The luggage didn’t make it, but the cats did.

A.G. Rud, our new dean commencing mid-August, is in Pullman this week for meetings and house-hunting.  His busy schedule got off to a slow start when he and his wife, Rita, had an unplanned overnight stay in Spokane, where they waited for their luggage to catch up with them.  Two of the family’s cats did make it on board the Ruds’ flight, although the critters reportedly were not thrilled about their day of air travel.

The Ruds are pet people, as attested by posts on A.G.’s blog, source of this picture of their cat Wendy.  That blog is on hiatus, but you can find a link to it at the end of the  WSU Today article announcing his appointment. The article includes links to his biography and the journal of the John Dewey Society, which A.G. edited for the last six years.

His interest in animals is professional as well as personal.  He is fascinated by the human-animal bond and research into the use of pet animals in the classroom.   Maybe that will be one of his future topics on the College of Education’s dean’s blog.  In a recent email, he mentioned a former WSU dean of veterinary medicine:  “I’ve read about Leo Bustad’s work and am thrilled to be going to work at what folks have called the place where the serious study of the human-animal bond started, with Bustad the father of the bond!”

In addition to three feline household members, the Ruds have a dog and may be getting another.  A.G. confesses to having “a major Chihuahua obsession.”