Forty veterinary technology students at Saskatchewan Polytechnic gathered Friday morning to celebrate the latest contribution to the institution’s Time to Rise Campaign. 

The one-million-dollar gift comes from Heather Ryan and David Dube, a Saskatoon couple with a soft spot for animals and enhancing the care they receive.  

The donation will help fund the construction of a new veterinary technology simulation lab at the future Saskatchewan Polytechnic Joseph A. Remai Campus, an addition that second-year vet tech student Ariel Mackenzie says is desperately needed.

She explains that their lab space currently doubles as a classroom and a storage area, making set-up and take-down very time consuming, and often cutting lab time short. The lab equipment is also shared with other programs and must be signed out if students wish to use it after classroom hours.

“So, if we wanted to practice outside of our class time, it made it really difficult, because we didn’t have access to those materials.”

Mackenzie adds that there is a grave need for veterinary technologists in the province, especially in northern communities, so well-prepared staff will be an asset to any vet clinic. 

“There are a few rural clinics, but most of them are in the city. That drive all the way down is sometimes just too difficult to make, I mean you’re driving for hours to get your pet any kind of veterinary care.”

Because of that desperate need, Saskatchewan Polytech President Dr. Larry Rosia says the extra funding has the potential to boost vet tech class sizes, which currently have a capacity of 32 students per year.

The donation brings the 100-million-dollar campaign to the 71 per cent fulfilled mark. The new campus will be located next to the University of Saskatchewan near Innovation Place.