Paul Kratochwill is a retired Navy officer who served for 22 years and was stationed all over the world. He now works as an engineering project manager for a large aerospace company in Grand Rapids, MI. Paul is married to Deirdre Honner, who directs human resources for a local business in Grand Rapids. Together, Paul and Deirdre have committed a planned gift to CVM for student scholarships. We are thankful for their support and dedication to CVM and our veterinary students!
Our first German shepherd dog, Allie, had terrible allergies. When we moved to Michigan from California in 2001, her allergies became even worse. Our veterinarian, Dr. Rick Scholfield (MSU DVM ’73), recommended we take Allie to the MSU Veterinary Medical Center for evaluation and treatment.
Dr. Edmund Rosser treated Allie. We went through a number of treatments including food and desensitization shots, eventually moving to a blend of shots, special food, and medication. It took several tries to find the right balance of what she needed to thrive. We had several more wonderful years with Allie because of his fine care.
In February 2019, we noticed that our current shepherd, Samson, was slowly losing the use of his back legs. We attributed the loss of his mobility to his age; Dr. Scholfield encouraged us to get a second opinion at MSU. We made the appointment for an MRI in early March, and Dr. Ian Wachowiak took care of Samson.
During the MRI, he showed us the compressed discs in Samson’s back and the damage it had done to his spine. Surgery was the only option for any chance of walking again, and we took the chance. Samson is an older dog, but we both felt, given the opportunity, he could have several more good years with us. The surgery was incredibly complicated and difficult on Samson and he was hospitalized for several days.
Then, he got up. He started to eat. And he started to walk. We were overjoyed. The recovery was long; we followed Dr. Wachowiak’s directions, kept Samson quiet as we could. As he improved, we got him involved in physical therapy, lots of walking, and hanging out. For a 14-year-old German shepherd, he is now walking and enjoying life better than ever, all thanks to Dr. Wachowiak and the team of students.
We were so impressed with the veterinary students during our time at the MSU Veterinary Medical Center. During the few opportunities we had to engage with the students, we were both amazed by their integrity, commitment, and genuine interest in taking care of animals. One veterinary student, Joyce, was with us for the majority of Samson’s journey and we loved getting to know her. Another student mentioned to us that she would come and visit with Samson while he was recovering in the hospital. She told us she just wanted to sit with him because we couldn’t be there. Our hearts just melted.
After our most recent visit to MSU, we committed to helping students as we could. All the students we worked with during our time in 2019 were so very impressive. We knew we had to do more than just pay the bill.
Our entire philanthropic gift will go to debt reduction for veterinary students. We want to help in any way possible to offset some of the significant debt of veterinary school so graduating students can focus on the good work of taking care of animals.