The initiative aims to bridge the transition from veterinary school into practice through mentorship, peer collaboration, and ongoing professional development for veterinary students. Photo courtesy PetSmart Charities PetSmart Charities has launched the Veterinary Fellowship program to develop leaders in community veterinary medicine and expand access to care for pet families facing financial and other barriers. The initiative follows findings from the PetSmart Charities-Gallup State of Pet Care Study: Veterinarians’ Perspective on American Veterinary Care. The organization found 94 percent of veterinarians report that clients’ financial constraints sometimes or often limit recommended care, while cost is cited as the reason pet parents decline treatment more than twice as often as any other factor. The fellowship is part of PetSmart Charities’ 2023 commitment of $100 million in grants for solutions to the veterinary-care access gap. It launches partnerships with Colorado State University, Cornell University, the University of Arizona, the University of California, Davis, and the University of Minnesota. Fifteen students comprise the inaugural cohort. Fellows will receive financial support and a structured program involving mentors, peers, clinical partners, and community-medicine leaders during veterinary school and through their first four years in practice. “We're thrilled to launch the Veterinary Fellowship Program, a defining new program created to help fellows gain the skills and confidence needed to practice community medicine and meet the needs of pet families who might otherwise go without it,” says Robyn Jaynes, DVM, director of Veterinary Affairs at PetSmart Charities. The first cohort begins in fall 2026 and is expected to graduate in spring and summer 2028. New cohorts will be admitted annually. By spring 2032, the program could graduate 115 community-medicine-focused veterinarians and generate more than 550,000 incremental community-medicine veterinary visits each year, PetSmart Charities projects. For more information, visit the PetSmart Charities website.
