Gifts celebrate memory of beloved dog and purchase new equipment
Through generous gifts to the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Maryanne Pagonis shows gratitude to the team that treated her dog Rosie with respect and love as they helped her through her final months.
“Rosie’s involvement with the Small Animal Community Practice and the veterinary hospital in general was all-consuming,” said Pagonis. “She benefitted tremendously from every professional that touched her — every specialist, every technician, every student, every pharmacy person, every reception person, everyone on the emergency side.
Pagonis has given $24,500 to Small Animal Community Practice, enabling the purchase of a portable ultrasound. This machine replaces an older, non-portable machine and helps practitioners triage sick patients more efficiently.
“The top-of-the-line ultrasound allows us to evaluate patients in the room with their owners, which keeps them calmer and more comfortable and adheres to our fear-free mission for care. We are grateful to Maryanne and her generosity,” said Erin Phoenix, clinical assistant professor of community practice.
Pagonis' gift of $15,000 to small animal physical rehabilitation was combined with community funding to purchase a shockwave unit.
“Having a portable shockwave unit has been a game changer,” said Flori Bliss, chief of small animal physical rehabilitation.
A noninvasive treatment, shockwave therapy has a variety of clinical applications, including pain relief associated with osteoarthritis, improved bone healing, and treatment of tendinopathies.
“This is a relatively unique treatment that can be very beneficial to a multi-modal treatment plan,” Bliss said. “However, it is often difficult to find a provider. I am so appreciative that we can offer this at the VTH [Veterinary Teaching Hospital] and help support our referring veterinarians and their patients."
Through her generosity, Pagonis will help enhance the treatment of other animals like Rosie at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
To Pagonis, Rosie was not just a pet or companion, but a core part of her very being. Sharing her life with Rosie taught Pagonis about patience, love, and bravery.
Pagonis’ connection with Rosie remains a huge part of her life, and from the very beginning, it was clear that Rosie and Pagonis were meant to be.
In the spring of 2019, a newly retired Pagonis journeyed to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah, the largest animal sanctuary in the United States. She hoped that volunteering with the sanctuary and visiting Angels Rest, a memorial space that celebrates the human-animal bond, could help her heal from the loss of her beloved dog Maggie.
On her first day of volunteering, Pagonis walked several of the sanctuary’s dogs. The last dog of the day was a fluffy black dog with alert, triangular ears hiding in the corner of her run. Sanctuary employees warned her that this dog was distrustful of people — instead of trying to take her for a walk, Pagonis should sit on the ground and hold out a treat. They said that even then, it was unlikely she would even approach her.
"I started singing Maggie's favorite lullaby to her, and she got up and walked over to me. She took the snack and sat down in my lap, and I just looked at her, put my arms around her, and told her she was coming home with me,” Pagonis said. She named her Rosie, and from then on, this “pack of two” was inseparable.
Rosie had a rocky start to her life. Born at the sanctuary, she was adopted out as a puppy and was returned to the facility as a 6-year-old showing signs of neglect. Her coat was infested with fleas and ticks, and she had chunks of hair missing.
Over the next three years at the sanctuary, she regained some trust in humans, but she remained withdrawn. With Pagonis, she thrived.
As an older dog, Rosie struggled with a long list of health conditions. Pagonis brought her to several different veterinary practices before settling on the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where Rosie could be seen by specialists as well as the Small Animal Community Practice. Between regular appointments with Phoenix, emergency room visits, and Rosie’s regular physical therapy with chief of small animal physical rehabilitation Flori Bliss, Pagonis and Rosie sometimes made trips to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital three or four times a week.
Pagonis chose the teaching hospital not only because Rosie received top-notch care, but because everyone at the treated Rosie with love and respect.
“Rosie became so comfortable with them, that she would enter the room and immediately be willing to go to them, whether it be a new intern, a different vet or vet tech,” Pagonis said.
Pagonis appreciated that at the teaching hospital, she was treated “like a person, not just the owner of a dog.”
Most importantly, Rosie’s care gave Pagonis more time with her beloved “Little Girl” before she passed.
In addition to her gifts to Small Animal Community Practice and the Rehabilitation Service, Pagonis has made the Veterinary Teaching Hospital part of her legacy: She will leave the hospital $3 million in her will. Through her generosity, Pagonis celebrates Rosie’s memory by improving veterinary care for scores of animals to come.
"Giving to VMCVM [the veterinary college] is a way to say thank you to those amazing vets and staff who loved Rosie, cared for Rosie, made her last six months beautiful, and cried with me as she took her last breath and became a heavenly angel," she said ."Anything less would fail to honor my beloved Rosie and those whose lives she touched and those we both loved."
