Companion Animal Health Fund

06/27/2025

REMINDER:
WCVM's Veterinary Medical Centre (VMC) is CLOSED on Tuesday, July 1, but emergency services are available for small and large animals 24 hours a day.

⚠️ Emergency? Call in advance (306-966-7126) to speak with our triage team. ⚠️

Regular clinical services are available on Monday, June 30 and will resume on Wednesday morning, July 2.

Because of high demand and limited staff, the hospital must limit its small animal after-hour service. The VMC clinical team is restricting its overnight patient intake to life-threatening cases (red zone) only from 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. each night until further notice.

Whenever caseload and staffing permits, the clinical team will see patients that fall under the urgent condition (orange zone).

The VMC triage team will always prioritize life-threatening or critical cases. Visit vmc.usask.ca for more information about our emergency services.

📸 Christina Weese

08/08/2023

An investment of more than $150,000 from the will benefit scientists and graduate students whose research work focuses on improving pet health.

Over half of the funding will support the work of six WCVM-based research teams, whose projects span a variety of topics from treating side effects of chemotherapy in dogs to exploring effective sedation protocols in ferrets.

The CAHF is also providing tuition awards for 11 graduate students whose research work targets .

One of the tuition award recipients is veterinary ophthalmology resident Dr. Shayna Levitt, who was also awarded the 2023 Michael Powell Award of Excellence. Dr. Levitt is conducting a genetic study that focuses on pigmentary uveitis – a blinding eye disease that affects golden retrievers.

Read more about the CAHF-funded research projects and tuition awards here: https://ow.ly/1orV50Pqg6W



📸: Katriana Van Woudenberg.

08/03/2023

Growing up around all kinds of animals in his hometown in Japan, Dr. Arata Matsuyama (DVM, PhD) knew he was destined for a career in veterinary medicine.

Matsuyama, who joined the faculty last fall, is now making a significant impact in the college’s veterinary oncology program.

As part of his research efforts, Matsuyama is looking at the effects of carboplatin chemotherapy on dogs with cancer, exploring how an anti-nausea drug can prevent gastrointestinal-related side effects in canine lymphoma patients undergoing chemotherapy, and seeing if PET-CT scans can identify patterns associated with lung cancer spreading.

Matsuyama is also part of the Comparative Oncology Research Group and hopes to use his knowledge to contribute to human cancer research.

Read more: https://ow.ly/7KJZ50PqfzF

08/01/2023

In extremely rare cases, cats can experience adverse reactions after being vaccinated.

This is what happened to a cat, Bart, after he received vaccinations for feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus and panleukopenia (FVRCP), rabies, and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) last June.

Dr. Karen Sheehan (DVM), a clinical associate at the ’s Veterinary Medical Centre, stresses that such adverse effects shouldn’t steer pet owners away from vaccinating their cats.

Read more about Bart’s story, and how adverse reactions to vaccinations occur, here: https://ow.ly/EI0N50Pqfub

03/06/2023

Check out this article written by vet student Madlyn Lung, who researched the most effective way to deliver blood transfusions to canine patients in need.

Click here to read more: https://wcvmtoday.usask.ca/articles/2023/02/blood-on-the-double.php

Canadian Animal Blood Bank Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

11/15/2022

Read about George, a stray cat who has made some caring friends in his Regina neighbourhood.

Two years ago, a stray grey tabby cat showed up in a neighbourhood in south Regina, Sask. Since then, “George” has stolen the hearts of many people there — including Christine Holzer.

“I feed birds and squirrels, so there’s a lot of food and fresh water out all the time. I’m sure the birds probably attracted him to my yard,” says Holzer. “He’s been our neighbourhood cat for the last couple of years.”

When George first showed up near Holzer’s house, he looked like he had been on his own in the streets for a while. He was very hungry, had visible ear mites — which can look like dirt in a cat’s ear and cause excessive itching — and his fur was dishevelled.

To read George's full story, click here: https://wcvmtoday.usask.ca/articles/2022/11/eye-surgery-gives-stray-cat-a-new-outlook-on-life.php

06/17/2021

Two longtime research funds at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) are investing nearly $270,000 for supporting equine and companion animal health research, education and training for the 2021-22 academic year.

The Companion Animal Health Fund (CAHF) is investing just over $102,500 in support of eight pet health studies at the WCVM, including a project that will test a better method for treating osteosarcoma in dogs, a study that will help to set an information baseline for skin conditions in guinea pigs and an investigation of hyperthyroidism and its effect on blood clots in cats.

The CAHF has also presented 10 tuition awards to WCVM graduate students whose research studies target companion animal health issues.

TEHRF Western College of Veterinary Medicine

Two longtime research funds at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) are investing nearly $270,000 for supporting equine and companion animal health research, education and training for 2021-22. For more than 40 years, the Companion Animal Health Fund (CAHF) and Townsend Equine Health Re...

05/28/2019

Dr. Michael Powell, a beloved Saskatoon veterinarian, has left a major gift that will ensure the continued success of the WCVM's Companion Animal Health Fund. Read more about his legacy in the latest edition of Vet Topics: http://cahfpets.ca/2019/05/28/a-gift-to-last-cahf-receives-legacy-gift-from-saskatoon-veterinarian/

02/04/2019

If your dog's diet includes canned pet food produced by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, please read the information below about a voluntary recall of select canned dog food products. No dry foods, cat foods or treats produced by Hill's Pet Nutrition are affected.

Hill’s Pet Nutrition is voluntarily recalling select canned dog food products due to potentially elevated levels of vitamin D. While vitamin D is an essential nutrient for dogs, ingestion of elevated levels can lead to potential health issues depending on the level of vitamin D and the length of e...

08/17/2018

Check out the latest Vet Topics! It has some exciting stories including, new CAHF fellows announced and a WCVM Today researcher receiving an international awards for her groundbreaking research.

The Summer 2018 issue of Vet Topics is now available online. Click here to download a PDF version of the issue that includes the following stories: Eye-catching research: Marina Leis and her team at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) has been investigating the bacterial community foun...