A new "Tender Loving Care" (TLC) program, which finds permanent loving homes and provides lifelong veterinary care for animals after their owner's death, has been established at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, one of the country's largest animal hospitals.

Through their estate plans, clients arrange to bequeath a suggested gift to the Tender Loving Care program, based on the type of animal enrolled. In exchange, the animal receives lifetime veterinary care and a loving home.

A UC Davis veterinarian meets with the client and pet or horse to assess the animal's needs and match it with the most suitable caretaker. Caregivers are selected from members of the school's veterinary community and circle of friends. The school's veterinarian also consults with the pet's current veterinarian to guarantee continuity of health care at the UC Davis veterinary hospital.

"With TLC, people can plan ahead as they do with other aspects of their lives, with the emphasis on providing for their beloved cats, dogs, small exotic pets and even horses," says Gregory Ferraro, director of the Center for Equine Health and manager of the equine TLC program.

"Horses have long life-spans and become even more endearing as they age," Ferraro added. "The TLC program allows these animals to live out the remainder of their lives with dignity and under the finest veterinary care."

Julia Savelle of San Andreas is an enthusiastic supporter of the program. "My cat, Caly, means a great deal to me -- she was the last present my deceased husband ever gave to me," Savelle says. "But it would be difficult to place her in a new home because she is fearful of people and dogs. I needed a program like Tender Loving Care for Pets at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine to help me find her a good home if the time ever came that I couldn't be there for her."

The school created the program after years of responding to clients who sought help finding homes for their pets. School officials believe that clients need to feel assured that their pets, which are like family members, would be loved and cared for when the owner is gone.

More information about the TLC program for both horses and smaller companion animals is available online at http://www.tlcforpets.org or from Gregory Ferraro, a UC Davis veterinarian and director of the Center for Equine Health, (530) 752-6433, glferraro@ucdavis.edu.