In 2008, ACVO's Public Relation's Chair, Dr. Bill Miller, recognized the good that was being done by so many of our members, many of whom already provided free exams across the country. He too employed such a program in his clinics, but he had a vision to somehow integrate and develop these individual events into something with much more of an impact. He came up with a general idea, asking the Diplomates to either combine their current events, or begin providing free eye screening exams to Service Animals, as part of a National campaign. ACVO approached the American Veterinary Medical Association, which to this day offers ongoing endorsement of the program. They signed on as a supporter and helped us promote the event to referring veterinarians ...thereby inviting more individuals to benefit from the program. The event then took place during Pet Awareness week in May, which AVMA's Auxiliary promoted.

The first year over 160 of our Diplomates offered their services for free to approximately 1,500 across Canada and the US. Each year both numbers have increased. The four year total shows us an average of 200 of our 385 Diplomates voluntarily participating annually and a total of over 10,500 Service Animals examined for free within this program. We hope to increase these numbers annually when possible.

The program really grew roots once we secured supporting sponsorship from Merial and other secondary sponsors. This helped the ACVO to pay for the ACVO office staff to set about developing the web site, its 'rules and guidelines' and help documents, run the communications campaign, and work to service individuals with their registration needs. The public should know that our Diplomates participate voluntarily and are not reimbursed for their time, expertise, staff or any expenses.

The College received press coverage the first year to over 4 million people. The word has spread over the years reaching over 240 million people in 2011. Please feel free to pass on the word to anyone who you think might qualify.