[ the legend | the links | the video | the fund for students | email ]

Lydia Kamaka'eha Wright
~June 19, 1995 to December 9, 2009

Former Official Departmental Dog of the
Oregon State University Department of Geosciences

Long before there was a Cedar, there was the legendary Lydia

Adopted at age 8 weeks from Lincoln County Animal Shelter, Newport (Oregon Coast)
Given to me by a friend at age 16 weeks
"...best dog on the planet!" -- Kate Lajtha

The Lydia Tribute Video

OSU Media Manager Hi-Rez Version

The Lydia Departmental Dog Fund for Student Support
is a fully-endowed fund for conference and workshop travel of graduate students in
the Geography, Marine Resource Management, and Water Resources degree programs
(OSU Foundation Fund #6220-490560)

Marine Resource Management, Geography and Water Resources Students
Supported by the current version the fund for conference & workshop travel

2024 - Geography student Ashraful Islam, to speak at the AAG Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii

2024 - MRM student Sarah Stone, to speak at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska
2022 - MRM student Katrina Vickery, to speak at the North American Association for Environmental Education Research Symposium, Tucson, Arizona
2021 - Geography Masters student Brian Katz, to speak at the AAG Annual Meeting, virtually
2020 - MRM student Kelsey Lane, to speak at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, San Diego
2019 - Geography Masters student Brianna Haugen, to speak at the Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses, Washington, DC.
2019 - Geography Doctoral student Ben Roberts-Pierel, to speak at the AAG Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
2019 - Geography Masters student Hannah Friedrich, to speak at the AAG Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
2019 - Geography Doctoral student Laura Peters, to speak at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, San Francisco, and the International Studies Association Annual Meeting, Honolulu
2018 - Geography Doctoral student Melva Trevino, now on faculty of the University of Rhode Island's Department of Marine Affairs, and who connected with Dawn at the 2023 AAG Annual Meeting in Denver!
2018 - MRM student Katy Nalven, to speak at the 6th International Marine Debris Conference, San Diego, CA (+lunch with Jack Johnson!)

Geography and Water Resources Students
Supported by version 1 of the fund for conference & workshop travel

2010 - M.S. student Jill Smedstad, to attend the 16th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Corpus Christi, TX
2010 - Ph.D. student Kathleen Miles, to present at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
2011 - Ph.D. student Terry Frueh, to present at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
2011 - M.S. student William Clark, to present at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
2011 - Ph.D. student Dylan Keon, to present at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
2011 - M.S. student Vera Pfeiffer, to present at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
2011 - M.S. student Rachel Lovellford, to present at the International Association of Landscape Ecology, Portland, OR
2011 - Ph.D. student Dori Dick, to attend a workshop at the International Marine Conservation Congress, Victoria, BC, Canada
2012 - M.S. student Colleen Sullivan, to present at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, New York City
2014 - M.S. student Jane Darbyshire, to present at AutoCarto 2014 and the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) 2014 Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA
2014 - Ph.D. student Bojan Savric, to present at the International Cartographic Association Commission on Map Projections Workshop, AutoCarto 2014 and the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA
2017 - Ph.D. student Laura Peters, to present at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Boston, MA

Hear What Else Folks Said About Lydia ...

Lydia was quite a legend because she:

- attended scores of faculty meetings, thesis defenses, lab meetings, and lectures in Wilkinson Hall over most of her life.
- "took" Advanced GIS 7 times and slept through every lecture!
- interrupted a lecture with puppy dream yips while sleeping in the front of my class!
- had a brief beach walk and love affair with the "Father of Geographic Information Science" (Mike Goodchild).
- once appeared on the OSU Reser Stadium jumbotron during halftime of a football game.
- was featured for several years in an OSU Admissions video.
- was the answer to a multiple-choice question on an OSU geography exam.
- was seen "proctoring" an exam in Wilkinson 108 during finals week (I don't know where the instructor had gone, but Lydia saw the opening and lay down in front of the class, watching the students intently).
- was a staunch protector in the late evening working hours of Wilkinson Hall.
- played the role of Santa's Elf (in costume) at a Geosciences holiday party.
- delighted students on over 10 annual GEO/OC 103 field trips to the Oregon coast.
- was a courageous camper, 1-time white-water rafter, awesome hiker, snowshoer, beach runner, tidepool wader and squirrel chaser.
- survived car trips from Seattle to San Diego, Corvallis to Colorado's Pikes Peak, and Yachats to Yellowstone National Park.
- received emails from all over the country from time to time, including a special one from a little girl in Japan, who was also named Lydia.
- in her heydey, was clocked at over 20 mph running alongside my road bike.
- was the best friend of Kipper, the amazing yellow lab of Newport and Santa Cruz.
- was an avid fan of Animal Planet tv shows.
- loved the music of Sarah Brightman.
- loved "Fawkes the Phoenix" from the soundtrack of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Lydia's Favorite Links:

Wallace and Gromit

Inner Strength
Things We Can Learn From a Dog
Take Your Dog to the Office and Stress Less
Where do Pets Come From Really?
Scholarly article on why dogs rule... (pdf)
Final tribute to Tugboat, the Tour de France dog (pdf) ^{A Must Read!}
Lydia, the Tatooed Lady
The Visual Rhodesian Ridgeback
Lydia's Hawaiian Middle Name
(was also the middle name of Hawaii's last queen)
Willamette Veterinary Clinic
Best Pet Insurance Companies
Heartland Humane Society
Canine Companions for Independence
Snoopy, the super beagle
Mr. Winkle
(you've never seen anything like this!)
The Tovik Siberians

Pet-Friendly-Hotels.net
dogfriendly.com
iDogBeds.com
Yakul
(from Princess Mononoke)

Thank you for stopping by!
  "They also serve who only stand and wait" -- John Milton, 1608-1674

  "Some dogs come into our lives and quickly go, others stay awhile, leaving footprints on our hearts and we are forever changed."
-- Author Unknown

  "Kennedy often wore shorts and a baseball cap to work and brought his dog 'Friday' to the office."
-- Time Magazine article on John F. Kennedy, Jr., July 26, 1999

Last update: February 21, 2024

The Lydia Tribute Video OSU Media Manager Hi-Rez Version

The Lydia Departmental Dog Fund for Student Supportis a fully-endowed fund for conference and workshop travel of graduate students in the Geography, Marine Resource Management, and Water Resources degree programs(OSU Foundation Fund #6220-490560)

Marine Resource Management, Geography and Water Resources StudentsSupported by the current version the fund for conference & workshop travel

Geography and Water Resources StudentsSupported by version 1 of the fund for conference & workshop travel