Minnesota School of Business Participates in Woofstock

Jessica Ostendorf provides a free nail trim for a Woofstock fan.

Surrounded by dogs, rabbits and even a snake, Minnesota School of Business staff and students helped the Tri-County Humane Society with its annual fundraiser, Woofstock, held at Wilson Park in St. Cloud. The 5K Companion Walk surpassed last year’s donated total and is currently tallied at $48,100.

MSB Veterinary Technology instructor and SCNAVTA (Student Chapter of the National Association of Veterinary Technicians of America) advisor Jessica Ostendorf feels it is a very important event to support and helps to promote the school’s WE CARE mission and SCNAVTA activities. It also gave students some hands-on experience with dog nail-trimming and client communication.

Students Dan Peterson and Jen Heisick “helped restrain for nail trims at the booth . . . [and]  I think I did somewhere between 20-30 nail trims,” Ostendorf reflects. “It was a very popular attraction, and it seemed to open up more opportunities for dialog about our school and our vet tech club and program. A lot of people are now going to be watching the paper for future SCNAVTA events.”

In addition, MSB Vet Tech Chair Holly Gazett says that Woofstock is the best kind of networking she can do for her job. She was able to utilize the time she spent walking her beloved Basset hounds around the park by talking with the various veterinarians and staff at local clinics. In turn, these clinics can provide future speakers, Program Action Committee members and potential intern sites.

Ostendorf agrees that the fundraiser is an ideal place to network, even for students.

“It was . . .  a great time to interact with some of the area veterinary clinics that we work with, as well as to help one of the shelters that provides animals for our students to work
with. And it gave an opportunity for our students to do some networking with potential
future employers.”

Another way that MSB helped the Humane Society’s efforts that day was through a Global Citizenship service learning project. A group of students from Heidi Nerud’s class researched neutering and spaying rabbits and created a live display and brochure to advocate for pet owners to sterilize their pets to prevent overpopulation.

“If you ever wanted to know anything about spaying and neutering a rabbit these are the people to talk to,” Nerud comments.

The students were on hand the entire event to answer questions and advocate for the process. The lop-earred bunnies help draw business!

The ever popular event included disc dog demonstrations, dog bite prevention and adoption information.

Participants would have to agree that it was a howling success!

By Tami DeLand.