Teaching beagles get a retirement sendoff from Atlantic Vet College in P.E.I.
The college is moving toward models, VR and client-owned pooches for student practice
When most of us think about retirement benefits, we don't usually picture lap cuddles or playing fetch.
But that's what's in store for seven beagles now that they're officially done being teaching dogs at P.E.I.'s Atlantic Veterinary College.
The dogs range in age from two to about five years old, and many of the people adopting the beagles are students at the college who already have relationships with them.
Claire Graham, a third-year doctor of veterinary medicine student at the AVC, is taking home three-year-old Brett after fostering him for the past eight months.
"It feels amazing. Everyone in this school really deeply cares about these dogs. To be able to bring him home and provide a safe space for him to continue to learn … how to be a dog, he's going to love it," Graham said.
"He has a two-year-old Australian shepherd brother waiting for him at home, so he's pumped. He's ready for retirement."
Moving to virtual reality and lifelike models
Wednesday's retirement party is part of the college's process of moving away from owning its own teaching dogs.
These beagles arrived at the AVC at age one and stayed for a maximum of four years.
The dogs were never subjected to invasive procedures, but students would use them to learn basic techniques during their first couple years of training.
Jonathan Spears, the AVC's university veterinarian, said the college will move toward lifelike model dogs, virtual reality and client-owned pooches that students can use for more real-world training.
"Now there just isn't a need to actually keep dogs with us anymore, so it's much better that we move toward the new model of having student-owned dogs, and in some cases client-owned dogs, coming in for those early year teaching practices," he said.
"At some point, it's important that the students do have these interactions and do learn some of these techniques from the animals, but to get in those early years and teaching them on these more advanced models, now we've reached that point of technology."
I saw him one day and he stole my heart and I was like, 'You're going to be mine someday.'— Erin MacDonald
Graham said using the models and client-owned dogs for teaching purposes is a big advancement for the veterinary medicine program.
She said pups like Brett had become so used to having students poke and prod that it became second nature for the dogs.
"To bring in owned dogs, dogs that don't have that experience of being a lab animal, I think it's going to be amazing because it really gives us an in-depth clinical experience that we wouldn't receive otherwise," she said. "You need to be able to know how to handle a rambunctious two-year-old puppy versus an old, maybe a little bit senile labrador."
Erin MacDonald, a lab technician at the college, and her nine-year-old son Jackson MacEachern are excited to adopt Andre.
MacDonald said she knew the three-year-old beagle would eventually come home with her as soon as she met him.
"I saw him one day and he stole my heart and I was like, 'You're going to be mine someday.' Now today, we're here," she said.
As for Jackson's plans for Andre's retirement?
"Love him," he said. "I love him, and he's going to be a great dog in our family."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Tony Davis