The ‘Domino Effect’ of Helping Healers

Around late 2018, Dr. Jackie Jaloszynski and Sid Bragg had a problem: Their bichon frise dogs had serious health concerns, one with diabetes and cholesterol issues and the other with a heart murmur, and their local vet on North Carolina’s Crystal Coast couldn’t treat them.

The married couple was referred to the NC State Veterinary Hospital, where their pup Winston was prescribed a glucose monitoring system and his sibling Lukus later received treatment for a ventricular tachycardia, a serious heart arrhythmia.

Lukus’ treatment led them to make a profound connection with cardiology resident Dr. Anna McManamey, who inspired Jaloszynski and Bragg to support other healers-in-training at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

“‘Dr. Mac’ recognized she wasn’t just treating the dog: She was treating the dog and she was treating humans, and I think that’s an extremely important thing,” says Jaloszynski, who also recognized McManamey with a Coat of Excellence. “NC State does really well in teaching their students and residents that it’s a whole path; it’s a family, and you have to treat everybody together.”

Winston passed away in spring 2019, and Lukus followed that fall. Jaloszynski and Bragg decided to honor their boys’ legacy by including the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine in their estate plans. They created three endowments that will benefit the CVM in perpetuity: The Winston Resident Award, the Lukus Graduate Award and the Fur Babies Endowment. 

Winston’s fund, which they began contributing to during 2022’s Day of Giving, helps cover the travel and registration fees associated with board exams for residents at the NC State Veterinary Hospital.

“We wrote a letter that went with the gift, so that when residents received the funding for their board exams, they’ll get a letter from Winston that says, ‘Go out and have a steak dinner on me — just leave me a bite!’ ” Jaloszynski says.

Lukus’ Graduate Award will provide an annual scholarship to a veterinary student who demonstrates a strong understanding of the human-animal bond. The Fur Babies Endowment is intended to fund cutting-edge research and hospital equipment at the college.

Jaloszynski, a retired audiologist, remembers budgeting to make ends meet in grad school. She and Bragg, a retired airport operations officer, say they coordinated their gifts to help relieve some of that financial burden for students and residents studying veterinary medicine.

“We have to make sure that we’re giving these students every opportunity that we can for their success, because their success is going to be dependent on the care that they give the animals, too,” says Jaloszynski, who now trusts the NC State Veterinary Hospital with the family’s Lagotto Romagnolo puppies, Hudson and Bella.

They hope their contributions will enable generations of veterinarians to provide vital care to countless more animals and perhaps stir these future practitioners toward charity as well. 

“They’ve got a lifetime of giving back,” Jaloszynski says. “That’s really my hope, that anybody who benefits from any of these funds will consider paying it forward so that somebody else can benefit.”

Individuals can leave a lasting impression through this chain of giving, the couple says.

“Everybody talks about the future, and they talk about the environment, and coal and electric vehicles, but they don’t talk about people,” Jaloszynski says. “It’s not about things; it’s about people. This is our legacy that we’re giving to the next generation in the hopes that they give to the next generation in a domino effect. For anybody who has any inkling at all of wanting this good work to continue, setting up an endowment makes perfect sense.”

To learn more about including The North Carolina Veterinary Medical Foundation in your personal legacy through your will or trust, or for suggested bequest language, please visit the Office of Gift Planning website or reach out at 919-515-5106 or giftplanning@ncsu.edu.