Giving to Purdue

Barbara White

“I give to Veterinary Medicine because I have a passion for animals in need.”

Each gift, no matter the size, is a vote of confidence in the University and a testament of loyalty to the Boilermaker family. Purdue employee donors are passionate about their support. But before they give, there is a story.  

“I have a passion for animals in need,” says Barbara White (LA’75, MS’81), an administrative assistant and graduate program coordinator in the Department of Comparative Pathobiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine. As a contributor to the Stanchik Fund for Ill and Injured Animals, she gives to help defray the cost of necessary veterinary care for owners who face a hardship in paying for that care. “That’s a cause I can get behind,” she says.

It was after receiving an e-mail from the Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s blood donor program about a greyhound in need of adoption that White showed her passion for animal welfare in another way.

Retired greyhounds in need of rescue or coming off the track are acquired by the program, which serves as a canine blood bank to store blood from universal canine donors. “Once a month, the dogs donate their blood,” says Julie Commons, small animal internal medicine technologist at the VTH. “This blood can be used for any canine recipient in need.”

White stepped up to provide a loving home. “I got the message that said one of the dogs – Amelia – was still in need of adoption,” she says. “I took her home for a visit and I fell in love.” Amelia is a retired race dog who was brought to Purdue to be part of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital blood donor program. Seven weeks after adopting Amelia, White opened her home and her heart to another greyhound in the blood donor program: Paulie.

“These dogs have never been outside the track setting,” says Commons. While some are immediately adopted, others stay part of the blood donor program for one or two years. “We try to only keep two or three dogs here as donors at any given time,” says Commons. “Every dog that comes through the donor program has been adopted.”

Amelia and Paulie donate blood every month. “They get so excited and dance around when I ask them if they want to be a hero today,” says White.

White, who contributes financially to the program as well, is very proud of her furry babies for being blood donors. “It has done so much for me personally to see these dogs part of a donor program that saves lives,” she says. “It makes me happy — no, joyful — that the dogs can give in this way.”

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Barbara White, Amelia and Paulie, the Stanchik Fund and Purdue’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital are all heroes to our animal friends in need. This is news to whinny, wag, purr or crow about!

“I’m so happy this is where my money goes,” says White. “It’s a very heartfelt thing.”

 

* Faculty and staff who would like to share their own thoughts and stories about supporting Purdue should contact stewardship@purdue.edu or 49-43872.