Oregon State University Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine

Akira, Aubrie Piper and Charlie Beckers. 

Veterinary student Kyndall Zieglowsky, class of 2023, inspects an owl's eye. 

Melanie Garrett, certified veterinary technician, and her dog Madeline love to travel — seen here near Joseph, Oregon.

Shelter Medicine Club members Leila Shetula, Karina Vajda and Jessika Rosewitz get advice from '21 graduate Dr. Eilea Delgadillo while examining a patient at the Street Dawgs & Cats event.

Catherine Skinner examines an alpaca as Dr. Christopher Cebra teaches during the camelid course. 

Catherine Skinner has gone two weeks without getting spit on. That’s hopefully a normal occurrence for most of us. But most of us aren’t working with alpacas and llamas on a daily basis.

Skinner just finished the Camelid Medicine and Surgery course, a two-week elective, at Oregon State University’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine. It covers all things alpaca and llama.  

Tom O'Brien and Jeannine Marshall-O'Brien dedicate the Leilani Comfort Room.

Dr. Kadie Anderson (right) doing an exam on a spider crab. Photo courtesy of Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

Imagine you’re a doctor. Each day you get up and go to work. But you’re not just treating one type of patient. Some days your patients have fins. Some days they have shells. Some days they have fur and fangs. Some days they breathe through gills. Some days they have backbones. Some days they don’t.

Dr. Sarah Garver, Benny, Chupi and Mitch Garver.

Dr. Sarah Garver (née Jogi) and her husband Mitch wanted to get a dog, but the circumstances didn’t seem right. It was the summer of 2018, and Dr. Garver had just graduated from Oregon State University’s Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine with her degree in veterinary medicine. Mitch’s work meanwhile takes him around the country for seven to eight months of the year, so they were long distance. They were also working on building a house in their hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico.