Nominations are open for Westminster Vet of the Year 2025

Our pet vets are essentially part of our family—they help keep our fur babies in tip-top shape so we can enjoy as many years together as possible. If you have an outstanding vet, now is the time to show them some love by nominating them for the 2025 Westminster Vet of the Year Award.

Learn more about this award and how to submit your nomination.

About the award for veterinarian of the year

The Westminster Kennel Club was founded in 1877 and is the oldest dedicated organization in the country dog sports. The club hosts the famous Westminster Dog Show, the nation’s longest running live TV show dog showwhich recognizes the most impressive puppies in the country.

From 2022, the Club recognizes top humane veterinarians through its own Veterinarian of the Year (VOTY) Award.which was created to celebrate the vets who make a difference in the lives of our pets and shed light on the toll that practicing veterinary medicine can have on one’s mental health.

“The Westminster Kennel Club is proud to be one of the world’s oldest mission-based organizations dedicated to dogs,” said Donald Sturz, DVM, president of the Westminster Kennel Club. “We cannot fulfill our mission of creating a better world for dogs without the unwavering support of our incredible veterinary experts.”

Last year, over 200 veterinarians were nominated for VOTY, with Treyton Diggs, DVMveterinarian from Boutte, Louisiana, who ended up being named VOTY 2024. Diggs received his DVM from Tuskegee University in Alabama and is educated in several specialtiesincluding small animal internal medicine, cardiology, emergency and critical care, neurology, and more.

Diggs was also recently named Westminster’s inaugural Resident Veterinarian, “further illustrating his unwavering values, commitment and moral compass in animal care by providing virtual support and expert advice to the global Westminster community,” the Club said in press release.

How to name your vet

For those of us who know an exceptional vet, now is the time to submit a nomination for the 2025 VOTY Award. Here’s how.

1. Visit Westminster Kennel Club’s VOTY page.
2. Fill in your name and email, as well as your vet’s details, including where they currently work.
3. In 200 words, describe how your vet went above and beyond for you and your pet.
4. Submit!

Four regional finalists will be selected from a pool of nominations, and an esteemed panel of fellow veterinarians will select the final winner. The winner will be recognized in person at the Westminster Dog Show in 2025. Westminster will also donate $10,000 on behalf of the winner Not another vet—an organization dedicated to supporting the mental health of veterinarians, students and veterinary technicians.

Make sure you catch the 149th Westminster Dog Show starting on February 8, 2025, to see who is ultimately recognized as the 2025 Veterinarian of the Year.