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Call of the Wild
narians; sometimes pet owners wait
too long before making this tough
decision, and the animal becomes
too sick to be moved; and increas-
ingly, people prefer to say goodbye
to their pets at home rather than in
a clinic.
Although Gibson’s business
primarily serves owners of dogs and
cats, sometimes they receive calls
to euthanatize pet ferrets, guinea
pigs, chickens, goats, and even an
occasional pot-bellied pig.
Since 2015 Compassionate Care has
provided pet cremation services
using eco-friendly aquamation,
a gentle water-based process that
replicates and accelerates the
natural process of decomposition.
Aquamation uses one-tenth the
energy required for flame-based
cremation and emits no greenhouse
gases or toxic substances. Gibson
says it has allowed her team to
ensure high-quality care through the
entire end-of-life process.
“Portland is unique. We are a very
pet-friendly and environmentally
conscious community interested in
improving the quality of life—home
euthanasia makes sense,” Gibson
said.
Brianna Beechler, Class of
2004, walks the wild side of
veterinary medicine.
BY KATHRYN WHITE
Imagine traveling to the most
northern and westerly Island of
Alaska—so close to Russia that you
can literally see it with the naked
eye—in order to better grasp how
the diets of walruses and their
parasites are changing due to
climate change.
Or how about leading an expedition population-level events— under-
of students and faculty into the
rural farmlands of Costa Rica to
gather data on microbial resistance
to address the overuse of antibiotics
and how it’s impacting dairy cattle,
wildlife, and human health.
Brianna “Bree” Beechler, assistant
professor of biomedical research at
Oregon State University CCVM,
has been exploring the wild side of
veterinarian medicine and wildlife
conservation ecology since she took
a field study trip to Kenya as an
undergrad. It was the first of many
treks she has made to Africa where
she has studied African buffaloes in
Kruger National Park, South Africa
for more than 10 years.
A common thread running through
Beechler’s work is the physiological
and immune response to disease.
“Mostly I study disease trans-
mission in wildlife— I care about
standing how diseases move
between animals and their physi-
ological response” she said. Her
research on African buffaloes has
examined bovine tuberculosis, Rift
Valley fever and foot-and-mouth
disease.
Another one of Beechler’s projects
is looking at a fatal respiratory
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vetmed.oregonstate.edu • 21