Expanding Access to Veterinary Care in 2023

The ASPCA strives to create a world where every animal can receive the essential veterinary care they need to live happy, healthy lives. Our hands-on work, research and training efforts keep pets and families together and help pet owners access affordable and equitable care.

Local Care and National Impact
Expanding the Practice and Impact of Spay/Neuter
Access to Veterinary Care Conference
Driving Veterinary Interest and Training

Local Care and National Impact

Our ASPCA Animal Hospital in Manhattan cares for thousands of New York City’s most vulnerable animals every year. The hospital works closely with our Community Medicine team, which provides veterinary care to animals whose owners live in under-resourced communities and face barriers to accessing services, including lack of transportation or affordable, local veterinary care. These teams operate mobile and stationary spay/neuter clinics in New York City and Los Angeles and Community Veterinary Clinics in Miami and the New York City boroughs of the Bronx and Brooklyn.

In 2023, our hospital, community veterinary clinics and mobile clinics delivered veterinary services to over 60,000 animals who otherwise may not have received care. To broaden our impact, our teams initiate research to help determine the most efficient and effective methods of diagnosing and treating common ailments in dogs and cats. We share these findings with veterinary and shelter professionals on our ASPCApro website and through training programs, partnerships and conferences.

New York City

In 2023, the ASPCA Animal Hospital provided veterinary care and critical services, including over 1,700 surgeries, for more than 9,700 pets who were victims of cruelty and neglect or whose owners experienced financial challenges. One of those pets was Apo, a six-year-old dog who swallowed a rubber duckie, leading to a near-death crisis. The cost of emergency care was out of reach for Apo’s owner, but a friend recommended the ASPCA Animal Hospital. There, our veterinary teams successfully removed the toy from Apo’s small intestine.

In New York City, the ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinics in the Bronx and Brooklyn — in addition to several mobile clinics — provided affordable and accessible veterinary care and spay/neuter surgeries to more than 25,000 animals in the heart of communities most in need of those services.

Los Angeles
Our Los Angeles Spay/Neuter Clinic and mobile units provided basic veterinary care and spay/neuter services to more than 17,500 animals in 2023, improving animal welfare and supporting qualified pet owners in Los Angeles with crucial veterinary services.

Additionally, residents of certain areas within the city of El Monte, California, are eligible for free spay/neuter surgeries for pet cats and outdoor community cats thanks to our pilot program with Stray Paws Animal Haven. This program allows us to share our learnings from El Monte with other locations across the country to help them design efficient, effective community programs to improve cat welfare and reduce shelter intake through strategic spay/neuter and community engagement.

Miami
The ASPCA Miami Community Veterinary Clinic is the only veterinary clinic in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, which has a population of more than 62,000. In 2023, the Community Veterinary Clinic provided accessible, affordable, routine and preventive veterinary care to more than 9,900 animals. One of those pets was Dior, whose owner brought him to the ASPCA for care after becoming alarmed by the appearance of swelling and bumps on the four-week-old puppy’s face. In another case, our medical team treated Rocky, a small dog who was hit by a car just outside his home.

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Expanding the Practice and Impact of Spay/Neuter

The ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance (ASNA) in Asheville, North Carolina, is the nation’s leading high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter training facility, hosting professionals from around the country for intensive, onsite trainings to help expand access to low-cost sterilization surgeries.

In 2023, ASNA provided 20,600 high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter services to shelter, rescue and owned companion animals in the Western North Carolina region. ASNA also trained more than 260 veterinary medical professionals and fourth-year veterinary student externs.

One training opportunity launched by ASNA, in collaboration with SAFE Care Spay/Neuter Clinic in Raleigh — part of ASNA’s Clinic Mentorship Network — and North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine, was the first-ever Community Cat Management Externship. Six students completed nearly 40 surgeries each, learning high-quality, high-volume, spay/neuter techniques specifically for community cats, the most at-risk population. Participants rated the training with high marks and indicated they’re very likely to get involved with community cat management through their careers or volunteer work.

ASNA hosted “Elevating Your Impact: Tools for Community-Centered Medicine” at Auburn University, an onsite externship experience for fourth-year veterinary students. The two-day course included presentations from nine ASPCA experts on shelter medicine, poison control, veterinary forensics, community medicine, cruelty investigations, legal advocacy and high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter.

Access to Veterinary Care Conference

Along with the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, the ASPCA cohosted our second Access to Veterinary Care Conference in 2023, which brought together 675 attendees and 87 speakers in a virtual format to discuss and improve access to veterinary care nationwide.

The conference provided a collaborative space where leaders in the animal welfare and veterinary fields collectively engaged in discussions about breaking down barriers and expanding access to care for millions of animals.

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Driving Veterinary Interest and Training

The shortage of veterinarians has created a crisis for pet owners, animals and shelters throughout the country — a crisis the ASPCA is addressing by offering veterinary education and training programs. Our formal training experiences, including externships, internships and shelter medicine residency programs, attract, retain and advance the careers of veterinary professionals in a way that uniquely prepares them to serve the animal welfare needs of their communities.

ASPCA professional veterinary training experiences include:

• ASPCA Veterinary Forensic Science Center Externship (Gainesville, Fla.)
• ASPCA Veterinary Forensic Sciences Training Program (Gainesville, Fla.)
• ASPCA NYC Veterinary Forensic Medicine Externship (New York, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Animal Hospital Veterinary Externship (New York, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Adoption Center Externship (New York, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Community Medicine Externship (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance Veterinary Student Externship (Asheville, N.C.)
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Externship (Remote)
• ASPCA Veterinary Technician Internship (New York, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Julie Morris Shelter Medicine Residency (New York, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Animal Hospital Small Animal Rotating Internship (New York, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance Veterinarian Training Program (Asheville, N.C.)
• ASPCA Animal Hospital Access to Vet Care Fellowship (New York, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Cruelty Recovery Center Veterinary Externship (Columbus, Ohio)
• Platt College/ASPCA Community Medicine RVT Partnership (Los Angeles)
• ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Fellowship (New York, N.Y.)
• ASPCA Shelter Medicine Practitioner Pathway Mentorship (Nationwide/Remote)

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