Buck and Molly

[attribution]Randolph Reid[/attribution]

Our Flat Coat Retriever, Buck, was diagnosed with cancer on New Year’s Eve of 1997. At the time I was a homebuilder in the Raleigh area and had just built a home for Dr. Sylvester Price, oncologist at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Mike Bagley of Clayton Animal Hospital, our local vet, called Dr. Price who arranged to immediately see Buck at the College. At first the outlook was guarded with maybe an 8 month life expectancy, however, with Buck’s incredible will to live and the kind and compassionate care he received at the College of Veterinary Medicine, he lived another 2 1/2 years. Buck was 15 when he died, an age unheard of for a Flat Coat. His quality of life was fantastic and he enjoyed coming to see his friends Petra and Franchette for treatments.

Fast forward to the present, our Golden Retriever, Molly, needed an MRI to diagnose a hip problem and once again we were referred to the College of Veterinary Medicine by Dr. Bagley. While waiting in the lobby, I started talking to a kind gentleman in a red coat. I asked him what his job was and he said he was a volunteer and just tried to help anyone who needed it while they were clients of the Vet School. I asked how I could become a volunteer and he introduced me to Valerie Ball, Director of Client Services. Today I volunteer regularly at the Vet School and I enjoy every hour. My wife, Betty, and I are very thankful that a facility like the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine is available for the care of our dogs. I tell my friends I have gone from President of a homebuilding company to Chief pooper scooper and I couldn’t be happier!