Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Daisy Mae was getting worked over and she was enjoying it.
The gray and white cat rolled on the examination table in Dr. Dave Larsen’s veterinary office and nipped playfully at Veterinary Assistant Kari Holt’s fingers.
Maybe it was because she had an audience.
Circled around the table last Saturday morning were six high school students from Linn and Benton counties who were participating in Oregon State University’s Saturday Academy program, which offers one-day workshops, classes and camps to give teens a chance to explore careers in health, science and engineering fields.
Holt held the cat, which Larsen was treating for the KATS, a local organization run by Doris Garron and Vicki Lindley that rescues and provides cats for adoption.
Larsen told the students that this was Daisy Mae’s second go-around with KATS, after it was discovered she had a lump that was possibly cancerous and had been returned by someone who had adopted her. He gave the cat vaccinations as he talked and said he would be investigating her problem later.
During their two hours at the clinic, students also got to watch two other cats get neutered and spayed.
Larsen has been offering Saturday Academy classes since “about 1990 when I had a daughter involved in the program a little bit,” he said.
He usually has six or eight students who come in to watch a couple hours of surgery,
“We get a few cats spayed or neutered and I show the kids what’s what and talk about what it takes to get there,” he said. “We get all kinds of kids, some really interested in being veterinarians and some just exploring the field.”
Students on Saturday asked perceptive questions about the examination proceedings and watched closely as Larsen and Holt anesthetized one unwilling participant, noting appreciatively how Holt seized the opportunity to trim the cat’s long claws after it had been put under.
“The Saturday Academy is a good program,” Larsen said. “They have a lot of good offerings and do a lot of good things for kids. We’re always pleased to be able to work with them.”
Parent John Gilman of Corvallis, whose daughter Alex, a sophomore, was taking close notes on all the proceedings, was enthusiastic as he watched from the wings, leaning in sometimes with the students to take a closer look at the activities. Gilman said he’d operated a “vaccination service” for dogs and cats as a student in northern California, but opted for engineering because “my interest ran toward machines.”
“I have to say this is a really great program,” he said.
Alex, who said she intends “to be a vet despite all odds,” said she thought the seminar was “a good class” and an eye-opener for some of the students.
“My impression, as far as the sort of people that went there was that many people have no idea what is involved with being a vet and are turned off almost immediately when they get a glimpse of how dedicated they must be,” she said. “It’s not about giving Fluffy a magic wand that heals all ill.”
For more on Saturday Academy, visit http://academy.engr.oregonstate.edu/