University of Florida receives $11 million grant for shelter medicine program

Maddie's Fund, a family foundation that supports animal shelters and pet adoption causes across the U.S., recently fulfilled its grant of more than $11 million to the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine (UF CVM) in support of its shelter medicine education program. The gift is the largest award for veterinary education ever received by the CVM from a corporation or foundation, according to a foundation release.

"This grant will allow our program to provide the necessary training to veterinarians and veterinary students with the specialized knowledge they need to take on that job," says Cynda Crawford, DVM, PhD, Maddie's shelter medicine program director at the University of Florida. Along with educating UF veterinary students on campus, the program has also used its funding from Maddie's Fund to create online courses to train veterinarians and veterinary students at other schools in shelter medicine.

"Our program is the largest of its kind in the world, and thanks to Maddie, we have provided training to veterinarians now working in shelters all over the United States as well as in other countries,” Crawford says. “We are regularly consulted by shelters on how to prevent and treat diseases in their animals and to improve their well being. We work with shelters to help their animals get adopted and conduct research that has saved the lives of countless homeless dogs and cats."

Maddie's Fund was established by Workday co-founder Dave Duffield and his wife Cheryl, and named after their dog, Maddie.