Page 22 - Volume 18 Issue 2
P. 22
WAVE Always In Our Hearts
Betty Church-Wagner
By Betty’s dads, Christopher Church and Sidney Wagner
Betty Church-Wagner was a loyal friend and fierce defender of our family.
When she came to live with us in 2009, she soon realized there were
serious security lapses in our home, and she quickly created her own job as
head of security. Friends were welcomed in with curiosity and happiness,
but passersby were warned off with loud barking, and despite coming to
the front door six times a week, the post-office letter carrier never
managed to cause any mayhem on Betty’s watch.
We don’t know much about Betty’s life before she was about a year old,
when she was found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, but when she
came home that first day and discovered that yes, that bowl of food was all
for her, she took a few bites and then ran back to her new human family,
smothering us with face-licks of gratitude. Each time we returned home
after that, whether we’d been gone for two hours or two weeks, we were
greeted with unbridled joy and excitement.
On her daily walk, Betty was always on patrol, sniffing out discarded
people food to snack on, sampling the foliage for palatability, confronting neighborhood dogs, and more than once wisely stepping away when a cat decided to
stand its ground with her. At the beach she was more concerned about herding her humans, circling around us in a figure-8 pattern as we strolled, than she was
about jumping in the surf.
Never has there been a smarter, kinder, and more loyal companion than Betty Church-Wagner, and our hearts are broken at losing her. It is a consolation that she
might help ease the suffering of other animals through participating in the WAVE program.
About the WAVE Program:
The College of Veterinary Medicine’s Reverence for Life Commitment
promises that animals will not be harmed in our teaching programs. A key
element of this commitment is the WAVE (Willed deceased Animals for
Veterinary Education) Program, which reaches out to animal owners to ask
that they consider donating their beloved pets’ remains to anatomy and
clinical skills education at the college (WAVE Program is modeled after the
Human Willed Body Program at WesternU). More than 500 deceased
animals have been donated to the college in the last two years. These
special animals are providing a greater quality of education to future Establishing a Pet Trust
generations of veterinarians.
Those concerned about what will happen to their
All donations to WAVE must be deceased due to age, serious illness or animals should their human caregivers become
injury. An animal that has no owner to approve the donation of its remains incapacitated or die might consider including provisions
will not be accepted. When you know that the death of your beloved pet in an estate plan. One means of doing so is to establish
might be imminent, and you live within 40 miles of the college, please ask a charitable remainder unitrust to ensure their care in
your veterinarian about donating to WAVE. Your veterinarian may contact the event disaster strikes. This can be easily
Ms.Tami Miller at (909) 469-5597 to make all arrangements. accomplished, and WesternU’s Planned Giving Office is
available to assist in this process. For more information,
Always in Our Hearts: Stories from WAVE appears as a regular feature in contact Tim McPheron, Director of Development at
each issue of the Veterinary Outlook Magazine. (909) 706-3762 or tmcpheron@westernu.edu.
20 College of Veterinary Medicine
Betty Church-Wagner
By Betty’s dads, Christopher Church and Sidney Wagner
Betty Church-Wagner was a loyal friend and fierce defender of our family.
When she came to live with us in 2009, she soon realized there were
serious security lapses in our home, and she quickly created her own job as
head of security. Friends were welcomed in with curiosity and happiness,
but passersby were warned off with loud barking, and despite coming to
the front door six times a week, the post-office letter carrier never
managed to cause any mayhem on Betty’s watch.
We don’t know much about Betty’s life before she was about a year old,
when she was found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, but when she
came home that first day and discovered that yes, that bowl of food was all
for her, she took a few bites and then ran back to her new human family,
smothering us with face-licks of gratitude. Each time we returned home
after that, whether we’d been gone for two hours or two weeks, we were
greeted with unbridled joy and excitement.
On her daily walk, Betty was always on patrol, sniffing out discarded
people food to snack on, sampling the foliage for palatability, confronting neighborhood dogs, and more than once wisely stepping away when a cat decided to
stand its ground with her. At the beach she was more concerned about herding her humans, circling around us in a figure-8 pattern as we strolled, than she was
about jumping in the surf.
Never has there been a smarter, kinder, and more loyal companion than Betty Church-Wagner, and our hearts are broken at losing her. It is a consolation that she
might help ease the suffering of other animals through participating in the WAVE program.
About the WAVE Program:
The College of Veterinary Medicine’s Reverence for Life Commitment
promises that animals will not be harmed in our teaching programs. A key
element of this commitment is the WAVE (Willed deceased Animals for
Veterinary Education) Program, which reaches out to animal owners to ask
that they consider donating their beloved pets’ remains to anatomy and
clinical skills education at the college (WAVE Program is modeled after the
Human Willed Body Program at WesternU). More than 500 deceased
animals have been donated to the college in the last two years. These
special animals are providing a greater quality of education to future Establishing a Pet Trust
generations of veterinarians.
Those concerned about what will happen to their
All donations to WAVE must be deceased due to age, serious illness or animals should their human caregivers become
injury. An animal that has no owner to approve the donation of its remains incapacitated or die might consider including provisions
will not be accepted. When you know that the death of your beloved pet in an estate plan. One means of doing so is to establish
might be imminent, and you live within 40 miles of the college, please ask a charitable remainder unitrust to ensure their care in
your veterinarian about donating to WAVE. Your veterinarian may contact the event disaster strikes. This can be easily
Ms.Tami Miller at (909) 469-5597 to make all arrangements. accomplished, and WesternU’s Planned Giving Office is
available to assist in this process. For more information,
Always in Our Hearts: Stories from WAVE appears as a regular feature in contact Tim McPheron, Director of Development at
each issue of the Veterinary Outlook Magazine. (909) 706-3762 or tmcpheron@westernu.edu.
20 College of Veterinary Medicine
