Photos by Henry Moore, College of Veterinary Medicine, and Bill Ruth (photo of cameraman closeup to turtle)
PULLMAN – NBC’s Today Show sent a crew to Pullman Saturday, July 30, to produce a live segment for its weekend broadcast. The piece featured, “Gamera,” an African spur-thighed tortoise that underwent an amputation of its left foreleg.
A burn and subsequent infection necessitated the amputation and WSU veterinarians Dr. Nickol Finch and Courtney Watkins followed up by placing a prosthetic caster on the animal’s shell.
The surgery and compelling story coupled with social media’s reach resulted in one of the biggest stories in WSU’s history.
New York based Today Show Weekend associate producer Jen Powell, in an after-broadcast email said, “Thank you all for a great segment this morning! By far it was the favorite story of the morning.”
Click the following link to see the NBC Today Show segment. To see other media coverage of this news story.