The Farmer's Dog has announced a partnership with the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, funding a Small Animal Clinical Nutrition Residency Position to train the next generation of Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionists.
The residency is a three-year, fully funded program in small animal clinical nutrition, led by faculty mentors Jackie Parr, DVM, MSc, DACVIM (Nutrition) and Joseph Bartges, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Small Animal Internal Medicine and Nutrition). Designed for graduate veterinarians, it combines advanced clinical education with research experience and prepares residents to pursue board certification through the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM).
"Since we started The Farmer's Dog 12 years ago, veterinarians have been central to everything we do," said Jonathan Regev, co-founder and CEO of The Farmer's Dog. "We believe advancing canine health starts with investing in the people and research that moves the field forward. By sponsoring this residency program with a top-tier institution like the University of Georgia, we're investing in the next generation of veterinary nutrition specialists while advancing our understanding of how real food can help dogs live longer, healthier lives."
The sponsorship brings UGA's program to three concurrent residents in training simultaneously for the first time.
"Veterinary clinical nutrition residencies remain critically scarce, which makes philanthropic support like this essential to growing the next generation of Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionists," said Dr. Jackie Parr, Board-Certified Veterinary Nutritionist® and ACVIM Nutrition Residency Program Director at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine.
"Our program will reach a milestone we're incredibly proud of — three residents in training at the same time, for the first time," Parr added. "Partnering with industry leaders like The Farmer's Dog makes that possible, and we're grateful for their commitment to the future of veterinary nutrition."
Supporting vet medicine and residency training
The UGA residency is designed to expand The Farmer's Dog's portfolio in veterinary education and nutrition science. The company has supported residency training programs and research exploring healthy aging, hydration, urinary health, metabolism and other areas of canine health. Last year, the company shared a study* suggesting that dogs fed food from The Farmer's Dog showed improvements in metabolic health markers.
"The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine is committed to advancing animal health through excellence in education, clinical training, and research," said Dr. Lisa K. Nolan, Georgia Athletics Association Distinguished Professor and Dean of the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine.
"The Farmer's Dog's sponsorship of a three-year Small Animal Clinical Nutrition Residency Program represents a meaningful investment in the future of veterinary medicine and the development of highly trained specialists who will advance evidence-based nutritional care for companion animals. We are grateful for their partnership and shared commitment to improving animal health through nutrition."
* Editor's note: BSM Partners challenged the validity of the metabolomic study, which analyzed the effects of fresh, minimally processed recipes versus kibble in 22 senior dogs. BSM Partners identified what it called design flaws, calculation errors and missing methodological details that it said made the study's conclusions misleading.
The Farmer's Dog responded to the criticism, stating: "The Farmer’s Dog stands behind our study done in partnership with Cornell University and published in an unbiased peer-reviewed journal. BSM's criticisms are not only materially false and misleading, but a biased attempt at discrediting a sound and credible study in order to protect the revenues they generate from kibble manufacturers."
Read the full response here.
