The good Cornellians can do: Amanda Cheung ’21, DVM ’25

Amanda Cheung '21, DVM '25 met Sofie Wilson '21, DVM '26 in 2020, when they were both animal science majors at Cornell. The two share a passion for rescuing animals, giving them the care they need, and finding them loving homes.

In 2022, Amanda rescued a litter of puppies from a shelter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and helped them find homes. Sofie adopted one of these puppies and named her Praline. Soon after that, Sofie noticed a group of unowned cats congregating in a neighbor’s yard. Sofie reached out to the local authorities and arranged to have the cats spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and treated to keep them healthy.

These experiences inspired the friends to launch an animal rescue service, which they named “Praline’s Promise.” Their mission is to care for community animals and find them forever homes.

Here, Sofie performs an intake exam on a healthy kitten.

Since 2023, Amanda and Sofie have provided basic veterinary care and gotten spays/neuters for 192 friendly cats that have been adopted out, for another 192 community/feral cats that have been trapped/neutered/returned to their environments, and for 9 community cats that are now barn cats.

“We are extremely passionate not only about shelter medicine, but also about increasing access to veterinary care for all animals—not only for those with owners who can afford it,” Amanda says. “Our goal is to turn Praline's Promise into our brick-and-mortar non-profit animal rescue, so that we can be the home that many animals always deserved but never had.”

Amanda also works as a veterinarian at ASPCA’s community medicine department, providing low- to no-cost primary care and spay/neuter surgeries to residents of New York City.

Cornellians around the globe are sharing how they do good in communities big and small. Share your own story.