On Tuesday, the Muzzle Tour pulled into Glendale, Arizona. The target of my travel: The newest College of Veterinary Medicine in the U.S. My invited lecture titled “Exploring the Science Behind Exceptional Longevity: The Oldest Dogs as Our Greatest Teachers” was hosted by Midwestern University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and the Institute for Healthcare Innovation. What a great honor to deliver a lecture to such a diverse group of faculty and students. The Glendale campus of Midwestern University is a bit unique in that it contains no undergraduate students, instead boasting schools of optometry, pharmacy, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, and now veterinary medicine. I sure did feel right at home in this rich, multidisciplinary training-ground. I found a collection of scholars who were already receptive to the concept of One Health — that when it comes to issues like aging, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease, animals and people are in the same boat. Scholars of this ilk are quite open to the idea that research that advances health in one species can offer up fresh clues that transcend that species to benefit others. So, not unexpectedly, there was great interest in my research that was blurring the lines between pets and people. After all, what is the Old Grey Muzzle Tour but a shining exemplar of this One Health concept?
My high-octane day winded down with a relaxing dinner with my hosts. I was informed that the early feedback from attendees was that my talk was informative and inspiring. It was day 32 of my cross-country trek and I was approaching the halfway mark of my 68 day expedition. But there was nothing halfway about that day in Glendale. We were all in — inspired by the promise and possibility of the Old Grey Muzzle Tour’s brand of One Health-minded inquiry, and energized by the prospect that Midwestern University's vision was poised to produce new synergies that could innovate the process of both health discovery and health education.