First Nation solar farm plans
Suit claims prison assaults
Pair facing drug charges
Searching landfill for woman
Poland urges more spending
Cutting rates at own pace
Israeli strike played down
Full Trump jury seated
World's largest election 
Investigating pipeline blast
TikTok testing new app
Body Shop explores sale
Warriors ready for Round 2
Kalamalka Bowl cancelled
Rockets live to fight on
Hilton teams up with Sia
Swift still 'can't forgive' Kim
Grimes to ‘cap the disarray’
Local veterinarians known for their tireless effort to help animals were recognized at the annual BC SPCA awards ceremony this past Friday.
Dr. Moshe Oz and Dr. Noa Oz, owners of Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital, received the award for ‘Vets of the Year’ for their work throughout the valley helping SPCA branches from Kamloops to Penticton and as far away as Nelson.
BC SPCA South Okanagan/Similkameen Branch manager Corinne Ross says they’re always there for the shelters and are always willing to help.
"They’re incredibly supportive of what we do at the SPCA. They’ve even adopted cats from us and a number of them have become office cats at their vet hospital. They do so much for us, at discounted rates or even for free. They’re great with helping us make a decision on how to care for an animal and fantastic with follow-up visits.”
The vet couple moved to Canada from their home country of Israel in 2006, and worked at the Penticton Veterinary Hospital before becoming the owners and operators of Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital in 2010.
Ross says the vets were both instrumental in helping with the Penticton and Kelowna BC SPCA branches when they received 16 dogs from a seizure in Clearwater, earlier this year.
“They jumped into action,” she says. “As these dogs were part of a cruelty investigation, they all needed vet reports, so they closed their clinic for long periods of time in order to attend both branches to complete full medicals on each dog. It did not stop there, as many of the dogs required further medical attention, which was again, offered at discounted rates."
Another Okanagan resident known for giving back to animals is Thomas Budd.
Budd received the Philanthropist of the Year award during the ceremony at the University of British Columbia.
A regular at the Kelowna branch’s annual gala, Budd is known for inspiring other animal lovers by pledging to match donations at the event and his organization, the Thomas Alan Budd Foundation, acted as the gala’s title sponsor in 2013 and will do so again this fall.
“Tom has been an outstanding supporter of the BC SCPA Kelowna Branch for more than three years, donating more than $125,000 in that short time,” says Rosemary Conder, chief development officer, BC SPCA.