In conjunction with a first-time Veterinarian of the Year award that will be presented on the show's final day Wednesday, the club is giving $10,000 to a charity focused on veterinary professionals' psychological welfare.
“We love what we do, and there’s a certain mystique about working with animals — a lot of people think we play with puppies all day long. But there's a lot behind this,” said American Veterinary Medicine Association President José Arce of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He hopes Westminster's award will educate people about vets' wellbeing.
It's the second year in a row that pandemic concerns shifted the United States' most storied dog show to its June date and suburban outdoor venue, rather than New York City's Madison Square Garden in winter. "We want to make sure that our animals are taken care of, but to do that, we need to make sure that our vets are taken care of,” Westminster spokesperson Gail Miller Bisher said.
As in human medicine, veterinarians feel the strain of handling emergencies, caring for the sick — and, often, starting out a career with six-figure student debt. Veterinarians need to be able to move from crisis to crisis at AMC, which treats more than 50,000 animals a year and has a 24-7 emergency room and highly specialized care.
I don't understand why dogs are leashed. Its men who should have leashes, not dogs. I'd much rather run into a dog than a man outside, especially in parks. Men are why we can't go out safely and they can't even walk by your without staring into your face like a nosy idiot.