Dr. Becky Morrow named recipient of 2026 AVMA Meritorious Service Award

(Schaumburg, Illinois) June 23, 2026-The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) today named Dr. Becky L. Morrow, founder and medical director of Frankie's Friends Humane and a volunteer forensic veterinarian, as the winner of the 2026 AVMA Meritorious Service Award.

Established in 2001, the award recognizes a veterinarian who has brought honor and distinction to the profession through personal, professional or community service activities that are conducted outside the scope of organized veterinary medicine or research. The AVMA Board of Directors selects the recipient.

"I am deeply grateful to the AVMA for this recognition and would like to extend recognition to my team, community partners and family," said Dr. Morrow. "My work is made possible by their unwavering support and commitment to serving animals and our communities."

"Dr. Morrow embodies the spirit of this award," said Dr. Michael Q. Bailey, president of the AVMA. "She has spent her career caring for animals that others could not or would not, expanding access to care in underserved communities and standing alongside law enforcement to seek justice for animal victims. Just as important, she has trained countless veterinarians and students to carry that work forward. She brings tremendous honor to our profession and is highly deserving of this recognition."

Dr. Morrow founded Frankie's Friends Humane in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, in 2010, growing it from a single surgical trailer into an established nonprofit that today performs thousands of spay/neuter surgeries each year. Driven by a mission to relieve animal suffering caused by cruelty, neglect, illness, injury and homelessness, she has built her organization around access to care-offering free and low-cost services, mobile clinics in low-income communities and advanced surgeries that help families avoid economic euthanasia.

Much of Dr. Morrow's impact extends well beyond her own surgical table. Through free High-Quality, High-Volume Spay/Neuter (HQHVSN) workshops, she has trained hundreds of veterinarians, technicians, assistants and veterinary students, welcoming them to learn and practice proven techniques at her clinic. Her teaching has taken her across the country and around the world, including hands-on clinics in Australia and a four-day field clinic in Puerto Rico that delivered 324 surgeries while training more than 40 participants.

It is her service alongside law enforcement, however, that most clearly reflects the award's recognition of work conducted outside the scope of organized veterinary medicine. As a volunteer forensic veterinarian and an expert witness for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dr. Morrow assists humane officers in animal cruelty investigations-responding to the scene during search warrants, providing medical care for surviving animals, performing forensic examinations and necropsies, documenting evidence and testifying in court. Since 2020, her partnership with the Armstrong County humane program has supported 608 investigations and more than 1,500 charges, including 144 felonies, helping secure justice in some of the region's most serious cruelty cases.

Dr. Morrow earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University and a master's degree in veterinary forensic sciences from the University of Florida. She is an assistant teaching professor at Penn State University and an adjunct assistant professor in the University of Florida's shelter medicine distance program, in addition to her work as president, medical director and shelter veterinarian at Frankie's Friends.

To learn more about the AVMA Meritorious Service Award and past recipients, visit https://www.avma.org/awards.

For more information, contact Michael San Filippo, senior media relations manager, at 847-732-6194 (cell/text) or [email protected].