Steve Irwin’s New Breed Vets show features WSU

Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will be featured on Dec. 22 and 23 programs on the Animal Planet Network.

On Thursday, Dec. 22, at 7 p.m. PST, Steve “The Crocodile Hunter” Irwin showcases WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine in his new series “New Breed Vets.” The show will feature several internationally recognized clinical care and research programs at the college.

Declaring WSU as one of the “greatest in the world” for its research and dedication to helping animals, Irwin highlights:

* Claude Ragle and a team of staff and veterinary students using the equine treadmill and a flexible scope to examine a thoroughbred racehorse’s airway for breathing problems while the animal is running at full speed.

* Kelly Farnsworth and his team of staff and veterinary students anesthetizing a quarter horse for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. WSU’s medical imaging team discovers a problem in the horse’s foot causing chronic lameness.

* Erik Stauber and his staff joining WSU’s medical imaging team to examine a broken wing on a bald eagle with the college’s MRI. Multiple fractures are revealed that place the bird’s return to the wild in jeopardy.

* Lynne Nelson and Charlie Robbins taking Irwin into the den of sleeping grizzly bears to examine their remarkable heart function during hibernation. Robbins, his students and staff, and the bears are part of WSU’s College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resource Sciences.

On Friday Dec. 23, at 9 p.m. PST, “The Animal Planet Report” on the same network will feature Nickol Finch releasing a bald eagle back to the wild near Kettle Falls, Wash. The bird had been found by rafters and local residents; it was unable to fly and had been mauled by a dog before coming to WSU’s veterinary teaching hospital for care.

The same program recently covered Nelson’s and Robbins’ research with grizzlies. “The Animal Planet Report” repeats each broadcast several times each month.

“The Animal Planet Report” is produced by Lucky Duck Productions owned by former NBC broadcast journalist and breast cancer survivor, Linda Ellerbe. The format of the animal news show is similar to Ellerbe’s Emmy and Peabody award winning “Nick News” for children on the Nickelodeon Network.

In all, Animal Planet Network producers have visited Pullman twice in the last year including Irwin’s visit in February.