I am sorry to report that Dr. George Padgett passed away unexpectedly this week.  This is a tremendous lost to the purebred dog fancy and to me personally.  His cherubic personality and tremendous knowledge of genetics and genetic diseases of purebred dogs will remain a permanent contribution to dog breeding and to veterinary medicine.
I was privileged to spend a day with him two weeks ago when we traveled together for our regular meeting with the breeding committee of the Leader Dogs for the Blind in Rochester, MI.

Dr. Padgett, Dr. Mostosky and I were the moving force behind the Michigan State University Pure Bred Dog Endowment Fund.  It was established to find solutions to health problems of purebred dogs.  The current market value of the endowment is over $1,250.000.  Only the income from this endowment is used to finance the research projects of the college faculty.

The story of how this endowment was conceived and promoted is a story of dedication and persistent in itself.  It mainly came from Michigan dog clubs and individual donors with the guidance of Drs. Padgett, Mostosky, and Stinson.

The dog fancy is much better off because of the dedication, knowledge and promotion of Dr. George A. Padgett.  My eulogy is simply:  Thanks, George, it was a privilege to know you  and to have you as a friend.

Al W. Stinson, DVM (The week of Christmas, 2004)