How a love of animals inspired a gift

After touring the veterinary college and its simulation centre in October 2024, Donaldson began work with the WCVM team to develop a full-size mare and foal simulation model that she was invited to name as part of her donation. Donaldson chose the name Bubbles for the mare and Biscuit for her foal.

“It is one of the most gratifying actions of my life,” said Donaldson, whose models were delivered as a surprise Christmas gift to the veterinary college later that year.

“The level of gratitude, appreciation, recognition and fun was truly heartwarming as has been the number of thank-you notes I have received from students expressing their appreciation for Bubbles and Biscuit,” said Donaldson. “The reaction from everyone involved was worth every penny!”

The mare’s namesake was a beloved horse from Donaldson’s childhood, while the foal’s name celebrates the great racehorse Seabiscuit, whose nickname was Biscuit.

“I want veterinary students to enter their careers self-assured that they know how to safely deliver a foal while protecting the mare, no matter the circumstances they face in the field and on the ground,” said Donaldson. “Bubbles and Biscuit can meet that need, and it makes me happy to know students can learn in a no-stress, supportive and kind learning environment.”

Donaldson loved her experience of giving to the college so much that she decided to set up a planned gift to the WCVM through her will.

“It became crystal clear that first, I wanted my assets to create goodness, and second, to live on,” said Donaldson, who was inspired to give to the veterinary college because of all the pets she’s had in her life.

“It hit me like a brick that they had all given me so much love, companionship, fun and heartfelt joy, and they were the answer to a fulfilling and gratifying estate planning journey.”

Ever since she was a little girl, Donaldson has had a great love for horses, which she describes as “bound into her DNA.”

She especially loved Bubbles, who lived on her grandparents’ farm in Leduc County, Alta., as well as two horses named Pancho and Johnny that her father’s coworker owned and kept across the back lane from Donaldson’s home in Regina. Her love of Biscuit deepened when Donaldson served as a board member of the Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation, based at Ridgewood Ranch in northern California.

When she initially reached out to the University of Saskatchewan to donate, Donaldson met Melissa Marshall Mann, the WCVM’s director of development.

“When someone chooses to leave a legacy gift to the WCVM, they are helping us to ensure that the future of animal health and our ability to train veterinarians stays bright,” said Marshall Mann.

Planned gift donations can support many different areas of the veterinary college. Donors can help purchase hospital equipment in the WCVM’s Veterinary Medical Centre, or they can create an award that helps students achieve their dreams of becoming a veterinarian. As another option, they can donate to specific veterinary programs such as the Northern Engagement and Community Outreach (NECO) program, which supports the health and well-being of animals and people in remote communities.

“Canada and the world need more veterinarians as healthy animals contribute to healthy people in both direct and subtle ways,” said Donaldson, who highlighted the positive process of working with the WCVM.

“The process of WCVM giving was made easy and fun by the compassion and proficiency of all staff. At my request, they even provided the gifting narrative for my lawyer and will, thus ensuring my wishes are clear, concise, specific and actionable,” said Donaldson.

“Everyone involved wanted to ensure my previous gifts, and now my future gifts, are and will be treated in a similar manner that is gratifying to me as a donor and helpful to the college and their students not only for today, but for generations to come.”

There are several options for people who wish to leave a planned gift to the WCVM. Leaving a gift in a will is the most common one, but donors can also arrange for a legacy gift through life insurance, their tax-free savings account (TFSA) or their registered education savings plan (RESP).

As Donaldson points out, one of the important aspects of estate planning with the WCVM is that a person has the flexibility to leave a portion of their estate to the college and leave what they wish to family and friends.

Donaldson knows what she is doing for the veterinary college is the right choice for her: “I feel great peace knowing that my estate will benefit the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and the decision to keep things simple is right for me.

“I can sleep at night knowing what I have done will provide goodness in the form of learning by thousands of veterinary students who attend the WCVM,” said Donaldson. “And I’m not done yet!”

Interested in leaving a planned gift to the WCVM? Contact the WCVM development team (wcvm.supportus@usask.ca) for more information.