Texas A&M’s Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center is a veterinary training ground and Shangri-la for pets.

By Sondra White ’87, Texas A&M Foundation

The Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center at Texas A&M University is a forever home away from home for animals whose owners have passed away or can no longer care for them.

The center is named for Madlin Stevenson, who, along with the W. P. and Bulah Luse Foundation, made the initial donations to jump-start the project in 1993.

Located on campus close to Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, the 8,300-square-foot facility looks like a real home from the outside and was designed as close to a real home as possible, with living and dining rooms, bedrooms, a kitchen, bathrooms and ample backyard space. Dogs and cats have the run of most of the house, while those who prefer or require more privacy live in their own special bedrooms.

And it’s not limited to animals of the feline or canine variety. With a capacity of about 60 animals, the center has been home to dogs, cats, a bird and pony. In fact, an 18-year-old llama named Rusty, who has lived at the center for eight years, is one of its most notorious residents. More dogs, cats, birds, horses and donkeys are enrolled to reside there in the future.

Since opening 15 years ago, the Stevenson Center has earned a sterling reputation for providing a safe, comfortable and loving home for companion animals at an affordable price. One might imagine a house of 20 animals as foul, unkempt and chaotic. In fact the opposite is true: Four permanent staff, four student residents and two student workers--all the students are Aggies studying vet medicine--keep the house ship-shape and smelling fresh. Bathing, brushing, grooming, nail trimming and teeth cleaning-- along with plenty of exercise--are part of the animals’ weekly regimen. Visitors who ring the front doorbell are welcomed by an enthusiastic animal entourage that leaves no doubt these creatures get top-caliber care. And that care includes unlimited lifetime services from one of the most respected veterinary clinics in the United States--Texas A&M’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

"The home-like atmosphere and vet care is second-to none," says Dr. Marvin Cannon, who teaches in Texas A&M’s Veterinary Integrative Biosciences Department and is on the Stevenson Center’s Advisory Board. "The vet students who live there treat the pets like they were their own. The peace of mind that comes with knowing our pets will have such a good home in Aggieland after we’re gone is priceless."

This is an excerpt from the article "Pet Paradise" from the fall 2008 issue of Spirit magazine. Visit our publications archive to read the full article and the fall 2008 issue of the magazine.

To learn more about enrollment with the Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center and how to support the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, contact Dr. O. J. "Bubba" Woytek ’64, Senior Development Officer & Director of External Relations, at (800) 392-3310 or (979) 845-9043 or b-woytek@tamu.edu

For further information or to request a free DVD about the center, contact Dr. Henry L. "Sonny" Presnal, Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center director, at (979) 845-1188 or spresnal@cvm.tamu.edu.