In The News

Scout is a lucky dog in more ways than one. Not only did the 7-year-old Golden Retriever survive cancer thanks to the doctors at the UW-Madison veterinary school, he was in a Super Bowl commercial because of it. We talk with one of Scout’s vets, Dr. David Vail, about treating cancer in our pets.

The 2012 University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Science graduate joined the guard 3½ years ago because she wanted to serve in the military. There are no veterinarian jobs in the Wisconsin National Guard — only in the reserves and active duty military — so she opted to enlist as a medic.

“There’s currently no evidence that dogs can become infected with the new coronavirus,” says Kristen Bernard, a professor in the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, consistent with the World Health Organization ’s statement on the matter. Like SARS, another type of coronavirus, COVID-19 is suspected to come from a bat, which might’ve transmitted it to another wild animal, possibly a pangolin, which probably passed it on to people.

By now, you’ve probably heard about Scout, the golden retriever featured in WeatherTech’sSuper Bowl ad that survived a grave cancer prognosis thanks to the efforts of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. It seems that WeatherTech’s Super Bowl homage to the university’s veterinary team is having the intended effect: Petco announced on its Facebook page that the Petco Foundation is donating $250,000 to the school.

WTMJ’s Melissa Barclay spoke with UW-Madison Professor of Virology Dr. Kristen Bernard about some of those myths surrounding coronavirus to find out what’s true and what’s false about the virus that everyone is concerned about.

After the CEO of WeatherTech's dog was diagnosed and treated for a near-lethal form of cancer, WeatherTech used its Super Bowl slot to highlight the University of Wisconsin Veterinary Hospital, the organization that saved the dog. The commercial, which is narrated from the perspective of the dog is incredibly heartwarming and makes both the organization and WeatherTech look like companies that care about their clients.

Disease specialists at UW-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine expect the scientific community will produce a vaccine for the novel coronavirus in less than two months. Experts detailed the current stage of vaccine development for the virus last week during a panel discussion hosted by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. Their presentation came days before the first case of the coronavirus was confirmed in Wisconsin by state health officials.

Four human coronaviruses cause the common cold, accounting for about 30% of colds each year, said Kristen Bernard, a UW-Madison veterinary medicine professor. SARS, which caused an outbreak in 2003, and MERS, which emerged in 2012, originated in bats, said Christopher Olsen, a UW-Madison emeritus professor of veterinary medicine. The viruses are thought to have jumped to humans through intermediate species — for SARS, civet cats; for MERS, camels.