Caring for animals and improving their lives has been the life's work of IAWTI director, John Madigan. He is board certified in internal medicine and animal welfare. He has authored over 250 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, and is the editor of two textbooks on the care of foals. Dr. Madigan has made many groundbreaking medical discoveries and has created inventions, which directly improve the lives of animals worldwide on a daily basis. When he saw the need for a better solution for compromised horses sent to the UC Davis VMTH, he designed he designed state of the art slings using the animal’s skeletal system support. These slings are now used to safely lift horses recovering from injury or anesthesia, and to airlift stranded horses, cows, and other large animals to safety. He later developed a sling for down cattle that is being used on dairies to help injured cattle. Dr. Madigan founded the UC Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team (VERT), which has gained national attention as a Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) under the Office of the Surgeon General. He has responded to floods, fires, and other disasters in California and nationally. Dr. Madigan develops curricula to train first responders and emergency personnel in safe and humane animal rescue, sheltering, and preparedness. Dr. Madigan's efforts have not gone unnoticed by his veterinary colleagues. He was honored to be the recipient of the American Veterinary Medical Association animal welfare award in 2006 and the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Achievement award in 2007. His devotion to improving animal wellbeing led to the dean appointing him as the first Director of the International Animal Welfare Training Institute in 2008.