Charlie Powell Write-up

On January 29, we had Charlie Powell in class. Powell is the public information officer for the Veterinary Medicine program at Washington State University. Powell first talked about how he came to be in his position after working previously as an EMT/paramedic and paraprofessional in medicine. He also did writing for newspapers and magazines on a freelance basis. Powell said he worked under four different deans since joining the Veterinary Medicine college. His current job entails making efforts to prevent problems from occurring. Powell said tries to make the best of media relations, and he has a lot of respect for journalism. He talked about needing the media to get the message out, but also that the media need people like himself to produce newsworthy things for them to publicize.

Powell moved along to give examples of the things he has seen become publicized, with the most emphasis on canine influenza. He explained how different strands of the disease mutate rapidly, and how at times the need to vaccinate dogs is very low, whereas it can be higher at other times depending on which strain of the disease is more prevalent. The lesson from this is that he wants to provide the media, and by extension the public, with rational information in the most timely fashion. He then transitioned to talking about foot and mouth disease, and how the United States and Canada keep their economies stable by making sure the disease does not enter their countries by restricting trade with countries that have outbreaks of the disease. This example explained how critical having accurate information in the media is.

Powell closed the talk by explaining the growing movement for rounding up stray animals in one location and transporting them to other locations. For example, small dogs in the country are sent to the city, and larger dogs in the city are sent back to rural locations, because the appeal of each type of dog varies by location. He also mentioned that shelters are doing more to keep their cages full so that it looks like there is a need to adopt, which can spur people to action. This effort has been promoted by celebrities, and is currently the best alternative to euthanizing dogs.