Angell at 100: A Century of Compassionate Care for Animals and Their Families at Angell Animal Medical Center chronicles the achievements of one of the foremost clinical veterinary institutions in the world. Angell Animal Medical Center is the first and largest animal hospital in New England. This book is a celebration of one hundred years of groundbreaking innovation and heartfelt compassion.

Founded in 1868 by George Angell, the MSPCA is the second oldest humane organization in America. Its flagship hospital, Angell Animal Medical Center, was founded in 1915, and was the first animal hospital in New England. The MSPCA–Angell has expanded from advocacy and protection to healing and advancing the practice of veterinary medicine. Over the past century the organization has seen vast changes in society, the environment, and the attitude to the animals in our lives. It has helped make laws and set standards that have fundamentally shaped our sense of kindness and care for animals—and for one another.

In the 21st century, MSPCA–Angell continues to rescue, shelter, protect, heal, and advocate for animals, giving special care to tens of thousands of animals each year. It also provides emergency assistance and strategic planning help for animal protection groups across the United States and around the globe.

This book is a portrait of Angell Animal Medical Center from its founding in 1915 to the present day, and tells the stories of the dedicated doctors, the creative medical innovations, and of course the tales of the diverse patients and their families. Today the hospital has specialties ranging from acupuncture to ophthalmology, from behavioral services to nutrition, from dentistry to neurology and neurosurgery, as well as general medicine. Although the majority of the patients are dogs and cats, birds and rabbits are not uncommon, and there is sometimes even the occasional tortoise.

It’s been an extraordinary one hundred years, and here’s to one hundred more.

Karen Campbell is a Boston-based writer and editor. As a journalist, she has contributed to newspapers and magazines around the world on topics ranging from the arts and education to health and travel. She currently is dance critic and cultural correspondent for The Boston Globe. An animal lover since childhood, Karen has had several family pets, including three parakeets, a dwarf hamster, and a chinchilla under Angell’s care. She and her husband, now empty nesters, live with their two beloved aging cats in Brookline, Massachusetts.