In July, the American Kennel Club and The Hartz Mountain Corp., in partnership with the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, announced that 29 veterinary technician students had been awarded scholarships totaling $45,000.

The AKC/Hartz Veterinary Technician Scholarship Program was established this year to advance veterinary medicine by supporting veterinary technicians as essential members of the profession.

"Since 1991, the AKC has awarded annual scholarships to veterinary students and we're pleased to expand the program to now include another important member of the veterinary community: the veterinary technician," said Debra Bonnefond, director of the AKC Veterinary Outreach Program.

Sixteen awards of $2,000 each and 13 awards of $1,000 each were given to veterinary technician students at 20 AVMA-accredited schools of veterinary technology.

Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement; activities in the areas of small animals, exotics, and research; and activities in NAVTA and their student chapter of NAVTA. Additional information about the scholarships can be found on the AKC Web site at www.akc.org/vetoutreach as well as the NAVTA Web site at www.navta.net.