“There is so much good work that is going on here, and so many animals that are being treated here. It just begs the necessity for us to have a facility that reflects everything that Texas A&M University and the veterinary school are about.”
~Dennis Clark ’68, Small Animal Hospital client and donor
As of 2019, 67% of households in the US own at least one pet.
The Small Animal Hospital is a place where miracles happen. It’s a place where families are given hope, where animals are given a better life, and the future of both veterinary and human medicine is built through education and research. Every day, the people here make breakthroughs and change lives.
For nearly four decades in the current hospital, Aggies have provided the best care for small animals, and educated thousands of future veterinarians. In that time, caseloads have grown, but the facility has not. In 1983, we treated 7,000 cases. By 2019, that number had grown to 23,500. Every day, our students, faculty, and staff provide the best of care and conduct research that benefits animals and humans alike — and they do it in outdated, cramped facilities. We currently provide 19 services in 84,000 square feet (nearly half the footprint of our peer institutions). Our emergency room is congested, surgeries are delayed, and offices and consultation rooms have been converted into essential clinical space. Imagine how many more animals we could help with more space designed for the healthcare needs of today and tomorrow. Imagine how many more discoveries could be made with room for the latest technology. Imagine how many more families could have a better quality of life for their pets.
There has been an exponential increase in the number of visits to the SAH over the last 35 years, reinforcing the need to realize a new hospitalDO WE NEED A NEW SMALL ANIMAL HOSPITAL?
Our existing hospital was designed when educational methods were less collaborative and specialization in veterinary medicine was in its infancy. We offered two services in 1983. Since then, we’ve grown to 19, and space and layout limitations challenge our capacity to educate and to provide care. The number of patients we can see at any given time is limited, as well. To continue to offer cutting-edge care, we must improve our treatment areas to better accommodate patients’ individual needs.
With the patient and client experience at the forefront of our minds, our new hospital will focus on compassionate and integrated care to fit each client’s needs. From arrival at a dedicated ER entrance or in a fear-free waiting area, through consultation, examination and procedures undertaken with the right technologies deployed in the right spaces, we envision a workflow and workplace that benefits veterinarians, students and, most importantly, our patients.
Through their work, our hospital staff has distinguished themselves as one of only a few teaching hospitals in the United States to earn the gold level Cat Friendly Practice by the American Assocation of Feline Practitioners.
Our veterinarians push the envelope on veterinary science daily to best serve our patients. From 3D printing to breaking ground in veterinary telemedicine, we constantly innovate in the hospital and the classroom. As science and technology have changed since 1983, so have their practical requirements. To keep up with today’s rapid pace of scientific development, we need a space designed to adapt with the times.
We envision a dedicated cancer center and a clinical trials center. The operating room of the future would be designed to accommodate specialized procedures — modularly designed down to its infrastructure to be nimble and state-of-the-art. Our hospital will mirror human medicine, designed to develop industry-leading care, foster collaboration, and encourage discovery. Aggies are committed to leading by example, and we aspire to lead veterinary medicine into the future.
After a disheartening tumor diagnosis, Werner’s owners brought him to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital. An eight-hour surgery removed the tumor and his right eye and replaced 60% of his skull using pioneering 3D printing technology.
“He is just amazing. The fact that he’s still here is just a miracle. He really is Werner the Wonder Dog.”
~Andrea Streicher, SAH Client (and Werner’s person)
We believe that what is good for any one of us is good for us all. Our researchers look for the parallels between animals and humans in illnesses such as cancer and spinal cord trauma. Our Diagnostic Imaging and Cancer Treatment Center collaborates with partners like MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine and more. From oncology to ophthalmology, breakthroughs in animal medicine can benefit humans.
We envision a teaching hospital as an innovation engine where new, meaningful discoveries blend with excellent patient care. With a center for translational medicine, the treatments we innovate for animals can be extended to human health care partners for everything from cancer to heart disease to arthritis. Our approach to helping animals will yield a better future for all.
“We can improve care drastically when we look at the interface between human health, animal health and environmental health. It’s a big concept that can have a global impact.”
~Ashton Richardson ‘19, former DVM Student
For many people, the Small Animal Hospital is their first, and sometimes only, impression of Texas A&M University. Because we see clients from across the U.S and the world, we have the privilege and responsibility of representing the Aggie community and its values. We represent Texas A&M through the care we take with our patients, the dedication with which we go about our work, and the leadership we show in medical innovation. Unfortunately, our current facility doesn’t reflect the excellence we exhibit in our work.
A new Small Animal Hospital is an opportunity to show the world who we are through a new lens. This hospital is the front door to Texas A&M for so many people from outside our community, and through it we can physically communicate a college of veterinary medicine and a university committed to excellence and leadership. A client- and patient-friendly hospital anticipates needs, provides privacy alongside efficient care, and educates the veterinarians of tomorrow.
“Nobody can believe it. I’m just an Aggie to the core. I see a car with an A&M sticker on it, and I start honking and waving... I feel such a strong connection with this place. Not just because of how they’ve cared for Kate but because of the people I met here. This is like coming home for me.”
~Betsy Overholser, SAH Client and Donor, with her Shetland sheepdog, Kate of Hepburn
We are dedicated to providing a better life through compassion, innovation and discovery. A new hospital will poise us to lead the way in becoming the world’s premier veterinary teaching hospital. These spaces will enable our veterinarians, students and staff to provide patients the best of care and pursue cutting edge innovations through a One Health approach. Our hospital of the future will provide the world a window into A&M through spaces described on these pages.
A trip to the hospital can be stressful on an animal no matter the circumstances. A fear-free lobby provides vital separation, space and calm for animals and their owners, continuing our dedication to best of care. ($2 Million)
How might we expand the reach of our services, providing care to those who can’t travel to the SAH? A complete telehealth system and suite will enable our faculty and staff to provide care across the country and world. ($1 Million)
A dedicated center for translational medicine lets us concentrate our resources, increasing efficiency and collaboration as we explore One Health and the human/animal medical connection. ($10 Million)
The Small Animal Hospital is privileged to treat so many animals who stand beside our nation’s service members and first responders and proudly contribute to the university’s core values. We envision a hospital that celebrates the human/animal bond. As a testament to this, the Hall of Heroes will prominently recognize our nation’s service men and women and the animals who assist and support them through battle and life. ($2 Million)
Our dream is to build a hospital that not only considers the beloved patients we treat, but also honors the collaborative partnerships we have and paves the way for the innovative veterinarians who will one day walk its halls. With the addition of a twenty-first century hospital facility to our campus, Texas A&M will be more enticing to the best and brightest faculty, staff and students in the veterinary field. We envision a hospital that celebrates the human/animal bond and pays tribute to the Aggie Spirit.
We have a four-year plan to bring our dream to reality. An internal steering committee, marketing partners, events, and a viable plan for fundraising milestones give us our foundation. You—our donors, ambassadors, and friends—are the key to bringing a new Small Animal Hospital to fruition.
Though canines make up the largest portion of patients (81%) the SAH sees a wonderful variety of felines (14%), birds, reptiles and other exotic small animals (5%).
Together we can build a better future. We can build a better life for the animals and families of Texas, the nation, and beyond. We can’t accomplish this without you. Thank you for your time, care, and generosity.
“If you look at our organization, we are positioned in an incredible way to impact the state of Texas, the nation, and the world. We’re not only building the future in our students, but we’re impacting the future in the research we do and the animals we treat right now.”
~Dr. Jon Levine, Helen McWhorter Chair in Small Animal Clinical Services and Department HeadCVM Office of Development
979.845.9043
Development@cvm.tamu.edu
www.buildTAMUvet.com
Become an ambassador for the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, for the Small Animal Hospital campaign, and for the animals we serve. Our students, veterinarians, staff, donors, and former students alike serve as ambassadors, spreading the word, sharing facts and generating excitement. Share our story. Share our vision for the future.
we can’t do this without you.
Together, we can make a new Small Animal Hospital a reality. Together, we can transform animal and human health today for a better tomorrow.
