As we pause for the holidays and spend time with loved ones, we can’t help but feel nostalgic and deeply proud as we look back at all that 2025 made possible for dogs everywhere.
This wasn’t just another year at the AKC Canine Health Foundation. It was our 30th anniversary year, and what a milestone celebration it was!
30 Years of Discovery, One Unforgettable Celebration
Our 30th anniversary was celebrated in a big way at our 15th National Parent Club Canine Health Conference, sponsored by Purina. For the first time ever, we hosted in our home state of North Carolina and refreshed the programming with small group sessions. It was our most-attended conference to date!
Researchers, veterinarians, breeders, and dog lovers came together with a shared goal: better health for all dogs. The energy, collaboration, and shared passion of this community reminded us exactly why this work matters so deeply.
It was a true full-circle moment, honoring where we started and boldly accelerating toward what’s next.
A Brand-New Look and a Bold New Knowledge Platform
2025 marked a major evolution for CHF with the launch of our new branding and a fully redesigned website, built to be more intuitive, dynamic, and accessible than ever before. Designed to serve both dog lovers and researchers seamlessly, our new digital home makes it easier to explore the science, translate discoveries to the clinic, and engage with CHF’s mission.
But we didn’t stop there.
This year, CHF also refreshed and elevated several key communication platforms to expand access to scientific knowledge and amplify the impact of discoveries, including:
- The Discoveries Newsletter has been redesigned to showcase breakthroughs in a more engaging, reader-friendly format.
- The Heritage Society Newsletter has been reimagined to help legacy donors see the lasting impact of their philanthropy across generations.
Together, these changes elevate what we offer, ensuring that knowledge doesn’t just live in journals – it moves into clinics, communities, and donors like you, promoting awareness, conversations, and support for science that improves the health of our dogs.
And the results speak for themselves – you’re spending more time engaging with our content than ever before.
The Inaugural Canine Health Discovery of the Year Award
2025 also marked the launch of a new scientific honor: the Canine Health Discovery of the Year Award. Created to spotlight bold research with immediate impact on veterinary medicine, this award elevates discoveries that are both groundbreaking and much needed.
The first-ever recipient, Dr. Lisa Freeman of Tufts University, was recognized for her pioneering work on diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (daDCM)—a heart disease affecting dogs across breeds and mixed breeds. Her research has uncovered a long-sought-after and promising biological mechanism that may explain how dogs develop this disease and could accelerate the path to prevention and treatment.
This award now serves as a powerful annual platform to translate discovery into impact for the dogs we love.
New Community Programs Powering Progress
2025 was also a year of community engagement. CHF launched several new programs to empower dog lovers to participate locally, regionally, and nationally—because progress in canine health is strongest when we work together.
CHAMPS: Canine Health Ambassadors Making Progress Through Science
This year, CHF launched CHAMPS, a national ambassador program that equips passionate supporters to lead grassroots events, fundraisers, and educational initiatives in their communities. Whether hosting a local meetup, organizing a fundraiser, or raising awareness at dog events, CHAMPS members are helping translate science into action.
FundRACERS
Our nationwide running community is turning miles into progress by raising funds for research through races that bring together fitness, fun, and philanthropy.
WISHD: Women Investing in Science for Healthy Dogs
WISHD was launched as a powerful community of women philanthropists supporting cutting-edge canine research and mentorship in veterinary science.
Together, these programs make it easier than ever for people everywhere to join CHF’s mission and help drive discoveries that will benefit dogs for generations.
Canines & Cocktails: A Sold-Out Night That Sparked Over $175,000 for Canine Health Innovation
One of the most unforgettable moments of CHF’s 30th anniversary year was our spectacular Canines & Cocktails gala, and “amazing” truly doesn’t begin to cover it.
The sold-out event was filled with energy, celebration, and a shared commitment to canine health. Dog lovers, philanthropists, researchers, veterinarians, and partners from across the country gathered for an elegant evening that celebrated science, community, and 30 years of impact.
Together, this extraordinary night raised over $175,000 for canine health research that will directly support the next generation of discoveries aimed at preventing disease, improving treatment, and saving lives.
From the inspiring stories shared on stage, to the joy felt throughout the room, Canines & Cocktails was more than an event, it was a powerful reminder of what’s possible when community and mission come together.
We are deeply grateful to the event’s visionary hosts, Dr. and Mrs. William C. Truesdale, and the Premiere Sponsors—The Canine Chronicle, Purina, and BMZ Russian Toys— whose generosity and leadership made this all possible.
30 New Research Projects. $3.2 Million in Funding. 18 Program Areas Impacted.
With purpose, momentum, and deep belief in the power of science, CHF proudly funded 30 new research projects in 2025, totaling $3.2 million across 18 critical program areas, including priority areas such as cancer, cardiology, behavior, orthopedics, infectious disease, and neurology.
As CHF closes 2025, the impact of the projects funded this year reflects both the extraordinary breadth and the scientific depth of the research community CHF supports. Across behavior, oncology, infectious disease, genetics, immunology, and internal medicine, these studies tackle some of the most complex and consequential challenges facing dogs today—advancing veterinary science to improve the health of our dogs.
From advancing how we measure the impact of pain on cognition and emotion to unraveling how the immune system interacts with cancer to using advanced genetic and molecular tools to better understand inherited disease in beloved breeds, CHF-funded research is addressing canine health at the molecular, clinical, and everyday care levels.
That science is not staying in the lab: in 2025, CHF-supported discoveries were shared globally through peer-reviewed publications that informed real-world care—demonstrating novel cancer detection methods, identifying new disease biomarkers, investigating emerging infectious diseases, and challenging long-held treatment assumptions with evidence-based practices.
Together, these 30 new grants represent a bold, coordinated investment in rigorous science and patient-centered care—work that is improving veterinary science today and laying the foundation for healthier, longer lives for dogs everywhere.
Trust That’s Earned and Recognized
In 2025, CHF once again demonstrated its commitment to accountability and transparency, earning:
- Our 7th consecutive Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency
- A Four-Star (100%) rating from Charity Navigator
Please, Help Spark Discovery as We Close Our 30th Year
As our 30th year comes to a close, the discoveries don’t stop and the next breakthroughs are already taking shape.
You can join this mission and fuel what’s next by supporting our year-end giving campaign, Spark Discovery:
Give today at akcchf.org/sparkdiscovery
Every gift, of any amount, helps launch the next study, supports the next researcher, and touches the life of the next dog.
From all of us at CHF—thank you for making 30 years of discovery possible.
Give today at akcchf.org/sparkdiscovery
