(Alameda, CA – September 2002) Maddie's Fund, the Pet Rescue Foundation (www.maddiesfund.org), has awarded $250,000 to support the first year of a new Shelter Medicine Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Western University in Pomona, California. The $250,000 grant is part of a $1.25 million proposal to be implemented over five years. The program will be named Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program after the beloved Miniature Schnauzer of Maddie's Fund founders Dave and Cheryl Duffield.
Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program is intended to help achieve the Maddie's Fund no-kill nation goal by educating veterinary students in shelter medicine, collaborating with animal shelters to directly and significantly reduce the number of dogs and cats killed, and providing continuing education in shelter medicine for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and animal shelter personnel. To accomplish these ends, the University intends to integrate no-kill philosophy and methods into its core curriculum for veterinary students; provide medical consultation and other services to animal shelters, including no-kill animal shelters; and make clinical experiences at no-kill shelters a significant component of its program.
Established in 1998, the College of Veterinary Medicine at Western University is the first new veterinary school to open in more than two decades. Located 35 miles east of Los Angeles, it is the only veterinary college in Southern California and will admit its first class in the fall of 2003. The school is committed to a reverence-for-life philosophy in teaching veterinary medicine. "Our students will learn all the technical skills they need to be competent professionals--and they will do it in a manner that does not harm animals in the process," said Dean Shirley Johnson, DVM, PhD.
"Maddie's Fund is very excited about investing in Western University," said Maddie's Fund Veterinary Consultant, Dr. Laurie Peek. "The school's ethic of compassion is in perfect harmony with Maddie's no-kill vision and philosophy."
About Maddie's Fund: Maddie's Fund, The Pet Rescue Foundation, is a family foundation endowed through the generosity of Cheryl and Dave Duffield, PeopleSoft Founder and Board Chairman. The foundation is helping to fund the creation of a no-kill nation. The first step is to help create programs that guarantee loving homes for all adoptable (healthy) shelter dogs and cats throughout the country. The next step will be to save the sick and injured pets in animal shelters nationwide. Maddie's Fund is named after the family's beloved Miniature Schnauzer who passed away in 1997.
