Dr. Bishop holds Cooper, her silkie satin guinea pig (Cavia Porcellus).
EDUCATION: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Washington State University
WHY DID YOU TRADE WORKING
IN A VETERINARY CLINIC FOR
WORKING AT A UNIVERSITY?
It became clear to me over
the years that if I teach others
what I know, I can have an
exponentially bigger impact to
help people and animals. I wish
I could clone myself so I could
do both full time, because I
love being a veterinarian. I fill in for friends at their clinics, and I
get called in once in a while for
an emergency surgery.
IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU INVOLVE
YOUR STUDENTS IN RESEARCH?
One of the projects I’ve worked
on for several years is looking
at a zoonotic parasite that
raccoons carry and people and
their pets can become infected
with. I’ve had four groups of
students over the past six
years work with me.
WHAT DO YOUR STUDENTS
DO IN LAB?
In microbiology, I draw blood
from cats in a shelter, and we
do the feline leukemia test in
lab. Students test for antibodies
that would imply that the
cat either has the disease or
was exposed to it, and then
we’ll report that information
back to the shelter or clinic.
Students are able to offer a real
benefit for the cats, so it’s a
win-win.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE VET
SCHOOLS YOUR STUDENTS HAVE
GONE TO?
Washington State University,
Oregon State University, University
of California–Davis, and
more. One of my research students
got into a vet school in
Scotland. Another student was
accepted to the most prestigious
vet school in the world:
the Royal Veterinary College in
London.
WHAT PETS DO YOU HAVE?
I tend to be a rescuer. I have
Cavalier King Charles spaniels,
a cat that adopted us, a
potbellied pig, four chickens,
and a couple of parrots, including
an Amazon parrot more
than 30 years old. I also have
a couple of rabbits, and I raise
and show guinea pigs.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR
A STUDENT WHO WANTS TO BE
A VETERINARIAN?
If that is your passion, don’t let
anyone talk you out of it. But
on the flip side, really look into
it and investigate if that’s what
you want to do, because there
are so many other ways to be
involved. I would say the same
thing to someone who wants to
go into human medicine.
DO YOU THINK ANIMALS GO
TO HEAVEN?
Oh, I do. They won’t need me
as a vet, though. I guess I’ll just
get to play with them.