March 09, 2021 | Glendale, AZ
Midwestern University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), Arizona’s first and largest veterinary college, has received over $300,000 in grants from PetSmart Charities, Inc.
Midwestern University’s Companion Animal Clinic (CAC), which provides community veterinary healthcare from CVM faculty and advanced students, received $100,000 in grant funds for the Clinic’s Patient Assistance Fund, which covers medical expenses for owned pets from families who are unable to afford the full cost of veterinary care. Grant funds will support direct patient care, staffing and supplies for direct patient care, as well as provide staffing support and research resources, including data on the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
PetSmart Charities also renewed their ongoing partnership in support of the College’s shelter medicine program with a 24-month grant totaling $226,710. The shelter medicine program allows CVM faculty and students to provide basic wellness and dental care to animals at partner shelter locations, as well as offer remote veterinary services such as spays, neuters, and specialty surgeries and procedures for rural animal populations via the Midwestern University Mobile Clinic. The shelter medicine program is a critical service for managing and caring for Valley animal populations in underserved areas, and it offers excellent hands-on opportunities for CVM students.
“PetSmart Charities’ generosity is invaluable for our veterinary community,” says Thomas Graves, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACVIM, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “With the gifts they have provided, our programs are far more robust and expansive. We are better able to provide key resources to underserved communities and to offer exceptional training for the next generation of veterinarians.”
“At PetSmart Charities, we believe that all pet parents want to provide the very best care to their pets, and we want to help them access that care,” said Aimee Gilbreath, president of the national pet charity. “At the same time, we know that students pursue a career in veterinary medicine because they want to help all pets in need. Grants like this one enable us to bring those two principles together by funding community veterinary services that will help pets and their people thrive together.”
PetSmart Charities, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is the leading funder of animal welfare in North America. Since 1994, PetSmart Charities has granted over $451 million to change-making organizations that help transform the lives of pets and those who love them.