News and Progress
Every dog has its day
Canine-loving couple donates $1 million
July 29, 2009
David and Gloria Lowell, St. Louis, toured the MU Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital before the announcement of their $1 million gift to MU.
David and Gloria Lowell, like many of you, share a love of dogs. And although they don't have any connection with the University of Missouri, their experience bringing one beloved golden retriever, Goldi, to the MU College of Veterinary Medicine for cancer treatment inspired them to commit $1 million of their estate to MU for veterinary student scholarships.
Watch a video of the announcement of the gift.
In early 2006, the Lowell's St. Louis veterinarian diagnosed Goldi with cancer. Although a team of veterinarians tried to remove the tumor from Goldi's left rear leg, they couldn't get to all of it. To prolong the dog's life, they recommended radiation therapy.
"Very few places offer radiation," Gloria says. So they brought their dog to MU. For six to eight weeks, they transported Goldi between St. Louis (on weekends) and the university (during the week). "She lived for three more years," Gloria says. "But what really inspired us to donate to the school were the people and the experience that we had. [The veterinary staff] called our house every day."
To honor the MU veterinary staff and their love of golden retrievers, the Lowells have committed $1 million of their estate to establish two scholarship endowments at the veterinary college. One scholarship will be called the "David and Gloria Lowell Scholarship Fund in Memory of their Beloved Golden Retriever Goldi." The other will be called the "David and Gloria Lowell Scholarship Fund in Memory of their Beloved Golden Retriever Honee." Honee, one of the Lowell's other golden retrievers, died six months after Goldi of lymphoma. Because the lymphoma progressed so quickly, Honee did not receive treatment at MU.
The scholarship named in honor of Goldi will be awarded to a vet med student with an interest in oncology. The recipient of the scholarship named in honor of Honee will be a vet med student with an interest in studying the human-animal bond. Preference for both scholarships will be given to students from a rural background with financial need.
Honee and Goldi, golden retrievers that belonged to David and Gloria Lowell of St. Louis, will have scholarships for veterinary medicine students named for them.
"Great demand exists for the college's teaching, research and service," says MU Chancellor Brady Deaton. "MU is the only veterinary college in the state and one of only 28 in the nation. The number of veterinarians graduating from these colleges falls far short of the demand nationwide. Analysts predict a shortfall of 15,000 veterinarians in the United States by 2025. Critical need exists for many specialized areas including large animal veterinarians, public health vets and rural veterinarians."
To support the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, call 573-882-0548. To learn more about making an estate gift, call 800-970-9977 or visit formizzou.missouri.edu.