Gifts & Giving Opportunities
Comparative Medicine Funds
Human-Animal Bond in TN (HABIT)
H.A.B.I.T. currently sponsors pet visitation programs in nursing homes, assisted-living residences, retirement centers, mental health centers, residences for children with special needs, rehabilitation facilities, hospital settings, and other facilities. We offer resources such as trained volunteers, medically and behaviorally screened animals, and guidance regarding pet visitation, program development, and evaluation.
Humans and Animals Learning Together (HALT)
HALT is a program benefiting at-risk adolescents and rescued dogs from shelters. Adolescents teach dogs basic obedience training, providing a therapeutic intervention for the student trainers while increasing the adoptability of unwanted dogs. At-risk adolescents are selected by the staff of their agency to come to the HALT training site for four weeks to teach and socialize selected shelter dogs. Following the completion of the training, the dogs are placed in a suitable home.
Comparative Medicine Research Fund
This fund helps provide support for important research that will benefit many species of animals, including wildlife, exotic animal pets and captive wildlife. Such research may help improve animal health, understanding of their environment and secure their humane treatment and welfare. The fund also provides support to researchers in the department for the development of diagnostic procedures that will enhance the veterinary professions' ability to identify diseases of animals and support for basic biomedical research that holds the promise to benefit animal and human health and to enhance the potential to attract extramural funding to further these objectives.
Veterinary Social Work Services Fund
Veterinary Social Work Services is a new academic, hospital and public outreach program that seeks to help veterinarians, students, hospital technicians and care givers and client/owners cope with difficult issues surrounding the treatment and care of animals. Programs and services cover grieving, compassion fatigue, the importance of communications and other topics related to the long-term care and/or loss of animals. VSWS will provide both in-house (for UTCVM personnel), continuing education (for veterinarians) and outreach educational programs (to client/owners, local/regional veterinarians).
Companion Animal Initiative of TN (CAIT)
CAIT supports the mission to end the surplus of homeless cats and dogs in Tennessee through proactive humane education and a statewide spay/neuter program working with private veterinary practitioners in TN. CAIT Donation Form