Prior to graduating from Oregon State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2012, Kate Schoenhals had already volunteered in medical and veterinary missions in Ghana and Nicaragua. In these experiences she found a passion for helping communities in need.
After an internship at Comstock Equine Hospital in Reno, Nevada, and private practice in rural Utah, Kate joined the Rural Veterinary Practice Service at Oregon State University (OSU).
Along with her teaching and service responsibilities at OSU Kate found time to volunteer to help out with equine projects on Taal Island in the Philippines, the Petén region of Guatemala, and the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon.
Clearly a young professional dedicated to helping both animals and people, Kate decided to take a resident veterinarian position at Oscar’s Place, a large donkey rescue in Hopland, California. Because this rescue takes both donkeys surrendered by owners and ones from kill pens in a Texas auction yard, she has had to deal with a whole variety of new medical and herd health problems. In doing so, she has worked with the faculty at UC Davis to investigate best practices to improve outcomes for donkeys from severely stressful situations and abuse.
As an experienced veterinarian, who has the responsibility for the welfare of hundreds of donkeys on a daily basis, Dr. Kate Schoenhals is an ideal person to speak at The Donkey Welfare Symposium on the “decision tree” for assessing colic cases. She will present how she decides which can be treated successfully with medication vs. those that require surgery, and present some of the many many donkey cases that she has seen.