Our corporate partnerships continued to grow, allowing us to provide support to some of the most underserved communities across the country. This year, we sent 440 truckloads of pet food and supplies to 46 states and Puerto Rico. In total, we distributed over 8 million pounds of pet food and 5,500 pallets of pet supplies, valued at more than $34 million.
After a yearslong effort in partnership with the Institute for Human Animal Connection, the final paper for our Pets for Life as One Health study was published. This first of its kind research on access to care measures how our program impacts community-wide health within the One Health framework.
Engaging with veterinary and animal welfare professionals
Providing support for veterinary and animal sheltering professionals is another integral component of creating a more humane future for companion animals. Our Humane Society Veterinary Medical Alliance and RAVS program offer opportunities for learning and networking, as well as scholarships to help remove barriers to pursuing veterinary medicine. Our Shelter Outreach and Engagement program provides mentorship support to local animal shelters and animal service agencies.
- For 364 veterinary professionals and students, RAVS veterinary field teaching clinics provided intensive hands-on experience in medicine, surgery and approaches to increasing access to care. These veterinary participants ultimately contributed 25,416 hours of volunteer time.
- To encourage broader engagement of students and professionals with underrepresented perspectives and reduce barriers to participation, the RAVS Field Clinic Scholarship program continued, awarding scholarships to 60 volunteers from 24 states, including students representing 15 veterinary and veterinary technician schools.
- Many veterinary students and veterinary technician students graduate with sizeable student loan debt that can make working at shelters, community clinics and other nonprofits challenging. This year, we awarded HSVMA’s Compassionate Care Scholarships to five veterinary students and, for the first time, provided two veterinary technician students with scholarships to help complete their education. These scholarships, totaling $60,000, recognize students who not only demonstrate an interest in animal welfare but also represent a commitment to equitable access and inclusion in the field.
- HSVMA provides continuing education online and at Animal Care Expo, our annual conference for sheltering and rescue professionals. The topics at Expo related to access to care are not often covered in other training venues. That way, we help ensure that the veterinary profession has the information, resources and support it needs to expand care and services to underserved communities. More than 500 veterinary professionals attended trainings in 2024 on topics that included promoting diversity in the profession; medical protocols to care for pets of the unhoused; operating a low-cost community clinic; best practices for high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter; and incorporating veterinary social work into practice.
- HSVMA operates a robust veterinary student outreach program that offers hundreds of students training annually in issues related to access to care as well as direct-care opportunities, including sponsoring World Spay Day clinics at six different veterinary schools in the United States and the Caribbean in 2024.
- In 2024, shelters in Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Iowa completed mentorships focused on improving access to care for community cats and expanding programs to increase pet-inclusive housing and to support people experiencing housing insecurity.
Shaping policy
With its potential impact for millions of people and pets, policy change to increase access to veterinary care is extremely important. In 2024, bills were introduced in multiple states addressing the need for veterinary telemedicine, expanding the role of credentialed veterinary technicians, and providing debt relief to veterinarians working in underserved areas. In California, we supported the passage of a bill that authorizes the development of a high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter certificate program so that more low-cost or no-cost spay/neuter surgeries can be available to the public.
We continue to partner with local organizations to learn more about how housing policies are impacting people and pets, particularly in housing serving our most vulnerable populations. Bills aiming to create greater equity for pet owners in rental housing were introduced in 11 states and the District of Columbia. The legislation included placing caps on pet fees, removing restrictive pet policies in low-income rental housing, ending breed discrimination in property insurance, and repealing breed-specific legislation.
Raising funds and awareness
In 2024, our More Than a Pet campaign continued to garner strong corporate support for access to care, exceeding $1.5 million in annual cash and in-kind contributions. The campaign also generated over 280 million multimedia impressions, raising awareness of the national crisis. Generous corporate partners such as Smalls, Motel 6, Tractive, Hartz and others played a pivotal role in advancing equitable access to pet care for historically marginalized communities.
The campaign honored three extraordinary individuals this year with the Community Hero Award for their outstanding contributions to underserved communities lacking access to pet care. The finalists and their nominating organizations received a total of $30,000 in grants and prizes to support and expand their impactful work.
In October, we celebrated the human-animal bond with an “Unpacking Pawty” at our new Pets for Life building in North Philadelphia. Hosted by our Pets for Life Philadelphia team and the More Than a Pet campaign, the event welcomed over 350 community members. Together with volunteers, colleagues and corporate partners, we were proud to distribute more than 14,000 pounds of essential pet food and supplies—all at no cost.
Stay tuned for more exciting work in this area in the coming year. For now, enjoy this video that shows this kind of care and community building in action:
