Dawg Pack gatherings
A round-up of the Dawg Pack gatherings in Central and Eastern Washington.
509 Day. We invented a new Husky Holiday! On May 5 (5/09), we celebrated Central and Eastern Washington Husky faithful with the offer of a complimentary UW spirit flag. In June, we mailed more than 1,000 flags to the 509. Take a look at the top of the page to see some of the pictures we got back of people showing their purple pride, from Selah to Omak to Spokane. Have you taken your flag on a Washington adventure? Share your photos by emailing mistysr@uw.edu.
Welcome to the Husky family. UWAA welcomed 90 incoming UW students, parents, alumni and friends from the Spokane area at the annual Welcome to Washington Celebration on June 13 at the Spokane Conference Center. This event gives newly admitted students and their families the opportunity to connect with the UW community and learn about life on campus. They were joined by 28 UW faculty members traveling as part of the Faculty Field Tour — the annual tour of the state for faculty members new to the state and the University. Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Ed Taylor, along with rising junior Sanjay Kubsad (a Spokane native), addressed the crowd. Scholarships were awarded to Madison Meuler and Michael Chan.
Dawg day at the ballpark. Baseball fans had a dawg-gone good time at Bark at the Park with the Spokane Indians on July 31. For the third year in a row, 100 Spokane-area Huskies cheered on the local team together on the Pepsi Porch, enjoying a Hall of Fame buffet and a few visits from some very special guests. UW alumni and their dogs were also offered discounted tickets for the July 18 game, with proceeds going to local animal shelters. What a way to celebrate the dog days of summer!
Introducing the new Voice of the Huskies. For 36 seasons, Bob Rondeau was the announcer for UW Football before retiring after the 2017 season. On Aug. 15, Husky fans in the 509 got to hear from the new Voice of the Huskies, Tony Castricone, and Damon Huard, ’95, UW Athletics’ Director of Community and External Relations and Special Advisor to the Athletic Director. They were in Spokane as part of the Spokane Football Kickoff Luncheon, the annual event hosted by the Spokane Chapter of the UWAA. With excitement high for the highly ranked Huskies, Tony and Damon spoke a capacity crowd as they previewed the 2018 football season.
Old dogs teach us a new trick about the science of aging. For the third time, Huskies and Zags united to learn about groundbreaking research as part of the Next Generation Medicine lecture series, hosted by the UW School of Medicine–Gonzaga University Regional Health Partnership. First, the series tackled cancer vaccines and then the opioid epidemic. The topic for the Oct. 9 lectures at the Davenport Grand Hotel in Spokane was dogs and the science of human aging featuring UW Medicine’s Matt Kaeberlein, Ph.D., Fel. ’06. Many age-related chronic conditions, like obesity, arthritis, demetia and diabetes, are also associated with aging in dogs. Dr. Kaeberlein told the crowd how researchers are increasing longevity in both dogs and people, demonstrating how even old Dawgs can learn a new trick from their canine companions.
