By Mary Jester
Asst. Campus Editor

The public had an opportunity Saturday to ride in an oxen-driven wagon, watch dogs jump 12 to 14 feet in the air to catch a Frisbee and see inside a cow with a fistula, which is a hole in its side.

"The main purpose was to allow the public to view the veterinary school and see how we affect the general public ... and also to give them a chance to appreciate all different aspects of animals and how animals will affect their lives," said Rick Gerhold, co-chair of this year's Veterinary Medicine Open House and a junior in the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Bill Marion presented a demonstration of his dogs catching Frisbees. He chose to give the demonstration at the open house because he felt indebted to the Purdue veterinary animal hospital after taking his dog that had cancer to the hospital.

Although the dog had to be put to sleep, he wanted to show his gratitude with the demonstration. Marion's dogs compete from May to October; one of his dogs, Duke, is in the top three in the catch and toss event, in which he throws as many Frisbees to the dog in 60 seconds as he can and the dog catches as many as it can.

Marion said people ask him how he trains his dogs, but he said it is hard to explain. He gets an idea of a trick he would like to do with his dog and works with the dog, practicing the trick until the dog learns it. He said he corrects the dog and teaches it how to do the trick properly. "We communicate well with each other," said Marion.

One trick he created was having his dogs jump on his bent knee to gain more height to catch a Frisbee. By jumping on Marion's knee, the dog can reach a height of 12 to 14 feet.

"The Border collie is the most intelligent breed," said Marion. He said it's much easier to train dogs when they are smart.

Lisa Stamas, a junior in the School of Veterinary Medicine and co-chair of lectures and demonstrations for the open house, said the demonstrations with dogs — such as the leader dogs for the blind, agility dogs, search and rescue dogs, canine Frisbee and the sheriff canine unit — were given to educate the general public on the abilities of dogs. She said it shows people how smart dogs can be. Leah DeBoy of the Dogs Heaven Academy gave the agility dog demonstration, where she teaches agility.

Stamas said agility training is healthy for the dogs and it gives them an activity to do. "The dogs have a job; they enjoy doing it," she said. The dogs ran through tunnels, jumped on an A-frame wooden structure and jumped over hurdles.

"Greyhound rescue showed what you can do after the greyhounds have completed their life as a running dog," said Gerhold. He said it was one of the animal welfare displays.

Gerhold said the fistulated cow demonstration gave the public an idea of the work it takes to keep animals healthy. Because veterinarians are responsible for the health of animals, they affect the quality of the food. Gerhold said everything is checked to make sure it meets the standards for human consumption.

A canine sheriff unit demonstrated how its dogs are trained to attack and how the dogs are trained to respond to verbal instruction. Gerhold said the demonstrators wore protective suits so they weren't hurt when the dog attacked.

The Columbian Park Zoo's presentation showed what other careers are available in veterinary medicine, such as wildlife and zoo veterinarians. "A lot of people don’t realize how good a zoo we have here in Lafayette," said Gerhold.

Gerhold said horses sometimes have trouble breathing when they run, so the veterinarians use an equine treadmill to observe the horse while it runs. They use an endoscope to observe the horse's larynx or trachea. Gerhold said it allows veterinarians to see if the horse has lesions.

Bill Reese, senior large animal medicine technologist for the department of veterinary clinical sciences, provided oxen for the open house. The wagon rides the oxen gave allowed the public to see what oxen can do. "We would stop and talk about how they were used back in colonial times and how they are still used today," said Gerhold. Oxen can be used for raising barns and in colonial times, they were used for agricultural work, clearing areas and removing logs or trees.

Gerhold said oxen are used today in situations where a vehicle can't be used. Gerhold said an ox is an animal of any bovine breed or sex, is over 5 years old and has been trained to pull.

"A lot of people thought it was an actual breed," said Gerhold. He said the term bovine refers to dairy or beef cattle. Oxen can range from 1,200 to 3,500 pounds, and the oxen at the open house weighed 3,000 pounds.