Missouri Mule Team makes its mark on MU

by Brooklyn Shearer, posted Oct. 13, 2009

At this year’s Homecoming parade, MU will have two four-legged participants: Tim and Terry. They are part of the Missouri Mule Team and the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.

Tim and Terry also have their own club. The MU Mule Club takes care of them and the other mules on the Missouri Mule Team.  Many of the members are veterinary medicine students who exercise, groom and feed the mules. The students also travel with the mules to events across the state, according to the MU College of Veterinary Medicine Web site. At these events, club members can also give informative talks about mules and the college.

Tim and Terry, members of the Missouri Mule Team, can be seen throughout the state representing the Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. (Photo courtesy MU College of Veterinary Medicine.)

“It is a student-based activity that I really enjoy. We represent the university throughout the state,” said Mule Club Co-Sponsor, Dr. John Dodam. “They (the students) are thrust into public situations and educate and interface with pet owners, farmers and the general public. These experiences help hone communication skills and make them better veterinarians.”

Over the years the college has had three different mule teams — Hilda and Louise, Jill and Shirley, and Tim and Terry.

The first pair of mules, Hilda and Louise, was brought to the university in 1984 by Dr. Robert Kahrs, then the dean of the veterinary college. The mules became ambassadors for the veterinary program and started the tradition of traveling throughout the state to attend parades, picnics and petting zoos. The mules are still best recognized for their wagon rides.

Jill and Shirley are the only mules that have been donated to the College of Veterinary Medicine. Both were past champions in the State Fair competition. The two now live in Rolla, Mo., on a farm of a college alumnus.

Tim and Terry make up the current team. They were purchased for the college six years ago by Sydenstricker Genetics, and MFA Inc. supplies their feed.

The 2009-2010 Mule Club Officers are Jessica Stroupe, president, Lando Koch, vice president, Sarah Rhoades, secretary, and Stacy Griffard, treasurer.

This year the Mule Club has traveled to the Missouri State Fair, Ozark Empire Fair, Missouri Livestock Symposium and several schools and parades, according to Lando Koch, second-year veterinary student and MU Mule Club vice president.

Thorne, co-sponsor of the Mule Club, is a retired faculty member who worked in extension and food-animal medicine. Thorne has worked with two sets of mules at the college in the past.

“I enjoy working with the mules and equally enjoy working with the first and second year vet students who are Mule club officers and caretakers,” Thorne said. “I feel that my years of experience as a practicing veterinarian and College of Veterinary Medicine faculty member provide me with skills that I can impart to the students. It is a joy to work with both the students and mules.”

To learn more about the mules and the Mule Club, visit its Web site: http://www.cvm.missouri.edu/org/muleclub/club.html.

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