pet to help them to leave a terrible situation.” Hefer said Purina was so impressed with the Wildcats’ work last year, that the organization held a challenge for all student ambassadors: develop unique Purple Leash Project activations for their local communities. Contreras and her classmates not only inspired the competition, but they won. Hefer said Purina was impressed by last year’s efforts and the Wildcats’ plans for this year – and knew they were up to the task. “These students have really impressed us with their leadership, strategy and willingness to do a lot of hard work,” Hefer said. “They’re already in school with a lot of commitments, and putting together an event like this is a big undertaking. We really do appreciate the culture the college is building by allowing the students to do this type of work. That’s really impressive and says a lot about the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine.” For this year’s Purple Leash Project event, the college utilized its 53-foot mobile surgical unit,
that do often require pets to be healthy and vaccinated.” Contreras’ work began last October when she and her clubmates partnered with Sister José’s to host a “Purple Leash Picnic” at Catalina State Park to raise awareness and offer free pet care to community members in need. The Purple Leash Project was created by Purina in partnership with the nonprofit organization RedRover to create more pet-friendly domestic violence shelters across the country. Since 2019, the initiative has funded 59 grants for shelters in 26 states, said Noa Hefer, brand marketing manager with Purina. “Our mission is to help keep pets and people together, because we know pets are a critical part of the healing process,” she said. “The Purple Leash Project helps break down one of the many barriers faced by survivors of abuse: One in three women and one in four men will suffer abuse in their lifetimes, and nearly half of survivors will delay leaving because they can’t take their pets with them. We want a survivor’s
University of Arizona and Midwestern University students work alongside staff and faculty to provide support for domestic abuse survivors via the mobile unit.
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