SPCA Serving Erie County LVT Constantino is Nominee for 2021 American Humane Hero Veterinary Nurse Award™
June 18, 2021 — The annual American Humane Hero Veterinarian and Hero Veterinary Nurse Awards™ honor the heroes who dedicate their lives to making a difference in animals’ lives, and this year, the SPCA Serving Erie County’s Marisa Constantino, LVT and Dr. Allison Kean, DVM were both nominated for these awards and recognition!
Constantino, pictured here, is one of five veterinary nurses selected to advance to the voting round!
Voting for the 2021 American Humane Hero Veterinarian and Hero Veterinary Nurse Awards™ , sponsored by Zoetis Petcare, is now open! From now until 12 p.m. Pacific Time on July 29, 2021, you can vote for your favorite vet and vet nurse each day. Your votes will determine the winners that will be featured on Hallmark Channel this fall.
If you are a U.S. resident at least 18 years old, please vote for Marisa each day right here >>
Marisa was nominated due to the outstanding care she provides. Her nomination at AmericanHumane.org reads as follows:
Marisa demonstrates the characteristics of an American Hero Veterinary Nurse on a daily basis. She demonstrates the perfect balance of professionalism, compassion, logic, curiosity, and reason. Marisa approaches each animal she is presented with as if that animal is the only one she will treat that day, and may not see again. For a large, open admission, multi-species shelter, and public-facing clinic, Marisa does the work of 3 technicians. She has taken on the role of trainer and mentor to a large number of 4th year veterinary students on a regular shelter rotation, and does so with the knowledge that she has been influenced by preceptor mentors like her, and strives to pay it forward, also with the knowledge that these future veterinarians will depend on the talents and skills of technicians as they settle into their career, and knowing how to navigate that partnership with grace and professional respect is crucial.
As animal welfare shifts to a true social 
service initiative, the ability to serve people with the same respect as animals in need is a skill that Marisa demonstrates without even trying. She sees the big picture, and works to undo much of the oppression and discrimination that many clients seeking services have experienced at some point in their lives. Marisa sees only solutions, not barriers.
Animal welfare needs to care about people as much as it cares about animals, and Marisa is a perfect vision of that goal.
The SPCA’s Vice President of Veterinary Services, Melanie Rushforth, says, “It is an honor to work with someone like Marisa on a daily basis. She is a humble caretaker and an innovative veterinary nurse who represents the industry with the utmost professionalism. She helps others be better.” We couldn’t agree more!
One winning Hero Veterinarian and Hero Veterinary Nurse will be featured on the 2021 American Humane Hero Dog Awards® broadcast on Hallmark Channel this fall!
Please take this opportunity to vote for Marisa as recipient of the American Humane Hero Veterinary Nurse Award™, and encourage your friends and family members to do the same!
–SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca
Rescue a Furry Friend!
Arts and Nature
With the help of New York State Senator Michael Gianaris and New York State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, veterinarians in the state will soon be mandated to report suspected animal abuse and cruelty to the appropriate incorporated SPCA (such as the SPCA Serving Erie County for cases in Erie County), district attorney’s office, police force, animal control officer, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, or other law enforcement agency. Necessary records must be turned over to the agency. Veterinarians’ identities will be protected.
say that, soon, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to discriminate against homeowners based on the breed of their dog(s). 
A pair of Canada geese take up residence at the courtyard at the University at Buffalo’s School of Law just about every spring. It’s clean, it’s bright…the perfect site to lay eggs. After all, it’s totally protected from predators. There’s just one catch. When the goslings hatch and it’s time to move them along, there’s no way out. That’s when SPCA officers and rescue team members receive the annual call.
This year’s rescue proved to be a little frenzied, to say the least. The way SPCA Officer Lindsey Wood described it, she, Officers William Heine and Jasil Ivory, and visiting Lincoln Memorial University veterinary student Brittany arrived at the courtyard to begin rounding up the babies with the goal of capturing mom, too, to release the family together. This year, however, dad and mom wanted nothing to do with corralling the kids, and left the courtyard on their own. As they’ve had to do in the past, the team from the SPCA wrangled the goslings and hoped to meet the parents just outside the courtyard, where the babies could be 
released; that’s when dad and mom usually take over.
Finally, Officer Wood and the rest of the team thought dad and mom may not be coming back this time. They sadly loaded the babies in the SPCA’s truck and started to drive away…just as two grown geese flew overhead and landed in a lower courtyard nearby….and watched…and waited.
then swiftly ran back to the truck before dad could reach them to give them a piece of his mind.
their new lives on the other side of the wall. Mission accomplished. The mother (and father) and child reunion was successful for yet another year, despite the rescue’s ups and downs. Well, several downs. But to paraphrase Lloyd Dobler, if you start out depressed, then everything’s kind of a pleasant surprise. 
