Top Veterinary Stories for 2011

Dr. Donald F. Smith, Cornell University
Posted December 29, 2011

World Veterinary Year (Vet 2011) - The world's first veterinary school was established in Lyon, France 250 years ago (1761) by French veterinarian Claude Bourgelat. It was commissioned by King Louis XV to promote the prevention of cattle disease, notable Rinderpest (cattle plague). A second school was started by Bourgelat three years later in the Paris suburb of Alfort. Veterinary colleges soon emerged in London and Scotland. The 150th anniversary of veterinary medicine in the United States will be celebrated in 2013.

Animals in Movies - Two  movies gave us much to consider regarding the use and abuse of animals in war and peace. Sara Gruen's novel-turned-movie, "Water for Elephants" provided a glimpse of  circus life during the Great Depression; and the release of  Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" on Christmas Day portrayed the enormity of loss of equine life during wartime. Though segments of these movies needlessly strain the limits of credulity, the central themes provide compelling stories of the need for animal welfare and proper veterinary care.

Supporting Pets after the Great Japanese Earthquake - Disaster preparedness and response for animals came to prominence after Hurricane Katrina. However, the magnitude of animal devastation resulting from the March earthquake and tsunami of Northeastern Japan far eclipsed anything we had seen here in America. Dr. Asako Shimamura took leave from her regular job and worked as an individual volunteer in some of the hardest hit areas. Coordinating efforts with local veterinarians, she collected and distributed medical supplies and food in the heart of the disaster area, and reunited animals with their human families. Because of the loss of communication, the most severly affected areas were often those not identified by the Tokyo headquarters. By mid May, Dr. Shimamura had made over 200 different trips into the disaster area within the Miyagi Prefecture. Her bravery, commitment, compassion and perseverance against incredible natural and human challenges is one of the great veterinary stories of the year.

Veterinarian Awarded National Medal of Science - Ralph Brinster, a veterinary professor at the University of Pennsylvania received the National Medal of Science "for fundamental contributions to the development and use of transgenic mice". This award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States' government on scientists and engineers. Dr. Brinster is the first veterinarian in the country to receive the award since it was established 50 years ago. The White House announcement acclaimed Brinster's research to have "provided experimental foundations and inspiration for progress in germline genetic modification in a range of species, which has generated a revolution in biology, medicine, and agriculture."

AVMA Accreditation of Ross University - The American Veterinary Medical Association granted Ross University's School of Veterinary Medicine full accreditation in March. A private institution located on the Island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, Ross graduates over 400 students per year, 98% of whom are from the U.S. This represents about 10% of the total graduates seeking employment in the United States annually. Not since the then-proprietary Ontario Veterinary College (see footnote) attracted massive numbers of Americans to its for-profit school in Toronto in the late 19th century has a non-American veterinary institution trained so many U.S. citizens as veterinarians. The accreditation of Ross was followed several months later by similar recognition of St. George's School of Veterinary Medicine on the island of Grenada.


AND THE TOP STORY FOR 2011
Rinderpest Eradication
On June 28, the 192 Member countries of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization adopted a Resolution declaring global freedom from Rinderpest. Referred to as cattle plague throughout much of history, this was an infectious disease of cattle, buffalo, yak and many wildlife species. Its devastation has been profound, producing massive starvation, economic ruin and political instability. For example, Rinderpest destroyed 90% of the cattle and millions of wild animals in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1890s. Rinderpest is the first animal disease to be eliminated by human efforts, and only the second disease of any kind, after smallpox in humans.

Footnote: The Ontario Veterinary College was established by Scottish veterinarian, Andrew Smith, as a for-profit college in downtown Toronto in 1862. It operated as a proprietary college for almost 50 years when it became a publicly-supported institution under the umbrella of the University of Toronto. Contemporary Scot, James Law, established the veterinary program at Cornell University in 1868 but his high matriculation and curriculum standards were out of reach of most American students so they migrated north of the border and returned to practice in New York and neighboring states.

Dr. Smith welcomes comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

Water For Elephants Trumpets Cornell

Posted by Donald F. Smith, Cornell University

April 26, 2011

A half century ago, Norman Rockwell painted an image of a young veterinarian examining a little boy’s dog. Partly obscured in the background is a Cornell University diploma. The year, 1963, was the centennial of the American Veterinary Medical Association. On the threshold of the AVMA’s 150^th anniversary, another veterinary image has emerged in American pop culture and, once again, Cornell University is featured.



Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Photo provided by Cornell.

 The movie, Water for Elephants, depicts a 1931 Cornell veterinary student who runs away during his final exams because of a family tragedy. Jacob Jankowski hops a circus train and claims to be a veterinarian. His prime charge was an Asian elephant named Rosie.

The movie follows Sara Gruen’s novel by the same title, including about 20 direct references to Cornell University and the Ivy League. For Cornellians everywhere―and especially for the 4,000 DVMs scattered across the country and around the world―there is great pride in seeing our college depicted on the big screen.

But how accurate is that depiction?  The following questions should test your knowledge of veterinary medicine at Cornell during the Depression. (Answers follow)

1.   Jacob Jankowski was forced to leave Cornell because his father (also a veterinarian) had mortgaged the family business to pay for his son’s tuition. How much was tuition during the Depression?

2.   How many women were in Jacob’s class? The movie highlights one who sits next to Jacob during his final examination, and appears to depict at least one other. In the novel, author Sara Gruen says there were four.

3.   A picture was seen for a fleeting second on the wall of the examination room when Jacob was leaving the room to learn of his parents’ death?  Was it the portrait of university founder Ezra Cornell or President Herbert Hoover?

4.   Did it take six years to become a veterinarian?

5.   Is the movie correct in describing the veterinary degree as Doctor of Veterinary Science?

6.   When did Cornell become part of the Ivy League?

7.   Would Jacob have lived with his parents while attending college?

Answers:

1.   Because of the land grant agreement, there was no tuition for New York State students until the 1960s. This challenges the movie’s central premise that the Jankowski family lost everything because of tuition payments?

2.   Though Cornell’s first woman veterinarian graduated in 1910, most classes in the next 30 years -- including Jacob's class -- had none. The Class of 1940 was the first to have four women.

3.   Though not an exact depiction, it appears to be an image of the veterinary college’s first professor and dean (principal), James Law.

4.   It did not: four years after high school was the prescribed length at that time. The youngest member of the Class of 1931 was the recently deceased Dr. Lawrence Waitz. He entered Cornell at age 16 and graduated at 20.

5.   Except for the period before 1896 when the degree was Bachelor of Veterinary Science (in the British tradition), the Cornell veterinary degree has always been Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

6.   The Ivy League was not established until 1954.

7.   Almost certainly not. Most students were poor, living in modest single rooms near campus.

Enjoy the movie!

Dr. Smith welcomes comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

Water for Elephants is Not Enough: The Disease that is Killing Baby Elephants

Posted by Donald F. Smith, Cornell University
April 25, 2011

Like millions of other movie-goers, I watched Water For Elephants on opening weekend. As remarkable as the story and the acting by Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, Christoph Waltz and supporting cast was, it was elephant Rosie’s performance that was totally captivating. Her grace and elegance, her ability to collapse, expand and trumpet that 9,000-pound frame was nothing short of breath taking.

Foreground: Tai, who stars as Rosie in "Water for Elephants", and her nephew, JP, who succumbed to a devastating Herpes viral infection in February, 2011. Please consider donating to the research efforts to stomp out this killer. Photo provided by Kari and Gary Johnson, Have Trunk Will Travel.

As Rosie’s veterinarian, Dr. Linda Peddie told me when I interviewed her in February, “Tai (who plays Rosie) is the best-trained and most mature elephant in the world.”

Some people watching the movie were horrified by the images of animal cruelty depicted towards Rosie. However, Gary and Kari Johnson, the husband-and-wife owners and trainers of Tai, were absolutely adamant that nothing harm her, either physically or emotionally. For example, during the depiction of Waltz’s most severe beating of Rosie, the handlers gently moved Tai out of harm’s way. Again Dr. Peddie, “Because Tai has never known mistreatment, she does not view the flailing rampage as anything more than some imbecile beating the air."

Even though there is superb care, veterinary attention, and humane treatment of Tai and the other five elephants at the Johnsons' ranch Have Trunk Will Travel, they have been affected by a devastating and unseen virus that kills elephants worldwide. It is a relatively new viral disease called Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV), and it affects baby elephants in both captivity and in the wild with devastating results. Tai’s “nephew”, a 3½ year-old baby named JP―named in honor of veterinarian Dr. Jim Peddie―died in February, 2011. As is typical of babies with EEHV, the uncontrollable hemorrhaging disease killed JP in less than 48 hours.

JP’s death represented another tragic loss in the elephant world, not only because of the personal anguish at the Have Trunk Will Travel Ranch, but also because it highlights the sad reality that there is as yet neither a cure, nor a vaccine, for this deadly virus.

Research to prevent, manage and treat EEVH is being led by a consortium of veterinarians and biomedical researchers at the following institutions:

·         Smithsonian’s National Zoo

·         Baylor College of Medicine

·         Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine

·         Johns Hopkins University

Please consider Donating!

To support research to stomp out the disease that is responsible for the deaths of about 25% of the baby elephants born in the United States in the last three decades, please donate to:

The International Elephant Foundation (IEF), a 501 C (3) non-profit organization. http://www.elephantconservation.org/elephant-endotheliotropic-herpes-virus/.  

Water for Elephants: Meet the Veterinarians

Posted February 26, 2011
Author Dr. Donald F. Smith, Cornell University

When the movie, Water for Elephants, opens on April 22^nd, all eyes will be on Tai, the 42-year-old Asian elephant who plays the lead role of "Rosie". Veterinarian Dr. Linda Reeve Peddie considers "Rosie" the best-trained and most mature elephant in the world.  Linda and her husband, Dr. James Peddie, have jointly managed the health care of "Rosie" and her herd mates at the Johnson ranch, "Have Trunk Will Travel", since the early 1990s. http://www.havetrunkwilltravel.com/

Dr. Linda Reeve Peddie and Dr. James Peddie, Cornell 1965,
Veterinarians to the Asian elephant, Tai,
who stars as "Rosie" in movie, Water for Elephants.
Interview and photo by the author.

The Water for Elephants story involves a Depression-era veterinary student at Cornell University whose parents are tragically killed just before he is scheduled to sit for his final examinations. The despondent Jacob Jankowski bolts from Cornell and joins the circus. Coincidentally, Drs. Peddie also received their veterinary education at Cornell, graduating together in the Class of 1965, more than three decades after mythical Jacob.

Linda and Jim have taken care of the elephants for Gary and Kari Johnson for almost two decades. The array of medical and surgical challenges, as well as the sheer size and complexity of their six elephants requires extensive medical knowledge, creativity, perseverance, and a gentle touch. Tai, who plays the role of "Rosie" in the movie, is in marvelously good health thanks in large part to their veterinary care.  

During the creation of the Disney movie, Operation Dumbo Drop, in 1994, Tai developed gastroenteritis during filming in Asia. She lost her appetite and dropped a significant amount of weight. The Peddie’s wisely arranged for a 747 jumbo jet to airlift her favorite Southern California oat hay to the set in Thailand. It was an immediate success, and Tai's appetite resumed miraculously.  Though some would call it a ‘Jumbo for Dumbo’, Jim simply refers to it as the most expensive load of hay in history.

Drs. Peddie are regular visitors to the Johnson ranch and have examined and treated Tai and her herd mates numerous times. That familiarity, however, does not afford them casual access to the elephants. The Peddie’s would never approach Tai without being accompanied by one of the Johnson trainers. Elephants form a matriarchal society, explained Linda, and in Tai’s case, Gary Johnson is the head matriarch. A trusted trainer must always facilitate interaction with a non-herd member such as one of us.

How is actress Reese Witherspoon viewed by Tai? Reese and the others are simply props for "Rosie", who views herself as the lead actress, Jim said. As long as the human stars know their place in the pachyderm pecking order, everything proceeds smoothly.

What about the scenes depicting cruelty to "Rosie"? The Johnson’s were absolutely adamant that nothing harm Tai, either emotionally or physically. During trainer August Rosenbluth’s rampage where he portrays brutal treatment of Rosie, the handlers gently move Tai backwards and out of harm’s way, and August simply strikes the air next to her body. Because Tai has never known mistreatment, Linda told me, she does not view the flailing as anything more than some imbecile beating the air.

In a similar manner, the ugly traumatic wounds that the movie depicts on Rosie are just convincingly-fashioned latex molds that are perfectly affixed to her flawless hide.

Creating a movie of this nature requires a unique blend of almost mystical proportions. To more fully appreciate these numinous qualities requires an understanding of the longstanding bonds that form between animals and humans working with mutual respect at every level. http://filmwaterforelephants.wordpress.com/wfe-cast/meet-wfe-rosie/

Veterinarians Linda and Jim Peddie are an integral part of that matrix. I think that fellow Cornellian, Jacob Jankowski, would be proud.

Addendum: In a future blog, I shall describe some of the medical problems that Drs. Peddie face in their care of elephants. The most serious challenge to young Asian elephants is a Herpes virus that causes acute death in calves. A research consortium involving clinicians and scientists at Cornell, Johns Hopkins, the National Elephant Herpesvirus Laboratory at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, and Baylor College of Medicine attempts to understand this devastating disease and create a vaccine for its control.

Readers are invited to support this important effort by following the donations link at:  http://www.helpelephantsnow.org/

Dr. Smith welcomes comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

Water For Elephants: A Book, A Movie, and Veterinarians who Graduated from Cornell in 1931

Sara Gruen’s best-selling novel, Water for Elephants, opens as 93-year-old Jacob Jankowski, sits dejected in an assisted living home, verbally sparring with a retired lawyer. As the story flashes back to 1931, we learn that veterinary student Jankowski is about to take his final exams at Cornell University when his parents are killed in an auto accident. Jacob is disconsolate because his father―also a veterinarian―had mortgaged his practice to pay the Ivy League tuition. He abandons Cornell and joins the circus.

Centenarian Dr. Lawrence Waitz is a real member of the Veterinary Class of ’31. He graduated along with 35 other men―sorry, there were no women in the class like the sensuous Catherine who sat beside Jacob with her thighs provocatively touching his―and began his practice on Long Island in the depths of the Depression. Dr. Waitz settled in Hempstead from which he could drive in all directions to riding academies, stables and dairy farms.

A Veterinarian for Eighty Years

By Donald F. Smith, Cornell University
Posted January 1, 2011



This historical blog is in recognition of the 150th anniversary 
of the American Veterinary Medical Association (1863-2013).



A hearty New Year tribute to 100-year-old Dr. Larry Waitz who marks his 80^th year as a veterinarian in 2011. He was awarded his D.V.M. from Cornell in 1931, earlier than any other living U.S. veterinarian.

Dr. and Mrs. Waitz, and their dog, in October 2007.

I spoke by telephone with Dr. Waitz today at his home in Cutchogue (Long Island). Towards the end of our conversation, I asked if he had any words of advice for veterinary students today. “Just tell them that being a veterinarian all these years has been the most wonderful experience of my life. I just loved every minute of it.”

Dr. Waitz started practicing 15 years before antibiotics, and spayed dogs in the days of rudimentary anesthetics. He remembers cows being housed and milked in converted multi-floor warehouses in Queens and Brooklyn (my wife refers to this as the 'original factory farming'). 

As a boy of 14 in New York, Larry was able to get a job exercising horses and leading trail rides. At one of his stables, he met a veterinarian who so impressed him with his medical skills with horses that he decided to pursue that as a career.

He entered Cornell in 1927 at the age of 16 and graduated four years later with a DVM degree as the youngest student in his class. Unlike the fictional account of the Class of 1931 hero in the book, “Water for Elephants”, who was supposed to have had four female classmates, Larry assured me there were actually no women in his class--and Cornell records corroborate this (more on this book in a future blog).

Veterinary students attending college during the Depression lived on almost nothing. Though tuition was free for New York residents, the students typically held one or two jobs to pay their student fees and living expenses.

Waitz loved Cornell and took time from his work and studies to enjoy the area. He would sometimes walk down the hill into Ithaca after studying late into the evening, then climb the steep Seneca or Buffalo Street hill to return to his apartment on Eddy Street.

Though he also loved to ski, “There was only one snowstorm all the four years that I was at Ithaca. I put my skis on about 9:00pm at the back of my house. I went down all the way to the center of the town, and then I got the trolley car and came up again. I did that a couple of times. I loved the surroundings. Fortunately, I had buddies that always had an old car. It was a delightful time.”

I asked Larry what it was like starting a practice on Long Island during the Depression. “I started off when men were selling apples on the street for 5 cents but, right from the beginning, I made a good living. I was so fortunate to be a veterinarian because there was a shortage of large animal veterinarians in that area.

“At first, a lot of people, including a girl I dated, said, ‘You’re crazy to be a veterinarian. The horses are going; there won’t be any work once the horses are all gone.’ How wrong she was. I took care of about 18 commercial dairies, many stables of horses, and many private horses on estates and riding academies. And the horses are still going strong on Long Island!”

After retiring over four decades ago, Dr. Waitz became a master sailor and very accomplished painter. He and his wife, Anne, still live in a farmhouse a few thousand feet from the bay which he grew to love in his later years. You can read (and hear) my complete 2007 interview with this kind and gentle man at  http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/12879/1/Waitz,%20Lawrence%20T.%20'34%20BioInt.pdf

Dr. Smith invites comments at dfs6@cornell.edu

Dr. Larry Waitz died at his home in Cutchogue, NY on February 27, 2011, four months before his 100th birthday, and one month after Annie Lind, his wife of 72 years.