Pet Peace of Mind wins inaugural NAVC Gives Marquee Award

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The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) announced during its Awards Night at the Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) in Orlando, Florida, that Pet Peace of Mind won the NAVC Gives Marquee Award. Additionally, The Inner Pup was named the NAVC Gives Honoree.

Pet Peace of Mind is a national nonprofit based in Salem, Oregon, that helps those entering hospice care keep their pets throughout their end-of-life journey and then find the pets new homes after their owner has passed away. The services are at no cost to patients and in some cases, it will even cover the cost of veterinary care for the pet. The volunteers working with Pet Peace of Mind are trained to provide in-home pet care when the patient needs assistance caring for their pet and then find the pet a new loving home. As the winning company, Pet Peace of Mind will receive a $25,000 reward.¹

“Pet Peace of Mind is honored and humbled to be recognized as the first recipient of this prestigious award,” said Dianne McGill, Pet Peace of Mind, in an NAVC release. “This gift will fund the program launch for 10 new hospices which will continue to serve patients and their pets in perpetuity. I have the deepest gratitude for the caring hearts behind the formation of this compassionate initiative.”

NAVC also honored The Inner Pup as its NAVC Gives Honoree award recipient. The Inner Pup is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based nonprofit that is combating heartworm disease, which is prevalent in dogs that are owned by low-income families within the city's community.¹ The nonprofit offers access to veterinary care for underserved groups to help make sure pet health is not dictated by the owner’s income.

“Collaboration in the veterinary community is essential to face some of our most pressing challenges,” said Gene O'Neill, CEO of NAVC, in the release. “The Inner Pup, a 2024 NAVC Gives award recipient, demonstrates that with its approach in the New Orleans community. The Inner Pup offers a model on how effective partnership can help address barriers to care for underrepresented groups, bolster education among pet owners, and promote animal welfare.”

NAVC Gives was founded in 2023 and is a board-directed award program that has been funded by a $1 million commitment from the NAVC. The program recognizes and supports individuals, groups, and organizations across the globe that are striving to make a difference in the lives of veterinary professionals and the pets they care for. NAVC Gives recognizes accomplishments and notable achievements from nominations year-round and selects winners based on merit and impact of the application. NAVC Gives plans to give out multiple awards each year and applications can be submitted throughout the year as well.

“NAVC Gives is another way that NAVC gives back to the community. It’s a recognition program that we can [do] more than just applauding things that happen around the country [or] around the world that benefit animals. Now we can help support that with a financial incentive,” O’Neil told dvm360 in an exclusive interview. “it is backed by a million-dollar investment that NAVC puts. We are shining the light on things that you would never hear about in your day to day activities or read about.”

“These [are] things that we want to elevate and inspire people who think that their jobs are going unnoticed or unrecognized. This is a way that we can give back to them a little bit and help fund their mission to continue on doing the work that they’re doing,” O’Neil concluded.

Reference

NAVC Announces Pet Peace of Mind as the 2024 NAVC Gives Marquee Award Recipient. News release. The North American Veterinary Community. January 16, 2023. Accessed January 16, 2023.