A $30 million gift has helped launch the Canine Health Center at Cornell.
The gift from Margaret and Richard Riney has endowed and named the Cornell Margaret and Richard Riney Canine Health Center at the College of Veterinary Medicine. This center says Cornell will improve the health and well-being of dogs through world-class research, outreach and engagement with dog lovers.
The transformational gift accelerates the center’s launch and endows funding critical for advancing canine health-related research and innovations.
“We know personally the importance and benefits of the relationships humans form with animals, especially with our pets,” Richard Riney said. “We wanted to support far-ranging research initiatives that may help dogs live their best lives, while recognizing that research into the canine condition can help to advance human medicine.”
The university says the gift positions the Riney Canine Health Center to become a leading source of research-based information about dogs. The funding will initially endow a significant internal grants program for canine health-related research, with particular emphasis on studying cancer, genetics and genomics, infectious diseases and immunology – building on Cornell’s current program strengths.
The center aims to establish itself as the most trusted source for information related to canine health. The center’s website will feature useful health-related videos, online seminars, stories and explainers that address the needs of dog lovers and owners, breeders and veterinary healthcare providers. Online venues will be created to facilitate two-way communication between the center’s experts and content developers and the public.
