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College of Veterinary Medicine Western University of Health Sciences

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Always In Our Hearts: Stories from the WAVE Program<br />

Leah<br />

By Anna Pavlov, PhD<br />

Leah stood out in a crowd with her large frame,<br />

white fur, blue eyes and highly social nature.<br />

Unlike most cats who cower when the doorbell<br />

rings or someone new is over, Leah was right<br />

there, up close and personal! A friend and<br />

former neighbor who “cat sat” for me called her<br />

“the greeter.” I have many a picture <strong>of</strong> her on<br />

someone’s lap. Leah was fearless in many ways.<br />

I admired her sense <strong>of</strong> self-importance and “guts” to insert herself into situations. It always made me laugh to watch her.<br />

I would feel proud, too, that she busted cat stereotypes <strong>of</strong> alo<strong>of</strong>ness.<br />

On Leah’s last day with me, I had just returned from a conference. Leah was clearly not herself and appeared to have difficulty<br />

breathing. Dr. Postel was the wonderful veterinarian who examined her. She put Leah’s films up for viewing and showed us<br />

her midsection with organs not able to be visualized. She told us there was a large mass in her liver that had ruptured. That<br />

was very unusual for cats. The unusual part <strong>of</strong> Leah’s condition triggered my thought about “donating her body to science,”<br />

to veterinary students at <strong>Western</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Health</strong> <strong>Sciences</strong>. I knew Leah would want to be helpful and would enjoy being<br />

the center <strong>of</strong> attention, even in death. Saying goodbye to Leah was heart-wrenching. But I did not want her to suffer. I am just<br />

most grateful that she waited until I could get back home to take care <strong>of</strong> her and see her through. I have been so blessed to<br />

have had such an amazing cat in my life for 12 years.<br />

The Willed Body Program for <strong>Veterinary</strong> <strong>Medicine</strong>, WAVE<br />

THE COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE’S REVERENCE FOR LIFE COMMITMENT promises that animals will not be harmed in our teaching<br />

programs. A key element <strong>of</strong> this commitment is the WAVE (Willed deceased Animals for <strong>Veterinary</strong> Education) Program, which<br />

reaches out to animal owners to ask that they consider donating their beloved pets’ remains to anatomy and clinical skills<br />

education at the college (The WAVE Program is modeled after the Human Willed Body Program at <strong>Western</strong>U.) More than 500<br />

deceased animals have been donated to the college in the last two years.These special animals are providing a greater quality <strong>of</strong><br />

education to future generations <strong>of</strong> veterinarians.<br />

All donations to WAVE must be deceased due to age, serious illness or injury. An animal that has no owner to approve the<br />

donation <strong>of</strong> its remains will not be accepted.When you know that the death <strong>of</strong> your beloved pet might be imminent, and you live<br />

within 40 miles <strong>of</strong> the college, please ask your veterinarian about donating to WAVE. Your veterinarian may contact Ms.Tami Jones<br />

at (909) 469-5597 to make all arrangements.<br />

Always in Our Hearts: Stories from the WAVE Program appears as a regular feature in each issue <strong>of</strong> the Outlook.<br />

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