Priority 4 Paws
Veterinary ServicesIndiana, United States0-1 Employees
Priority 4 Paws operates as a service-learning veterinary program that uses a mobile surgery unit to spay and neuter shelter dogs and cats at partner facilities within a day’s drive of Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus in Indiana, with the aim of accelerating adoptions. The unit serves shelters within about 115 miles of West Lafayette. Fourth-year Purdue veterinary students participate in a three-week elective rotation in shelter medicine and surgery, spending two weeks traveling with the mobile unit and a final week volunteering at a partner shelter, during which they can perform as many as 70 spay and neuter procedures. The program’s mission centers on providing compassionate care, contributing to advances in anesthesia and surgery, and promoting the exchange of knowledge among Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine, shelter staff, veterinarians, and the broader biomedical community. Its goals include giving students practical hands-on surgical experience, offering free spay and neuter surgeries to Indiana shelters to reduce overpopulation, and fostering a philanthropic orientation that students carry into their careers.