Ten Years of Compassion at the Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital
What started as a bold idea — a pilot program called the Clinic for Compassionate Care — celebrated its tenth anniversary this month. In February 2016, the Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital (SMVH) celebrated its grand opening as a permanent, full-service veterinary hospital, the first of its kind in Virginia to be operated by a nonprofit on a charitable basis. The premise was simple and powerful: every pet deserves good medical care, regardless of what their family can afford.
A decade later, the numbers tell a remarkable story. SMVH has served 17,200 dogs and 16,710 cats, building relationships with more than 24,000 unique clients across the Greater Richmond region. In that time, the hospital has waived more than $660,000 in fees so that pets could receive the preventative care and lifesaving treatment they needed. In fiscal year 2025 alone, more than $83,000 in fees were waived. In a time when the cost of veterinary care continues to climb, that impact has never been more significant.
Behind every statistic is a guardian who didn't have to make an impossible choice. For some, SMVH has meant keeping beloved senior pets through financial hardship. For others, it's been a place of unwavering support through years of compassionate care and even the hardest goodbyes. For newly adopted pets and first-time owners, it's been a reassuring first call. The reasons people come are different. The care they find is the same.
Now serving more than 8,000 patients in a single year, SMVH has grown far beyond what its compassionate, hardworking staff ever imagined. Ten years in, the mission is unchanged: to ensure that pets get the care they need, and that the families who love them never have to choose between their own wellbeing and their pet’s comfort and care.
We look forward to many more decades of lifesaving work at the Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital.
