The Back Page has spotlighted a number of non-profits that serve to improve companion animal health, train animals as assistants and rescuers, and work to protect animals from abuse. In this issue’s column, we reintroduce you to some organizations you have met here before and share how you can help them spread good cheer this holiday season.
Assistance Dogs for the Deaf and Disabled
For over 20 years, Anita Migday, DVM, MS, has been providing veterinary services to the National Education for Assistance Dog Services (NEADS, neads.org) organization, which focuses on matching service dogs with deaf or disabled individuals.
“The interdependence and chemistry in a well-matched team is something that you don’t see in a family pet.”
Donate online: neads.org/get-involved/donate
Donate by mail: NEADS, PO Box 213, West Boylston, MA 01583
Featured in Making a Difference…One Assistance Dog at a Time:
An Interview With Anita Migday (Nov/Dec 2011)
Search and Rescue Dogs
C
indy Otto, DVM, PhD, executive director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (WDC, pennvetwdc.org), leads research and training of working dogs to locate bombs, find trapped victims, and possibly even detect tumors.
“We are working on a novel project to utilize a dog’s keen sense of smell to help develop a screening test for early ovarian cancer, which has the potential to save the lives of a significant amount of women.”
Donate online: pennvetwdc.org
Featured in Putting a Keen Sense of Smell to Work: An Interview with Cindy Otto (Sept/Oct 2013)
Disease Discovery and Education
The nonprofit ACVIM Foundation (acvimfoundation.org) was created to support and advance the work of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). Their mission is to eliminate animal and human disease by supporting discovery, education, and partnerships throughout the global community of medicine.
Donate online: https://acvimfoundation.org/
Featured in Pioneering Today’s Care & Tomorrow’s Cures: The Motto
of the ACVIM Foundation (July/Aug 2012)
Animal Law Web Site
Dr. Melinda Merck’s name has become internationally associated with veterinary forensics. She has worked with experts to hone procedures and standards that improve investigation and prosecution of animal cruelty cases. The Animal Law Web Center (animallaw.info) of Michigan State University College of Law maintains a web site of state animal cruelty and veterinary reporting laws for the U.S.
“Animal cruelty is often a ‘sentinel act,’ an act that is associated with domestic violence or child abuse. Investigating suspected animal abuse may identify human victims, allowing them to receive help.”
Donate online: animallaw.info
Donate by mail: Animal Law Web Center, MSU College of Law, East Lansing, MI 48824-1300
Featured in When Animal Abuse Darkens Your Door: An Interview With Melinda Merck, DVM (July/Aug 2013)
Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Steve Dale is a certified dog and cat behavior consultant and pet-advocate syndicated newspaper and radio host. When his cat Ricky passed away from feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), he became involved with the WINN Feline Foundation as a board member.
“The Foundation raises funding to support research for many feline diseases, such as HCM, feline leukemia, and diabetes. The Ricky Fund for HCM (winnfelinehealth.org/RickyFund.html) helped develop a genetic test to identify the gene responsible for HCM.”
Donate online: www.winnfelinehealth.org/Pages/MakeDonation.html
Featured in The Voice for Companion Animals: An Interview With Steve Dale (Nov/Dec 2012)