Merck Animal Health Partners with American Veterinary Medical Foundation to Provide Care to At-Risk Animals Impacted by COVID-19 Pandemic
Madison, N.J., March 31, 2021 – Merck Animal Health is pleased to announce that it has awarded $200,000 to the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) to provide critical care to at-risk animals in the United States whose owners are experiencing financial insecurity as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Through this grant, the AVMF – the charitable arm of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) – will provide urgent, life-saving veterinary care to pet owners who cannot afford to care for their animals due to financial insecurity or other pandemic-related hardships.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has added challenges to many aspects of everyday life, and the same goes for pets and their owners,” said Christine Royal, DVM, Associate Vice President, U.S. Companion Animal and Equine Team, Merck Animal Health. “At Merck Animal Health, we prioritize animal wellbeing in all of our work, and this partnership will ensure that the pets that direly need attention receive critical care. We’re honored to team up with the AVMF on such an important endeavor not only to help animals in need, but also to provide some relief to their owners during these trying times.”
Through the grant, the AVMF will expand its capacity to provide veterinary charitable care, which offers low or no-cost veterinary services to clients facing personal hardships or to care for animals that are injured or rescued due to abuse or neglect.
“Our veterinary charitable care programs help ensure that animals get the care they need and helps to avoid forcing families to choose between financial stability and the health of their pets,” said David Granstrom, DVM, Ph.D., DACVM, Assistant Executive Director, AVMF. “This grant from Merck Animal Health will allow us to expand our programming for veterinary charitable care to support AVMA veterinarians across the United States. We are eager to help offer relief to struggling pet owners, their animals and the veterinarians who care for them.”
To learn more or apply for assistance, visit https://vcare.avmf.org/.
About Merck Animal Health
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of digitally connected
identification, traceability and monitoring products. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and the people who care for them. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter at @MerckAH.
About the American Veterinary Medical Foundation
The American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) is the charitable arm of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world. More than 95,000 member veterinarians worldwide are engaged in a wide variety of professional activities. For more than 55 years, the foundation has been helping veterinarians help animals with support for education, advocacy, service, and research programs and activities. Visit AVMF.org for more information.