From the desk of our Managing Director
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Kim Robinson, Managing Director of Pet Trust, with her dog Juno
This month we are excited to announce a $2.5-million leadership gift from La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso to support our Friends Together for Longer campaign. This gift will support the creation of the James Slaight Advanced Surgical Complex, a significant component of the new facilities at OVC, named in memory of Emmanuelle Gattuso and Allan Slaight’s beloved dog: James. As someone who has worked within the charitable sector for my entire career, I am motivated and inspired by Emmanuelle’s generosity and the love she demonstrates for her pets. I admire her drive and desire to give back in so many ways. Emmanuelle’s story reminds me that we all have the ability to make a difference. I hope you enjoy reading more about her inspiration to give to OVC Pet Trust in this issue of Best Friends.
I am very happy to report that in Fall 2016 we broke ground in the OVC Health Sciences Centre – construction has officially begun on our $9-million campaign that will create new surgery and anesthesia facilities at OVC. With the support of Pet Trust donors, the changes to our hospital and the support of companion animal research will ensure that OVC continues to be a centre of excellence in the world of animal health and remain at the forefront of veterinary education, science and medicine.
Pet Trust also recently invested more than $142,000 to fund 10 new research projects this past winter. Each study aims to improve diagnoses and treatments of a wide variety of health conditions in pets. From using stem cells to understand canine epilepsy; examining cartilage cells to develop better treatments for joint injuries; and investigating predictors of how well dogs with bone or mammary cancers will do after treatment; the questions our researchers hope to answer are ones that may have benefits for pets and humans alike (be sure to read our Cancer Game Changer blog post).
Thank you again for your ongoing support. Don’t forget to connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ovcpet) and Twitter (@OVCPetTrust) to stay up-to-date on our latest news and happenings.
Kim Robinson
Managing Director, OVC Pet Trust
P.S. Please also take some time to watch and share our new campaign video. While the construction is now underway, our work isn’t over yet. Every donation matters and you can help us move that much closer to reaching our goal of raising $9 million to complete these state-of-the-art facilities.