As our avid readers know, we like to acknowledge and celebrate various pet and veterinary “holidays” in our blog. Today happens to be an unusual but fun one: it’s Penguin Awareness Day! But what does this mean and why is it relevant to VetStem?

Well, first a little bit of history. Penguin Awareness Day gained popularity amongst scientists and other related institutions in 2010. Their main goal was to highlight their penguin research and to get the public interested in conservation. Today, Penguin Awareness Day aims to educate the public about penguins and their natural habitat and to learn about the effects of climate change on the various populations of penguins. Unfortunately, penguin numbers around the world are dwindling.

It is a terrible thing when animals become endangered or extinct. At VetStem we are proud to say that we have helped several penguins live a better quality of life! Several penguins have actually received VetStem Cell Therapy for conditions such as degenerative joint disease. And like in dogs and horses, they have experienced a better quality of life as a result!

Click here to see a video about VetStem Cell Therapy for penguins. Though an older video, at approximately 36:00 minutes, Dr. Todd Schmitt at SeaWorld San Diego begins talking about their penguin conservation efforts. He talks a bit about using VetStem Cell Therapy to treat arthritis in penguins and there is even a video of the first-ever penguin to be treated with stem cells.

While it may not seem like much, we are extremely proud that VetStem has a small part in penguin conservation. To date, VetStem Cell Therapy has improved the quality of life in numerous penguins, thereby helping them to live longer and more comfortably. We do not take our role in exotic animal conservation lightly and continue to further our efforts in this field.