Pets

Companion animals enrich our lives in many ways. Keeping them healthy is not just something they warrant in return, it also helps protect humans from the transmission of disease.

By providing reduced-cost diagnostic services for companion animals, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture not only serves the needs of Tennessee pet owners and companion animal veterinarians, but also allows monitoring of animals in close contact with people for possible emerging, zoonotic (diseases passed from animals to people) and anthroponotic (diseases passed from people to animals) infectious diseases and environmental toxins. This function is in support of the increasingly important worldwide collaboration among public and animal health officials known as the One Health initiative.