Expanding Access to Veterinary Care in 2024
The ASPCA is committed to ensuring every animal has access to the essential veterinary care they need to live a happy, healthy life. Through hands-on work, research and training, we help keep pets and families together and expand access to affordable care for pet owners.
Local Access, Lifesaving Reach
Protecting Pets from Toxins Nationwide
Expanding Access to Spay/Neuter Nationwide
Driving Veterinary Interest and Training
Local Access, Lifesaving Reach
The ASPCA provides critical veterinary care to animals in under-resourced communities through our Animal Hospital in New York City and Community Medicine programs in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami. These services help pet owners overcome barriers like cost, transportation and limited availability of veterinary appointments, keeping more animals healthy and in their homes.
New York City
In 2024, the ASPCA Animal Hospital provided lifesaving treatment to more than 6,500 animals, including victims of cruelty and neglect and pets whose owners faced financial challenges. The ASPCA’s Community Veterinary Clinics in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, along with several mobile clinics, provided accessible and affordable care to more than 35,000 animals, including spay/neuter surgeries and preventive services. These teams also support animals in in the care of Animal Care Centers of NYC and local rescue partners.
Collaboration Helps Save Soki after Distressing Diagnosis
Soki, a 2-year-old French Bulldog, was brought to our Bronx Community Veterinary Clinic for routine vaccines when veterinarians noticed she was bleeding. An exam revealed an abdominal wall hernia resulting from a previous surgery performed elsewhere. Soki was also in heat. The following day, during Soki's spay, vets discovered a pyometra — an infected uterus — but encountered multiple obstacles while trying to remove it. Soki was rushed to the ASPCA Animal Hospital, which provides surgical and anesthesia support for complicated procedures and an ICU for animals requiring overnight care, and Soki's surgery was completed successfully. See Soki’s full story.
Los Angeles
In 2024, the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Clinic serving the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter and mobile units throughout Los Angeles County provided basic veterinary care and spay/neuter services to more than 12,000 animals. These services are essential to improving animal welfare and reducing shelter intake in a region where the number of animals entering shelters continues to outpace those leaving.
After Losing a Limb, a Once-Homeless Cat Gains a Loving Home
While our Los Angeles team frequently takes in kittens from crowded county shelters, they also rescue animals like Stewey, an adult cat with an injured forelimb that required amputation. Aside from his treatable injury, Stewey's quality of life prognosis was good. After recovering in foster care, Stewey was transported to the Santa Barbara Humane Society, an ASPCA partner shelter, and adopted into a loving home. See Stewey’s full story.
Miami
The ASPCA Community Veterinary Clinic in Liberty City — the only veterinary clinic in this historically underserved Miami neighborhood — served more than 9,900 animals in 2024. The clinic offers affordable, accessible care and spay/neuter surgeries through direct public services and collaboration with Miami-Dade Animal Services, helping ensure more pets receive the care they need to stay healthy and in their homes.
Protecting Pets from Toxins Nationwide
ASPCA Poison Control is the nation’s leading resource for animal-related toxicology, operating 24/7 with the largest team of board-certified veterinary toxicologists in the country. In 2024, we assisted in more than 320,000 animal cases and answered over 450,000 calls from pet owners and veterinary professionals.
Staffed by nearly 200 veterinary experts, ASPCA Poison Control is the only poison control center dedicated exclusively to animals. Our proprietary database, built from more than 4 million cases, supports lifesaving guidance for animals exposed to potentially dangerous substances.
Expanding Access to Spay/Neuter Nationwide
The ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance (ASNA) in North Carolina is the nation’s leading trainer in high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter surgery. In 2024, ASNA trained more than 300 veterinary professionals and fourth-year veterinary students, equipping them to expand access to affordable sterilization services and prevent unwanted litters in communities nationwide.
Since 2004, clinics trained through ASNA programs have collectively performed over 13.6 million spay/neuter surgeries. ASNA also offers free consultations to animal welfare organizations and veterinary schools to strengthen field-wide practices. Locally, ASNA performed over 18,000 spay/neuter surgeries in 2024 for shelter, rescue and owned animals in western North Carolina.
Driving Veterinary Interest and Training
The shortage of veterinarians has created a crisis for pet owners, animals and shelters throughout the country — a crisis the ASPCA is addressing by offering veterinary education and training programs. Our formal training experiences, including externships, internships and shelter medicine residency programs, attract, retain and advance the careers of veterinary professionals in a way that uniquely prepares them to serve the animal welfare needs of their communities.
ASPCA professional veterinary training experiences include:
- ASPCA Veterinary Forensic Science Center Externship (Gainesville, Fla.)
- ASPCA Veterinary Forensic Sciences Training Program (Gainesville, Fla.)
- ASPCA NYC Veterinary Forensic Medicine Externship (New York, N.Y.)
- ASPCA Animal Hospital Veterinary Externship (New York, N.Y.)
- ASPCA Community Medicine Externship (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
- ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance Veterinary Student Externship (Asheville, N.C.)
- ASPCA Poison Control Externship (Remote)
- ASPCA Veterinary Technician Internship (New York, N.Y.)
- ASPCA Julie Morris Shelter Medicine Residency (New York, N.Y.)
- ASPCA Animal Hospital Small Animal Rotating Internship (New York, N.Y.)
- ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance Veterinarian Training Program (Asheville, N.C.)
- ASPCA Animal Hospital Access to Vet Care Fellowship (New York, N.Y.)
- ASPCA Cruelty Recovery Center Veterinary Externship (Columbus, Ohio)
- Platt College/ASPCA Community Medicine RVT Partnership (Los Angeles)
- ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Fellowship (New York, N.Y.)
- ASPCA Shelter Medicine Practitioner Pathway Mentorship (Nationwide/Remote)