Philanthropy

Legacy: A Beloved Dog’s Gift to Compassionate Care

“Grammar was a very special being. She was independent, yet loving. She was cool and tough, but still let me put pink collars on her,” Grammar’s owner recalls. “She did not suffer fools – but also had a great love for other dogs.”

Grammar, a white husky mix, was one of two puppies found in the woods in southern United States in 2010. She and her puppy mate were starving, weak, and desperately in need of care. Grammar’s owner adopted her without hesitation.

Contributing to the Future of Veterinary Medicine: A Legacy Gift

When Ron and Kathleen Spicer first crossed paths as rodeo competitors in the 1960s, they were drawn to each other by a shared passion for animals and an interest in their health and welfare. Their backgrounds—Ron hailed from a farm in Minnesota, where as a young man, he was a sought-after horse trainer, while Kathleen grew up on a cattle ranch in western North Dakota—fostered a love for animals that came to define their lives together. The self-described “cowboy and cowgirl from the Midwest” inspired many with their devotion to horses, dogs and other animals.

Abandoned Dog Hit by Car Recovers from Back Surgery

 

When Flynn, an approximately 1-year-old male neutered Great Pyrenees, arrived at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH), he had visible tire tracks across his back leg and abdomen. The City of Stockton Animal Services Center reported he was run over by a car and thrown into a ditch. Knowing Flynn needed specialty care, the Yolo County Spay and Neuter Group agreed to take him and immediately brought him to UC Davis.

Meet Handsome: First Participant in Groundbreaking Study

Handsome is not your typical ten-year-old Doberman pinscher. Not only does he have a very strong vocabulary (his owner Judith Friedman said he can be very demonstrative when he needs something), he is also the first participant in a clinical trial through the UC Davis Veterinary Center for Clinical Trials (VCCT) that has the promise of treating metastatic cancer in dogs.

Continued Philanthropic Support Helps UC Davis Provide Highest Quality Cancer Care

 

Diamond, a 12-year-old pit bull terrier, receives ongoing cancer treatments at UC Davis thanks to support from Petco Love. Diamond was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that formed a mast cell tumor in her right cheek with metastatic disease to her mandibular lymph nodes. She has undergone seven rounds of palliative radiation treatments to reduce the size of the tumor and improve her quality of life. The radiation treatments delay the tumor from becoming larger and more uncomfortable.

Ensuring Feline Health for Generations to Come

Lin Zucconi’s dedication to animals started at an early age. She loved her sister’s cat and had turtles of her own. Her dedication to them earned her the nickname in her neighborhood as the “turtle doctor.” When she went away to college at the University of California, Berkeley, she ensured the turtles had a home at the Oakland Zoo. As she moved into adulthood, she stayed dedicated to animals, especially cats.