UF broadens ACVO service animal screening with heart exams
Bottom line
The University of Florida Small Animal Hospital said it will expand its annual ACVO-SAVES service animal screening day beyond ophthalmology by adding free cardiac screening, with the event scheduled for May 16, 2025, in Gainesville. The screenings are part of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists’ ACVO-SAVES program, a long-running May initiative that offers complimentary ocular exams for qualified service and working animals. At UF, board-certified ophthalmologist Caryn Plummer, DVM, will perform the eye exams, and board-certified cardiologist Michael Aherne, DVM, will provide heart screenings. Eligible animals include active working service animals and those enrolled in formal training programs. (vetmed.ufl.edu)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, UF’s model shows how a specialty-led screening event can evolve into broader preventive care for working dogs that depend on vision and cardiovascular fitness to do their jobs. The ACVO-SAVES program says it delivered more than 5,300 free screenings in 2025 and about 91,500 over 16 years, with one of its stated goals being to strengthen referral relationships with general practice veterinarians. UF’s event also builds on a longer institutional history: the college has offered service dog eye and heart screening days for years, including events documented in 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2022. (acvoeyeexam.org)
What to watch: Watch whether more teaching hospitals and specialty centers use ACVO-SAVES as a platform to bundle additional screening services for service animals, and whether that broadens referral pathways into cardiology, rehabilitation, and other disciplines. (acvoeyeexam.org)
Key facts
- Institution
- University of Florida Small Animal Hospital
- Event date
- May 16, 2025
- Location
- Gainesville
- Program
- ACVO-SAVES
- Services offered
- Free ophthalmic and cardiac screenings
- Eye exam clinician
- Caryn Plummer, DVM
- Heart screening clinician
- Michael Aherne, DVM
- Eligible animals
- Active working service animals and animals enrolled in formal training programs
The University of Florida Small Animal Hospital is using this year’s ACVO-SAVES service animal screening event to offer more than the standard free eye exam. On May 16, 2025, the hospital said qualified service animals would be able to receive complimentary ophthalmic and cardiac screenings, with Caryn Plummer, DVM, leading the eye exams and Michael Aherne, DVM, handling the heart evaluations. The event is tied to the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists’ ACVO-SAVES program, which runs each May and provides free ocular screening exams for eligible service and working animals. (vetmed.ufl.edu)
That matters because ACVO-SAVES is already a well-established national outreach platform. According to the program’s event materials, 2025 marked its 16th year, with more than 5,300 complimentary screenings delivered across the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, and the UK, and roughly 91,500 screenings provided since launch in 2008. The program explicitly frames itself not only as a sight-preservation effort, but also as a way to strengthen referral relationships between boarded specialists and general practice veterinarians. (acvoeyeexam.org)
At UF, the addition of heart screening is less a brand-new concept than a continuation of a local model that has been in place for years. University archives show the college pairing ophthalmology and cardiology for service dog screening events as early as 2011 and 2012, with the hospital describing the program as annual in 2015 and again promoting free eye and heart screening days in 2022. In other words, the current announcement reflects UF’s ongoing effort to build a more multidisciplinary version of a national ophthalmology-led event. (veterinarypage.vetmed.ufl.edu)
The immediate details are straightforward. UF said only active working animals certified by, or enrolled in, a formal training program qualify. If clinicians identify abnormalities requiring follow-up, pet parents or handlers can schedule additional appointments through the hospital. Plummer said regular eye screening may help detect problems early, before they become sight- or comfort-threatening. That preventive framing aligns with the broader ACVO-SAVES message, which emphasizes annual screening access during April registration and May exam dates. (vetmed.ufl.edu)
Industry reaction beyond UF’s own announcement is consistent with that preventive-care message. ACVO describes the program as award-winning and AVMA-endorsed, and multiple veterinary colleges, including Purdue and Cornell, have highlighted the value of these exams for preserving working dogs’ function and catching ocular disease early. While those institutions were discussing the ophthalmology component specifically, their coverage underscores why academic veterinary centers continue to participate: these are high-visibility, high-trust touchpoints for service-animal communities and referring veterinarians alike. (acvoeyeexam.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the bigger signal is that service-animal screening days are becoming a practical template for multidisciplinary outreach. Working dogs often need more than a normal eye exam to stay deployable and comfortable over time. By pairing ophthalmology with cardiology, and potentially drawing on related services such as sports medicine, rehabilitation, or integrative and mobility medicine, teaching hospitals can turn a one-day philanthropic event into an entry point for earlier detection, specialty referral, and continuity of care. UF already has an integrative and mobility medicine service and a sports medicine and rehabilitation service, which suggests the institutional infrastructure exists for broader functional screening if demand grows. That last point is an inference based on UF’s current specialty offerings, not a stated expansion plan. (acvoeyeexam.org)
What to watch: The next question is whether programs like UF’s formally add mobility or rehabilitation screening to future ACVO-SAVES events, and whether other academic hospitals follow suit. ACVO’s annual April registration and May exam cadence gives participating centers a ready-made framework, so the likely near-term opportunity is not replacing the eye exam model, but building layered specialty screening around it for service animals that rely on vision, endurance, and musculoskeletal function to work safely. (acvoeyeexam.org)