The Animal Health Trust is a veterinary charity (Reg charity no 209642) in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 dedicated to improving the health and welfare of horses, dogs, and cats. It was founded in 1942 and was awarded a Royal Charter

Royal Charter

A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

 on 29 July 1963. It is an independent charity and receives no government funding.

The AHT provides specialist veterinary

Veterinary medicine

Veterinary Medicine is the branch of science that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in non-human animals...

 clinical, surgical, and diagnostic services and carries out research in to the science of animal welfare with the aim of improving the understanding of diseases in animals and

Research

Research at The AHT includes developing better means of diagnosing and treating diseases of companion animals covering both inherited and infectious diseases.

Multidisciplinary teams investigate disease at the molecular, cellular, whole animal, and population level working on vaccine development and evaluation, therapeutic drug testing, and diagnostic development.

The scientific areas covered, focus on seven main areas :

1. Allergic and inflammatory conditions
2. Animal oncology
3. Cardiorespiratory function and disease
4. Epidemiology of infectious and non-infectious disease
5. Infectious diseases
6. Inherited diseases
7. Musculoskeletal injury and disease

Successes in research have included breakthroughs in anaesthesia and surgical techniques, as well as the development of vaccines against diseases such as canine distemper and equine influenza.

Clinics and Education

The Animal Health Trust has two animal clinics; one for dogs and cats, the other for horses and act as a veterinary referral centre for cases which are too complex to be treated by most veterinary practices.

A number of members of the veterinary teams are world leaders in their fields.

Specialist areas of work at The Animal Health Trust include ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

, oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

, neurology

Neurology

Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...

 and dermatology

Dermatology

Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....

.

Internships and residencies are also offered to vets aiming to specialise in a particular area.