I agree with kernel. I am in the same class as kernel at Oregon State and am thoroughly happy with my education and the school I chose to attend. Yes, our anatomy instructor is incredible and goes the distance to make sure you understand the material. She truly cares about our success! There is one instructor none of us are fond of, but you will only have her for a term and a half so there's light at the end of the tunnel!
We just started our second term (going into the third week now) and are taking neuroscience this term with an equally amazing instructor. She apparently has invited struggling students over to her house for a party/study session and met with one student for breakfast every day for two weeks to get her to pass the class. Most people here are supportive, encouraging and helpful. Our class has also been a great resource - for laughs when you're stressed, for an open ear, for support and to just realize we are all in this together and here for each other!
Don't let the loss of classmates deter you from coming here! Every school, from what I've heard, loses some students for both academic and personal reasons. It was very hard for our class to lose three people. We are a small class (56 total admitted each year) and we get close to our classmates. We know everyone by name (and most of your instructors/admin will know you by name as well), so it hits hard when we see people we care about having to fall back a year. However, they are all coming back next year to try again, so there is fall-back!
I'm not sure exactly what caused fall term to be so awful (besides the snow storm), but it was rough. The transition from undergrad to vet school is a tough switch for many and that is not dependent on what school you go to. I think our first term was a bit abnormal, for whatever reason, but the majority of us still managed to learn and succeed.
As far as animal science/pre-vet, I went to a different school in OR for undergrad, but have heard soooo many positives about the program at Oregon State that I wish I had gone here initially to get my undergrad in animal science (instead of a human health field).