: In 2022, there were two camels seen (yes, pets), with the rest mostly alpacas and a few llamas.

A rabbit with 4 lucky feet

“I’ve flown and driven our rabbit, Chester, there from Seattle three times for treatment of a thymoma. So far, he’s lived 23 months beyond his initial diagnosis! WSU, especially Drs. (Marcie) Logsdon, (Janean) Fidel and (Nickol) Finch, is amazing!”
— Julia Gibson, Seattle

Maybe veterinarian dreams are in their genes

“When I was in kindergarten in 1943, my teacher had us come to school dressed in costume of what we planned for our profession to be. I carried a stuffed black cat, and wore a white outfit. I held that dream for several years, but that was not how my life turned out. Now my granddaughter Katie, age 14, a young person determined to achieve everything she sets out to do, has been planning for years to be a veterinarian and attend Washington State University. I realize that her plans can change, too, but knowing her, I believe she could do it! Besides her determined personality, she has been blessed with two parents encouraging her all the way, including providing her with three horses, two cats and a dog to give her experience. I only wish I was going to be around to see how it all turns out, but I trust in Katie that it will be something great.”
— Carole Johnson, Lynnwood

There’s so much more to WSU than football

“As a proud Cougar irritated beyond belief about the Huskies spearheading destruction of the Pac-12, your story about the veterinary teaching hospital is much appreciated. Even though I have friends who graduated from the school and acquaintances who have taken small animals across the state for treatment, I had no idea of its history, or how early it was founded to serve critters in the Northwest.”
— Linda Carlson, Sequim