Donations needed to get affordable vet surgery center over finish line

The Valley Humane Society announced it will open a new community veterinary surgery center in early 2022, but it still needs the public’s help to meet the project’s final cost.

The new Phil Scholz Veterinary Surgery Center will open in Pleasanton with a mission to help local pets receive non-emergency services, regardless of their owner’s ability to meet the full cost of treatment.

Valley Humane Society executive director Melanie Sadek said:

“Our pets are part of the family and addressing the lack of affordable, accessible veterinary care within the community is a key factor in creating healthy families.” 

The center’s mission is “to reduce the number of cats and dogs surrendered to shelters or suffering untreated conditions due simply to the cost of treatment,” Valley Humane Society officials said in a news release Monday.

The project has been in the planning stages since 2018 and the humane society has already raised $1.2 million, but Covid-related construction cost increases mean the project still needs roughly $500,000 in donations from the public.

 Sadek said:

“We raised money and the cost of construction went up. … The overall cost of the project increased considerably.”

A huge chunk of the money already raised — $634,000 — came in from executives and employees of Santa Clara-based technology company NVIDIA, with help from its founder Jensen Huang and his wife Lori.

The center is named after NVIDIA employee Phil Scholz, who died in 2014 and whose wife, Emily, works as Valley Humane Society’s adoption and foster manager.

Emily Scholz said:

“It’s heartwarming to have so many people care for and contribute to Phil’s legacy and, together, make such a meaningful impact to a cause that meant so much to him.” 

For more information or to donate to the project, people can visit valleyhumane.org/programs/surgery-center.