An Enderby veterinarian has received the inaugural Dr. Carol Morgan Memorial Award, named in honour of a former BC SPCA board member, from the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada (AWFC).

A tireless advocate for animal welfare and ethical veterinary practice, Morgan sadly passed in 2015. In her honour, the AWFC established a fund where donations contributed will be used to honour Morgan’s dedication and passion. Equine veterinarian Dr. Susi Cienciala of Deep Creek Veterinary Services is the recipient of the first-ever Dr. Carol Morgan Memorial Award, intended to support continuing education for veterinarians in Canada and to increase the applications of animal welfare in veterinary practice.

“I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to the late Dr. Morgan and to the AWFC for helping me continue with my studies and to follow my passion of equine behaviour and welfare,” Cienciala says. “My goal is to bring the science of how horses learn to veterinary students in Canada, to both improve the welfare of their patients and to keep them safer as equine veterinary practitioners.”

In the past 15 years, evidence-based horse training has evolved from studies in the psychology of learning and in behaviour biology – this evidence has put to rest many antiquated and traditional ideas that were not in the best interests of horses, Cianciala notes.

“I believe that veterinarians should be leaders and role models in the field of animal behaviour and welfare,” she says.

The Carol Morgan Memorial Award is to be used for continued education and training-related costs in the areas of ethics and/or animal welfare for veterinarians working to increase the application of these subjects within the profession broadly. The Award is open to any practicing veterinarian in Canada in good standing with their provincial veterinarian association. Multiple Awards may be distributed annually. Applications for the Award are to be received by Oct. 15 for courses to be taken in the following year.